Lions Seats For Sale... But Is Anyone Surprised?

As an avid sports fan, how would you react to your favorite team going winless on the season?

After witnessing the Detroit Lions make history by becoming the first NFL organization to lose 16 games in a season, a few Lions season ticket holders took the matter into their own hands and got creative with their PSL seat rights. After the Lions final home loss, a few ticket holders decided to put For Sale signs up on their seats with some humorous messaging...

While the For Sale signs sum up the emotions of Detroit fans everywhere, they also potentially present an idea for "Official Realtors" to capitalize on. Official Team Realtors should consider brainstorming creative ways that they can us the rights/marks/assets of the organizations that they are aligned with to help drive awareness and new business. 

Realtors can:

• Use a select event date to distribute branded For Sale signs (that consumers can use for anything)
• Find unique ways to tie official team rights and marks into the marketing materials (co-branded For Sale signs in the lawns of the clients they are representing, use a mascot appearance for a exclusive showing)
• Capitalize on local franchises being put up for sale (creating billboard campaigns that imply that their realtor division is closing some of the other large deals in town)
• Utilize courtside inventory (For Sale Signs to Our New Customers for $1" on select seats) to drive business 

New Nike Viral - Celebrity Escapes the Paparazzi...

Are you looking to create a unique viral piece that captures the lifestyles of athletes of the field? Are you looking to provide fans an alternative look at the lifestyle of athletes?

Nike recently released a tremendous viral piece that features Taylor Momsen, a star actress on the show Gossip Girl, using Nike products to escape the paparazzi. The clip shows Momsen sporting Nike gear (a sports bra and shoes) as she performs acrobatic stunts in an attempt to run from a bombarding group of paparazzi outside her local gym. Check out the piece below:

It would be tremendous to see a company like Nike create a similar piece that captures an athlete facing the paparazzi craze after winning the Super Bowl or another historic event. Nike could create some very interesting pieces showing Ladainian Tomlinson outrun the paparazzi with his 4.42-40 speed or Troy Polamalu posing as a member of the paparazzi and stalking down an opposing quarterback off the field.

Consider new ways that you can position your brands/sponsored athletes in the limelight with creative viral pieces!

Manchester United Targets Niche Group with Teenzone...

Is your organization looking for new ways to target the hard-to-reach young male demographic? Are you looking to create a new feature on your team website?

While many properties and brands explore different ways to target young adults (considered the hardest demographic to reach), Manchester United is taking the matter into their own hands.

Manchester United features an excellent "Teenzone" section on its team website. The "Teenzone" section boasts a number of elements that speak directly to young adults:

• Mobile Content
• Tips 'N' Tricks from The Team's Star Players (e.g. Advice on Soccer Schools, etc.)
• Video Clips
• Celebrity Features (e.g. a Star Comedian's Take on the Team)
• Pictures of Unique Stadium Features, Banners
• Player Profiles

Interested in ways that your organization can capitalize on a Teenzone page?

Corporate Partner Integration - Consider reaching out to corporate partners who are looking for additional outlets to target young adults (automobile, insurance, entertainment venues, colleges, energy drinks, CPG companies, etc.)

Content Relevant to Teens -  Identify new content that your organization can feature to drive interest among young adults (e.g. unique team codes/content on video games, Twitter feeds, Facebook/iPhone applications, meet-n-greets for fans 13-19, downloadable music) 

Manchester United offers a free"United 3 in One" desktop software bundle, enabling fans to receive a themed wallpaper, calendar, and screensaver that all refresh/update periodically to give fans' computers a new, fresh look

Specific Promotions / Sweepstakes Offers - Create a special promotional sweepstakes that targets young student-athletes (win a chance for your team to compete against our team), young singers (submit YouTube performance videos for the chance to sing the National Anthem during XXX game), and general fans (refer the most friends to the team Facebook group wins a chance to win suite tickets for a game)

Billboard of the Week - Maker's Mark

Are you looking to create a billboard campaign that includes a call to action for fans?

Maker's Mark recently featured a great billboard campaign in Times Square. With a simple call to action for consumers (Honk if you like Makers), Maker's Mark turned their billboard into an engaging piece that calls on fans to demonstrate their affinity for the brand.

Why can't sports properties implement a similar messaging platform to drive fan spirit during the regular season and playoffs? Wouldn't a similar piece serve as a perfect branding tool for the Arizona Cardinals to currently put up in downtown Glendale, Arizona?

Keep your billboard messaging simple, yet engaging!  

'09 NHL All-Star Weekend Branding and Activation a Hit With Consumers...

Are you looking to benchmark efforts to enhance your All-Star weekend branding and activation? Are you looking for new ways to distinguish your brand in a hockey setting?

Recently, the National Hockey League has received nothing but praise for its All-Star weekend festivities at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The event was the finest in many years, convincing people throughout the industry that the NHL should consider hosting the event annually in Montreal.

The weekend featured some unique branding elements and activation tactics, including:

• Ice Sculpture Alley (every NHL team had their jersey frozen in a block of ice)
• NHL Jamboree (full exhibit with a rink, autograph table, giant Stanley Cup, mascot appearances)
• Bud Light Ice Sculpture Display
• Molson Puck Bunnies

An NHL All-Star Activation gallery was recently posted on PartnershipActivation.com that captures all of the unique activation tactics and branding elements. Check out the gallery here.

A special thanks to Whitney Modlinski of the Marketing Arm for her insights and contributions to this column.

Do You Work in the Ultimate Sports Office?

Do you work in the Ultimate Sports Office? Are you looking for ways to renovate your office to demonstrate your fandom?

If you would like to nominate your workspace as the "Ultimate Sports Office", please send an email with your name, email, and a jpg photo of your workspace to advertising@partnershipactivation.net by Saturday, February 7th . The Top 3 photos will be featured on PartnershipActivation.com!

As the picture below demonstrates, Steelers fans are pretty serious about their football... How many people can say that they have a mock version of a scoreboard hanging in their office?

Photo: Courtesy of Justin Rivers 

Nike Rewards the UK's Fastest Runners With Exclusive Invitation...

Is your organization looking for a unique way to invite guests to an exclusive event?

In October 2007, Nike launched Supersonic, an exclusive invite-only event for running enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. To earn an invitation, consumers had to compete at four (4) weekly 100m speed trials across London throughout the month of October. The fastest 1,000 runners were awarded the opportunity to attend the Nike+ Supersonic event with two (2) guests of their choice. The prize at stake? The chance to mingle with Nike athletes, celebrities, and live DJ's at one of the UK's hottest events of the year.

To support the promotional event and enable contestants to connect with one another, Nike created a Nike+ Supersonic Myspace page which quickly attracted 1,000+ fans. The site detailed the winners of the challenge, free downloads, details and pictures of the Nike+ Supersonic event, and information on Nike+ gear.

The novelty of the Nike+ Supersonic event's exclusive invitation list based on consumer engagement is one that can be replicated in many different settings... Consider how you can create a similar idea for your organization!

For more insights and information, check out two (2) videos and a Flickr gallery that capture the Nike Supersonic event in action:

Interested in Knowing How Nike Brings Billboards to Life?

Have you ever wondered how Nike brings its big ideas to life?

The following video details how Nike constructed a unique billboard in conjunction with the company's "Next Level" campaign. The video provides a look at Nike's tactical approach behind the scenes. Check it out below:

Are You Headed to IEG's Annual Sponsorship Conference?

Are you looking to enhance your industry knowledge and network with other sports business professionals? Are you looking to attend one of the industry's leading conferences?

The upcoming IEG Annual Sponsorship Conference (March 8-11, Chicago Hilton Hotel) is one of the industry's leading conferences and social networking events. IEG's 26th annual conference does a great job providing industry insights, ideas, and valuation tips. This year, the conference is expected to attract 1,200+ industry personnel and will cover off on a handful of topics, including:

• Maximizing Digital Rights for Fans and Sponsors
• Increasing Value by Building Fan Loyalty to Your Sponsors
• Revamping Your Offers to Build Out Your Value
• Economy-defying Sales Approaches from Sports and Entertainment Pitch Masters
• The Power of Crises: How To Succeed in Tough Times

The conference will include presenters from many of the world's leading organizations and brands, including: American Airlines, Chevron, Kodak, McDonalds, MillerCoors, New Jersey Nets, NHL, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble, ScotiaBank, Siemens, Sprint, 2K Sport, Visa, and Wells Fargo.

With many organizations facing pressure to perform/succeed in this tumultuous environment, the conference will help you learn new capabilities for selling more when buyers have less and discover how the best and brightest are thriving.

Fees to Attend (check out more details on www.IEG2009.com):

Singularity Conference Rates

• $1,895 per person
• $1,795 per person for groups of three or more
• $1,695 per person for groups of four or more
• For groups of 10 or more, please contact IEG customer service at ieg@sponsorship.com or 312/944-1727

Selling More to Buyers with Less Pre-conference Seminar

• $499 per person
• $399 for Singularity attendees

Orlando Magic Fans Sure Love Superman...

Is your organization looking to do something special for its fanbase? Are you looking for a unique way to drive attention to your brand at a game/event that takes place on a holiday?

Prior to their home Christmas Day tipoff against the New Orleans Hornets, the Orlando Magic placed a team-branded Superman shirt on every seat in the Amway Arena. The shirt symbolizes the nickname given to the team's star forward Dwight Howard after he adorned a Superman cape in route to winning the 2008 All Star Slam Dunk Contest.

The premium shirt giveaway proved to be a hit with all fans in attendance and drew a significant amount of media buzz. The jersey-style shirts featured a Superman logo on the front with Dwight Howard's name/number and an Orlando Magic logo on the back. Warner Brothers also provided $500 to a family of Orlando Nursery Day, and complemented the gift with a donation of clothes, toys, movies, and other items to the family. 

How popular were the shirts with Magic fans? Soon after the game, the Magic faithful began testing their Ebay resale value online with a starting price of $30.

Consider new ways to provide your fanbase with unique, premium items that will win over fans in attendance!

A special thanks to J.T. McWalters of the Orlando Magic organization for his insights and contributions to this column.

How Would You Look in a Globetrotters Uniform?

Is your organization looking to create a viral marketing campaign that serves as a simple, yet effective branding piece?

The Harlem Globetrotters recently launched a creative viral marketing campaign entitled “My Magic Circle” in an effort to drive web traffic and awareness for the organization’s 2009 domestic tour.

The Globetrotters’ “My Magic Circle” promotional effort enables fans to create their own ball-juggling videos by importing photos of themselves and their friends. Once the videos are complete, consumers have the option to share their customized film with family and friends.

The Globetrotters’ “My Magic Circle” promotional tool is essentially modeled after the widely popular ElfYourself campaign that Office Max has executed the past few years. The campaign has proven to be a simple, yet very effective branding piece for the Globetrotters’ organization that has drawn a tremendous amount of buzz in the sports marketplace.

A special thanks to Matt Clay of the Harlem Globetrotters for his insights and contributions to this column.

Chipotle Rewards Cardinals Fans for Team's SB Appearance...

Are you looking to reward fans through a traffic-driving promotional initiative?

In an effort to drive buzz around the Super Bowl, Chipotle recently announced that it will be hosting a "Big Red Pep Rally" for fans of the Arizona Cardinals. On Saturday, January 31st (the day before the Super Bowl) all Arizona Chipotle retail locations will reward consumers with a free burrito, taco, bowl, or salad. Chipotle is only requiring that fans wear red to pick up their free food from 2pm to 4pm that afternoon.

This is a great example of a company finding unique ways to capitalize on sports to drive incremental buzz and traffic to their retail locations!

A special thanks to Jonathan Norman of GMR Marketing for his insights and contributions to this column.

The Super Bowl Kickoff Belongs To... Papa Johns

Are you looking to create a unique football-themed promotion? Are you looking for an interesting way to tie in a media personality to your promotional offer?

Looking to capitalize on all of the frenzy surrounding the Super Bowl, Papa Johns has created a unique performance-driven promotion that has the potential to reward fans in a LARGE way.

If the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl (Papa Johns uses the terminology "The Big Game") is returned for a touchdown, every consumer who registers* on the Countdown To Kickoff webpage before 6pm on Super Bowl Sunday will become eligible to receive a large, one-topping pizza for just 25 cents. The 25 cent offer coincides with this year being Papa John's 25th anniversary.

Is the promotional offer possible? Yes, very possible - eight (8) kickoffs have been returned for a touchdown in Super Bowl history (seven (7) of which have occured since 1984). During the 2008-09 season, thirteen (13) kickoffs were returned for touchdowns (Source: Countdown to Kickoff webpage)

Papa Johns has called on ESPN football personality Desmond Howard, who holds the record for the longest touchdown return in Super Bowl history, to help promote the unique discount offer for fans. The Countdown to Kickoff webpage features a few great viral clips that show Desmond Howard expressing his love for football and Papa Johns pizza while working at a Papa Johns retail location. Papa Johns is also supporting the promotion with a Facebook application/group which already boasts 200,671 fans.

*When registering online, fans are asked to provide their name, email, complete address, and birthdate.

The Illinois Lottery Makes One Blackhawk Fan an Instant Millionaire...

Are you looking for a unique way to leverage a lottery partner? Are you looking for a way to reward fans based on your team's performance?

Beginning January 14th, 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Illinois Lottery teamed up to offer a "Million Dollar Minute" promotion where all fans seated in a designated section of the arena would win an instant lottery ticket courtesy of the Illinois Lottery if a Blackhawks player did not score a goal at exactly the 10:00 mark of the 2nd period.

The only problem? It already happened.

During the Blackhawks game against the Minnesota Wild, Blackhawks RW Martin Havlat scored a goal exactly at the 10:00 mark of the 2nd period.  As a result, one lucky season ticket holder (to be named) seated in Section 326 of the United Center instantly won one million dollars! The seat location and section of the potential winner was selected randomly at the beginning of the game (without the fan's discretion).

The winner will be named and made available to the media prior to the Blackhawks game against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

Puma Gives YOU the Chance to Race Against Usain Bolt...

Are you looking to drive consumer interest in Olympic sports? Are you looking for a unique way to engage consumers online?

In an effort to capitalize on Usain Bolt's success at the Beijing Olympics, Puma created a unique, interactive online game that offers fans the chance to take Bolt on on-on-one (to access, click the Race Bolt banner ad in the upper right corner of the page). The game enables fans to customize their skin/wristband color and compete against Usain Bolt in the 100-meter dash.

The game is a part of Puma's "Chasing Bolt" running website, which has some nice behind-the-scenes viral clips from Usain Bolt's Olympics tour.

Nike Commemorates Beijing Games with Elaborate Display...

Are you looking to create an impressive display to showcase an athlete or a high-profile event?

To commemorate China hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and the contributions that Chinese sprinter Liu Xiang has made to his country, Nike erected a massive display outside the Solana Mall in Beijing. The display is made of thousands of pieces of wood. Check out some pictures of the display below:

The Greatest Olympics Guerrilla Marketing Campaign You've Never Seen...

Are you looking to create a unique guerrilla marketing campaign? Are you looking for a creative way to use sports imagery as a way to drive product sales?

During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Elasun, a Chinese condom-maker, did a tremendous job creating a unique guerrilla marketing campaign around the Olympic Games. Elasun marketers found a creative way to weave their product into imagery of sports in the Olympic Games to help drive online sales and awareness of their product line. In the weeks leading up to the Olympics, the ads became a growing sensation in China and serve as a benchmark for companies looking to capitalize on high-profile sporting events without owning any rights to marks.

Check out some of the unique Olympic-themed ads that Elasun created below: 

Swimming

Cycling

Basketball

Archery

 

Gymnastics (Rings)

Nike Capitalizes on the Passion of Fans to Honor Cristiano Ronaldo...

Are you looking to create a campaign around an award winner? Are you looking to create a piece that taps into the passion and emotions of fans?

Nike created a fantastic clip to publicly congratulate and support Cristiano Ronaldo for being selected as the FIFA Player of the Year. Nike's Love/Hate campaign does a great job tapping into the "love/hate relationship" that fans have for Ronaldo's game and how this affinity contributes to who Cristiano Ronaldo is as an athlete and a person.

Check out the great piece that Nike created to commemorate Ronaldo's accomplishment:

LeBron and State Farm Announce... He is a Cleveland Brown?

Over the past few weeks, State Farm has secretly captivated the minds of Americans with a teaser announcement featuring LeBron James standing at a podium and making an announcement that he will follow his first love. The commercial stirred the thoughts and emotions of many (sports fans, general consumers, Cavs fans, Knicks fans, etc.).

Well, the day has come - January 18th, 2009 and State Farm officially released "Lebron's announcement"... The follow up commercial features LeBron at the podium revealing that he will become a Cleveland Brown! As sports fans everywhere feel a pinch of excitement, the commercial soon later reveals this to only be a dream.

State Farm does a great job tying the theme of the commercial back to their corporate slogan... The campaign (which brings back memories of Michael Jordan's stint in baseball) is extremely intriguing and will quickly win over the thoughts and minds of sports fans everywhere. Check out out State Farm's creative ads below (hopefully the first of many):

Note: State Farm and LeBron James entered into a marketing agreement in February 2008 in an effort to target the young adult market and provide children and young adults with safer, stronger, and better-educated communities. The relationship was officially announced at the 2008 NBA All-Star game. It is interesting to note that the company publicly promotes the fact that Lebron has been a State Farm customer since 2004.

Nokia Uses Bruce Lee Ping Pong Viral to Sell Phones...

Are you looking for a unique way to use sports as a platform to drive cell phone sales? Are you looking to create an interesting viral piece that promotes tennis and/or ping pong?

In November 2008, Nokia released an incredible viral campaign to drive awareness and sales of its Nokia N96 Bruce Lee Phone in Asia. The viral clip shows"Bruce" using kung fu moves to take on skilled ping pong players... The video uses some clever imagery to help drive home awareness of the Bruce Lee collectors edition phone. Check out the clip below:

The online buzz generated around this viral piece suggests that brands can have tremendous success creating viral pieces using of imagery of past stars and celebrities... If brands/properties can find effective ways to tie this type of imagery in their messaging, it could make for a great campaign!