The Kings Provide a Case Study for Draft Party Engagement

Understanding the importance of creating buzz around their No. 5 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings did all that they could to make it an unforgettable, enjoyable experience for fans. To generate interest, the Kings organization offered all  fans who attended the Official Draft Party event a complimentary ticket to a select 2010-2011 Kings home game (subject to availability).

However, the rewards and incentives didn't stop there for fans. On Draft Day, the Kings called on President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie, co-owner Gavin Maloof, and Coach Paul Westphal to genuinely speak to the crowd of fans in attendance and Subway agreed to give out $5 gift cards throughout the event in recognition of the team's No. 5 pick.

The Kings captured the excitement of Draft Day with a series of videos, enclosed below:

Kings Draft Party Overview

Here is a quick video that details the excitement of the 2010 Kings Draft Party, including a feature at the 1:10 mark that shows how fans that checked into Foursquare at the event by 4:30pm could win a special prize (a commemorative poster) at Suite V and gain access to an exclusive Kings suite.

At the 2:48 mark, the Kings celebrated the team's selection of Demarcus Cousins by announcing "The Greatest Ticket Sales Extravaganza in Kings History", where the team unveiled 72 hours of amazing deals for fans to capitalize on via Kings.com

Kings 2010 Season Ticket Holder Draft Experience

The video below captures the Kings 2010 Season Ticket Holder Draft Experience, an initiative that enabled fans who purchased season tickets on Draft Night the chance to be called on stage and have their picture taken with notable team personnel holding an official Kings Season Ticket Holder jersey at the podium.

Draft Selection Cam

The Kings set up a camera in the back of the fans' Draft Party Viewing Area at Arco Arena to capture the excitement of their selection of Demarcus Cousins. The quick clip served as a great way to share the enthusiasm of fans in Sacramento with Kings (and NBA fans) across the globe:

Live Twitter Session with Rookie Draft Pick Hassan Whiteside

The Kings hosted a live session where draft pick Hassan Whiteside answered #KingsFans questions on Twitter... A great way to engage a team's avid social media community!

Profile of The Draft Picks' First Day as Members of the Kings Organization

The Kings profiled the first day that rookie draft picks DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside spent with the organization, capturing their excitement, an appearance at the official team pep rally, and the reaction of fans across town.

Emirates Touches Down at the 2010 World Cup

Emirates is leveraging its designation as FIFA's only Official travel partner in Johannesburg with an amazing activation display at Fan Fest that allows fans to test their soccer skills in an interactive challenge. Emirates is currently featuring a giant inflatable on-site that replicates the airlines' A380 Airbus fleet, which now flies to eight (8) select destinations across the globe.

Within the inflatable, Emirates offers soccer fans a chance to score against a virtual goalkeeper in a live penalty kick challenge. Participants are given three (3) attempts to score and are provided with a print out that details their shot selection and serves as a great takeaway from their experience. Fans waited in extremely long lines to participate in the challenge.

Check out some pictures of the activation display below:

 

 

 

Check out a video detailing Emirates' innovative fan engagement tactics on-site at the World Cup:

Emirates, the world's fastest growing airline, is also activating its World Cup sponsorship in a number of different ways:

• Emirates provided team and association travel wherever possible (to and from the world Cup)
• Emirates surprised several senior media figures from across the globe with a superb South African 2010 FIFA World Cup package, which included a tour of leading local attractions in Johannesburg and the surrounding area
• Emirates had the exclusive rights to offer either live or delayed in-flight broadcasts of the World Cup matches in 2010 and 2014
• Emirates received a ticketing and hospitality facility at all World Cup matches
• Emirates was provided the opportunity to offer unique 'follow your team' travel packages that allowed fans to watch their favorite team's games while waiting at the airport and flying on board

News Source: Kuwait Times 

The Nets Have The Blueprint for Greatness (On A Billboard)

Are you looking for new ways to make a splash in the local marketplace?

Looking to make a huge splash in the 2010 NBA Free Agency period, the New Jersey Nets unveiled a massive 225 x 95 foot mural today at a major Manhatten intersection just blocks away from the New York Knicks' offices at Madison Square Garden. The billboard features a depiction of the team's new Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov standing alongside Jay-Z, complete with the slogan "The Blueprint for Greatness".

There is no question that this billboard will catch the eye of many NBA free agents, sending home a message that the Nets organization, under the guidance of new leadership, are serious about becoming major contenders and taking over the Big Apple. The massive mural display will surely be picked up by all of the major newspapers and media outlets and will instantly becoming a topic of water cooler conversation across the globe.

Check out the massive billboard below, which is now complete - just hours before the NBA's Free Agency period begins!

Photo Source: Marianne O'Leary's Flickr Photostream / News Source: NorthJersey.com

Manchester City FC Unveils Its New Team Foursquare Page

Sports organizations looking for new ways to tap into the social media space should consider benchmarking a recent tactic implemented by Manchester City FC of the Barclays Premier League.

Manchester City unveiled its new Official Foursquare page, where the team is planning on posting a collection of tips and specials for fans to enjoy in the coming weeks and months. The official page provides a list of Manchester City destinations where fans can check in and receive special discounts and enjoy a variety of engagement tactics.

The page, which already boasts 350+ supporters, also features a collection of links to the club's other social media channels (Facebook, Twitter) and official team home page.

MCFC has been one of the most notable early adopters of Foursquare in the sports space. The soccer club teamed up with Umbro to generate buzz for their final match of the season against Tottenham Hotspur by asking fans to "check in" at the City of Manchester Stadium via Foursquare in an effort to set a world record for the most Foursquare check-ins in a single location at one time.

To generate awareness and interest, the team posted an announcement on its home page and offered fans the chance to win (1) of (11) limited edition Blue Moon t-shirts if they added the phrase 'Umbro Blue Moon Tee Please' to the tips section of their Foursquare check-in.  

Check out the page below and consider implementing this for your organization. After all, Foursquare is here to stay!

Puma Pulls Off An Epic Cape Town Stadium Stunt (If It's Real)

How will the 2010 World Cup be remembered?

Arguments can be made for missed calls, heroic performances, the Jabulani factor, and the return of Maradona. But if there is anything that's certain, it is the fact that consumers are witnessing some of the most creative sports marketing ideas and campaigns ever produced in the soccer space.   

While the world's finest teams have battled it out on the pitch in South Africa, the world's leading apparel/footwear brands have been battling it out in the trenches. Both Nike and adidas have created some terrific ads, viral pieces, Facebook campaigns, and OOH campaigns. But it should be noted that Puma is holding its own too...

Puma secretly unveiled an epic Cape Town Stadium Stunt in support of its global "Love = Football" campaign. It's a wonder how they pulled off this stunt (if it's real, did they use buses and taxis?), but it just goes to show that with a little creativity, every brand can steal a piece of the pie.

Check out the epic Puma viral stunt below (especially the 1:12 mark)!

adidas and Peter Cech Give Goalkeeping a New Meaning

Sports organizations looking to deliver new viewpoints and insights for their fan base should take a close look at a creative piece that adidas recently released on its Official Football Facebook Page. The Official World Cup sponsor teamed up with the Czech Republic's heralded goalkeeper Petr Cech to give soccer fans across the globe a unique look at what it takes to make a save in a penalty kick situation.

adidas equipped Cech with a camera on his head during a practice session and filmed him giving pointers on how to make incredible saves in pressure situations.

The camera work is simple yet provides fans with a new viewpoint that does a terrific job demonstrating the speed of the game. It would be great to see more sports organizations offer their fan base this unprecedented access!

Check it out below: 

Nike Goes Social with Billboard (and Kobe) in Johannesburg

Nike continued its brilliant "Write the Future" World Cup marketing campaign by turning a Johannesburg skyscraper into an electric facade that highlights the voice of Nike supporters from around the world. Nike has created a Facebook site where fans can submit a 57-character inspirational headline for the soccer player they think will write the future.

Each night, 100 fan-generated headlines are displayed across the interactive LED screen featured on the skyscraper, spanning 44m high x 42m wide x 30 stories high. The most popular and unique submissions are featured scrolling across the skyscraper, supported by a personal notification - a pretty amazing tactic that truly supports social media.

Nike is bringing the skyscraper to life using vibrant LED lights that share the personalized headlines from fans. Check out the amazing interactive display below:

Even Kobe Bryant took a moment to send a good luck message to the USA soccer team, as seen below (his message was "Break the game open. Shatter expectations."):

Sony Proves that 3D Projection Messaging is Here

Sports marketers looking for new outdoor messaging tactics to engage fans should due some diligence researching new advancements in projection technology.

Sony recently celebrated the 2010 Champions League Final by dislaying two (2) unbelievable 3D soccer themed projections on the outside of two buildings in Madrid, Spain. Sony teamed up with NuFormer, an agency based out of the Netherlands, to create 3D projections symbolizing a central theme of "Imagine Football in 3D". The company showcased the projections on the facade of the Plaza Santa Ana and the Colegia San Agustin in front of a few thousand guests. 

Sony created the projection footage specifically for this live event and worked hand-in-hand with Madrid's city Council to secure the rights to project the interactive display onto the walls of both buildings.

Check out Sony's soccer projection messaging below:

Source: NuFormer

Bridgestone and TPC Give Entourage Fans A Chance to Hit the Links

Sports organizations looking for new ways to align with entertainment entities should consider benchmarking a recent sweepstakes promotion that TPC and Bridgestone ran on the Official Facebook page of HBO's hit show Entourage.

To help drive buzz for the show's season premiere on Sunday, HBO officials were running a five (5) day sweepstakes on the show's Official Facebook fan page that gave all participants a chance to win some extremely amazing prizes.

On Wednesday, June 23rd, Bridgestone & TPC Golf Courses teamed up with HBO to feature a sweepstakes prize package on the fan page that offered consumers the chance to win a Professional Staff Bag autographed by Fred Couples, a set of Cavity Back Irons, and two (2) rounds of golf at any TPC Course (excluding transportation to and from). The winner of the sweepstakes will be announced live by Emmanuelle during the Live Stream event on Sunday at 8pm EST / 11pm PST, which will be made available live on Entourage Facebook page through a special application and on LiveStream.com.

The Facebook fan page cross-promotion served as a terrific way for the PGA Tour, Bridgestone, and TPC Officials to target a large segment of young male consumers. The Official Entourage Facebook fan page has attracted 1.6MM avid followers and is widely recognized as a terrific entertainment platform to reach the male demo. The PGA Tour also capitalized on the unique cross-promotional opportunity by having the Golf Channel feature a segment on it on Inside the PGA Tour.

Check out a visual of the promotional execution below:

The Wizards Welcome John Wall to Washington D.C.

Sports organizations looking for new ways to drive awareness around the signings up marquee draft picks and free agents should check out a recent piece the Washington Wizards featured on their team website to welcome rookie PG John Wall to the city.

The piece is extremely well done - incorporating Ted Leonsis, members of the Wizards/Mystics organization, fans in the local community, and the most recognizable local athletes (McNabb, Ovechkin, Stasburg), and celebrities in Washington D.C. Check it out here!

A special thanks to Mike Rodriguez for his insights and contributions to this column! 

Live on Social Blueprint Connect!

If you are looking for social media insights, case studies, and personal success stories using social media, you need to check out some of the terrific things that Trevor Turnbull is doing with Social Connect Blueprint. The online social media focused platform serves as a terrific resource that is both educational and interactive.

On the site, Turnbull delivers a number of "How-To" training videos and live interactive webinars for individuals to enhance their social media knowledge and skill sets. In addition, he has featured a number of live interviews with social media professionals and recently incorporated eWayDirect's Jason Peck, Laura Gainor, and myself into the mix.

Take a moment to check out our interviews below and all of the additional content featured on Social Connect Blueprint here!

Brian Gainor Live on Social Blueprint Connect

Jason Peck Live on Social Blueprint Connect

June 2010 Partnership Activation 2.0 Newsletter

Thank you for coming here to check out the June 2010 Partnership Activation 2.0 newsletter. I promise that there will be no mentions of vuvuzelas as best practices this month. As you tune in to some incredible sports coverage this weekend (World Cup, Wimbledon, etc.), please feel free to send along any unique activation tactics that may catch your eye.

Click here to check out the new June 2010 Partnership Activation 2.0 monthly newsletter. This month I would love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at bgainor@partnershipactivation.com.

This month's newsletter features a collection of insights, including:

• Innovative Mobile Tours
• Ten Sports Business Trends to Keep an Eye On
• Leveraging the World Cup
• The Heineken Stadium of Stars
• World Cup Activation and Branding
• The Ohio University Professional Master of Sports Administration Program
• Creativity in the Sports Marketplace
• June 2010 Partnership Activation Rising Stars
• A Compilation of the 2009-2010 Partnership Activation Rising Stars
• Sports Social Media Watch
• Facts and Insights About the 2010 French Open
• Creative Ways to Leverage Trading Card Partners
• Idea Box

If you are interested in signing up for the newsletter, please send an email with "Subscribe" in the subject line to newsletter@partnershipactivation.com. In the body of the email, please include your name, company affiliation, and contact information when subscribing.

Check out the June 2010 Issue now... and please feel free to send along any feedback or suggestions you have this month!

Vodafone Emphasizes Teamwork with F1 Viral

Vodafone recently unveiled a tremendous viral piece that features its star F1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, scrambling to put together the pieces of their car after their pit crew team decides to leave. The viral piece does a great job emphasizing the integral role that all team members play on the Vodafone race team. No star is bigger than the teammates and personnel that support him/her. 

Check out the piece below!

World Cup Viewing Parties From Across the Globe

The Slideshare deck below provides a compilation of photos from 2010 World Cup Watch Parties from major cities across the globe. Fifa Fan Fests and other Watch Party events have attracted thousands of fans by offering an ultimate soccer festival experience.

The deck provides a nice visual of the powerful affinity that consumers across have for the game of football. Feel free to check it out and lend your thoughts in the comments section below!

Note: Click the "View on Slideshare" buttom in the bottom right corner of the slideshow to see the images featured in the powerpoint deck enlarged.

Vitamin Water Gives Its Virals a Dose of Humor

Quickly ask yourself, "Which brands are currently dominating the athlete endorsement landscape?"

It may take you a moment to think through the thousands of commercials, print adverts, and banner ads that you have been exposed to in just the past few days but you likely will net out on the likes of Nike, adidas, and Red Bull. But what other brands come to mind? Gatorade? Gillette? Subway? DirecTV? Pepsi? ... The question may be a little tougher than you originally thought because not enough brands are doing it well.

One brand that has emerged in the athlete endorsement space over the past few years is Vitamin Water. While the brand has aligned with some of sports' biggest stars (Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, etc.) it's not the athletes themselves that have driven Vitamin Water's notability in the space. More so, it's the brand's fundamental strategy of leveraging athlete endorsers by showing their true personalities on-camera.

While some companies get lost in the struggle of trying to force-fit an athlete endorser to align with the attributes of its brand, Vitamin Water does a tremendous job showcasing the true personalities of its athlete endorsers first (after all, that's what consumers really want to see) and then finding a unique way to tie their brand into the mix. The end result? Vitamin Water's viral spots are humorous, educational, and remarkably unforgettable.

Check out a terrific viral spot the brand recently unveiled starring Kobe Bryant (luckily before his subpar Game 7 performance during the 2010 NBA Finals). Nonetheless, the viral is extremely well done and is exactly what fans want - Kobe's true personality off the court!

Leverage Airline Partners with Special Video Shoots

Sports properties looking for new ways to leverage airline partners should consider sending a team of athletes to an airplane hanger for an exclusive video shoot. Here, players can perform tricks, stunts, and show a little enthusiasm for fans to enjoy.

By simply using an airplane as a backdrop (or prop), teams can create a highlight video that can be shown on the scoreboard during a game or on its homepage to help drive affiliation awareness. Airline partners can even consider bringing this to life by running a sweepstakes that allows a few select fans the chance to take part in the filming of the shoot live in person (and receive a behind-the-scenes tour, etc.)

Check out the video below, which should help reinforce the opportunity at-hand!

The Parking Spot Shuttles Fans in Style

Sports organizations looking for new ways to drive awareness in high-traffic destinations should take a close look at some recent partnerships between The Parking Spot and a number of notable sports properties.

The Parking Spot, the nation's leading near-airport parking company, devised a terrific strategy to align with some of the country's finest athletic departments to wrap their airport shuttles with the colors, logos, and flair of competing schools in specific markets. In 2009, the Parking Spot added the University of Texas and their biggest in-state rivals, Texas A&M University (a rivalry that dates back 115+ years).

The Parking Spot wrapped six (6) total shuttles in operation at three of Texas' largest airports (Houston, DFW, Austin) with logos, verbiage, and the athletic department's official website. The shuttle operator even allowed the University of Texas to add temporary peel off banners that incorporated their national championship logo prior to their appearance in the 2010 BCS National Championship.  Inside the shuttles, travelers are provided a chance to see recent highlights on flat screen monitors, season ticket information, updates about future events, and related University messages.

The partnership is significant because it provides the Universities with increased brand exposure in high-traffic destinations while The Parking Spot benefits from travelers recognizing and preferring their airport service due to the company's affiliation with their favorite University. Founded in 2008, The Parking Spot now operates 18 locations serving 12 major airports (4 of which are situated in the state of Texas). The Parking Spot is partnering with a number of other sports properties, including: USC, UCLA, TCU, Kansas, Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Central Florida, Saint Louis University, the Los Angeles Kings, the St. Louis Blues, and the Houston Aeros.

Check out some pictures of The Parking Spot's unique collegiate branding below:

A special thanks to Jake Baskin of the Longhorn Sports Network (IMG College) for his insights and contributions to this column.

Source: GuidryNews.com

Chick-fil-A Drives Eyeballs with Creative Signage

Chick-fil-A, the nation's second-largest chicken-based fast food chain in the United States, has done a tremendous job driving eyeballs at The Ballpark at Arlington with some captivating signage at Texas Rangers games. Chick-fil-A replaced a piece of iconic signage that Southwest Airlines had featured in deep left center field of the ballpark for a number of years, with a signage campaign that creatively ties its cow-driven marketing campaign to baseball.  

Check out the two (2) different signage pieces they have featured at The Ballpark at Arlington below: 

"Eat Chikin or We'll Charge Tha Mownd"

"Retire Sum "ChicKin" 

Source: JoWiJo's Flickr Stream 

140 Reasons Sports Teams Should Use Twitter

Coca-Cola Generates World Cup Excitement with CrateFan Statue

Per CherryFlava.com, Coca-Cola teamed up with Animal Farm to create a terrific "CrateFan" statue in Johannesburg that will surely turn some heads during the next four weeks of World Cup competition taking place. The statue, made entirely of 2,500 standard Coca-Cola bottle crates, stands 16.5 meters high and weights approximately 25 tons.

How did they do it? The Cratefan statue is part of a recycling project on behalf of Coca-Cola. Animal created a scaffolding clad that could hold 2,500 bottle crates and a few workers were assigned to complete the job, stacking crates one on top of another.  All of the materials will be either recycled or reused once the unique statue is taken down.

Check out some pictures of the final "CrateFan" project below: