The Tiger-Cats Put Fan Photos on Season Tickets...

Are you looking for new ways to demonstrate value to your fan base? Are you looking to enhance your ticket operations?

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL recently announced a "Tiger Town Season Seat Photo Contest" that asks their season ticket holders to show their spirit for the chance to be featured on the team's 2009 season ticket stock. Fans are asked to submit their favorite pictures demonstrating their avidity for the chance to be one (1) of ten (10) fans selected to appear on the team's season ticket stock.

The promotion serves as an excellent way to demonstrate added value for fans in a cost-effective manner. After all, how many people can say that they were featured on a ticket stub? It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity fo many. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are also providing each of the ten (10) lucky fans with a framed copy of the 2009 season ticket stock and two (2) platinum tickets to the game that their image was featured on.

For a chance to win, consumers are asked to either:

• Email a photo and a completed entry form to photocontest@ticats.ca
• Mail a photo and a completed entry form to Attn: Season Seat Photo Contest Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 1 Jarvis Street, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3J2 

Ski For Free With VitaminWater...

Are you looking for a unique way to reward winter sports enthusiasts? Are you looking to leverage a partnership with a ski resort?

VitaminWater recently ran a "Ski with VitaminWater" promotion that enabled any consumers who brought an empty VitaminWater bottle to the Timberline Lodge & Ski Area to ski for free on Friday, February 27th.

VitaminWater supported the event by featuring a branded van in front of the lodge that gave away branded snowboards, defense packs, free product, and hydration tips. The company also featured pro snowboarder JJ Thomas on-hand to share tips and insights for snowboard enthusiasts.

VitaminWater also offered consumers an opportunity to enter for a chance to win a three (3) day weekend at the Timberline Lodge and Ski Area (which can also be done online). 

Billboard of the Week - Lance Armstrong, Hope Rides Again

Are you looking to create a billboard campaign that promotes a cause? Are you looking to drive awareness to the sport of cycling?

Nike recently teamed up with Lance Armstrong to create a "Hope Rides Again" event as part of the Stages Tour that led a group of 1,800 cyclists through the streets of Los Angeles to drive awareness and support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and its Livestrong Global Cancer Campaign. The initatives of the Stages Tour is to bring together 20 of the world's greatest artists to create original works of art inspired by Lance Armstrong and his mission to fight cancer.

To drive attention to the cause, artist Shepard Fairey adorned The Montalban with an impactful piece that describes Lance Armstrong's journey and perseverance. Check out the inspirational billboard below:

Nike's Showcases New "V for Victory" Apparel Campaign...

Are you looking to create a branding campaign that is built on the energy and emotion of the game? Are you looking for new ways to leverage athlete endorsers?

Nike recently launched "V for Victory", a colorful apparel campaign that leverages some of the world's best athletes to promote Nike's remixed line of Chevron Eugene jackets, one of the brand's most iconic pieces of apparel.

The "V for Victory" campaign does a tremendous job captivating what the emotion of victory (which symbolizes the design of the apparel) means to some of the world's best football (soccer) players (Cesc Fabregas, Adriano, Andrei Arshavin, and Didier Drogba), rugby players, and tennis sensation Rafeal Nadal.

What makes this campaign so special is that Nike has given new meaning to the peace symbol (which is seamlessly integrated into the "V for Victory" campaign). Now, when young soccer fans see one of Nike's athlete endorsers displaying the peace sign during competition (which happens frequently), there is a chance that they will begin to view the act as a way their favorite athletes are saluting Nike as a brand.

Nike is promoting the campaign through a captivating viral piece that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the players' photo shoot and a eye-popping billboard campaign in high-traffic areas throughout Europe. Check out Nike's campaign tactics below:

The Peach Belt Conference Drives BMW's Business...

Are you looking for new ways to leverage auto partners? Are you looking to create a partnership driven around a tournament championship?

John Semeraro and his colleagues at the Peach Belt Conference recently did a tremendous job integrating BMW into the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments. Semeraro and representatives at the Peach Belt Conference created the "Taylor BMW Ultimate Drive to the Championship", an traffic-driving initiative that seamlessly integrated the local BMW retailer into the tournament action.

For two (2) weeks leading up to the tournament, Taylor BMW offered free co-branded tournament passes for the first 200 people who came into the dealership and opted to test drive a BMW. Taylor BMW supported the initiative by featuring cars on display at the tournament, championship banners along high-traffic roadways, and numerous branding pieces within the dealership setting.

Highlighting the Peach Belt Conference and Taylor BMW's partnership was the "Taylor BMW Ultimate Shoot-Out Bracket Challenge", a free throw challenge competition that enabled winners from the men's and women's brackets to win a free BMW Golf Bag or BMW Electric Car Cooler.

The Peach Belt Conference executed the promotion by hosting a contest at halftime of each game where two (2) participants were drawn for the chance to see who could make the most free throws during a 35 second timespan. The participant who made the most free throws advanced in a bracket-style competition each day of the five (5) day tournament.

To add to the tournament excitement once the free-throw shootout was completed, one (1) individual was drawn for both the men's and women's game to shoot for a certified pre-owned BMW. To win the BMW, the individual was challenged with making one (1) layup, free throw, three-point shot, and half court shot in 30 seconds.

The Peach Belt Conference and Taylor BMW teamed up to create a "true partnership" with representatives from both sides engaged and involved in all aspects of BMW's involvement on-site. The employees from Taylor BMW became very engaged in the Taylor BMW Ultimate Drive to the Championship promotion and gained a greater appreciation for the quality of NCAA Division II student-athletes competing in the Peach Belt Conference basketball tournament.    

The promotion enabled Taylor BMW to:

• Drive retail traffic and trial
• Collect signups with quality user information (in an effort to target new customers)
• Drive brand affiliation and awareness (roadway signage, dealership branding, on-site display) 
• Offer an engaging in-game promotion that creatively integrated its tagline
• Leave a lasting, memorable impression on fans

Congrats to the Peach Belt Conference and Taylor BMW for collaborating to create such a great initiative that benefits all parties involved!

Leverage Camera/Film Partners With Photo Diary Features...

Are you looking for new ways to leverage camera and film sponsors? Are you looking for ways to enhance your organization's media content?

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes did an excellent job teaming up with Olympus to create a premier Photo Diary feature on the Formula 1 race team's official website. The Olympus Photo Diary page features a collection of rare photos providing insights from the Formula 1 front line that were captured throughout the season by Olympus photographer Jon Nicholson.

The Olympic Photo Diary page also allows for fans that are apart of the team's membership program to contribute preferred photos to the collection.

Are Your Broadcasts Entertaining?

Are you looking to enhance the quality of your television and radio broadcasts? Are you looking to incorporate new forms of entertainment into your broadcasts?

The Florida Panthers play-by-play announcer Randy Moller has recently drawn a significant amount of positive attention with his goal calls. Moller has found a way to creatively integrate pop culture references into his goal calls - featuring everything from famous movie quotes to music references. Moller's goal calls of the game add unpredictability and a sense of fresh excitement to the Florida Panthers' broadcasts.

Moller is building on the excitement drawn from his signature calls by enabling fans to submit suggestions to the Dan LeBatard Show. Each show Moller selects his favorite submittal and uses it live on air (adding a new element of fan engagement to the Panthers' broadcasts).  

Check out Randy Moller's entertaining goal calls below and consider new ways that you can generate similar excitement for your team's broadcasts!

New Adidas Viral Takes NBA High School Draftees to College...

Are you looking for a unique way to drive buzz around March Madness? Are you looking to create a messaging campaign that aligns your professional and collegiate assets and endorsements?

Adidas recently released a "March is Brotherhood" viral campaign to promote its Mad Climas collegiate footwear and apparel that can only let some college basketball fans dream. Adidas took four (4) of the NBA's most prolific high school draftees on college visits, causing viewers to wonder how different things would be if they would have played college ball.

Check out the terrific viral campaign below (an HD option is available), where Adidas gets creative with leveraging the NBA's finest stars to drive awareness for its products during March Madness:

Kevin Garnett - KG Goes to UCLA

Dwight Howard - Dwight's a Jayhawk

Tracy McGrady - TMAC Takes Louisville

Josh Smith - Josh Represents Pitt

Barclays Scores New Fans With Its Ticket Office Promotion...

Are you looking for new ways to leverage a financial partner? Are you looking to create a nationwide promotion that can be scaled down to the regional/local levels?

Barclays created a terrific promotional concept in support of its Title Sponsorship of the English Premier League. To activate its official title status, Barclays created the "Barclays Ticket Office", a promotion which rewards a pair of Barclays Premier League match tickets every 90 minutes, every day, for the duration of the 2008-09 EPL season.

The Barclays Ticket Office payoff equates to 16 pairs per day, 120 per week, 480 per month, and approximately 4,320 pairs distributed through the duration of the nine (9) month promotional campaign from August 16, 2009 to May 24, 2009. 

Consumers are allowed to enter to win as many times as they would like throughout the season (with no charges being applied outside of standard texting rates), but are only eligible to win once during a 24-hour period.

To participate in the promotion for the chance to win a free pair of EPL tickets (travel and accomodations not included), consumers must obtain a 10-digit code by:

• Using a Barclays ATM in the UK, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man and requesting a receipt. Consumers can use the 10-digit code on the back of the receipt to enter to win
• Logging on to the Official Barclays Ticket Office promotional page and spinning five virtual soccer balls to receive a 10-digit code
• Participating in a variety of other Barclays' promotional contests

Once consumers have their 10-digit code in-hand, they can enter to win by:

• Texting the code followed by the initials of their favorite Barclays Premier League Club to 68887
• Enter the 10-digit code, input the initials of their favorite team, and enter their email address on the Official Barclays Ticket Office promotional page

As Barclays selects winners every 90 minutes, it notifies them via a text/online message and confirms the match details and the ticket distribution procedures (winners receive their tickets no less than seven (7) days before the date of the game). Consumers who win during the months of April and May receive tickets valid for entry to matches played during the 2009-10 season.

Barclays is driving viral awareness for the promotion by featuring four (4) tools on the promotional page that enable consumers to share the details with friends via Facebook, StumbleUpon, Delicious, and Technorati.

Adidas Launches Its Products in BIG Ways...

Are you looking for a new way to introduce your product to the marketplace? Are you looking for a unique way to drive media attention around your product launch?

Adidas does a tremendous job building awareness and excitement for its footwear and apparel, especially in the soccer space. In 2007, Adidas took the launch of the Predator PowerSwerve soccer shoe to another level by adding an element of surprise to its celebration in Paris. 

Take a minute to check out Adidas' "surprise tactic" in the video enclosed below:

How is the Economy Affecting YOU?

Has the economy had a direct effect on you and your family? Are you looking for ways to escape the resume clutter as you begin to apply for new work in the industry?

Jonathan Norman of GMR Marketing recently featured a great post on his Twitter account detailing an impactful video that Ben Gullett created to help his father, Mark Gullett, find employment. According to the video, Mark was previously a VP of Marketing for the Tampa Bay Lightning (a nine year veteran), but lost his job due to restructuring during these tough economic times.

If you have a moment, please check out the video and send an email to markbyben@verizon.net if you can help Mark with his quest to get back in the industry. It is oftentimes easy to forget how the families of employees that are laid off are directly affected. Let's do what we can to help Mark with his situation:

Billboard of the Week - Seattle Sounders FC

Is your expansion franchise looking for new ways to build equity in the local marketplace? Are you looking for new ways to incorporate traditional elements in your messaging campaigns?

The Seattle Sounders Football Club, MLS' newest franchise, collaborated with Adidas to create a Scarf Seattle, a unique branding campaign that capitalizes on the tradition of fans bringing/wearing scarves to soccer games. To drive significant eyeballs for the campaign, the Sounders positioned a gigantic scarf billboard on an overpass to capture the attention of drivers passing by (as shown below). The Sounders are doing their part to decorate the city of Seattle with scarves in every way possible.

The team is supporting its scarf branding campaign by distributing inaugural season scarfs to its season ticket holders.

Adidas Taps Into The Social Networking Space with Adidas.tv...

Is your brand looking for new ways to penetrate the social networking space? Are you looking to provide consumers with additional content that they can own and share with friends?

Adidas recently unveiled an exclusive first look at Adidas.tv, a video distribution platform designed to provide online users with high quality, customizable content that they can share with colleagues and friends through social networking portals. Adidas.tv offers a large, clear display screen that features a variety of exclusive Adidas media content, including:

• Exclusive Interviews with Adidas' Top Athletes
• Event Footage
• New Advertising and Viral Campaigns

The site offers an extremely easy-to-use tool that enables users to share content on the site with their family and friends. With one click of a button, users have the ability to post the site's media content on their social networking pages (MySpace, Facebook, Blogger, Friendstar, hi5, Windows Live, Wordpress, Yahoo, etc.) as a widget or send it to a mobile phone device or an email inbox.

When sharing content, Adidas provides consumers with the option of choosing whether they would like to post a specific video, an entire channel (e.g. Adidas Basketball Channel), or an Adidas.tv microsite on their preferred social networking platform.

Enclosed is a video that displays the type of exclusive content that users can expect to see on Adidas.tv:

A special thanks to Sebastien Duval of Rubber Republic for his insights and contributions to this column.

Apple Catches the Eye of ESPN.com Readers With Banner Ads...

Are you looking to enhance the effectiveness of your banner ads? Are you looking for new ways to extend media content across multiple channels?

Over the past few months, Apple has featured one of the most innovative and effective banner ad campaigns in the online sports space to date (a campaign prominently featured on ESPN.com). Apple teamed up with TBWA / Media Arts lab to create an interactive banner ad that demonstrates the game play features and fixtures of the iPod Touch.

As consumers view the homepage screen of ESPN.com, the latest Apple iPod Touch banner ad actually manipulates the menu screen, jostling around content featured on the screen (an element which adds to the interactivity of the iPod Touch game play featured in the ad). The banner ad serves as an extremely effective awareness driver that does a great job entertaining the common user while demonstrating the benefits and features of the iPod Touch device.

Check out Apple's innovative banner ad campaign in action and consider new ways that you can bring your brand to life for consumers in the online space!

A special thanks to Sean Phifer of the Ohio University Sports Administration Program for his insights and contributions to this column.

25 Ways Sports Organizations Can Utilize Twitter

Is your organization considering using Twitter as an online medium to connect with consumers, drive awareness for promotions, and receive feedback from fans? Are you looking for new ways to utilize Twitter as a messaging tool?

Partnership Activation created a resource that captures "25 Ways Sports Organizations Can Utilize Twitter" in an effort to help guide sports marketers and their respective organizations in the social networking space.

If you have a moment, please check out the enclosed document and share it with colleagues and friends in the industry. It is time that your organization takes advantage of the Twitter movement!

 

The Blue Jackets Speed Ahead with Nationwide Night...

Is your organization looking for new ways to capitalize on the popularity of NASCAR? Are you looking for new opportunities to cross-promote other sports?

On Friday, February 13th, the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrated the launch of the 2009 NASCAR season by hosting a racing-themed "Nationwide Night", an event designed to drive cross-promotional interest for the sport and Nationwide's affiliation as the title sponsor of the Nationwide Series (see the event activation gallery HERE).

The Blue Jackets organization supported the event with a number of engaging initiatives, including:

• A Nationwide Series show car was featured on display with a photographer on-hand to take pictures of fans positioned within a border that featured the Blue Jackets and Nationwide's logos
• An in-arena host outfitted in a NASCAR pit crew fire suit
• A special "Life Comes At You Fast" Chuck-A-Puck Contest featuring NASCAR Nationwide Series lights on the ice
• An exclusive "Life Comes At You Fast" video montage highlighting racing and the game of hockey
• A racing simulator set up on the concourse level with times established by Columbus Blue Jackets players. All fans who beat the best times established by the players received an autographed diecast NASCAR model car
• A NASCAR Nationwide trailer featured on display in the Nationwide Arena plaza
• A premium giveaway of 15,000 lunch coolers (for tailgating purposes)
  • A select number of fans receiving coolers with a Blue Jackets autograph inside won a chance to participate in an on-ice contest for a chance to win a trip to attend an upcoming Nationwide Race at Kentucky Motor Speedway

Overall, Nationwide does an excellent job capitalizing on their partnership with the Blue Jackets organziation. Check out some of their initiatives and activation tactics HERE. In the days leading up to Nationwide Night, the Blue Jackets featured a racing simulator on display (as shown below):

A special thanks to Josh Hafer of the Columbus Blue Jackets for his insights and contributions to this column... Congratulations for putting on such a great event for Nationwide!

The Magic Turn to Skeletons to Promote Tobacco Free Florida Week...

Are you looking for a creative way to draw attention to a cause? Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness of partnerships in-venue?

The Orlando Magic recently teamed up with Tobacco Free Florida to create an exclusive night designed to stress the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and encourage fans to be tobacco free. The Magic used a Friday night home game against the Detroit Pistons to feature a mix of arena game night and television presentations to promote Tobacco Free Florida Week (February 27th - March 7th).

Tobacco Free Florida's game night activation was highlighted by the team featuring skeleton fans in prominent seat locations around the arena with an impactful messaging campaign ("we lose too many Magic fans each year to tobacco use"). The skeletons drew the attention of fans throughout the arena who were curious what statement was being made by the team and its supporting partners.

The Magic also featured a number of other tobacco-free initiatives, including:

• The team's star athletes and personnel featuring taped Tobacco Free Florida Week messages on the FOX Sports Florida's telecast as well as on the arena jumbotron
• Free autographed photos of either Jameer Nelson or Hedo Turkoglu to the first 3,000 fans who stopped by the Tobacco Free Florida table display on the concourse to make their pledge
• The Tobacco Free Florida Street Team and Smokifier vans were featured on-site outside the arena to engage fans and drive awareness
• The Magic are also supporting the initiative by hosting two (2) Tobacco Free Florida school rallies at local preparatory schools.

Check out the Magic's skeleton activation in action:

A special thanks to JT McWalters and Melanie Curtsinger of the Orlando Magic organization for their insights and contributions to this column.

VitaminWater Revives the NCAA Tourney with New Laettner-Pitino Ad...

Is your brand looking to capitalize on classic moments in sports? Are you looking for unique ways to ingrain your brand in one of the finest moments of sports history?

VitaminWater recently released a terrific commercial advertisement for the 2009 NCAA College Basketball Tournament. The clip centers around Christian Laettner's life after basketball and how his game-winning last second shot over Kentucky in the 1992 East regional final game changed it forever.

VitaminWater doesa great job subtly integrating their product into the feature and even manages to squeeze in a cameo appearance from basketball legend Rick Pitino.

The commercial highlights VitaminWater's 2009 NCAA promotional campaign "Revive to Survive", which offers fans a chance to win a trip to the Final Four by logging into NCAA.com/revive and uploading a game winning moment or recreating a moment from NCAA history.

Check out the clip below:

What's Better than a Great Promotion? A Great Prank...

Are you looking for new ways to entertain fans? Are you looking for a mid-season entertainment spark?

Recently, the folks at College Humor were able to convince the University of Maryland Marketing Department to help them pull off one of the greatest sports pranks ever.

During halftime of a Maryland men's basketball game, the two parties collectively made a select contestant believe that he had hit a mid-court shot to win $500,000 only to realize that it was just a big prank. Check it out below:

Consider Rewarding Your Finest Arena Performers with Ultimate Experiences...

Are you looking for new ways to build fan excitement during games throughout the season? Are you looking for new ways to reward fans?

Consider creating a "Peak Performers" promotion, where your organization selects one (1) fan each game who demonstrates the best dance moves/performance during a featured song on the video board. The promotion would serve as a great way for organizations to build fan excitement at every game, despite the team's performance on the court. Such promotions could also serve as a great way to incorporate new/existing corporate partners in a continuous in-game feature and generate interest from music labels looking to promote new albums, songs, etc.

At the end of the season, your organization can reward the group of the selected Peak Performers with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the mascot and dance team's quarters and a chance to collectively perform on court during halftime.

For example, many musicans that act as co-owners (Jay-Z, Usher, Nelly, Jon Bon Jovi, etc.) of professional organizations could willingly create an ultimate promotion that rewards a group of Peak Performers with a exclusive postseason meet-n-greet opportunity and a chance to perform at halftime to one of the musician's favorite songs.

Wouldn't Jon Bon Jovi like to reward a fan like this at Philadelphia Soul games who also has a passion for both music and sports?