Drive Sales With Unique Retail Displays...

Are you looking for new ways to have an impression on consumers at retail? Are you looking for ways to differentiate your products at point of sale?

Enclosed below are two (2) examples of unique retail displays designed to stimulate consumer interest and product sales: 

• The first two (2) pictures detail a "VitaminWater Stadium" display from the Shoreline Central Market
• The latter picture is a Sobe/Pepsi display at a Food City location that was designed to capitalize on consumer interest in the Super Bowl (as you might remember, Sobe served as the presenting sponsor of the SB halftime show)

VITAMINWATER - SHORELINE CENTRAL MARKET

    

SOBE/PEPSI (FOOD CITY)

Looking to Drive Concessions or Merchandise Sales?

Are you looking for new ways to drive concessions and merchandise sales? Are you looking to leverage a partnership with a movie theater chain in the local marketplace?

McDonalds recently collaborated with operators from 225 cinemas across the UK to implement a unique promotion designed to drive consumers to purchase large sized meals and premium salads. The promotion enables all McDonalds consumers who purchase one of the two (2) aforementioned items to receive a free 2 for 1 cinema ticket voucher.

Upon ordering, consumers receive a peel off card with a unique 8 digit voucher code which can be redeemed online at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/cinema.Whenconsumers print out the voucher, they simply have to provide their registered address and select a local cinema to redeem the coupon.The voucher can be redeemed for up to six months.

What are the implications here for sports franchises?

Sports organizations can create a similar promotion with a movie theater/theme park/entertainment property to help drive sales of a specific concessions item or designated merchandise itemin the team gift shop. Teams can create a simple promotional offer (offering coupons next to the cashier that can be distributed upon purchase of select items) or utilizetechnology (e.g.using anonline voucher redemption process) to drive web traffic and consumer engagement through multiple channels.

When would it be appropriate for a sports organization to implement such a promotion?

• Whena sports property is in the last year of a contractual agreement with a concessions provider (e.g. Pepsi, etc.) and needs to drive gameday sales of a particular product
• When a sports property is looking to sell new team merchandise (new jersey sales, etc.)
• When a sports property is looking to drive ticket sales in a particular section (e.g. upper deck corners) and wants to find a unique way to leverage a retail/entertainment partner

Interested in Selling Sponsorships for Water Polo Events?

Is your organization considering the thought of selling sponsorships for upcoming water polo events? Are you looking for inventory that you can sell poolside?

T-Mobile recently served as the presenting sponsor of a major water polo event that took place in Budapest and they branded just about every piece of inventory possible around the pool.

While these pictures do not demonstrate a sponsorship "best practice" in the water polo space (can you say cluttered?), they do provide a clear view of the available inventory that organizers of the sport can sell to prospective partners.

Check out the two (2) pictures below. It is interesting to see what appears to be LED technology featured poolside!

Sky Sports Is the Place to Watch Golf and Cricket...

Is your network looking for creative ways to promote its coverage of multiple sporting events?

Sky Sports created an incredible advertising campaign to promote its coverage of golf (the U.S. Open) and cricket (the Natwest International). The memorable spot effectively incorporates action from the two (2) aforementioned sports with a little bit of humor. Check out the clips below:

Keep An Eye On... Digital Out-of-Home Signage

Are you looking to capitalize on new trends in the marketplace? Are you looking for new ways to leverage messaging at retail?

Marketing Daily recently featured a great article on the future impact of digital out-of-home signage. As advertisers and retailers search for new, interactive ways to connect with consumers, digital out-of-home signage will continue to surface as an effective medium.

Retailers are beginning to feature digital screens throughout their stores which can key up digital signage to display relevant messages when a consumer picks up an RFID-tagged product from the shelf. In other words, if a consumer picks up a case of Pepsi with Super Bowl packaging, a digital screen above the retail display will cue up a :30 message promoting Pepsi's sponsorship of the big game and an adjoining sweepstakes.

As a result, sports properties need to begin strengthening their relationships with retailers (especially ones at a national level). As consumer engagement becomes a more critical component at retail, sports properties must work to better understand how retailers implement programs and how consumers purchase goods are retail... because for retailers, in the end it's all about selling product off the shelves.

What are the forecasts for digital out-of-home signage?

• The Digital out-of-home advertising market is currently valued at $2.43BN, up 11% from 2007 (the market tripled in size from 2002-07)
• The forecast for digital out-of-home advertising has ad revenue growing at a annual rate of 12% from 2007-2012, putting it at just under $3.9BN in 2010

Capitalize on Billboard Creativity...

Are you looking for non-traditional ways to market your brand/property via billboards? Are you looking to implement signage that will drive the attention of consumers?

Here are seven (7) unique billboards that recently hit the streets:

Texas Stars - The Texas Stars created an incredible billboard campaign to promote the launch of their AHL franchise in 2009... Check out the team's new webpage here.

Miller Lite - Miller Lite created an out-of-the-box billboard in Columbus, OH that effectively draws consumer eyeballs... Hopefully sports business professionals will begin implementing similar billboard concepts in-venue to escape stadium clutter!

McDonalds - Professional/collegiate organizations should look to mirror a recent McDonalds branding strategy to drive awareness for discounted ticket offerings. A billboard with, "Live Basketball. Less Bucks." or "More Basketball. Less Bucks." would serve as great ways to position discounted tickets in the minds of consumers. Properties can support the messaging with a creative URL (i.e. BucksBasketballForLess.com) and a captivating picture to drive consumer interest.

Philadelphia Phillies - Numerous companies/media outlets created unique billboard campaigns to support/salute the Philadelphia Phillies during the postseason.

Bahrain Bay - Bahrain Bay created a captivating billboard to promote its Formula 1 racing events. It would be great to see a NASCAR sponsor create a similar advertising platform at racetracks around the country (either supporting their sponsored driver or promoting their brand through a reflection in the driver's helmet)...

Washington Wizards - The Washington Wizards recently hit the streets with a branding campaign that promotes their organization's community-based inititatives. The Wizards' billboard campaign serves as a great benchmark for organizations looking to demonstrate to their loyalty and support for the local community!

Kevin Love Shows Off His Talents...

Are you looking for for new ideas of unique content that you can offer your fan base?

Kevin Love put on one heck of a show at the NCAA Tournament prior to the UCLA Bruins' 1st round tournament game. Love put on a shooting clinic during warmups and his performance was captured by numerous media outlets.

Check out the unique footage below, which resembles the creative commercials that PowerAde created a few short years ago with Michael Vick and LeBron James!

Would You Like to Bowl With Peja?

Is your organization looking to drive awareness for an upcoming charitable event? Has your organization considered using the webpages of its star athletes as messaging portals?

The New Orleans Hornets recently used some unique in-game messaging to drive awareness for "Peja's Charitabowl", an upcoming fund raiser that Peja Stojakovic is hosting at the All Star Lanes in Kenner, LA. The team featured a video board vignette featuring a picture of Stojakovic bowling and a link to his personal webpage, www.peja16.com, for fans to learn more (as demonstrated in the picture below).

It is still uncommon to see teams openly refer to the websites of players as communication portals. But in this case, it was a seamless way to help promote the event. As more sponsors utilize athlete websites as mediums for engaging with consumers, this practice should become more common.

The charity bowling event will benefit Peja's "Courts for Kids", a project of the Peja Stojakovic Children's Foundation with a mission to promote health and fitness eduation through the game of basketball. Lane sponsorships for the event start at $1,500 for one lane and $2,5000 for two lanes. Each lane includes bowling for four, one celebrity bowler, four bowling shirts, dinner, and a special gift bag.

Hornets' players, Honeybee dancers, Hugo the mascot, and other local celebrities will also be in attendance for the event. The inaugural "Charitabowl" event raised over $45,000 and Peja Stojakovic matched that amount... a great cause!

Will Ferrell's Trip To USC Drives Media Attention...

Are you looking to cross-promote an upcoming film? Are you looking for ways to shift media attention from your W-L record?

With dozens of media reporters on-hand for USC's football practice last week, Will Ferrell (aka Captain Compete) made a suprise appearance to teach the USC team a thing or two. The publicity stunt was a hit and quickly became extremely popular in the viral world, generating significant incremental publicity for the USC team.

Which leads to the thought... With dozens of media on-hand for football practice at major college/pro football programs across the nation, ample opportunities exist for movie companies to use these mediums to drive buzz for their upcoming flicks. Professional/collegiate organizations can work with movie producers to create unique ways to integrate characters and movie personalities into practice sessions (whether it's a post-practice pep talk, appearance on-site, or a stunt as seen below).

While most celebrities do not command the attention that Will Ferrell receives anywhere he goes, their suprise appearances at practice will generate incremental media attention and awareness, especially amongst the hard-to-reach 18-30 year old male demographic!

The Titans Use Online Coupons to Drive Merchandise Sales...

Are you looking for new ways to drive team merchandise sales? Are you looking for ways to encourage fans to buy into your team's new branding campaign?

Prior to its MNF matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, the Tennessee Titans created a "Titans Code Blue" promotion to drive fan loyalty and sales of the team's new Code Blue merchandise. The Titans' Code Blue promotion asked Titans fans throughout the region to wear light blue to school, work, and the team's Monday Night game.

To spur fan interest and sales of the Code Blue merchandise, the Titans offered an online coupon on the team website good for a 15% discount at the Titans Pro Shop at LP Field. 

The Titans spurred their fan base to purchase the team's new Code Blue merchandise with a unique call-to-action:

"Be One Of Nearly 70,000 Fans Wearing Titans Light Blue And Become A Part Of Monday Night Football History! Stop by the Titans Pro Shop with this coupon or visit any other area retailer to get your Titans light blue gear."

The team partnered with LP Building Products and CMT to provide light blue t-shirts to all fans attending the game and drove awareness fro the promotion through a theme-specific webpage, video board signage and graphics.

Take Team Sponsorships on the Road...

Is your organization looking to sell additional inventory to team partners? Are you looking for ways to drive brand affiliation out-of-venue?

European soccer clubs have found a new way to capitalize on their modes of transportation. Teams are now beginning to spend large sums of dollars to brand their team buses, which are often used to travel to various matches, etc.

In doing so, teams have now begun to feature the logos of their supporting partners on the team bus. In other words, these soccer clubs are taking their supporting brands with them when they take on opponents on the road (or the logos of their partnering brands at least).

As an example, check out the FC Koln soccer club's team bus below: 

Fans Enjoy Pitchers of Beer at Games in Cologne...

When attending sporting events, do you wish you were getting more bang for your buck at the concessions stand? Do you feel that sports organizations are ripping you off when you pay $7.00 for a beer inside the stadium/arena gates?

The Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany offers its fanbase an alternative concessions experience. Instead of having fans leave their seats throughout the game to purchase more beverages, the arena (formerly the Kolnarena) sells beer to fans in pitchers. Yes, full pitchers of beer at a time. The arena even promotes pitcher purchases by featuring pitcher holders on each of the chairbacks (check out the pictures below).

While this practice could not be implemented in the United States due to various alcohol restrictions, it is very interesting to see sports organizations from across the globe implement various processes to spur beverage sales in-venue!

   

  

Michigan State Fans Get Payback...

Are you looking for a creative way to capitalize on a big victory over a major opponent?

A few Michigan State fans found a way to express their bragging rights in a big way. After defeating their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, in the Big House, the founders of www.MichiganIsOurLittleSister.com (a site run by Big Rivals, Inc.) utilized two (2) digital video boards in East Lansing and Novi, Michigan to send some messages to their Ann Arbor foes. The messages included:

• "Where's the Arrogance Now?"
• "Holy Toledo! Bye Bye, Bowl Streak."
• "Pride Comes Before the Fall ... He Tried to Warn You."
• "It's Not Over, and It'll Never Be Over Here. It's Just Starting."
• "Oh, Well, There's Always Men's Basketball. Sorry, My Bad."

Check out a picture of the digital billboard below: