The Utah Jazz Offer Free Tickets on Twitter...

Are you looking for new ways to drive team buzz online? Are you looking for ways to reward your organization's most avid followers online?

The Utah Jazz recently drove buzz for its '09 preseason home opener against the Denver Nuggets by offering thousands of free tickets to fans who signed up to follow the team on Twitter. On the day of the game, fans that went to the ticket office at Energy Solutions Arena and showed a tweet containing the offer (and proving that they were a follower on Twitter) could receive a free ticket to the game.

Here is a quick breakdown of how the team promoted the offer on Twitter:

The West Coast Conference Goes Viral With Fan Draft...

Is your conference or organization looking to drive buzz with a captivating viral campaign? Are you looking for new ways to stimulate online fan interest?

The West Coast Conference recently unveiled a humorous "WCC Fan Draft" social media campaign that will serve as the primary marketing campaign for each of the conference's eight (8) member institutions in 2009. Fans can view the campaign by visiting one of the eight (8) customized University viral sites: 

• Gonzaga - http://zagsfandraft.com
• Santa Clara University - http://broncosfandraft.com/
• University of San Francisco - http://usffandraft.com/
• Saint Mary's College - http://gaelsfandraft.com/
• University of San Diego - http://torerosfandraft.com/
• Loyola Marymount - http://lmufandraft.com/
• University of Portland - http://pilotsfandraft.com/
• Pepperdine University - http://pepperdinefandraft.com/

It is exciting to see a conference using social media to better its institutions. Organizations that can find a way to scale these type of social media projects across a number of beneficiaries will find that they will deliver better results. The West Coast Conference has been able to successfully drive a significant amount of buzz online already with the campaign. Fans that take part in the viral initiative even have the chance to win tickets to the 2010 Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships (March 5-8).

The West Coast Conference used funds received through a 2009-10 NCAA Women's Basketball Marketing grant designed to increase awareness, exposure, and attendance of women's basketball. The West Coast Conference is hoping that the targeted viral initiative will result in a 15% increase across the board (awareness, exposure, attendance).  

The humorous campaign is very entertaining but will it drive fans to take action? It will be interesting to see. Check it out below:

Source: GoZags.com

The Gillette Young Guns Play Chicken To Drive Buzz

Is your organization looking to create an out-of-the-box viral marketing campaign? Are you looking for new ways to leverage social media to drive interest in NASCAR?

Gillette recently released one of the most creative viral pieces that the NASCAR world has seen to date. The clip, which was completely digitally produced, features three (3) Young Guns - Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Busch - playing a game of chicken at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Gillette is taking the campaign to the next level on Gillette.com by letting consumers type in a 25-character custom message that they would like to see the drivers burnout. Users can then share their experience with friends.

It will be interesting to see if Gillette opts to run this viral campaign on national television to promote the Young Guns initiative... it may convert a lot of sports followers into NASCAR fans!

The Packers Celebrate Fans with HOF...

Is your sports organization looking for new ways to recognize its fan base? Are you looking for ways to honor your team's tradition off the field?

Sports organizations looking for new ways to honor and reward their fan base should consider modeling the Green Bay Packers' FAN Hall of Fame initiative. In 1998, the Packers became the first professional football team to establish its own FAN Hall of Fame. Since then, the team has honored eleven (11) avid fans with the honorable distinction and has brought five (5) corporate partners on board.

How does the FAN HOF selection process work? 

• Fans are invited to nominate themselves (or other fans) by submitting a 500-word essay and either a two (2) minute video or picture explaining why they or another person are the ultimate fan and should be recognized
• The Fan Hall of Fame selection comittee, comprised of Green Bay Packers front office staff, trim the list of candidates down to ten (10) finalists
• The ten (10) finalists are profiled in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as well as Packers.com. Voting ballots are made available within the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , on Packers.com, and at the corporate locations of the program's sponsors
• The finalist who garners the most votes is inducted into the Packers Fan Hall of Fame

What do the Packers FAN Hall of Fame inductees receive?

• Four (4) club seats to a Packers home game
• Acknowledgement on the Lambeau Field jumbotron
• $500 Pro Shop gift certificate
• A road trip for two (2) to a Green Bay Packers away game (including tickets/accomodations)
• Recognition on Packers.com (profile)

The initiative serves as a great way for the Packers organization to give back to a dedicated fan base that has supported them for so many years. Look for more established sports organizations to implement similar FAN Hall of Fame initiatives in the years to come!