Boston College Delivers a Unique Ice Jam Experience

The Boston College Athletic Department recently teamed up with the Undergraduate Student Government of Boston College (UGBC) to create an unforgettable Ice Jam Event designed to drive interest in the University's basketball and hockey programs.

Boston College students, alumni, and fans were treated to a free unique sports experience that featured the Conte Forum arena transformed into a half sheet of ice and a half parquet. The BC-style Midnight Madness event allowed fans to enjoy a plethora of entertainment provided by the men's and women's basketball teams and the men's and women's hockey teams.

To make the event truly something special, Boston College Athletics called on legendary sports commentator Bob Costas to serve as celebrity emcee and Vanilla Ice to provide some relevant music entertainment. The Boston College Ice Jam event served as a terrific way to bring the University's college basketball and hockey fans together and build excitement for the four (4) programs' upcoming seasons, especially the defending national champion men's hockey team. Check out some great photos of the event here. 

BC student athletes created a humorous viral to drive excitement for the Ice Jam Event:

The BC Athletic Department created a great promotional spot of their own to drive interest in the event:

The Boston College Ice Jam lived up to all expectations, with slam dunk competitions and special guest appearances:

Capital One Offers Fans a Chance to Rule LSU's Death Valley

Capital One leveraged its designation as the Official Bank of LSU Athletics by offering fans the chance to "Rule Death Valley" for a day. The promotion, launched in August, allowed fans a chance to win an ultimate LSU Football experience that included reserved VIP parking, premium club seats, pre-game sideline access, and a chance to partake in the pe-game coin toss.

The VIP experience also included a behind-the-scenes tour of the Cox Sports Production Facilities, meet-n-greets with Athletics Director Joe Alleva, the "Voice of the Tigers" Jim Hawthorne, the LSU cheerleaders and the mascot, a Les Miles autographed football, and official LSU merchandise. The parties marketed the promotion as a way to "Stand on the Field, Watch from the Club, and Hang in the Booth".

Fans could enter for a chance to win simply by visiting any one of Capital One Bank's 176 Louisiana branches. The promotion allowed Capital One an opportunity to collect consmer data, drive traffic to brand locations throughout Louisiana, and drive awareness and buzz around the start of the 2010 LSU football season. LSU Athletics and Capital One were able utilize the promotion to generate a tremendous amount of sales leads with a unique prize package that in reality had a pretty low cost of prizing elements involved.

Check out some marketing elements supporting the promotion below:

A special thanks to Chris Kosmala of LSU Athletics for his insights and contributions to this column. Congratulations on implementing such a successful promotion! 

Activation of the Day - Cal Athletics, Oski Mobile

Are you looking to create new consumer incentive offers? Are you looking for ways to offer consumers exclusive experiences on game day?

Cal Athletics ran a promotion in 2009 offering fans the chance to win a ride on the Oski Mobile (the mascot's vehicle) when the Golden Bears run onto the field prior to kickoff. To generate awareness, the athletics department featured a viral piece and an online registration form on the University's official athletics website.

Check out the piece below and consider new ways that you can offer exclusive opportunities for your fans at minimal to no cost!