The Walleye Create Compelling Awareness Strategies for their Corporate Partners

In today's economy, it's essential that sports properties get aggressive with developing creative marketing and sales strategies to attract partners from non-traditional categories. A great example of this is the Toledo Walleye, who recently attracted a regional company called Cleaner & Dryer Restoration to come on board as a corporate partner after pitching them on a unique awareness driver in-arena.

The Walleye created an eye-catching visual at several water fountain stations located throughout the team's arena that made it appear that there was a bad spill. As event attendees passed by, many tried to avoid the "spill", only to realize that it was a creative branding tactic designed to promote Cleaner & Dryer Restoration's flood and fire cleanup and repair services. The awareness tactic has been very well received by the client, the team, and fans, and hopefully will just be the launching pad for more creative marketing ideas to come.

Check it out below and consider new ways that your organization can help brands think out-of-the-box within the stadium/arena setting!

A special thanks to Megan Hunyor of the Toledo Walleye for her insights and contributions to this column!

LetsGoSharks.com Goes Guerrilla in Anaheim...

Are you looking for ways to implement a guerrilla marketing stunt in-arena? Are you looking for ways to drive awareness support in a competitor's arena?

During the 2009 NHL Playoffs, LetsGoSharks.com featured a creative guerrilla signage stunt at the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The tactic, designed to drive awareness and support for the Sharks organization (specifically LetsGoSharks.com), featured two (2) rows of Sharks fans doing  a chomping motion with large-sized shark teeth.

LetsGoSharks.com's guerrilla tactic served as an effective way to drive awareness at a competitor's arena and provides a benchmark example for ways that companies with small marketing budgets can drive some incremental visibility in-venue (those without partnership rights will likely get caught and removed but it might be worth the shot).

Check out LetsGoSharks.com's in-venue guerrilla tactic below: