The Kings Provide a Case Study for Draft Party Engagement

Understanding the importance of creating buzz around their No. 5 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings did all that they could to make it an unforgettable, enjoyable experience for fans. To generate interest, the Kings organization offered all  fans who attended the Official Draft Party event a complimentary ticket to a select 2010-2011 Kings home game (subject to availability).

However, the rewards and incentives didn't stop there for fans. On Draft Day, the Kings called on President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie, co-owner Gavin Maloof, and Coach Paul Westphal to genuinely speak to the crowd of fans in attendance and Subway agreed to give out $5 gift cards throughout the event in recognition of the team's No. 5 pick.

The Kings captured the excitement of Draft Day with a series of videos, enclosed below:

Kings Draft Party Overview

Here is a quick video that details the excitement of the 2010 Kings Draft Party, including a feature at the 1:10 mark that shows how fans that checked into Foursquare at the event by 4:30pm could win a special prize (a commemorative poster) at Suite V and gain access to an exclusive Kings suite.

At the 2:48 mark, the Kings celebrated the team's selection of Demarcus Cousins by announcing "The Greatest Ticket Sales Extravaganza in Kings History", where the team unveiled 72 hours of amazing deals for fans to capitalize on via Kings.com

Kings 2010 Season Ticket Holder Draft Experience

The video below captures the Kings 2010 Season Ticket Holder Draft Experience, an initiative that enabled fans who purchased season tickets on Draft Night the chance to be called on stage and have their picture taken with notable team personnel holding an official Kings Season Ticket Holder jersey at the podium.

Draft Selection Cam

The Kings set up a camera in the back of the fans' Draft Party Viewing Area at Arco Arena to capture the excitement of their selection of Demarcus Cousins. The quick clip served as a great way to share the enthusiasm of fans in Sacramento with Kings (and NBA fans) across the globe:

Live Twitter Session with Rookie Draft Pick Hassan Whiteside

The Kings hosted a live session where draft pick Hassan Whiteside answered #KingsFans questions on Twitter... A great way to engage a team's avid social media community!

Profile of The Draft Picks' First Day as Members of the Kings Organization

The Kings profiled the first day that rookie draft picks DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside spent with the organization, capturing their excitement, an appearance at the official team pep rally, and the reaction of fans across town.

The Nets Have The Blueprint for Greatness (On A Billboard)

Are you looking for new ways to make a splash in the local marketplace?

Looking to make a huge splash in the 2010 NBA Free Agency period, the New Jersey Nets unveiled a massive 225 x 95 foot mural today at a major Manhatten intersection just blocks away from the New York Knicks' offices at Madison Square Garden. The billboard features a depiction of the team's new Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov standing alongside Jay-Z, complete with the slogan "The Blueprint for Greatness".

There is no question that this billboard will catch the eye of many NBA free agents, sending home a message that the Nets organization, under the guidance of new leadership, are serious about becoming major contenders and taking over the Big Apple. The massive mural display will surely be picked up by all of the major newspapers and media outlets and will instantly becoming a topic of water cooler conversation across the globe.

Check out the massive billboard below, which is now complete - just hours before the NBA's Free Agency period begins!

Photo Source: Marianne O'Leary's Flickr Photostream / News Source: NorthJersey.com

Sony Proves that 3D Projection Messaging is Here

Sports marketers looking for new outdoor messaging tactics to engage fans should due some diligence researching new advancements in projection technology.

Sony recently celebrated the 2010 Champions League Final by dislaying two (2) unbelievable 3D soccer themed projections on the outside of two buildings in Madrid, Spain. Sony teamed up with NuFormer, an agency based out of the Netherlands, to create 3D projections symbolizing a central theme of "Imagine Football in 3D". The company showcased the projections on the facade of the Plaza Santa Ana and the Colegia San Agustin in front of a few thousand guests. 

Sony created the projection footage specifically for this live event and worked hand-in-hand with Madrid's city Council to secure the rights to project the interactive display onto the walls of both buildings.

Check out Sony's soccer projection messaging below:

Source: NuFormer

Vitamin Water Gives Its Virals a Dose of Humor

Quickly ask yourself, "Which brands are currently dominating the athlete endorsement landscape?"

It may take you a moment to think through the thousands of commercials, print adverts, and banner ads that you have been exposed to in just the past few days but you likely will net out on the likes of Nike, adidas, and Red Bull. But what other brands come to mind? Gatorade? Gillette? Subway? DirecTV? Pepsi? ... The question may be a little tougher than you originally thought because not enough brands are doing it well.

One brand that has emerged in the athlete endorsement space over the past few years is Vitamin Water. While the brand has aligned with some of sports' biggest stars (Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, etc.) it's not the athletes themselves that have driven Vitamin Water's notability in the space. More so, it's the brand's fundamental strategy of leveraging athlete endorsers by showing their true personalities on-camera.

While some companies get lost in the struggle of trying to force-fit an athlete endorser to align with the attributes of its brand, Vitamin Water does a tremendous job showcasing the true personalities of its athlete endorsers first (after all, that's what consumers really want to see) and then finding a unique way to tie their brand into the mix. The end result? Vitamin Water's viral spots are humorous, educational, and remarkably unforgettable.

Check out a terrific viral spot the brand recently unveiled starring Kobe Bryant (luckily before his subpar Game 7 performance during the 2010 NBA Finals). Nonetheless, the viral is extremely well done and is exactly what fans want - Kobe's true personality off the court!

Coca-Cola Generates World Cup Excitement with CrateFan Statue

Per CherryFlava.com, Coca-Cola teamed up with Animal Farm to create a terrific "CrateFan" statue in Johannesburg that will surely turn some heads during the next four weeks of World Cup competition taking place. The statue, made entirely of 2,500 standard Coca-Cola bottle crates, stands 16.5 meters high and weights approximately 25 tons.

How did they do it? The Cratefan statue is part of a recycling project on behalf of Coca-Cola. Animal created a scaffolding clad that could hold 2,500 bottle crates and a few workers were assigned to complete the job, stacking crates one on top of another.  All of the materials will be either recycled or reused once the unique statue is taken down.

Check out some pictures of the final "CrateFan" project below:

Kevin Durant Takes You Along On His Journey to China

Kevin Durant truly understands what it takes to become a global icon. The superstar forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder recently toured China with the support of Nike basketball and chronicled his experiences along the way with a series of shorts that he recently featured on his Official YouTube Channel - OfficialKevinDurant. Durant also posted a collection of photos from his journey on Facebook here.

The short YouTube viral pieces help Durant demonstrate that he's more than just a superstar athlete that is touring the world for all of the fame and glory. The vignettes show Durant interacting with Chinese consumers 1-to-1 and via social media, playing pickup games of hoops with aspiring players, expressing his thoughts on the country of China as a whole, and visiting their traditional locales.

Durant's terrific viral  pieces will hopefully serve as a benchmark for sports marketers looking for new ways to take their organizations and brands global through true, personal interaction.

Check out the clips below:

Nike Welcomes Rafael Nadal Fans to "The Club"

Nike recently celebrated the launch of its new tennis sportswear line by hosting an exclusive tennis exhibition featuring tennis star Rafael Nadal at the Piscine Molitor, an abandoned art deco swimming pool and leisure complex in Paris.

The event was held at "The Club", an area at the Piscine Molitor that served as a tennis club and social venue for fans attending the 2010 French Open at Roland Garros between May 20 - June 6. Nike showcases the unique setting of the venue by having the world's leading tennis stars, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, pick up their new gear for the French Open there and spend a few moments teaching a group of aspiring tennis players a few tips and techniques.

Check out a video detailing the event below, at least for the intro video of "The Club's" setting, which is truly unique:

Click here to see a collection of photos from the event.

The Lotte Giants' Mascots Gone Wild...

Sports organizations looking for new ways to incorporate music into their games should check out a tactic the Lotte Giants, a professional Korean Baseball team, recently implemented as a case study of what NOT to do.

The Lotte Giants organization allowed three of its mascots to get on the dugout and reenact the music video of a recent hit song in Korea. The only problem? The performance called for one of the mascots to strip out of his costume and serenade a female mascot laying on top of the dugout. While the performance was probably a hit amongst many in attendance, it's a wonder what was going through the minds of young fans watching on...

The team, which plays its games at Sajik Baseball Stadium, is one of the most popular teams in the Korean Baseball Organization, drawing 1.38MM fans per year.

Take a quick moment to watch the enclosed video... it will be one that you never forget!

BMW Proves 3D Building Projections Are Here

Sports marketers operating stadium venues with vast blank facades are missing out on a golden opportunity to market to fans entering the stadium and consumers passing by on a daily basis during their morning and afternoon commutes.

With new advances in 3D projection technology (in addition to the LED outdoor marquee displayed by the Miami Heat), sports marketers can display powerful messages on the exterior walls of stadium venues to help drive ticket sales, promote corporate partners, drive awareness for team campaigns/slogans, and simply entertain fans.

While fixed costs are still relatively slightly steep for this messaging medium, they will lower in the coming years and can serve as an impactful way for teams to provide captivating messaging during key times during the season and offseason.

To help demonstrate how powerful 3D building projection messaging can be, take a look at a recent event showcased by BMW in Singapore. The campaign was produced by Publicis Asia and is truly powerful!

Real Madrid Wants You To Become a Part of the Club

Sports organizations looking to create new, captivating messaging campaigns with a call to action should take a close look at a nice piece that Real Madrid recently unveiled entitled, "Be Part of the Club, become Madrista!

The piece does a nice job telling a story that speaks to tradition, success, and perseverance and leaves the viewer with a rush of adrenaline. Why not create a simple piece like this to target casual fans of your sport around the world?

Check it out below:

Real Madrid is bringing its Madrista open call to fans campaign to life with a Madrista Planet initiative on its team website that encourages all of the team's fans outside of Spain to submit a photograph of themselves and a message to have it featured on RealMadrid.com. Thus far, over 3,000 fans from 50 countries have done so... a successful initiative that speaks to the breadth of Real Madrid fans across the globe!

A special thanks to Ash Read of FundSport.com for his insights and contributions to this column!

King Kong Invades Dodger Stadium to Promote 3D New Ride

Universal Studios recently teamed up with the Los Angeles Dodgers to create a viral piece designed to drive buzz for the opening of the park's new King Kong 3D attraction, which opens on July 4th. Universal Studios is releasing a series of viral pieces to drive awareness for the ride, which was designed by director Peter Jackson, and turned to its neighboring partners, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for some assistance with the first piece.

Universal Studios launched the first viral piece, a scene that appeared to be a catastrophe at Dodger Stadium, on May 25th. The video made it appear that King Kong left giant ape footprints near home plate and caused some destruction in deep center field.

Check out the video below and consider new ways that your sports organization can align with theme parks and movie producers to create similar viral pieces in the near future!

The City of Chicago Has Stanley Cup Fever!

Here is a quick look at all of the support the City of Chicago has shown the Chicago Blackhawks during their 2010 Stanley Cup Playoff Run. The City has done a tremendous job outfitting famous exhibits and fixtures around the city to help generate buzz for the franchise.

Check out the deck below for some insights:

Chicago Has Stanley Cup Fever

View more presentations from Brian Gainor.

Is Music Part of Your Branding Strategy?

Is your team looking for new ways to remain relevant during the off-season? Are you looking for new ways to your organization's players?

Teams interested in producing new viral content, maintaining relevancy during off-season months, and promoting the star power of individuals, coaches, and team personnel should consider turning to music to accomplish their objectives. Teams can drive affinity for certain individuals and potentially create viral hits by giving local music talent an opportunity to create songs about the team's stakeholders.

Organizations operating on tight budgets can consider having the local singers perform acoustic sets and can film the performances using a Flip Video camera. If a team creates several songs (for different individual players), all of them might not be popular but many organizations just need to strike gold with one viral piece.

Teams can consider integrating these songs during pre-game introductions (basketball), plate appearances (baseball), or shortly after a player scores or makes a big play (hockey, football) and can potentially distribute this content as premium giveaways at the gate... The opportunities are endless.

Check out the video below (which serves as a terrible example) and consider new ways that you can drive value for your organization via sonic branding!

The Nets Brought Virtual Good Luck to the NBA Draft

Are you looking for new ways to engage fans around a league draft? Are you looking for new ways to leverage social media platforms to drive water cooler conversations around your organization?

It has become a customary practice for NBA organizations to bring a good luck charm with them to the annual NBA Draft in anticipation of securing a top pick. While some organizations send rising stars, new owners, and sweepstakes winners, the New Jersey Nets turned to VaynerMedia and their avid social media following to bring them good luck in 2010.

The Nets and VaynerMedia created a microsite, http://netsgoodluckcharm.com, that utilized Twitter and Facebook social plugins to allow fans the opportunity to post good luck messages to the team without having to leave the page and participate via their social media accounts. With a 25% chance of securing the top pick, Nets fans left hundreds of good luck messages and shared their thoughts about the Net's future and the hopes of securing an elite prospect. The organization launched the microsite at 9am the morning of the Draft and kept it live until just shortly after the draft picks were announced. 

Unfortunately for the Nets, luck was not on their side and they ended up securing the 3rd spot in the Draft. While the result of the lottery is pretty disappointing for Nets fans, their virtual good luck charm was a hit. Look for some more related initiatives in the near future!

If You Have Never Heard of Qatar, You Will Soon...

Qatar is currently making a pretty significant push to host the World Cup in 2022. The organizing committee recently unveiled a video showcasing its proposed plans to build five (5) world-class stadiums to host the world's greatest tournament. The five (5) proposed venues would be named Al-Wakrah, Al-Shamal, Al-Gharafa, Al-Khor, and Al-Rayyan.

Check out the video below - a very unique and interesting look at how countries are positioning themselves to host a tournament 12 years away!

To launch their bid, Qatar featured a pretty amazing booth display at Soccerex to demonstrate their commitment to bringing the World Cup to their country for the first time!

 

Looking to Feature New Outfield Signage Elements?

Are you looking to feature new, interactive elements at your games? Are you looking to incorporate 3D signage into the game day experience?

The Grant Sign Group is a company based out of Canada that has been delivering outdoor advertising experiences for over 35 years. The company is considered an industry leader in a variety of outdoor advertising sectors and is beginning to do more and more in the 3D space.

While the company's offerings primarily cater to businesses looking to promote their products and retail locations, they recently created a signage piece that can directly cater to teams (as shown below). The company created a 3D billboard display for Pattison Outdoor (an outdoor marketing agency) that features a fan's mouth moving up and down.

The signage piece would make for a tremendous, interactive outfield signage piece (if a ball went in the mouth, situated above the outfield wall, one fan would win jackpot or free dentist trips for life) and/or a creative way to drive fan attention to messaging in the concourse level. Check it out below!

The SF Giants Hit a Grand Slam with Their New Commercials

Are you looking to create a captivating, humorous ad campaign designed to drive fans to the ballpark? Are you looking for new ways to market promotional nights to fans?

The San Francisco Giants are marketing their ballclub in 2010 with a tremendous "It's Magic Inside" television campaign that effectively calls the attention of fans to new ticket offers, promotional giveaway nights, and experiences at AT&T Park. The spots, created by Swirl and directed by Brian Bacino, are some of the most creative seen to date in the MLB space.

Check them out below!

Roush Fenway Racing Uses QVC Humor to Sell Sponsorships

As noted in this week's SportsBusiness Journal, Roush Fenway Racing has turned to The Barbarian Group to retool its website and online sales strategy in an effort to attract more sponsors. Roush's new digital efforts are highlighted by a new collection of sales and marketing videos featured on the site designed to tell an entertaining story that also effectively makes a sales point.

The first viral spot is a QVC spoof that features Roush Fenway Racing's Sean Pragano detailing the value of sponsorship opportunities at RFR. The video serves as a great benchmark for other organizations looking to retool their sponsorship sales efforts with a fresh new look (especially coming out of a tough economy).

Check out the clip below and consider new ways that you can breathe new air into your sales efforts!

For more, check out Roush Fenway Racing's Official YouTube Channel.

Source: SportsBusiness Journal 4/26/2010 (subscription only)

Take Your Outdoor Sports Digital Efforts to New Heights

Are you looking for new ways to engage consumers in outdoor settings? Are you looking to capitalize on the growing usage of mobile phones?

Take a quick look at a terrific outdoor digital initiative DDB recently executed on behalf of McDonald's in Stockholm. The outdoor game tasked consumers with taking a picture on their cell phone of menu items that bounced and soared past the screen. Can you say engaging?

Now take a quick moment to think of all the applications this could have in the sports space. A team that prominently features a similar digital display piece on the facade of their stadium/arena could create a similar offering that tasks fans with taking camera pictures of:

• Dropping tickets - A team could allocate a block of 100 tickets per game discounted at 50% off to fans who take a picture of a dropping ticket on their cell phone and take it to the Will Call counter for purchase
• Dropping balls - Teams could make this item very hard to catch (fast speeds) and offer autograph merchandise to any fans who are able to take a picture of it on their phone
• Dropping concessions (hot dogs, popcorn, etc.) - Teams could offer free/discounted concessions items to fans who are able to take pictures of these items on their mobile phone
• Partner Discounts (dropping movie tickets, free gas vouchers, project starters, etc.)
• Dropping dollar bills - Teams can offer $5 bills that are redeemable for a $20 purchase in the team store on game day
• Dropping Mascot - Teams can offer fans, who take a picture of the mascot soaring across the screen, the chance to partake in unique experiences at the ballpark (promotions, video board cameos, behind-the-scenes tours, promotional giveaway opportunities, etc.)

Digital boards located outside stadium venues offering similar digital games could serve as a great way to reward fans who aren't able to make it into the game or come to attend a watch party. Consider this tactic when you are looking for new ways to reward those attending games (pre-game and post-game), not attending games (premier games, watch parties), and are looking for a reason to just stop by and check out the stadium during the week.

The Mets Introduce Fans to New Stadium Features

Are you looking for ways to promote new features and entertainment at your venue? Are you looking for new ways to call attention to branded in-stadium destinations?

SNY.tv recently posted a terrific spotlight video that showcases all of the improvements that were made to Citi Field after the inaugural season. The video, which has attracted 4,500+ views, walks Mets fans through all of the enhancements and new additions made at the ballpark, including:

• A new Mets Hall of Fame and Museum 
• Player pennants (existing and past players)
• A new section of bricks on the fan walk, which feature a commemorative Mets moment
• New stadium entrances
• A new stadium restaurant

Sports properties should consider creating similar video campaigns that feature new stadium improvements, gameday promotions and entertainment, and fan features (at the ballpark and online). Teams can use this content to drive buzz for the upcoming season and inform and remind fans of their commitment to improving the fan experience day-in and day-out. Based on the number of views the Mets preview video received, there is demand for this content and it can also serve as a great way to drive incremental awareness for team partner stadium destinations!

Check out the video below: