Red Bull Gives Fans a New Look at Game Entertainment

Are you looking for new ways to enhance your pre-game entertainment? Are you looking for ways to help game entertainment live online?

The New York Red Bulls recently gave fans a unique view of their brand new $200MM stadium facility by outfitting a team of skydivers known as the Red Bull Air Force with cameras that provided a unique viewpoint of their descent into the venue. The jump, filmed from different angles in the air and on the ground, kicked off the Red Bulls' 2010 MLS season in style.

Look for this to become a viral hit in the next few days! 

The SF Giants Kick off 2010 with a Flash Mob

Are you looking for new ways to drive buzz and celebrate the start of a new season? Are you looking for ways to engage fans and consumers alike with a unique awareness driver designed to attract media attention?

The San Francisco Giants recently celebrated the start of the 2010 MLB season by featuring a flash mob at Union Square, a popular locale in San Francisco. The event served as a fan rally that featured a couple hundred boisterous Giants fans singing Bye Bye Baby (a ritual for Giants fans). To pull off the stunt, the Giants held a pep rally at AT&T Stadium and distributed lyrics to the song that fans could print off and memorize before coming to participate.

Check out the execution of the event below:

The Giants drove participation for the event by offering fans the chance to take part in an Official team commercial and receive a free "It's Magic Inside" t-shirt via campaign postings on their team website, Facebook, and Craigslist (as shown below):

Capitalize on Marathon Traffic with Street Teams

Are you looking for new ways to capitalize on marathons taking place in your city or town? Are you looking for ways to impact a race participant's experience?

Nike recently drove awareness at the Los Angeles Marathon by hiring a street team to engage with consumers while they passed the Niketown retail location in downtown LA. The street team, dressed in green spandex outfits (resembling green men) electrified the race participants by dancing and showcasing signs.

Check out the clip below, and be sure to tune into the :55 mark where there is a race participant wearing a classic "PedEx" outfit that resembles a FedEx truck:

An Inside Look at Target Field

With the 2010 Major League Baseball season right around the corner, the Minnesota Twins are set to unveil their new state-of-the-art facility, Target Field, on April 12th. The $412MM venue will soon be referred to as one of the finest venues in all of baseball, with a number of elements and amenities that will be sure to turn a few heads.

Check out a full gallery of the stadium's signage, unique elements, suite levels, and more HERE.

A few unique stadium elements include:

• A full roof canopy soffit (to protect fans from weather)
• Warming shelters
• A retro sign in the outfield that lights up and moves when a player hits a HR
• A life-sized Dave Winfield figurine in the Plaza
• Team branded wrap inside the adjoining transportation station and light rail cars
• A stylish Metropolitan club
• A bronze glove photo display
• Unique mosiac displays
• A really cool quote wall
• Budweiser Deck in LF
• The 4th largest video board in all of Major League Baseball

In the past few weeks, the Twins organization has featured a tremendous outdoor billboard campaign throughout the city to drive awareness and excitement. The billboard campaign is simple, yet creatively genius. Check out some of the outdoor messaging campaigns below:

 

The Crew Highlight Their Fan Experience to Drive Sales

Are you looking for new ways to drive ticket sales? Are you interested in creating a video that captures the complete fan experience at your games?

The Columbus Crew recently turned to Outsider Entertainment to create a video montage that fully captures the fan experience and will serve as an effective way to drive ticket sales. Outsider worked with the team's corporate sales department to create a tremendous video that the team could utilize in a variety of messaging channels, including the team blog, email blasts, television spots, corporate sales presentations, ticket sales videos, and partnership marketing materials.

The video does a nice job driving excitement with highlights of the game experience and then provides an inside look at the fan experience with insightful testimonials. Check it out below:

Crew Ticket Sales & Testimonials from Outsider E on Vimeo.

The Dodgers Get Interactive with Digital Fan Billboards

Are you looking for new ways to engage fans prior to the season? Are you looking for new ways to drive fan engagement online?

The Los Angeles Dodgers recently teamed up with Channel 1 Media to create a terrific customized online campaign to engage fans prior to the start of the 2010 MLB season. The two parties created a really cool campaign that enables fans to create their own billboard... in a matter of seconds. The initiative, designed to drive fan interest and ticket sales, is a turnkey piece that can be implemented by teams from all leagues.

The campaign is really simple, yet very interactive and fun for consumers. The best part is the fact that it ties directly back to the Dodgers' terrific "This Is My Town" billboard messaging campaign from 2009 and truly lets fans be a part of the action. Channel 1 Media and the Dodgers also did a great job building in social media functionality to help the campaign go viral (see the Facebook, Twitter, and email functionality on the last picture below).

Check it out at http://channel1media.com/dodgers/2010/

Does Your Venue Scream Your Brand?

Are you looking for new ways to renovate areas within your stadium or arena? Are you looking for new ways to build your brand through unique messaging points on game day?

The Arizona Cardinals organization has done a tremendous job turning the walls of University of Phoenix Stadium into giant brand building pieces. The signage inventory can serve as a tremendous way to ingrain corporate partners in a non-intrusive manner. Check out some examples below:

The Mavs Raffle Off Nowitzki Bobblehead for Charity

Are you looking to enhance the fan experience on game day? Are you looking for new ways to highlight your team's stars?

One of the highlights of the 2010 NBA All-Star weekend was a life-sized, 7-foot bobblehead figurine of Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki. The statue was an instant attraction for fans searching for photo opportunities within the interactive NBA Jam Session footprint and served as an effective way for the Mavericks organization to highlight its franchise player.

The team brought the statue to life for fans by allowing them to purchase $5 raffle tickets for the chance to own it, with 100% of proceeds benefiting the Mavs Foundation.  

Source: DallasObserver.com

Umbro Unveils England's Away Jersey in Hostile Conditions

Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness to a new team jersey kit? Are you looking for ways to leverage both music and entertainment?

Umbro recently unveiled England's new away jersey for the 2010 World Cup in a very unconventional setting. The apparel company turned to Tom Meighan, frontman for the popular English band Kasabian, to unveil the jersey during a live concert performance at the Paris Olympia in front of thousands of unsuspecting French soccer fans.

While the surprise apparel tactic didn't prove to be too popular with the crowd, it served as a great publicity stunt to drive awareness for the new Team England Away Kit. Click here for some pictures from the event from Umbro's Flickr photo stream and check out the video of publicity act below:

Also, check out an interview with Meighan about his experience unveiling the shirt in hostile conditions here!

Drew Brees Leads Post Super Bowl Bar Chants

Are you looking for new ways to activate at retail? Are you looking for ways to leverage athletes in bar and restaurant settings?

Check out a really cool video of Saints QB Drew Brees teaching a lucky group of faithful Saints fans his pre-game chant at a New Orleans Bar following the Super Bowl. This once-in-a-lifetime experience will be something that these Saints fans will share with their friends for years to come...

It is really exciting to see a guy like Brees be so committed to the city of New Orleans and all of the people that support him.

Check it out below:

A special thanks to David Mueller of GMR Marketing for his insights and contributions to this column.

The Bud Light House is... Real?

With a record 106.5 million viewers tuning in to watch Super Bowl XXIV, Anheuser-Busch kicked off the commercial frenzy with a pretty entertaining Bud Light House commercial. The clip detailed a group of guys touring a house made entirely of Bud Lights and hosting a party. The spot proved to be a hit with consumers, notching a 3rd place AdBowl ranking.

But while the commercial was made for pure entertainment value, do viewers ever think wonder whether the content shown in Super Bowl commercials is ever real?

In the case of the Bud Light House commercial, it is. Check out a viral piece below that shows how Bud Light and its agency partners built a real-life Bud Light House to film the spot:

Snowbranding... Just in Time for the Winter Olympics

Are you looking for new guerrilla marketing campaign ideas? Are you looking for new ways to leverage winter sports events to drive awareness for your product or service?

Brands looking for new, cost-effective ways to drive awareness during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and other winter sports festivities should check out the guerrilla marketing concept below called snowbranding. The piece shows how a group in Leipzig used a few tools to engage consumers in wintry conditions. The tactic of snowbranding is quite simple, yet it can serve as a way for brands to really stand out to consumers (that is, if it's worthy enough for them to withstand the cold to pay attention).

Check out the cool "snowbranding" guerrilla concept below!

Drive Ticket Sales with "Facebook Friday" Promotions

Are you looking for new ways to drive ticket sales through social media channels? Are you looking for ways that Facebook can help drive your business?

Rutgers University recently announced that it would be offering a select ticket offer to all fans who sign up for its official University Athletics webpage. The promotion, entitled "Facebook Friday", enables fans who join the Rutgers Athletics Facebook page by Friday, January 29th will receive an exclusive promotional code for $5.00 tickets in the promenade for the Rutgers MBB home game against Notre Dame on Saturday, January 30th.

By creating "Facebook Friday", "Twitter Tuesday", and "Social Media Saturday" offers, teams can create a simple, memorable reminder for fans looking for promotional discounts and exclusive opportunities. It is one thing to continuously offer fans bland offers. It's another to create signature promotional campaigns around select days throughout the week (where one can expect to drive significant impressions and engagement). 

Sports marketers looking for other ways to leverage Facebook should consider checking out a Checkers Facebook Coupons initiative that the Charlotte Checkers recently implemented. The team is featuring printable coupons (positioned as banner ads) that members of the Checkers' Facebook Fan Page can redeem for free merchandise, discounts, and special promotions. However it is important to note that if organizations chose to replicate the "Facebook Coupons" concept, one should ensure that they have the appropriate fulfillment and messaging in place to satisfy fan demand on game day!

Check out the conceptual design of the Checkers Facebook Coupons below:

Activation of the Day - PokerStars

Are you looking for new ways to promote an upcoming poker tournament? Are you looking for new ways to leverage guerrilla marketing tactics to promote your organization or an upcoming event?

PokerStars, the world's largest online poker room, recently hit the streets with a guerrilla marketing campaign to drive awareness in a city setting. The marketing stunt featured paid actors leaving branded briefcases stuffed with money around town to illicit reactions from consumers passing by.

Check out PokerStars' humorous street tactics below:

The ATP Kicks Off its '10 Tour On a Flying Carpet

Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness for high-profile events? Are you looking for new ways to leverage tennis personalities?

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal recently kicked off the 2010 ATP Tour by performing a unique publicity stunt. The two (2) superstars played a game of tennis atop a flying magic carpet in the Souq Waqif in Dohar, Qatar - a PR stunt that served as a great photo opportunity for the media and a memorable experience for onlookers.

The tennis stars were in Qatar to kick off the ATP Tour at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Check out the unique magic carpet ride PR stunt below:

adidas Goes Guerrilla with Star Wars Characters

Are you looking for new ways to leverage partnerships in an effort to drive retail traffic? Are you looking for new ways to leverage mascots and non-traditional characters?

adidas recently drove awareness and traffic to its flagship store on Orchard Road in Singapore by executing a terrific Stars Wars guerrilla marketing stunt. The exhibition, designed to promote the launch of adidas' 2010 Originals x Star Wars collection, featured approximately 20 Stars Wars characters (led by Darth Vader) raiding the adidas store, purchasing goods, and engaging with consumers while walking the streets of Singapore with branded adidas bags in tow. adidas teamed up with the 501st Star Wars Costume Group to execute the stunt.

Sports properties looking for new ways to drive traffic and buzz at retail should consider ways that they can benchmark adidas' creative Star Wars stunt. For example, properties and retail partners can easily team up to hire a team of actors wearing football equipment (resembling the team's players) running through a mall and into a desired store location during a busy shopping weekend.

Retail partners can even drive team affiliation awareness by featuring actors (in uniforms) doing touchdown celebrations/plays at high-traffic street corners and offer tickets/discounts to passerby consumers. Consider ways that you can leverage mascots and non-traditional characters (e.g. actors in uniform) to drive traffic and awareness to your location. For the price of store appearance by a premier player ($750+ for 90 minutes), retailers can deliver as much (if not more) value with a set of qualified actors performing a unique marketing stunt!

Check out adidas' Star Wars stunt below:

Consider Branding that Moves Consumers...

Is your organization looking for new ways to drive awareness in the local marketplace? Are you looking for ways to leverage modes of transportation to promote an upcoming event?

To drive awareness for the 2009 NBA All-Star festivities taking place in Phoenix, AZ, the National Basketball Assocation (NBA) teamed up with bluemedia and league sponsor Hewlett Packard to wrap two (2) METRO light rail trains in the Phoenix marketplace. The NBA called on bluemedia to print the images of six (6) 2009 NBA All-Stars on the light rail trains using HP digital printing technology.

The final product made a huge splash in the community and generated plenty of media impressions. Check out the full production process below:

Arsenal Players Dress as Mascots for Fundraising Effort

Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness and support for charitable organizations? Are you looking to create in-game call-to-action that inspires fans in a humorous way?

Arsenal FC recently honored the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, the team's official charity of 2009, by creating a terrific "Fundraising Day" promotional spot to inspire fans. The team is dedicating their November 29th match against Chelsea to the cause and Arsenal players and directors will be donating a day's wages to help raise funds for the team's charity - an act that is unheard of in the United States.

The team's humorous "Fundraising Day" campaign spot features four (4) players (Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Andrey Arshavin, and Bacary Sagna) dressed as mascots and roaming the streets in an effort to collect funds for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. The club hopes that the promotional vignette will help them meet their "Be a Gooner. Be a Giver" '09-'10 campaign goal of raising 500,000 euros.   

Check out the clip below:

Filming the promotional spot proved to be a hit with the team's players:

"I visited Great Ormond Street Hospital back in August so I know what this means to the charity and the patients. I encourage all supporters to follow our lead and give what they can. This advert is a bit of fun for the players and we hope supporters enjoy it, but there is a very real message in it about helping this Hospital and we hope to raise lots of money for this worthwhile cause." - Cesc Fabregas

Sources:

http://www.gosh.org/news/latest-news/2009-archive/arsenal-gosh-film/

http://www.beagoonerbeagiver.org/news/view.php?Id=1169

Bajaj Allianz Displays Innovative In-Game Advertising Concept

Are you looking for new ways to stand out during a nationally televised broadcast? Are you looking for ways to improve the impact of your in-game messaging?

Bajaj Allianz, India's leading private non-life insurance company, recently launched its latest advertising innovation during a recent India-Australia cricket match. The contest, played in Hyderabad on November 8th, featured Bajaj Allianz displaying its new Groovy Kids advertising innovation to promote the child insurance policies it offers.

Instead of featuring a commercial during a standard advertising break, Bajaj worked with the sports broadcasting company to have the cameras simply break away from the action taking place on the field to show a father holding a sign in the stands demonstrating that he has planned for his son's future (who happens to be standing right next to him).

The advert is so simple, yet effective because viewers at home will not turn away from the action (and in fact, will most likely pay more attention to try to read and comprehend what the sign says). Using split screen technology, Bajaj Allianz can effectively display messaging to inform consumers of their policies and drive them to their website. Bajaj Allianz received two (2) of these :10 spots during the game as opposed to having a commercial break.

Check it out below:

Nike Goes Outdoor to Promote New Harajuku Store

Are you looking for new ways to celebrate a store/stadium grand opening? Are you looking for ways to drive awareness in the local community?

To celebrate the grand opening of its new store in Harajuku, Japan, Nike created a really fascinating mural display using a collection of pictures. Each night, a team of workers changed the images to drive awareness for the breadth of Nike's offerings and involvement in sports and entertainment. CoolHunting also recently did a feature on the store's unique shoe chandelier, shoe sole tiles, and spinning race numbers that hang from the ceiling (definitely worth checking out the link) 

Check out the way Nike executed the out-of-home campaign to support the store grand opening: