Reebok Uses an Athlete-Operated Mechanical Bull to Generate Buzz at the Super Bowl

Reebok leveraged its designation as the NFL's Official Apparel Supplier at Super Bowl XLV with an outstanding 50'x100' hospitality space designed to host media members, VIP's, clients, partners, and friends of the brand. Reebok teamed up with Synergy Events to create the interactive area and host a star-studded media event on the Friday prior to the Super Bowl.

Reebok called on its newest spokesperson, Erin Andrews, and nine-time World Champion rodeo athlete Ty Murray to host a Cowboy Up! media event that featured Reebok athletes Peyton and Eli Manning, Chad Ochocinco, DeMarcus Ware, and Randy Couture operating a mechanical bull by swinging training ropes and running on treadmills. The players were encouraged to swing ropes and run on treadmills as quickly as possible to make the bull buck harder, thereby throwing Randy Couture to the mat. 

The activation space created a terrific PR event for the brand and successfully engaged media members and important stakeholders throughout Super Bowl weekend.

Check out a clip detailing Reebok's Super Bowl activation tactics below:

Seattle Bank Leverages Player Appearances to Create Ultimate Fan Debit Cards

Seattle Bank has teamed up with the Seattle Seahawks to offer fans a chance to receive the "Ultimate Fan Debit Card". The regional bank is leveraging player appearances through their partnership with the Seahawks organization to offer fans the chance to have their picture taken with their favorite player and printed directly on their debit card.

Seattle Bank's custom debit cards featuring Seahawks player likenesses serve as a great way to drive account conversions, promote affiliation awareness, and keep their retail locations top of mind in the wallets and minds of their customers.

Nationwide Teams Up with the Bengals to Let Fans Growl

Nationwide Insurance, the Exclusive Insurance Provider of the Cincinnati Bengals, is leveraging its team partnership with an innovative promotion designed to engage the Bengals fanbase. The initiative, entitled the "World's Greatest Growl in the World", allows fans to perform a :30 karaoke version of the Bengals touchdown song for the chance to be featured on the Bengals website and an ultimate Grand Prize of $25,000.

Each week, fans who submit videos can win co-branded items, tickets, and autographed merchandise for participating and the ten (10) best entries will be featured on Bengals.com/Nationwide. Fans can then log in and vote daily for their favorite performance among the entries submitted (thus, both performers and voters become active leads for Nationwide). Fans who submit their favorite clips even have the ability to share them with family and friends via email.

Nationwide's "The World's Greatest Growl in the World" promotion has been extremely well received by Bengals fans thus far. Fans loved performing :30 karaoke versions at the Bengals home opener and traffic to the website has been very active in the early weeks of the promotion. Nationwide will also be leveraging its partnership with the Bengals by offering free ferry rides to Bengals games for all fans on a co-branded ferry (another great idea!).

The Bengals feature a collection of fan videos on Bengals.com/Nationwide. There are some classic performances that are worth checking out!

Qdoba Tailgates in a Big Way at Seahawks Games

As an Official Partner of the Seattle Seahawks, Qdoba Mexican Grill is offering fans in Seattle the chance to win a VIP 12th Fan Tailgate Party.

The ultimate game experience includes (4) Seahawks tickets and parking spots, exclusive access to the Qdoba VIP Tailgate Lounge (which included a private server) for (20) people, and a VIP area that features (3) flat screen televisions, an XBOX 360, comfortable seating, and more!

Fans looking to win the VIP 12th Fan Tailgate Party experience simply have to head to their local participating Qdoba location, swipe their Qdoba Card when purchasing an entree, and automatically be entered to win. Fans can also submit an entry online at QdobaTailgate.com for the chance to win the final Qdoba VIP tailgating party on January 2nd.

Check out a great video that captures the VIP 12th Fan Tailgate Party below - a truly unique experience that can be replicated at many stadiums across the country!

Click here for a collection of photos from Qdoba's first official tailgate at Qwest Field.

The 49ers and US Bank Leverage the Coin Flip...

Are you looking to create new promotional platforms for corporate partners? Are you looking for new ways to engage young fans and their families?

The San Francisco 49ers and US Bank have teamed up in 2009 to offer young 49ers fans the chance of a lifetime. The two (2) parties created a "US Bank Coin Flip Kid" initiative that provides 49ers fans ages 6-13 the opportunity to register online for the chance to be a part of the pre-game coin toss and win:

• Two (2) game tickets
• Two (2) 49ers pre-game tailgate party passes
• One (1) parking pass
• Two (2) pre-game field passes
• One (1) Visa gift card, courtesy of US Bank

Each game, one (1) select US Bank Coin Flip Kid will be recognized on the video board while he/she walks with the 49ers team captains to mid-field for the coin toss. The Coin Flip promotion serves as an effective way for US Bank to offer children and their families a life-changing experience that creatively ties in with the bank's main line of business (driving consumers to open checking/savings accounts).

Look for more creative tactics to come from the San Francisco 49ers organization in the near future!

A special thanks to Nikki Hawkins and Brent Schoeb of the San Francisco 49ers organization for their insights and contributions to this column.

Billboard of the Week - Chick-fil-A

Are you looking for new ways to drive buzz at retail in the marketplace? Are you looking to leverage sports without investing in corporate partnerships?

The Chick-fil-A location in North Canton, OH recently used its outdoor marquee signage to poke a little fun at the hometown Cleveland Browns. The franchisee posted a sign that read "Like the Browns We Take Sundays Off" - a message that remained up for two (2) days.

While this messaging strategy could possibly backfire (alienating avid Browns fans, especially right in the team's backyard), it also could serve as a pivotal way to drive buzz. After all, Browns fans can take a creative joke these days about their favorite team's demise, right? Either way, consumers will remember the signage (and Chick-fil-A in general) each time they pass the location, especially during football season.  

The signage serves as an excellent example of ways that retailers can leverage sports without investing a significant amount of dollars in corporate partnerships. By simply recognizing sports and related events taking place (similar to Trader Joe's local market strategy), retailers can tap into the passion of fans without actually being directly associated. Look for more creative examples of sports branding at retail to come in future weeks!

Source: DC Sports Daily's Twitter Feed