Are You Targeting College-Aged Students?

Is your organization looking for ways to effectively target college-aged students? Is your property looking to enhance its marketing efforts for Student Nights?

If your organization is solely relying on email messaging to drive awareness and interest, you may want to reallocate your efforts elsewhere (experiential marketing, viral efforts, in-game entertainment/promotions targeting students, ticket discounts, etc.). A recent Student Survey by eROI reports that:

• 66% of students (high school and college students) RARELY or never take action on marketing emails
• Only 16% of students (high school and college students) are reading marketing emails on a frequent basis

The study also found that:

• The preferred means of communication among students are text messaging (37%), email (26%), social networking IM (15%), instant messaging (11%), and social networking email (11%)
• 60% of students take action upon receiving an email only if they are interested in the product
• 47% take action if they are attracted to a special offer
• 11% of students take action because of the design of an email

Source: Research Brief from the Center for Media Research

Leverage On-Field Performers to Drive Retail/Online Merchandise Sales...

Is your organization looking to drive awareness and excitement around a new team hat, cap, or related piece of headwear? Is your property looking to drive traffic at retail partner locations that sell hats, caps, and other apparel (e.g. Lids, Champs, the online team store, etc.).

The Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad recently featured hats during an on-field performance, which raises the question, "Why can't properties do more to complement their on-field entertainment acts with retail driving initiatives?" While dance teams perform on-field, properties can use the videoboard and/or the LED ribbonboard to feature:

• Details on the apparel the dance team/performers are wearing
• The retail partners where the apparel/merchandise is sold
• An exclusive discount for the select apparel on the online team store
• An announcement where/when the apparel/product will be launched

With on-field entertainment acts garnering a significant amount of fan attention, sports properties can leverage these individuals to promote products for both men and women. The video board can be divided into a half-screen shot of the action and a half-screen call to action for fans.

Consider new ways to tie retail/online sales around the outfits of your on-field entertainment!

TheScore.com Goes Guerrilla to Promote Its Coverage...

Are you looking to implement a unique guerrilla strategy to drive awareness?

TheScore.com, created a unique guerrilla campaign using bricks when Shaquille O'Neal came to town to face the Toronto Raptors. TheScore.com distributedbranded foam bricks with the messaging"Shaq's in Town. Catch the Highlights and the Stories." at various sports bars, basketball courts, and other public places around the town.

The brick campaign served as a great way to drive awareness (through a humorous means) and encourage fans to check out the results of the action on TheScore.com. Hopefully more to come on this unique guerrilla tactic!

Is Your Football Signage Relevant to Fans on Game Day?

Are you looking to drive greater fan awareness towards your signage on game day? Are you looking for unique ways to drive brand messaging?

For companies investing in the football space, consider wrapping your signage in a field goal post. As seen below, the Cleveland Browns have created an effective messaging piece that welcomes and thanks fans on their way in and out of Browns Stadium. The messaging, wrapped in a field goal post, immediately grabs the attention of fans due to its size and game day relevance...

Believe it or not, fans may not care to look at a simple billboard promoting lawn care service on their way into a stadium. Yet if that same billboard messaging was wrapped in a field goal post or placed on a large, giant football outside the stadium, it amazingly may become relevant. It's interesting what you can do with imagery to drive your product/service messaging.

Check out the Browns' signage strategy below:

Scotiabank Gets Creative with its CFL Branding...

Is your property/league looking for new ways to promote its upcoming games?

Cocoon Branding Inc. developed a unique billboard branding strategy to drive awareness for Scotiabank's support of the Canadian Football League. Cocoon created a 'Grey Cup Hits the City' billboard campaign for Scotiabank that featured the flags of eight (8) CFL teams competing for the Grey Cup.

As the playoffs progressed, teams eliminated in each round had their flags lowered to half mast, leading up to the final game in Winnipeg.After winning the Grey Cup, the BC Lions were rewarded with having their team's flag as the only one flying high above the rest.

How can your organization take this idea and run with it?

Organizations can create a similar billboard campaign using flags to drive awareness for their home schedule and/or roster of players:

• Teams can feature the flags of their opponents (raising the opponent's pole above the others) to help promote upcoming home games. Organizations with short home schedules (i.e. football) can feature the flags of all home opponents, while teams with longer home schedules can dissect it by month/ticket packages/conference games, etc.
• Teams can use a virtual billboard to feature flags with the images of the players in the team's starting lineup to drive awareness for upcoming home games, etc.

Scotiabank'sunique billboard campaign was complemented by some non-traditional guerrilla tactics, as seen below:

Formula 1 Drives Consumer Awareness in the City...

Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness for your property in the city? Is your organization looking for new ways to garner media attention?

In an effort to drive awareness for Singapore's first Formula 1 race, event organizers created a unique bus stop advertising display that drew the attention of consumers across the globe.

The marketers transformed a normal bus stop in downtown Singapore (outside of Tangs)into an advertising centerpiece for the Formula 1 event using a perched Formula 1 showcar and messaging with a call to actionthat read, "Be Part of History. The World's First Formula 1 Night Race. Book Your Tickets at www.SingaporeGP.SP".

Thebus stopdisplay's unique featuresinstantly caught the attention of passerby consumers, tourists, and numerous media outlets. The display helped generate buzz withinthe region and across the globe for the upcoming race. Check out a video of the display below!

Drive Brand Awareness on the Slopes...

Are you looking for new ways to ingrain your brand in the winter sports marketplace? Are you looking for unique ways to capture the attention of skiers, snowboarders, and other consumers participating in winter sports?

In recent years, brands have begun to get very creative with their outdoor advertising campaigns. Companies are finding unique ways to ingrain their brand in the action and blend in with their target consumer...Enclosed below are two (2) great examples of companies who have developed unique advertising campaigns targeting consumers participating in winter sports:

BMW

ATOMIC

Seahawks Fans Receive All Access With Qwest...

Is your organization looking to provide fans with new forms of access? Are you looking to provide fans with new forms of audio and video content? Is your property looking to leverage a media partner/provider?

Qwest Communications collaborated with 361 Experiential and BurstMarketing to create an "all-access" platform that connects Seattle Seahawks fans with their favorite team. The parties teamed up to create "Qwest All Access", an innovative, branded podcast website that ties Qwest Communications' products and services back to their team sponsorship of the Seattle Seahawks. The site does an incredible job tying together Qwest's Internet, HD, and mobile services and integrating their promotional and marketing programs.

The Qwest All Access site features a variety of media components and interactive features, including:

• Podcast audio content (features include a 5-10 minute audio interview every Thursday with players and coaches, interviews with QB Matt Hasselback (the spokesman of the campaign), pre-season/community service reports, and custom Qwest content and radio ads
• Fan/team photos
• Access to team statistics
• Option to sign up for SMS alerts to receive real-time scores
• Behind-the-scenes information
• Promotions

361 Experiential and BurstMarketing aredistributing the site's media content throughiTunes and are promoting awareness through multiple channels (press releases, in-game signage/scoreboard, social networking integration, branded email alerts, and web banner advertisingon Scout.com, Seattle Times Online, Seattle PI).

A special thanks to Scott Hutchison of 361 Experiential for his contributions to this column. Keep up the great work!

Create A Landmark for Your Brand In-Venue...

Is your brand looking to enhance its presence in-venue? Is your organization looking to sell different sections of your venue to pillar partners?

Upon building Ford Field, The Detroit Lions organization did an exceptional job finding a way to enable Pepsi to escape from the clutter. The organization collaborated with the folks at Pepsi to create the Pepsi Tower, a large pillar feature that has become a landmark in-venue for fans to connect, etc.

While the Pepsi Tower is not subtle by any means, it does provide some insight into ways that properties can effectively brand certain sections of their venue. For Pepsi, the Pepsi Tower serves as a great "ownership play" that demonstrates to fans that Pepsi is a premiersupporter of the Detroit Lions organization.

The Lions have currently partnered with Pepsi to also offer the "Pepsi Pack", a promotional offer that enables fans to purchase two (2) upper-level seats, two (2) soft drinks, and two (2) hot dogs for just $99. The Pepsi Pack is being made available by the team for select games during the 2008 season. In addition, the Lions organization recently held the 22nd NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass, and Kick Championships for Michigan.

Click here for more pictures of the Ford Field experience (Boston Wolverine's Flickr page).

The Bacon Salt Man Continues His Journey...

The Bacon Salt Man continued his streak of appearances this past weekend at the annual Washington-Washington State rivalry battle for the Apple Cup. But this time, Bacon Salt Man did more than just make an appearance at the game...He made a post-game apperance on Fox Sports Net.

The Bacon Salt Man was situated in the front row of the of the end zone with the WSU band for the game and was one of the first people over the rail after the team closed out the victory. The Bacon Salt Man stormed to the center of the field where he keenly positioned himself behind FSN reporter Jen Mueller's interview with WSU head coach Paul Wulff(garnering almost two (2) full minutes of free advertising for the brand).

During the game, J&D's Bacon Salt also featured a WSU student produced Bacon Salt commercial on the video board that proved to be a hit with fans.

Recently, the company created a YouTube video compiling great "guerrilla marketing" moments from their stops at sporting events around the country. If you have a moment, check it out:

Right now there isn't anyone doing guerrilla marketing better than J&D's Bacon Salt in the sports space... Their guerrilla tactics and effective use of social media are a benchmark example for companies looking to drive business on a low budget!

Distribute Premiums that Deliver Value for Sponsors...

Are you looking to distribute premium items that deliver incremental value for sponsors? Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness for a corporate partner's new product offering?

Properties looking to leverage wireless partners should consider distributing foam stress relievers that mirror a new Blackberry model, mobile device, etc. The team can enhance the perceived value of the premium item for fans by featuring a team logo, the likeness of a player, or team-branded desktop/online features in the display screen of the phone (essentially creating a team-specific model of the new phone). To drive web traffic, teams can consider branding the back of the premium item with a URL or social networking link/moniker.

Drive Sales With Unique Retail Displays...

Are you looking for new ways to have an impression on consumers at retail? Are you looking for ways to differentiate your products at point of sale?

Enclosed below are two (2) examples of unique retail displays designed to stimulate consumer interest and product sales:

• The first two (2) pictures detail a "VitaminWater Stadium"display from the Shoreline Central Market
• The latter picture is a Sobe/Pepsi display at a Food City location that was designed to capitalize on consumer interest in the Super Bowl (as you might remember, Sobe served as the presenting sponsor of the SB halftime show)

VITAMINWATER - SHORELINE CENTRAL MARKET

SOBE/PEPSI (FOOD CITY)

Sky Sports is the Place to Watch Golf and Cricket...

Is your network looking for creative ways to promote its coverage of multiple sporting events?

Sky Sports created an incredible advertising campaign to promote its coverage ofgolf (the U.S. Open) and cricket (the Natwest International). The memorable spot effectively incorporates action from the two (2) aforementioned sports with a little bit of humor.Check out the clips below:

Will Ferrell's Trip to USC Drives Media Attention...

Are you looking to cross-promote an upcoming film? Are you looking for ways to shift media attention from your W-L record?

With dozens of media reporters on-hand for USC's football practice last week, Will Ferrell (aka Captain Compete) made a suprise appearance to teach the USC team a thing or two. The publicity stunt was a hit and quicklybecameextremely popular inthe viral world, generating significant incremental publicity for the USC team.

Which leads to the thought... With dozens of media on-hand for football practice at major college/pro footballprograms across the nation, ample opportunities exist for movie companies touse these mediums to drive buzz for their upcoming flicks. Professional/collegiate organizations can work with movieproducers tocreate unique ways to integrate characters and movie personalities into practice sessions (whether it's a post-practice pep talk, appearance on-site, or a stunt as seen below).

While most celebrities do not command the attention that Will Ferrell receives anywhere he goes, their suprise appearances at practicewillgenerate incrementalmedia attention and awareness, especially amongst the hard-to-reach 18-30 year old male demographic!

Would You Like to Bowl With Peja?

Is your organization looking to drive awareness for an upcoming charitable event? Has your organization considered using the webpages of its star athletes as messaging portals?

The New Orleans Hornets recently used some unique in-game messaging to drive awareness for "Peja's Charitabowl", an upcoming fund raiser that Peja Stojakovic is hosting at the All Star Lanes in Kenner, LA. The team featured a video board vignette featuring a picture of Stojakovic bowling and a link to his personal webpage, www.peja16.com, for fans to learn more (as demonstrated in the picture below).

It is still uncommon to see teams openly refer to the websites of players as communication portals. But in this case, it was a seamless way to help promote the event. As more sponsors utilize athlete websites as mediums for engaging with consumers, this practice should become more common.

The charity bowling event will benefit Peja's "Courts for Kids", a project of the Peja Stojakovic Children's Foundation with a mission to promote health and fitness eduation through the game of basketball. Lane sponsorships for the event start at $1,500 for one lane and $2,5000 for two lanes. Each lane includes bowling for four, one celebrity bowler, four bowling shirts, dinner, anda special gift bag.

Hornets' players, Honeybee dancers, Hugo the mascot, and other local celebrities will also be in attendance for the event. The inaugural "Charitabowl" event raised over $45,000 and Peja Stojakovic matched that amount... a great cause!