Are You Looking to Gain the Support of Consumers Nationwide?

Are you looking to win over consumers to drive your product sales? Are you looking to drive the affinity that consumers have for your brand? Then make your brand stand for something, which is exactly what Jim Beam is doing with its new campaign, "Save Our Ballpark Name" - www.saveourname.com

Jim Beam's Save Our Ballpark Name" campaign centers around the push to keep the Wrigley Field name intact. Beam has taken the position as the voice of the consumers (Cubs fans, Chicago natives, traditional sports fans, and consumers across the globe) to end the thought of selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field. 

This really is an innovative promotional concept. Why? Because Jim Beam has found an innovative way to leverage the power of its brand to serve as the voice of consumers across the globe. The campaign is all about the voice of the people (Beam's brand has taken a "supporting" role) but this is such a smart play for Beam because they are driving considerable brand awareness and hopefully in their case, brand affinity.

On the campaign's page, Beam takes a backseat and really places the issue and consumers' opinions at the forefront by explaining the issue, offering an online petition, letting consumers voice their opinions, and providing the latest news. Beam is going to support its online movement by featuring the campaign on a billboard that overlooks Wrigley and distributing t-shirts and bumper stickers to consumers.

If you have a moment, check out the promotion and sign the petition to keep the Wrigley Field name intact!

ESPN Recaps the Top 10 In-Game Fan Contests...

ESPN does a pretty good job in the clip below detailing "The Top 10 Best Fan Contests"... This clip may be worth your while to watch for 3 minutes to get a grasp of some in-game contests that have been run over the past decade...For venues that host both a football and soccer franchise, I love the idea of having a fan kick both a field goal and a long soccer kick to win a big prize (#10).

A 40-Foot Chick-Fil-A Cow is Coming... To Turner Field

Chick-Fil-A recently announced that on June 20th, the company will be unveiling a 40-foot tall, 15,000 pound "tomahawk chopping mechanical cow" at Turner Field... The Best Part? The 40-foot cow will be adorned with an Atlanta Braves Hat and a board that reads "Du Tha Chop. Eat Tha Chikin." The cow will lead the chop at every game with a extendable arm that bends 90 degrees in the motion of the chop.

The massive cow will be situated between the stadium's infamous Coke Bottle and the out-of-town scoreboard in left field and will serve as a great consumer engagement piece in-venue. The giant cow ties into Chick-fil-A's "Eat More Chikin" campaign and was designed to enhance the fan experience at Turner Field, which I am definitely sure it will... And the cow will be leading fan interaction for years - Chick-Fil-A signed a five (5) year agreement to feature the cow inside Turner Field...

Note: Chick-Fil-A utilized the services of Kern Studios, a New Orleans company best known for making Mardi Gras floats, to make the towering interactive cow.

More to come on this great example of unique in-venue branding...

Taco Bell Freezes Phillies Fans in Their Steps...

From a sponsor perspective, are you looking to capture the attention of fans entering the stadium? Are you looking to leave a lasting impression on passerby consumers?

From a team perspective, are you looking for innovative ways to integrate sponsors outside your venue at minimal cost?

Taco Bell utilized the services of cannibalized flash mobs to promote its new Fruitista Freeze product offering recently at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Taco Bell enlisted LevLane to hire actors costumed in iced-over beachwear with blue tinted skin to stand in a frozen position for hours as fans walked past to enter the stadium. Alongside these "frozen humans", a support team handed out coupons for the new, frozen tropical beverage and circulated further awareness in the parking lot.

This is an incredible idea, at minimal cost (labor expense), to leave a lasting impression on consumers... It directly translates back to a Escaping the Clutter - Frozen Awareness post I made in February on using persons "frozen in time" to generate awareness for your brand at stadium venues...

Japanese Baseball... New Signage Inventory?

Check out the short Japanese baseball clip below... The video details two (2) pieces of signage inventory that I have yet to see offered in Major League Baseball:

• Cisco has "on-the-field" branding behind home plate (I cannot tell if this is a graphic or actual branding in the turf)
• An alcoholic beverage company has paid to feature their actual product image (beer can) next to the meter that measures pitch speed

Two very interesting tactics! Please let me know if you have seen similar practices implemented elsewhere...

VIP Lounges Taken to the Next Level...

Are you looking to do something innovative with your suite level? Are you brainstorming new ways to drive business meetings and B2B discussions at your events?

Hild und K, a German architecture firm, designed a very unique VIP area for the Allianz Arena in 2005. The arena, located in Munich, Germany, is questionably the finest stadium to ever be built. Stadium officials contacted Hild und K to develop a fresh, B2B feel for the VIP Lounge and this is how it turned out:

Retail Vending Machines Are Here...

I have wrote numerous posts detailing the innovative means that Japanase retailers, among others, have utilized vending machines to sell products... Vending machines are such a huge component of retail sales overseas, that it was only a matter of time before they were accepted and implemented in the United States.

Well, the time has come...  Macy's recently announced that it will use vending machines to sell iPods, digital cameras, and other electronic items at 400 retail locations across the nation. The company revealed that it was rolling out the mass introduction after pilot programs proved to be successful. Yes, you have probably seen similar vending machines in airports and other transportation ports, but this will mark the first time that a nationwide retailer will invest the appropriate resources to have vending machines prominently displayed in their stores...

It is only a matter of time before these unique vending machines are a part of the stadium experience; they serve as great ways to reduce labor costs, sell unique/customized items, and add to the fan experience with only minimal space requirements.

For an in-depth look at how the Japanese have creatively utilized vending machines, check out the impressive gallery compiled on Dark Roasted Blend.

On a side note, check out Coca Cola's new strategy utilizing mobile vending machine robots in Japan below:

Why Don't We See More Putting Contests?

Can you make a 20-foot putt?

Like most Americans, you probably think that you are a much better golfer than you actually are. Consumers always seem to gravitate to promotional concepts that they deem as "winnable". Like the 3-point shot, who doesn't think that they can win a putting contest? Although the promotion doesn't have a direct correlation to some sporting events, it does draw in a common interest of many fans in attendance.

This would serve as a unique way to tie in a big box retailer like Dick's Sporting Goods or The Sports Authority, who may be pushing golf products around the holidays or targeting a select group of consumers (i.e. 35-49 males with HHI of $75K+)

Here is a great example of a putting contest implemented at a Montana State basketball game that offered one (1) lucky contestant the chance to win $5,000! Check out the clip below...

Here is another example of an effectively implemented putting promotion...

Win a Chance to Represent Your Team at the Lottery...

The Sacramento Kings recently offered one (1) lucky season ticket holder the chance of a lifetime - the chance to represent the team at the 2008 NBA Lottery. During the Spring of 2008, the team ran "The Kings Luckiest Season Ticket Holder" promotion, asking all Kings season ticket holders to convince their fellow supporters of why they are indeed the luckiest.

The contest originated when Kings co-owner Joe Maloof responded to a question at a season ticket holder's meeting; the idea then grew into something that stirred interest among the team's most dedicated fans. It was rumored that other NBA teams tried to follow suit with similar promotional concepts, but they were blocked by the league to let the Kings have the unofficial rights in 2008.

The prize at hand? The chance to fly alongside Philip Maloof and represent the Kings organization alongside the likes of fellow team reps Larry Bird and Jay-Z at the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery on May 20th.

The winner? An extremely excited Margie Parilo (shown above), who became the first fan to ever represent their hometown team at the NBA lottery. Margie Parilo's entry was selected from an original batch of 192 written submissions and received a significant percentage of the 17,419 fan votes cast for the six (6) finalists' video presentations. Parilo, who was featured extensively during the national broadcast coverage of the event, had 28 family members convene at Chris Webber's Center Court restaurant to cheer her on.

A very interesting tactic implemented by the Kings organizations... this is what consumers are now looking for - VIP experiences that they can receive nowhere else!

Crown Royal Offers the Chance of a Lifetime...

Entitlement sponsorships are very common in today's day and age. Consumers have become cognizant of the fact that Food Lion sponsors the local speedway and Pepsi is a title sponsor of the television halftime show. But outside of brand awareness, what do these tite/presenting sponsorship assets really mean to brands?

Over the past two (2) years, Crown Royal has given race entitlement rights a whole new meaning. The Canadian Spirits brand (owned and operated by Diageo) has utilized its race entitlement rights to demonstrate how highly they value their customers. Crown Royal has effectively developed a "Your Name Here" promotion that offers consumers the chance to become the presenting sponsor of a NASCAR race and serve as the event's grand marshal.  

This year's winner was Dan Lowry, who was treated to the weekend of a lifetime at Richmond International Speedway on May 3rd. Lowry discovered he won during a helicopter unveiling ceremony over the Las Vegas strip with Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion. As the official race title featured his name, Dan's moniker appeared on everything from race tickets to merchandise to the trophy itself.

What was Dan's story? Dan wrote about how recognizing Crown Royal bottles amidst labels he didnt recognize made him feel like home wasn't that far away during his time spent in Venezuela.

Crown Royals markets the "Your Name Here" promotion in a variety of media channels, although it is important to note that they do not support the promotion through traditional advertising spend. Crown Royal utilized a heavy media relations push and leveraged its sponsorship of the No. 26 Jamie McMurray car to encourage fans to enter the contest by telling their favorite responsible Crown Royal memories (a nice brand tie-in). In total, the promotional effort achieved more than 200MM media impressions in '08.