Pizza... Coke Zero... Final Four Tickets?

Papa Johns and Coke Zero recently announced a paired promotion, offering consumers the chance to win a trip to the NCAA Final Four (tickets, hotel, airfare). To be eligible to win, fans just have to log onto www.papajohns.com/hoops or text "HOOPS" to 47272 (4PAPA). It's as easy as that. The chances of winning? Well, Papa Johns expects to sell 10 million pizzas during the first two (2) weeks of the tournament... So the odds may be a long shot.

What is unique about this promotion is the fact that Papa Johns paired with Coke Zero to becomes "The Official Delivery Pizza of NCAA March Madness". Both companies recognized the fact that eating pizza, drinking Coke (Zero), and watching basketball go hand-in-hand. Why not capitalize on this fact? Which leads to the question, do we do a good enough job trying to link up our corporate partners for simple promotions of this nature? I would think this especially applies to smaller properties, dealing with local vendors and mom-and-pop retail outlets.

A few additional facts about ordering pizza, in case you are ever selling a pizza chain an extended sponsorship come tournament time:

• Americans will eat more than 100 acres of pizza a day during March Madness (the equivalent to 926,000 basketball courts)
  • During this time, Americans will consume more than 13 million slices of pepperoni
• An average of 350 slices of pizza are eaten every second in the United States; the average American eats roughly 23 pounds of pizza per year
• 750,000+ consumers ordered their pizza through www.papajohns.com during the '07 March Madness tournament; of this total, more than 20,000 took advantage of the "plan ahead" ordering option

Arby's Offers One Reason To Love Mondays...

Arby's returns in 2008 with its widely publicized "Matt's Monday" promotion, centered around the track success of NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth. Through the promotion, Arbys rewards consumers by giving away free medium Curly Fries the Monday following every NASCAR race that Matt Kenseth wins in '08, beginning with the Daytona 500. To redeem their free Curly Fries at a local Arby's retail location, fans must bring a printed copy of the official race results from the local newspaper or a website.

Note: In 2007, Matt Kenseth and the #17 Ford Fusion team won free Curly Fries for consumers across America three (3) times. Financials of the promotion are undisclosed.

This is such a simple promotion, yet is very well embraced by consumers and the media. Why do we not see more QSR's and retail chains implementing similar promotions? Drive consumer incentives through playing field performance. If you are spending the dollars to be aligned with a winner, capitalize on their success!

AirTan Mixes Sex with Sport to Get its Point Across

How do you turn a miserable "check-in line" experience at the airport into a positive one?

AirTran thinks it has the answer with a sex-meets-sports approach.

AirTran is currently providing passengers at LaGuardia Airport with their own personal pit crew of Danica Patrick look-a-likes when they are checking in. The Danica Pit Crew is working the AirTran Airways ticket counter and ensuring that travelers have a great check-in experience before crossing the "finish line" upon checkout.

The Danica Pit Crew initiative supports the airline's new IndyCar promotion, which offers members of its AirTran Airways's frequent flyers program the chance to fly to select IndyCar races and watch the action from Danica's pit inside pit lane. The In total, AirTran's "Danica, Her Pit Crew, and You!" promotion will reward thirteen (13) winners and their guests.

Dale Jr. Wins... Fans Win?

When considering promotions and ticket sales, have you ever thought of tying fan incentives to the action on the playing field?

Well, Las Vegas Motor Speedway has done just that, creating the Dale Jr.'s South Point Jackpot. The speedway is offering free tickets to the 2009 LVMS race to 8,888 persons if Dale Jr. takes home the 2008 Sprint Cup title.  The first 8,888 fans to renew their tickets for the 2009 LVMS race before the start of the Daytona 500 would be refunded their full ticket amount if Dale Jr. captures the title. The promotion was sponsored by the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas.

The Results? Within hours of the announced promotion, LVMS officials fielded hundreds of calls from excited fans. For more information, see the LVMS website.

While the Golden Rule in  sports is to never give away free tickets (or else fans will always look for alternative ways to try to get tickets for free in the future), these type of promotions can be a great way for teams to retain season ticket holders and spike ticket sales at select events.

A couple of spin-offs of this promotion include:

• For underdog college basketball teams, reward fans attending the NCAA tournament to cheer on the team (through a pyramid rewards program):
• 32 minute on-court shooting session (if the team advances to the Top 32)
• "Sweet 16 autographs" - autographs of the team and coaching staff if the team advances to the Sweet 16
• "Elite 8 in the Gates" - VIP sweepstakes opportunity for eight (8) persons to gain behind-the-scenes access to the daily basketball operations
•  "Final 4 On Tour" - Chance for four (4) individuals to attend one (1) away basketball game with the team the following season if the team advances to the final four
• Underachieving professional teams can reward fans if the team pulls off a major upset
• i.e. Heat fans would receive "Greenbacks at the door (redeemable merchandise/food vouchers)" if the team would pull off an upset against the Celtics at home

Caution Flag for a Marriage Proposal?

Office Depot and Harlequin are currently offering one (1) lucky NASCAR couple the ultimate NASCAR wedding proposal or the chance to renew vows at the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race in Charlotte, NC. To enter for a chance to win, consumers must submit their proposals online at www.GetYourHeartRacing.com.

The winning proposal will be featured on the back of the Carl Edwards #99 car during the All-Star weekend and the future newlyweds will also receive:

• A $10,000 VIP prize package
• A diamond ring
• Customized stationary from Office Depot
• Getaway for two (2) to stay at the Best Western Arroyo Roble Hotel in Sedona, AZ 

Scratch and Win...Consumers?

Have you had an automobile sponsor looking to drive awareness for a new car model at your venue? Have you had a sponsor looking for a promotion that provides numerous impressions through an experiential means?

Chevrolet created an unconvential promotion in Great Britain to drive awareness for the Chevy Captiva. The company coated a Captiva showcar with a silvery scratch card material that contained thousands of scratch-and-win panels underneath.  Models on-site encouraged passing consumers to pick up a penny to scratch a panel on the car for the chance to win the autmobile (by revealing a You Win! square).  This promotion was an effective driver of awareness and engagement (although it doesn't do much else for the brand). 

Hopefully this kind of creativity will help you think outside the box with your sponsors...

Take a Great Promotion and Run With It

As a marketer, have you struggled to come up with promotions that stop consumers in their tracks?

Have you ever considered using a Running Toilet (mirroring a streaker) to draw stadium eyeballs?

Denver Water used this strategy to come up with a creative, seamless promotion at a Colorado-Colorado State rivalry game (the company has also featured this promotion during an MLS Colorado Rapids game). Denver Water set up the promotion by having a person dressed in a toilet suit run across the playing field before being tackled by a security guard. As the crowd cheered for this act, the PA announcer explained the initiative to stop running water. 

This was an excellent example of Denver Water using its creative juices to come up with an innovative promotion that drove home its water preservation. Here is the on-field promotion:  

Sports Marketers - Dance Your Way to being Top-of-Mind

Sports marketing professionals constantly hear about team executives who scour the stands to receive insights and feedback directly from their team's fans. Clearly, there is value in the stands... So why aren't marketers making better use of the special talents of their teams fans? A perfect example of this is the Philadelphia Flyers, who stumbled upon Shawn Hill and some incredible dance moves in the last row of the Wachovia Center.

The Columbus Blue Jackets followed up this in-game entertainment notion with their own arena celebrity:

When it comes to In-Game Activation, Who is "Best in Class"?

Creativity drives innovation... Innovation drives creative thoughts. While marketers are continuously looking for innovative ways to integrate their brands through sport, three (3) companies are leading the charge. All three have used their brainpower to develop unique promotional tactics to drive home messaging and provide incentives to consumers.

I. Taco Bell

Taco Bell has lead the charge in developing in-game promotions around MLB Jewel Events to capture the thougts and taste buds of consumers. During the '04 World Series, the company became the first to place a 12x12 target in center field. If a home run hit the target, consumers across the nation could win a free Crunchy Beef taco (a simple pull strategy to Taco Bell retail locations). Taco Bell's strategy drove in-game, national, and global awareness with a surmountable number of awareness through World Series media coverage.

Taco Bell followed up its '04 initiative by offering a promotion entitled "Think Outside the Park", where consumers could win a free taco if a home run was hit over left center field during Game 3 of the 2006 World Series. Although no home runs were hit during the game, the promotion drew buzz across all channels.

In 2007, Taco Bell ran a "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion, that enabled fans to get a free taco from 2-5pm on October 30th after the Boston Red Sox's Jacoby Ellsbury stole a base. The initiative was supported with a Carlton Fisk media tour and online support. Taco Bell supported its '07 "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion with a "World Series Experience of a Lifetime" offer, a retail push strategy that offered consumers a chance to win two (2) tickets to every '07 World Series Game, $50,000, and on-field access during batting practice at each game... Promotional messaging was supported by online redemption (using codes redeemed through purchase of Baja Blast) and a Paul Molitor PSA... Taco Bell is a leader in in-game promotional activity; some of the most creative minds in the business...

II. Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A created the "Eat-Mor'Chikin" Poles in Houston, TX as part of their sponsorship of the Houston Astros. The in-game tactic features three cows wearing Astros hats, perched on the "Fowl Poles". Chick-fil-A activates this asset by rewarding all game attendees with free chicken sandwiches when a player on the home team hits a ball that touches either of the foul poles or any of the cows attached.

III. Citgo

Citgo created the most innovative in-game promotional asset of 2007 when it created the C-IT-GO gas pump at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI. The 22-foot high Citgo pump in right center field celebrates home runs hit in the park by lighting up C-IT-GO and displaying the distance of every homer. The old-style gas pump features the company's classic logo and serves as a distinguishable feature within the park. Where was this asset during the McGwire/Sosa Chase? and Barry Bonds' home run tour? Will this be featured in the new Yankee Stadium as Alex Rodriguez looks to eclipse the HR mark?

Will we see Luxury Vending Machines In-Venue?

There is a great article in the Jan. 28th edition of BusinessWeek that focuses on the emergence of luxury vending machines. The article goes on to say,

"Vending machines using touch screens and credit cards to dispense pricey items like digital cameras and Elizabeth Arden cosmetics are popping up at U.S. airports and malls. The experience "is similar to an online purchase but with immediate gratification," says Grower Smith, CEO of Zoom-Systems, which created the machines so that Apple could sell iPods in the airports and at Macy's, which is putting the vendors in 400 stores. The compact dispensers can deliver high sales per square foot."

As properties look to minimize labor costs yet seek gains in incremental revenue, will we see these "luxe vending machines" popping up nationwide in sports venues? Teams and universities are continuously looking for new ways to sell media content, apparel, and gift cards and this may present a number of new opportunities for sponsorship integration and incremental sales.