Spicing Up Dance Team Sponsorships...

How do you spice up a 15-year partnership? Just ask the Sacramento Kings' Dance Team.

Carl's Jr., a partner of the King's organization for fifteen (15) years, was looking for an innovative way to help promote the launch of their new Jalapeno Chicken sandwich... After assessing the demographics and characteristics of Carl's Jr.'s target consumer, team representatives devised a unique way to leverage the Sacramento King's Dance team within the QSR chain's marketing platform.

The Kings and Carl's Jr. collaborated to shoot a video of the Kings dance team doing the chicken dance outside Arco Arena as a way to promote the chain's new Jalapeno sandwich offering, which hit stores in May. The video is prominently featured on the main page of the Carl's Jr. website (www.carlsjr.com) and serves as a way for the Carl's Jr. brand to reach its core customers (and likewise reinforces the QSR's partnership with the Kings organization). Check out the video below:

Carl's Jr. has also supported its team partnership in a variety of other ways that leverage the Kings' dance team:

• The Sacramento Kings Dance Team (SKDT) poster was shot inside a Carl's Jr. retail location
• The QSR chain receives branding visibility through post-game poster signings by the dance team
• The team conducts an in-arena coupon dash

Through its partnership with Carl's Jr., the Sacramento Kings have incorporated what some would see as an unlikely partner and have effectively crafted a messaging platform that is very unique to the marketplace... just by understanding their partner's needs and target consumers (young, hungry men)!

An external review of the Sacramento Kings' partnerships revealed that the team has approximately fifty (50) partners; six (6) of whom could be considered in the fast food/casual dining category. Demonstrating all the more that Carl's Jr. discovered a unique way to escape the clutter. Team partners (as listed on the website) include:

• Sports 1140, Raley’s and Bel Air, Shell Vacations Club, Intel, RC Willey, Gatorade, Disneyland Resorts, Best Buy, Ashley Furniture, Folsom Lake Kia, State Farm, Quest, Express Jet, Jack Daniels, Nationwide, Anheuser-Busch, Health Net, Carl’s Jr., Dome Printing, Cache Creek Casino Resort, McDonalds, Wells Fargo, adidas, Chevrolet, Verizon Wireless, Allstate, Comcast, Comcast Sports Net, KRCX 99.9, Northern California Toyota Dealers, Dreyer’s, Zoom Imaging, Dairy Queen, E&J Gallo Winery, ARCO ampm, Volvo Rents, CCPOA, Sacramento Bee, US Army, Folsom Lake Ford, Gatorade, metroPCS, Newman Lasik, News10, Round Table Pizza, XO Communications, Jack in the Box, KB Home, Les Schwab Tires, Subway

Over the past fifteen (15) years, the Kings and Carl's Jr. have leveraged a number of team assets, and have created some very "talked about" campaigns, including the Carl's Jr. Bobblehead Series and the $6,000 combo meal commercial, starring the Maloof brothers.

Activation tactics have included:

• Carl’s Jr. Arena Static Signage
• In-store Player Appearances
• The "Carl’s Jr. Matchup of the Game"
• Carl’s Jr. Bobblehead Series
• Fans waited in lines to receive the first set of bobbleheads
• Bobbleheads were priced at $3.99 with a combo purchase
• 71 of Carl’s Jr. restaurants in the greater Sacramento area participated in the promotion – named the No. 1 out-of-arena promotion in the country by the NBA (stores outside of a 75-mile radius cannot sell Kings products due to NBA guidelines)
• Bobbleheads were sold beginning at 10:30am on successive Wednesdays
• Limit of two (2) bobbleheads per customer for each visit
• Bobbleheads were only available at the walk-up counters, NOT at drive-thrus.
• Shipments of the bobbleheads were delivered at least twice per week, giving working fans a better chance of purchasing them on the weekends
• The first bobblehead came with a free collectible stand for all the remaining bobblehead figurines
• The website listed all participating Carl’s Jr. restaurants (address, city, phone number)
• The Maloof Brothers (Team Owners) starred in a Carl’s Jr. commercial (2006)
• The $6,000 Combo Meal, Exclusively at the Palms
• http://www.slashfood.com/2006/11/15/the-carls-jr-6-000-combo-meal/ to help promote the chain’s $6 Burger
• Produced by Mendelsohn/Zien - Check it out:
• In-Store POP Sweepstakes (2005)
• Enter to win a trip to see the Kings take on the Cavs promotion; then get on a rock and roll history tour
• Leveraged Partners: Carl’s Jr., Southwest, Embassy Suites, Sports 1140
• POP designed by Protein Creative - http://www.proteincreative.com/ad_kings1.html
• In-Store POP Sweepstakes (2006)
• Enter to win a trip to Washington to watch the Kings take on the Wizards (Sports 1140)
• Leveraged Partners: Carl’s Jr., Sports 1140
• POP designed by Protein Creative - http://www.proteincreative.com/ad_kings2.html