Nike Uses a "Social" Billboard Campaign to Promote Customization in Copenhagen

Nike recently launched an innovative billboard campaign in Copenhagen, Denmark that featured a team of Nike graffiti designers customizing a Nike iD billboard in "real-time" based on Facebook community engagement.

Over a two week period, Nike graffiti artists spray painted a giant white shoe billboard to mirror the most "liked" designs in the Nike Free Run 2 iD Facebook page. On the dedicated Nike Facebook page, consumers can download a Free Run 2 iD application that allows them to customize their shoes and have the ability to purchase them directly on NikeiD.com. Fans can view a complete gallery of designs and vote on them using Facebook "like" functionality.

Check out Nike's unique social billboard campaign below:

Brands Say Thank You To Their Facebook Fans

As brands and sports organizations have begun to fully understand the value of their social media channels, many have began to thank their fans and followers in some unique ways.

Here are three (3) recent "Thank You" campaigns that have generated some significant buzz:

Heineken

Heineken said thank you to their Facebook fans for eclipsing 1 million "likes" by sending out a team of models, positioned as "Heineken Huggers" to give back some love. Check out the initiative below:

Porsche

Porsche celebrated eclipsing 1 million fans on Facebook by creating a custom Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid that features the names of all of their followers plastered on the car. Porsche commemorated the moment with a special microsite and YouTube video to demonstrate their appreciation for their fans. Fans can log in to the Porsche microsite to specifically see their name on the car by using a special search function on the site. For more details, click here.

Chicago

As part of a Facebook Fan Day initiative, the Broadway show Chicago recently demonstrated apprection for their Facebook fans by giving out free tickets to a Sunday matinee performance to those who got ten (10) of their Facebook friends to "like" the show.

On November 15th, Chicago launched the exclusive fan contest on their Facebook page and after just 5 years, the Broadway show had to shut down the contest after receiving such an overwhelming response. Click here to check out a video detailing the initiative.

Capital One Leverages Final Four Tickets to Drive Facebook Fanbase

Capital One is currently running a sweepstakes on its official Facebook page that offers all consumers who "like" their Facebook page a chance to win an Ultimate NCAA prize package, which includes two (2) NCAA men's Final Four tickets, travel and lodging for two (2) people, and a video camera to document your experience.

The Facebook campaign, featuring a valuable NCAA prize pack, demonstrates how valuable brands perceive their social media channels to be. In recent weeks, we have seen a number of sports organizations offering everything from free tickets to unique experiences to fans in an effort to drive their Facebook and Twitter following.

As an Official Corporate Champion of the NCAA, Capital One promoted the offer via a mass email blast to its current customers and several other marketing channels. Capital One is also supporting its NCAA partnership with "The Big Assist" sweepstakes, which allows all consumers who visit a Capital One Bank branch across Louisiana a chance to win tickets to the Final Four and designate a charity or non-profit organization for a $10,000 cash donation from Capital One.

Athletics Departments Get Creative with Courtside Rotational Inventory

During national television broadcasts, University Athletic Departments are provided an opportunity to leverage their courtside rotational signage to promote "institutional messages". As a result, Universities have gotten pretty creative with their messaging tactics, promoting everything from social media channels to kids club initiatives to award nominations.

Check out a few screenshots that detail how the University of Wisconsin Athletics Department leveraged their LED scorers table display during a recent Wisconsin-Michigan State basketball game broadcasted on CBS.

A special thanks to David Cohn of the Wisconsin State Golf Association for his insights and contributions to this column.

Message: Promoting Lowe's Senior Class Award

Message: Promoting Special WI Men's Basketball Facebook Offer

Message: Promoting WI Men's Basketball Twitter Contest

Message: Promoting Badgers Kids Club

Message: Promoting Badgers' Varsity Magazine

Message: Promoting Fan of the Game Initiative 

Bring Your Team Billboards Life!

Are you looking for new ways to engage fans throughout the week? Are you looking to drive online engagement and an incremental number of fans to your organization's Facebook Fan Page?

Rockit Wrigleyville, a new bar and grill located in the heart of Wrigleyville, recently featured a promotion that provided consumers with a chance to have their face appear on a billboard located just outside Wrigley Field. For a chance to win, consumers just had to take their picture in front of the billboard and upload it to the restaurant's official Facebook fan page.

The entrant who posted a photo on the Facebook Fan Page that generate the most "likes" by other viewers was selected as the ultimate winner of the promotion. To drive interest in the offer, Rockit Wrigleyville offered a free $25 gift certificate to each contestant. The winner, John Walters, garnered 82 "likes" for his picture submission.

The low-cost promotion served as a tremendous way for Rockit Wrigleyville to drive buzz in the marketplace (consumers would encourage their friends to check out their photos and "like" them) as well as drive traffic and new fans to the restaurant's Official Facebook Fan Page.

The promotion serves as a really simple way for sports organizations to leverage stadium landmarks and billboards in the marketplace to spur fan engagement and drive traffic online to the official team facebook page via valuable content.

Check out some of the pictures that were submitted here.

Watch a video of the campaign below:

Drive Ticket Sales with "Facebook Friday" Promotions

Are you looking for new ways to drive ticket sales through social media channels? Are you looking for ways that Facebook can help drive your business?

Rutgers University recently announced that it would be offering a select ticket offer to all fans who sign up for its official University Athletics webpage. The promotion, entitled "Facebook Friday", enables fans who join the Rutgers Athletics Facebook page by Friday, January 29th will receive an exclusive promotional code for $5.00 tickets in the promenade for the Rutgers MBB home game against Notre Dame on Saturday, January 30th.

By creating "Facebook Friday", "Twitter Tuesday", and "Social Media Saturday" offers, teams can create a simple, memorable reminder for fans looking for promotional discounts and exclusive opportunities. It is one thing to continuously offer fans bland offers. It's another to create signature promotional campaigns around select days throughout the week (where one can expect to drive significant impressions and engagement). 

Sports marketers looking for other ways to leverage Facebook should consider checking out a Checkers Facebook Coupons initiative that the Charlotte Checkers recently implemented. The team is featuring printable coupons (positioned as banner ads) that members of the Checkers' Facebook Fan Page can redeem for free merchandise, discounts, and special promotions. However it is important to note that if organizations chose to replicate the "Facebook Coupons" concept, one should ensure that they have the appropriate fulfillment and messaging in place to satisfy fan demand on game day!

Check out the conceptual design of the Checkers Facebook Coupons below: