Hublot Teams Up with Manchester United for a Unique Watch Promotion

Over the past few years, several watch companies have begun investing large sums of dollars on event partnerships, athlete endorsements, team partnerships, and more. As sports organizations look to leverage partnerships in this category in new ways, many should consider benchmarking a promotional tactic that Hublot and Manchester United partnered on in 2010.

Luxury watchmaker Hublot teamed up with Manchester United to host a Million Dollar Challenge event in New York City that featured several players as well as manager Sir Alex Ferguson shooting soccer balls at a giant target (replicating a Hublot watch) for the chance to raise funds for UNICEF. As part of the promotion, Manchester United players were challenged with striking a giant replica watch with a shot from 51 feet away to donate $1 million to UNICEF, a philanthropic entity that ManU has supported for 10+ years.

While no player successfully accomplished the feat, Hublot still donated a significant amount of money to UNICEF and generated buzz worldwide with the event. The PR stunt demonstrates how organizations can create engaging activation/PR stunt displays for watch companies that will attract consumer interest and attention. Consider ways that your team can benchmark this tactic to bring official watch partnerships to life!

Check out Hublot's activation tactic below:

Iowa Athletics Turns to a Card Stunt to Promote ANF Day Celebration

The University of Iowa Athletics Department recently teamed up with the Iowa Farm Bureau to pull off a spectacular stadium card stunt display in celebration of America Needs Farmers (ANF) Day at Kinnick Stadium.

Prior to kickoff of a recent Iowa-Northwestern football game, four grandstands of Hawkeyes fans at Kinnick Stadium held up cards on cue to deliver some impactful messages to 70,000 fans inside the stadium and a national television audience on Big Ten Network.

The impressive stadium card stunt display served as an effective way to drive awareness for the America Needs Farmers movement nationwide and creatively unite a stadium full of football fans. The University of Iowa Athletics Department captured the action on several cameras, including one on a time lapse setting that provides a remarkable viewpoint of the activation.

Check out the card stunts below and consider ways that your organization can leverage similar stunts to drive awareness for brands and cause marketing efforts!

Video of the Card Stunt Display

Time Lapse of the Card Stunt Display

Additional ANF Branding and Activation on Game Day

A special thanks to Craig Decker of Virginia Sports Properties for his insights and contributions to this column!

Harvard Rewards Students for Attending Sports Events with Crimson Cash

The Harvard University Athletics Department recently teamed up with the Undergraduate Council to create a unique initiative designed to drive attendance at sporting events throughout the year. The two parties collaborated to launch a Crimson Cash program that provides students with an opportunity to earn$1 of Crimson Cash for each Harvard sporting event that they attend on campus.

The initiative, designed to drive attendance and school spirit, allows students to earn a maximum yearly salary of $30 of Crimson Cash simply by swiping their student ID at several designated swipe tents located outside the student section of each event. With each swipe, students are also automatically entered to win a larger grand prize that is awarded at the end of each sports season. 

While some industry professionals may criticize the notion of paying students to attend sports events (notably Olympic sports events), the concept could serve as an effective way to drive attendance, interest, and sponsorship dollars on campus. Athletic departments could seamlessly integrate corporate partners (looking to target college students via swipe tent branding/activation, ID card branding, and student rewards/prizing. Athletic departments can also benefit from students cashing in their team shop dollars to purchase additional merchandise, etc.

Consider ways that your school can implement a similar initiative to drive attendance at sports events throughout campus!

Barclays Lets EPL Fans Take Home The Trophy...

Are you looking for a new way to showcase your team/leagues' trophy hardware? Are you looking to create a national promotion that appeals to sports fans everywhere?

As the title sponsor of the English Premier League, Barclays has effectively positioned itself as one of the largest stakeholders in soccer around the globe. The major global financial services provider will only strengthen its positioning with its newest promotion, "Barclays Home Win". 

Barclays' Home Win promotion will enable twenty (20) fans around the globe to win the chance to take the Barclays Premier League trophy home for a day. All consumers have to do for a chance to win the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is log on to http://www.barclayshomewin.com and submit their name, country, telephone, email, and favorite EPL club. The offer serves as a way for Barclays to celebrate the extension of its league title sponsorship until 2013.

All winners will be provided the opportunity to have the Barclays EPL Trophy in a controlled environment (e.g. school, work, or home) between 10am-4pm on a designated weekday. Two (2) security personnel will accompany the trophy and will control any touching of the trophy (in other words, you can have it, but you can't do anything you want with it). Consumers can submit as many entries as they would like until the promotion expires December 11th.

Check it out below:

T.G.I. Friday's Scores with a Punt Promotion...

Are you looking to create an off-the-wall sports promotion? Are you looking to reward fans/consumers based on in-game occurences?

Less than two (2) weeks prior to the Dallas Cowboys regular season opener at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, T.G.I Friday's issued an official challenge to fans. The casual dining chain offered a dish of free crispy green bean fries to all consumers watching the game at one of the 600 participating TGI Fridays restaurants nationwide if a punt hit the stadium's infamous $25MM center-hung scoreboard during the game, resulting in a replayed down.

The promotion drew on-air mentions during ESPN's pre-game coverage and served as a great way for the chain to drive product awareness for its crispy green bean fries. The media coverage and buzz generated from the Punt Challenge was so great that T.G.I. Friday's opted to extend the promotion for the Dallas Cowboys-Carolina Panthers Monday Night Football game on September 28th.

The chain's promotional idea was created after Tennessee Titans punter A.J. Trapasso hit the new state-of-the-art scoreboard during a preseason game, forcing the NFL to institute a new rule that any punt that hits the scoreboard will result in the down being replayed.

The Tiger-Cats Put Fan Photos on Season Tickets...

Are you looking for new ways to demonstrate value to your fan base? Are you looking to enhance your ticket operations?

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL recently announced a "Tiger Town Season Seat Photo Contest" that asks their season ticket holders to show their spirit for the chance to be featured on the team's 2009 season ticket stock. Fans are asked to submit their favorite pictures demonstrating their avidity for the chance to be one (1) of ten (10) fans selected to appear on the team's season ticket stock.

The promotion serves as an excellent way to demonstrate added value for fans in a cost-effective manner. After all, how many people can say that they were featured on a ticket stub? It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity fo many. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are also providing each of the ten (10) lucky fans with a framed copy of the 2009 season ticket stock and two (2) platinum tickets to the game that their image was featured on.

For a chance to win, consumers are asked to either:

• Email a photo and a completed entry form to photocontest@ticats.ca
• Mail a photo and a completed entry form to Attn: Season Seat Photo Contest Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 1 Jarvis Street, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3J2