Chicago Cubs teams up with Groupon for ultimate fan experience

We could learn a thing or two from Mass discounter Groupon who last week featured a deal for the ultimate Chicago Cubs experience.  According to sportsbusinessdigest.com, the deal offers the fan pretty much everything except the chance of actually playing.

Specifically, the Groupon deal has the winner receiving a fully personalized Cubs uniform, a personal tour of Wrigley, hold a press conference, and press box seats. The buyer will also attend batting practice with the team, meet the players, and throw the first pitch.

Here's the rub though - the cost for this once in a lifetime offer is $30 000 though all proceeds go to charities Cubs Care and the McCormick Foundation.

According to Groupon's Darren Schwartz:

“Chicago Cubs fans are some of the most passionate in the world and we’re thrilled to offer them this opportunity in our hometown.”

The fan experience with the Cubs, is not Groupon’s first “epic” deal. They’ve previously teamed up with Delta Airlines for a trip around the world, private golf lessons with Graeme McDowell, and an vacation with 80′s boy band — New Kids on the Block.

BBC's Olympic Athlete Body Match

A recent blog post from the Marketing Society's web-page suggests that the Olympic Games, unlike any other televised sporting spectacle, brings about massive changes in people's mental - and at times even behavioural disposition to getting actively involved in some form of sporting activity.  Writes Crawford Hollingworth:

"From a behavioural change perspective it is fascinating to see how the Olympics raise our motivation, sparking incredible natural highs and extremes of energy and determination. And when motivation is high, behavioural change can suddenly become easier or seem more attainable and anything is possible"

The BBC are riding this wave well with an excellent web initiative which allows you to compare your physical measurements to those of a vast data base of 2012 Olympians.  It's a pitch perfect exploitation  of the olympics head-space in that it helps answer the question - "just how different am I from them?"  Check it out here or watch the video below:

Dr Dre wins prize for Olympic Ambush

There have been many examples of ambush marketing at the London 2012 Olympic Games.  

One which nearly got through the Olympic Police's radar was from British mint brand "Polo" who light-heartedly offered Tube commuters a Fresh Air Snorkel so they could circumvent the unpleasantries associated with foul air.

Arguably the best is however comes from a brand of headphones licensed to rapper and produce Dr Dre.

Dre, not an official sponsor of the International Olympic Committee or London 2012, sampled members of Team Great Britain with his cooler than cool headphones, knowing that many athletes like to listen to music during their warm up and mental preparation phase.

Beats headphones have been almost ubiquitous in the Aquatics Centre with swimmers including Michael Phelps using them to block background noise before races.  More in the Guardian here

Augmented Reality adds spice to Eagles' season tickets

According to Mashable, the Philadelphia Eagles unveiled a feature to their season tickets which enables holders to access enriched content on their smart phones.  Each game ticket will give the owner access to  a different combination of highlights, previews, messages from players and analysis - content which really helps builds anticipation for that game.

The Eagles say its the first time such technology has been used for NFL tickets, and developed the feature in partnership with the augmented reality company Aurasma.

“We are always trying to provide new features and experiences for our fans,” Eagles president Don Smolenski said in a press release. “We think there’s a real wow factor when season ticket holders hold their smartphones over these tickets and watch them come to life, launching videos that showcase some of our fans’ favorite players.”

The Eagles also took another step into the digital space this offseason.  In June, the team announced a partnership with Angry Birds to produce a spinoff version of the mega-hit mobile game.

A video demonstrating how the app works can be found here

Boston Pizza changes Pizza Shape to celebrate UFC

Canadian Pizza Boston Pizza is making pretty good mileage out of its partnership with the UFC.  Witht he launch of the "Octagon Pizza" the chain will provide fans with an ultimate eating experience that they can't get anywhere else.   Says Steve Silverstone, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Boston Pizza, "The Octagon Pizza from Boston Pizza is a great way for us to offer our guests an enhanced UFC® experience before they head to the fight or when watching Pay-Per-View events with friends and family at Boston Pizza."

As an official partner of the UFC® in Canada, Boston Pizza can offer other unique experiences exclusively to Boston Pizza guests. In addition to the launch of The Octagon Pizza, Boston Pizza is sponsoring a national contest on the UFC Canada Facebook page. The contest, called Tough Enough, launches gives UFC fans from across Canada the opportunity to win the ultimate UFC 152 weekend in Toronto on September 22-23.

Adidas and Ajax F.C. surprise fans in change-rooms

Adidas, in collaboration with Ajax football club pulled this quirky little stunt with customers buying the club's lastest strip.  The video is pretty self explanatory.

Stop Press

Adidas pulled a similar stunt in London with its #takethestage Beckham Photobomb.  Check it out here

Team's Jersey to promote blood donor awareness

We've seen public issues being championed by sports teams before:  think about the number of teams who've gone pink in aid of breast cancer awareness.  Well here's something similar - a team going "red" to drive blood donor awareness.

Second division Brazilian team Vitória, is sporting a new kit for the upcoming season.  The club - which traditionally sports red and black uniforms - will now start the season in red and white hoops - though the white stripes will be filled in red as the amount of blood given increases. When the first goal is reached, the bottom stripe will become red, then the next stripe after the next goal is reached, and so on, until all four stripes are red and the jerseys are back to normal. 

Golf on a plane - Air New Zealand and the PGA Pro-Am

A while back we looked at how brands are using aeroplanes as staging areas to bring their sponsorships and partnerships alive.  Air New Zealand is the latest to try its hand at aerial activation when it launches it's 30 000 ft In-Flight Putting Challenge to celebrate the New Zealand PGA Pro-Am Championship.  Passengers will get the chance to putt down the aisle of the plane to stand a chance of winning golfing prizes from Callaway and the grand prize of a VIP experience at the tournament itself.

As a nice finishing touch, the promotion also saw cabin attendants donning retro golf gear - check out the video below for a flavour of what went down.

Samsung searches for bloggers to cover the games

The age of the Citizen Journalist has not gone un-noticed by big marketers.  Recently, we saw how Bud Light was using selected fans to blog live from Indianapolis for the Super Bowl.  A few months ago, we saw how Puma had done something similar to activate its part in the Volvo Ocean Race (in-port racing in Dubai).  Well, Samsung is looking to bring alive it's "Everyone's Olympic Games" idea by joining the bandwagon!  

Matthew Sampson from Marketing Magazine reports that the electronics giant has initiated a search for 100 bloggers from over 60 countries around the world to cover the Olympics using Samsung products.  The goal is to make the brand more aspirational.

The selection process is pretty rigorous with at least two qualifying rounds and a much publicized judging process involving celebrity judges in each participating country.  

Winners will not only blog in real time but produce a daily show across the entire Olympic Games period using Samsung products. 

Ambassadors for the program include celeb chef and British national treasure Jamie Oliver, as well as David Beckham and royal Zara Phillips.  

Samsung executives believe the Olympic activity will give Samsung the edge in its increasingly intense battle against Apple.  Sunny Hwang, vice-president and head of global sports marketing at Samsung said: "We have better technology, better design and better products [than Apple] and we are the Olympic partner, not Apple - that’s a big difference." - (not sure what he was smoking!!)

The flagship device it seeks to promote, apart from its mobile phones, is the Samsung Galaxy note, a device specifically designed with bloggers in mind

Enhancing the Fan experience - Lessons from London 2012

I'm keeping a close eye on the Olympics as a few nice ideas on enhancing the fan experience are emerging.  One I have particularly liked was the opening of the Olympic Stadium on March 14.  

The special ticketed event called "2012 Hours to Go: An Evening of Athletics and Entertainment", featured an evening of top flight athletics starring some of the nation's top college athletes as well as a few Olympians too.

Throughout the course of the evening, the 40,000 strong-audience was narrowed down to one lucky winner who was brought into the middle of the Stadium to officially open the venue.

A few weeks later, athletics enthusiasts got the opportunity to experience the sharp end of the stadium when the National Lottery Olympic Run concluded in the stadium itself.  More than 40 000 runners applied to run in the race though only 5000 lucky runners were lucky enough to participate.

The field had its quota of sporting figures and celebrities, including Alec Stewart the cricketer, champion javelin throwers Fatima Whitbread and Steve Backley, athlete Roger Black, Paralympian Danny Crates, model Katie Price and her son Harvey. 

What "official" responsibilities can we hand over to fans?

• The Coin Toss?
• Handing over the trophy to the winning team?
• Special Half time and full time interviews?

Samuel Adams launches "26.2" Beer to celebrate Marathon

We've looked at limited Edition versioning in a few previous posts - whilst there are downsides to this practice - (supply chain costs mainly but also stock write-offs), the approach can be very effective in driving partnerships.

Samuel Adams, Boston's iconic brewer, is to celebrate it's association with the equally iconic Boston marathon with the launch of a limited edition draught named "26.2" (there are 26.2 miles in a marathon).

Said Jim Koch, founder and head brewer, “Our partnership is a perfect fit because of our shared history– a Boston-born brewery joining the biggest of Boston traditions.  I released my first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager to the public on Patriots Day in 1985, the day of the Marathon right here in Boston"

The beer, a light gose brew (German in origin) will be available at all race related venues as well as pubs and restaurants along the race route

Since the Boston Marathon’s first run in 1897, the event has been held every year in April on Patriot’s Day.

More information here

Coca Cola Portugal converts corporate suite into fan dorm

PSFK reports on Coca Cola Portugal's decision to close it's corporate suite at Benfica Stadium and re-model it for the ultimate fan experience.  The box, normally reserved for the top brass of Coke, was converted to include bunk beds, chill-lounges, gaming facilities so that 8 lucky friends could enjoy the ultimate fan experience.  Some pretty big thinking to deliver on Coke's core promise of "happiness".  

The video below says it all!

Bud Light Hotel makes for a special Super Bowl Memory

And yet another Super Bowl "Stop Press"....

We’ve looked at some interesting stuff from Anheuser Busch already – like the competition to become a Bud Light Super Bowl correspondent.
Another interesting activation from the brewer saw Bud Light taking over the Hampton Inn of downtown Indianapolis and converting it into a fully branded residential experience for the duration of Super Bowl week.

According to the brand's web-page "from the moment the visitor steps into the venue, he encounters the Bud Light logo as well as memorabilia almost everywhere he looks".  Each guest also receives a Bud Light Super Bowl "Survival Kit" in his room. 

The Bud Light was also venue to a number of A List parties including a concert by 50 Cent and Pit Bull, the Playboy Party and the Madden Party.

This unique approach to hospitality is a far cry from the fully catered hospitality venue at the game and arguably, produces more opportunities for an extended band experience

Sponsorships and in-flight entertainment - not such a strange marriage

Aeroplanes come under the spotlight in this blog as a pretty innovative staging area for bringing a partnership alive.  We've looked at how Emirates has used branded exteriors to amplify its partnership with Manchester City.  But what about the interiors?
Cabins are generally surreal yet claustrophobic environments in which personal space is always under threat.  People - depending on the length of the flight - are often bored out of their minds.  In short, a largely untapped environment.
But in the last few weeks, a number of brands have made pretty good use of it.  The first is Turkish Airlines whose partnership with Manchester United has been a major feature of its TV commercials of late.  The ads are invariably fun, tongue in cheek and feature A List players from the team roster.

But what happens when you decide to push the formula just that little bit harder?  Try including those same players in the onboard flight safety film.  It's pretty effective and a great way to get people to sit up and listen.  

Another variation on the theme comes to us from Mexican beer Corona who recently made a huge splash with a Major League Soccer partner Chivas USA by getting actual players to model the new team strip on a flight from Guadaljara to Los Angeles.  The stunt took 3 months of planning but caused quite a stir because the "catwalk" featured no less than 3 stars from the team.

Cadbury and London 2012 - the power of Limited Edition packs

OK.  I am really starting to like Cadbury's activation of their London 2012 partnership.
I have written previously of the brand's "Keep Team GB Pumped" campaign and really admire not only the amount of resource the company is putting into the activation but the lengths they are going to to drive and amplify the association.
A recent footnote to the so-called "anthem" activation is a crowd-sourced rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" - recorded in a number of studios around the country and then shared with the athletes who the brand is sponsoring.  Here's a look at it:



But the most recent chapter belongs to the limited edition pack, particularly a Cadburys Dairy Milk Bar which contains a blank post card upon which the fan can send a personalised greeting to team GB.  Here's a look at what I found on the brand's Google Plus page this morning:

Another wave of limited edition packs features sample packs of Cadbury's top 10 chocolate bars:

There is huge power in limited edition packs and admittedly, confectionary companies are past masters at it - (consider what they get up to just at Easter time).  They tend to gain huge standout not just on the primary shelf but on secondary display too.  Consider the power of how the six pack shrink wrap design for Carling helped amplify and drive entries for the Carling Cup.  One imagines there are a lot more opportunites waiting to be exploited.

RBS 6 Nations App - It's Star Player all over again

RBS has taken a page out of Heineken's UEFA Champions League Star Player activation with it's own 6 Nations game app.  It's pretty much the same concept - warm up with pre-match trivia challenges, push yourself to predict the outcome of every scrum, lineout and kick, test your skill with in-play questions.  Then at the final whistle, compare how you've done with your mates and other gamers worldwide.  The game can be accessed on Apple devices, Android as well as on Facebook.

Papa Johns' imaginative Super Bowl Promo

The Super Bowl is one of the “Big 5” days for pizza chains in the United States and as such, orders are fiercely contested. 

Papa Johns, America’s third largest pizza take-out chain (behind Pizza Hut and Dominoes) is not only renowned for its “better ingredients, better Pizza” tagline but for the highly innovative way in which it infiltrates key moments in the big game.

During Super Bowl 45 for example, the chain offered free pizza to all its rewards members if the game went into overtime (a fair gamble since this has never happened in Super Bowl history).  Papa Johns also randomly gave away $45 gift cards every 45 seconds of the game - (get it? 45 seconds?  $45?  Super Bowl 45?) – to people who ordered pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday. 

The results were pretty impressive.  Papa Johns sold more than a million pizzas on game day which is only about 200 000 shy of the 1.2m units which second place player Dominoes achieved.  Most importantly, the promotion succeeded in dramatically increasing registrations on the chains’ loyalty program – a critical feature of any pizza delivery business in that it enables the capture and subsequent leverage of individualised data.

For Super Bowl 46, Papa Johns continued with the concept but played with the formula.  This year, the giveaway was expanded to include a pizza and a free Pepsi Max 2 litre (spot the hidden partnership!)  The only difference was the mechanic which this year centred on that most intriguing (and often highly superstitious) phenomenon of most team ball sports – the coin toss.

Again, to reap the benefits, customers had to visit papajohns.com and sign up for the rewards scheme.  Then, to be in the running for a prize, the member had to vote which way the coin toss was going to go.  If the majority of fans were correct, all members would get the freebie package.  Pretty generous and as far as mechanics go, a simple as they come!

Other elements to the campaign included the following:

• A 30 second TV spot Peyton Manning staring the brother of Super Bowl winning quarterback Eli Manning; Jerome Bettis and Papa Johns CEO “Papa” Johns Schnatter.  Apart from Schnatter, there was real method in this selection:  Manning, out all year through injury, stars as the Umpire remarking “a man’s gotta work”.  Bettis was some years ago, party to one of the biggest coin toss controversies in NFL history. 
• An interactive website allowing consumers to register a rewards members and to vote on the coin-toss
• A presence on both Twitter (hashtag #freepapajohns) and Facebook

Outstanding look at how digital is changing the fan's stadium experience

I have blogged incessantly about the intersection of digital technology and the fan's experience of the game. This video, sourced of Forbes' YouTube Channel, is an outstanding insight into this trend - and its importance for marketers.  I can strongly recommend that you watch this and identify as many ways as possible in which your brand can facilitate fan experience by infilitratiing these technological touchpoints

An interesting build on this comes from Michael Cunnah of iSportConnect.  In "The Key Ingredients of a World class Stadium", he outlines the essential elements, some of which appear below:

1. ENTERTAINMENT - particularly insofar as the "second screen" of the smartphone is concerned. How can stadia offer brilliant and personalised experiences to fans through this medium? Replays, networking with friends, ordering food and drink, betting and responding to competitions are just a few of the services that could be offered.
2. COMFORT - this one is a no brainer - however, it presents unique opportunites not just to stadia but to brands looking to provide elite experiences to loyal users (see any O2 activities)
3. COMMERCIAL - the provision of unique media forms which allow sponsors to stream their content to specific groups in the crowd
4. FLEXIBILITY - being able to host a variety of events and hence appeal to a variety of interest groups.  This makes the venue more attractive to sponsors.

New ways to put fans "up close and personal" with the action

Since my visit to Google's UK headquarters a few weeks back, I've been keeping a close eye on the work Cadbury is doing to leverage its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics.  According to a Google employee I chatted to, Cadbury's strategy is to establish a presence on as many digital platforms as it can, one of which is the relatively new Google Plus. 

I really like the way in which Cadbury is using Google Plus "hangouts" to put fans in "real life" touch with the British Olympian stars it is partnering with.  A "hangout" is a fantastic piece of Google proprietary technology which allows an individual to stage a video chat with a limitless number of friends or fans.  The beauty lies in the fact that it is not one way communication -  the platform allows for two way interaction as well.  Recently, David Beckham chatted to fans as far afield as Ghana, London and Madrid.  At about the same time, Barack Obama did the same thing as a preface to his State of the Union Address

Beckham's invitation to fans is below

And the actual hangout (all 45 minutes of it) is here.

Cadbury has done much the same thing with its partner olympians

Highlights from the interview are below

What doors could your brand open to facilitate such "up close and personals" between fans and their favourite players?

• A sponsored hangout Q&A between fans and a team captain on the eve of a big game?
• A podcast series - sponsored by your brand - with cutting edge insights on the sport from both players and experts?

As usual in the world of digital media, the opportunites seem limitless!

QR Codes and how they enhance event experience

A big part of SAB event activations involve hospitality tents at big games.  Almost invariably, visitors to such venues are given the "rubber stamp" on the inside of their wrists.  A small Indian Agency took this a step further with the idea of a QR Code Buddy Stamp.  A QR codes is like a barcode which can be scanned with a smartphone and which takes the person to a particular content destination or experience on the web.  I love what they did with it here:

The idea has also been used by Heineken at a music festival in Poland ...

...and to introduce visitors to Central Park's diverse attractions.

There is no doubt that given the growth and incidence of smartphones amongst SA's sporting public, this tactic could be very effective to either facilitate an experience for fans (e.g. by driving them to unique or VIP content) or to enhance the enjoyment of the activation.