As we head toward the All-Star break in baseball and get past the halfway point in NASCAR, it is worthwhile to point out a nice recent mix of the two…driver Kenny Wallace's loyalty to his hometown Cardinals tied to the All-Star game. Wallace, who has shown his loyalty to the Cards by wearing Cardinals red at races, talking about the Cards on twitter and his facebook page, and even indulging in online chats about the team when he is not racing, got to go home and meet the Cards recently, throw out a first pitch and even help promote the All-Star Fan fest with some ticket giveaways, a great crossover promotion for both sports. The tie together was Bank of America's NASCAR and MLB promotional platform, which was able to link two key properties together for the brand, an opportunity that is often missed in today's sponsorship world. By identifying a high profile driver with his hometown, B of A was able to deliver on multiple fronts…connecting the loyal NASCAR fan to the baseball fan and vice versa, while at the same time driving traffic (no pun intended) to the Fan Fest next week. Perhaps even more importantly, the move to link the two created great good will with the driver for the brand, and that type of “street cred” with elite athletes can pay off in many ways in the future when the brand needs a “little extra” promotional help. By using traditional media, social media platforms, an event and linking two high profile sponsorships, B of A showed how high level multi-sport branding opportunities can work together to win for all.
Some other good reads…Media Post had a good piece on State Farm's sponsorship of a Bollywood contest…interesting combo of a traditional American brand and the high level media platform for an emerging nation…Media Daily News also had a good piece on the emerging platform of “El Beisbol” and its new branding partners…and the Washington Post had a good piece on the use of wheelchair basketball to aide wounded vets get back into shape.
