Sometimes in the midst of a very crowded spring sports season, those properties that are always there and have done so much, like baseball and NASCAR, tend to get taken for granted. The excitement over the Indy 500 Centennial, the annual extravaganza of the NCAA Lacrosse Championships, even the rise of a very compelling MLS season mixed with the NBA and NHL Playoffs, sometimes push these other two juggernauts temporarily out of mind of the casual sports fan.
However this past week a few good practices again arose, one in baseball, another in NASCAR, which serve again as a reminder that the sports, despite their bumps in the road (no pun intended) are doing quite well thank you.
The first great activation idea was so interesting it grabbed the attention of Darren Rovell at CNBC, who gave the Milwaukee Brewers’ upcoming “Where’s Bernie?” promo some much deserved props. The its state-wide scavenger hunt titled, will be held Tuesday, May 24 starting at 5 a.m., with Brewers fans searching for 1,400 Bernie Brewer yard ornaments (Bernie is the cheerful lederhosen-clad mascot who has been with the club since their return to Milwaukee) hidden throughout Milwaukee County Parks and other parks across the state in Madison, Appleton, Kenosha and Green Bay. Four hundred of the lawn ornaments will have special prizes attached to them including Brewers game tickets, and additional prizes including gift certificates for a night in a Miller Park suite, game-used memorabilia, Milwaukee County Parks passes for golf, water parks and the Mitchell Park Domes. In addition to the prizes, 100 of the lawn ornaments will also be autographed by Brewers players and personnel. The team will use all their social media platforms for hints and meetups for the little statues, which will make for a fun and well covered promotion for collectors, casual and ardent fans and of course kids just getting ready to get out of school and hopefully follow the Brew Crew just a bit more. It is a great low-cost, wide ranging grassroots activation which can have a bigger upside in the future, tied to more media participation and maybe even a dash of local celebrity. Maybe even Bernie Brewer himself will make a future appearance, or players can head out in the early morning to find an ornament or two themselves.
The second grassroots activation of note is away from the banked ovals and loud engines of NASCAR, but is just as important as the sport looks to continue to attract a diverse and emerging fan base. May 20 was designated as Nascar Day Car Wash for Kids. The event, where communities will use car washes to promote volunteerism, will be coordinated among than 30 locations nationwide, with each local event benefitting a local children’s charity and The Nascar Foundation. The circuit supported the day with a series of local media activation programs, shout-outs from drivers, and a strong online campaign geared towards highlighting many of the local programs through digital and social media. A simple, low cost Nascar Unites wristband went to all participants, along with the reminder of the need for volunteerism of all kinds in the community. While not a part of the mega-activation programs NASCAR usually brings to bear in the consumer marketplace, this one was simple, effective and had an element that could touch any driver, whether he or she was a fan of the sport or not. Did the promo need Jimmie Johnson or Ryan Newman buzzing in to get his race ride washed locally? No. The publicity always helped, but the goal was to show the far-reaching positive effect the sport as a whole can have on the community, so it worked with subtlety just as well. Again, like the Brewers promo, could sponsor partners come along to drop in branded towels, washing fluids and even washing equipment? Sure. However for the program to be effective the community it was not totally needed this time. Nice touch, nice reminder of the value NASCAR can bring to any community with good work, and another nuance that a mega-brand with long-reaching arms can bring to market over the course of a very lengthy season.
Both events highlight the power of a mega-brand…one case an MLB team, the other the well-established face of NASCAR as a whole, to deliver effectively and directly to a core and casual audience right in the community. No need for stars, no need for huge TV platforms, just good fun from a brand people know, and sometimes maybe we all take a bit for granted in this hurry up and deliver the flash world we are in now.
