So here we are at Super Bowl Weekend, hopefully they will play the game at some point soon. We wanted to take a little respite and point out some innovative events worth a pop away from the Giants and Packers…
The Fire Score With Quaker Oats: Now the venerable Quaker Oats brand, a Division of PepsiCo, is never going to set the world on fire with cutting edge technology or over the top sponsorship explosions. They are who they are…a trusted, solid, essential, dedicated brand. However as good brands do, they can be innovative in presentation. So how did Quaker Oats and the Chicago Fire of MLS team up to announce their partnership? The old fashioned way…with an innovative call to action MAILED to media. The Fire sent out Quaker Oats custom designed oversized boxes packed with goodies, a release and a customized Fire jersey (with the Quaker Oats brand across the front) to several hundred sports, soccer-specific and trade media announcing their deal as official Breakfast Foods & Nutritious Snacks Partner of the Chicago Fire. The package was neat, effective and easy to understand at a time when promotions are all about digital complexity. It has tremendous shelf life and showed that the Fire and Quaker Oats took the time to understand and think about each member. Big headlines for the announcement? No. Great brand statement that will foster future coverage? Absolutely. Money well spent by a team looking to cut through the clutter.
The Wing Bowl Grows: It started as a small radio promotion 20 years ago, but Philadelphia’s Wing Bowl has grown into an entertainment event that rivals any niche promotion anywhere. This year’s event drew 20,000 followers and saw Takeru Kobayashi break the world record for wing eating in front of a crowd made up of radio promotional guests, competitive eating fans and a porn star or two just for flavor. The event now garners international coverage with stars like Kobayashi, the king of competitive eating, and also has a great give-back element with food and dollars raised to feed the homeless of Philadelphia. A great tent pole event for Sports Radio WIP in Philly to kick off Super Bowl weekend.
UFC Capitalizes on A Super Week: It has been a great brand building week for the UFC. Starting last Saturday, when the promotion scored solid numbers for the second show on FOX through this week with their annual Saturday night event in Las Vegas, the UFC again showed that they know how to grab the spotlight and effectively engage their fans. This weekend is one of the busiest in Vegas (behind only March Madness opening weekend), as thousands flock to the Strip to bet on all things around the Super Bowl. The UFC has made the weekend one of its signature nights, taking advantage of the night before the game to launch brand extensions and new business as well as a solid pay-per-view card, capturing the casual fan who is in town to have fun leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl. They need no ties directly to the NFL to draw eyeballs and attention, and use their marketing power to effectively own late night right before the Super Bowl kicks off. Like Wing Bowl in Philly, owning Vegas with a signature event gives the UFC another tentpole to build around every year for a brand which controls the marketplace and shows few signs of slowing down.
The Packers Are Stars Without Playing: Few teams have ever taken better advantage of not playing in the Super Bowl than the Green Bay Packers. despite their loss to the Giants, Green Bay players are still stars in the growing marketing world off the field. A look around this week saw Clay Matthews popping up on Ellen and smooching with Rosie O’Donnell, Greg Jennings hosting the Maxim Party for Coke Zero and Aaron Rodgers talking about acting and more endorsements. The players and their management teams have done a great job of maximizing brand potential off last year’s win, their national exposure and their down time. While other players may have hid after a disappointing loss, the Packers are out in full force and projecting positive stories with some solid brands. All smart long term moves that don’t compromise what the team can and will do on the field.
And now, back to the game…
