There are so many great examples of hustle the lead to brand building, exposure and buzz: here are three for the week worth noting.
Fatima And The Caps’: The value of just showing up always has its advantages. In December, executives from Monumental Sports had former NHL star Peter Bondra along on the trip for some hockey skills and good will events in the Middle east. And into their lives came Fatima Al Ali, a member of the country’s national hockey team, while Bondra and some others were conducting a clinic. With skates and traditional garb, Fatima showed off her stick abilities and the Monumental folks caught it all on video they were collecting for their OTT platform, and marketing and goodwill gold was spun. The goodwill exploded this week as Fatima visited Washington for a series of events, getting the first place Caps, owner Ted Leonsis and the hockey world another huge boost at a time when everything about the immigrant story is becoming suspect in the Nation’s Capital. Great job DC and Monumental for seizing the moment.
Guinness, Super Bowl and World Records: World Records Off the field, two official NFL sponsors and a sports travel hospitality company also had record-setting events by incorporating a Guinness World Records title attempt into their experiential Super Bowl activations at or away from the NFL Experience in Houston, Texas.
To kickoff Super Bowl weekend, New Era, the “Official On Field Cap” of the NFL, unveiled the largest hat mosaic with a record-breaking 2,151 caps. Here’s a cool, short time-lapse video of the mosaic build. Then Barclaycard had spokesperson Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts attempting the most field goals in one minute. He booted incredible 28 yard field goals from 17 yards out. Add in PrimeSport, a global leader in sports travel, hospitality and ticketing for fans, corporations, and professional sports teams, the company held the Largest cocktail tasting event during a private event on game day and you have three smart, amazing and buzzworthy wins that used the Super Bowl clutter to gain global exposure well away from the results on the field.
And The There Was Oakley: The Charles Oakley story continues to run its course and will in an extended news cycle as the former Knicks star holds his own press tour this coming week. Where it ends is up for debate, but credit the social world and some young entrepreneurs for grabbing the moment, capturing #FreeOakley messages and then doing the quick turnaround to sell shirts and other pieces of imagery to take advantage of the situation and bring more spin of their own. While NBA licensees, the Garden and probably those working on the business side probably aren’t thrilled with the merch out there, go to credit those who hustle and see an opportunity for a chant, and a situation, that still has legs, good or bad. By the way, when will one of the 13 minor league baseball teams in the New York area grab on to this and stage a #FreeOakley night? Strike while the iron is hot folks.
Great stories, great hustle and great spin on all.
