The Dodgers Claim LA As Their Town...

Are you looking for new ways to drive affinity in the local marketplace? Are you looking for ways to incorporate celebrities and super fans into your team's outreach efforts?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have done a tremendous job creating an outdoor messaging campaign that is helping them "own" the city of Los Angeles. Over the course of the 2009 MLB season, the Dodgers are unveiling the campaign, centered around the tagline "L.A. is my town", through a four-phase approach:

• Phase 1 - Centered around Manny Ramirez
• Phase 2 - Centered around the team's starters (pitchers, fielders, coaches)
• Phase 3 - Local, relevant stars and celebrities
• Phase 4 - Los Angeles Dodgers "super fans"

To really make the campaign resonate with fans in different communities across Los Angeles, the Dodgers even released a string of billboards targeting Hispanics (Spanish messaging), surfers and beachgoers (beach and lifeguard signage) and fans who attend games (signage with a tie-back inside Dodger Stadium). Fox Sports recently sat down with Erica Johnson, the Dodgers Manager of Advertising, Marketing, and Promotions to discuss the campaign - check out the clip HERE.

Phase 3 of the campaign (which was just released) has proven to be the most exciting (and viral) yet. The team has done a tremendous job aligning with recognizable celebrities and figures. While consumers in the marketplace may not understand the celebrity tie-in initially, they will eventually understand that the Dodgers are just using them to show that they have backing from people of all upbringings in the community (and it's cool to be a Dodgers fan). Check out some of the "celebrity billboards" below:

Kim Kardashian

Oscar De La Hoya

Yoda

Tara Lapinski (former figure skater - not sure on the exact correlation with this one)

Clout (local extreme sports pros)