Puma Feeds the Frenzy at the 16th Hole of the WM Phoenix Open

Budding golf superstar and Rickie Fowler and his Puma Golf, his title sponsor, are surely making a splash in the golf world. Fowler has already recorded three (3) 2nd place finishes on the PGA Tour this year and brings an edgy persona to the golf course that has already won over fans.

At the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open, Fowler and Puma Golf took their partnership to the next level by feeding off the frenzy of racous fans located at the 16th hole. After nearly acing the Par-3 shot, Fowler delighted the crowd by throwing out a stack of 15 autographed Puma Monoline hats into the stands ... before he even attempted his putt to birdie the hole. In addition, Fowler supported Waste Management's "green-out" and eco-friendly tournament initiatives by sporting an outfit that was green from head to toe.

Here is a quick video of Fowler's PR stunt at the 16th hole after nearly sinking a perfect shot:

Here is a quick video that demonstrates how young golf fans are quickly embracing Fowler on the Tour:

After being named 2010 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Fowler has quickly made a name for himself with his fashionable style and hip personality. Puma celebrated Fowler's 2010 ROY nomination by releasing a "Moto-Golf" viral that combines his two passions in life - golf and motocross. It's refreshing to see a brand like Puma take such a non-traditional approach to its golf business. Check out the spot below:

Johnsonville Gives Away Free Music Downloads For "The Big Game"

With 9 out of 10 Super Bowl viewers watching "The Big Game" with family and friends at home, Johnsonville has teamed up with Banshee Music to create a terrific promotion designed to enhance their party experience.

Johnsonville is running a "Superville" initiative that allows all consumers who sign up for the free "Johnsonville Enthusiast Club" newsletter to receive ten (10) free music downloads, specifically created in support of the Green Bay Packers and the Super Bowl. The newsletter signup process is simple and there aren't any gimmicks involved - after inputting their contact information, consumers can immediately download ten (10) great tracks, including:

• Five (5) Super Bowl Tracks
  • This is Where the Party's At
  • Get Ready for the Big Game
  • Welcome to the Show
  • Heart of a Champion
  • Crank it Up
• Five (5) Green Bay Packers Tracks*
  • We Love the Green and Gold
  • G-Force
  • Packers Tailgate
  • Let's Go Green Bay
  • Making History Roll

* Johnsonville is an Official Partner of the Green Bay Packers

Red Bull Crashes the Streets to Crown the Best Uphill Biker

Red Bull recently held a "Red Bull Hill Chasers" challenge to see which BMX, Mountain Bike, Road Cycling, and Fixed Gear riders in the UK were the fastest uphill riders. The event, held in Bristol, featured 16 of the top bike athletes in the UK and 16 top local heroes battling head-to-head to settle a long standing dispute between bike disciplines.

The event was absolutely tremendous. Hundreds of fans were lined alongside the iconic Park Street in Bristol, cheering on the riders as they raced furiously under the city lights. Winners of the different heats received charge bikes as compensation.

Check out photos of the event and the highlights below, especially the first video which shows a BMX rider taking out a bystander on the street. The event just goes to show how Red Bull continues to evolve sport - and in this case, find a way to combine all bike disciplines in a manner that is very entertaining for casual fans:

The Wizards Score a Slam Dunk with Fans

The Washington Wizards entertained fans at a recent home game by allowing a few select fans a chance to attempt dunks off a trampoline (standard intermission entertainment). However, the team did a terrific job staging the event to the enjoyment of fans.

Check out how they did it below:

Which leads one to question... Dunkin' Donuts does so many great things to leverage their sports partnerships, particularly in Boston, but why have they not sponsored the "Dunkin' Donuts" ... a group of regular fans, out-of-shape fans, or acrobatics dressed in donut costumes (or as munchkins) dunking off branded trampolines at halftime? It seems like a no-brainer that plenty of fans would enjoy. Teams could find ways to drive traffic to retail based on the number of dunk conversions.. Just a thought!

Alaska Airlines Lets Portland Timbers Fans Design the Team Plane

Alaska Airlines is celebrating its new partnership with the Portland Timbers by running a "Paint the Plane" contest that allows fans an opportunity to have a say in the design of the team's branded plane.

From February 1st through February 15th, fans can submit their own, unique Timbers centric airplane designs using a PDF template of a 737 Alaska Airlines plane that is available to be downloaded on the Timbers' official website. Fans can submit their artwork either by email or by mail, per directions on the website.  

Each of the submissions will be judged based on originality, creativity, and team personification, with the Grand Prize Winner receiving two (2) complimentary first class roundtrip tickets to anywhere that Alaska Airlines flies, two (2) club seats to the Timbers' inaugural home game, and a team autographed jersey... in addition to seeing their sketch design brought to life on an actual Alaska Airlines aircraft. In addition, Alaska Airlines is also awarding 2nd Place, 3rd Place, and (7) Honorable Mention prizes for additional noteworthy submissions.

The promotion serves as a great way for organizations to leverage airline partnerships, especially in a day and age where airlines are investing more dollars and demonstrating a willingness to brand aircraft. Look for more organizations and their airline sponsors to enact similar initiatives in the near future! 

The Future of Stadium Signage - For Auto Partners

Honda recently teamed up with GT Media, JC Decaux, and Puca to develop an innovative outdoor messaging campaign designed to engage young, male consumers and demonstrate the innovative attributes of its automobiles.

To generate buzz around the launch of the new Civic R Series in Ireland, Honda displayed a large, interactive billboard in the trendy streets of Dublin that allowed consumers to actually start the car (featured on the billboard) by texting "START" to a designated shortcode (51500). Upon doing so, the call-to-action signalled the lights on the car to light up and smoke to exit from the car's exhaust pipes on the billboard.

Consumers that engaged with the billboard received a bounce back link to a Honda mobile brochure, providing additional details about the car, and also had an opportunity to receive a free ringtone of the car's engine roar if they engaged with the billboard via Bluetooth technology. The four-week campaign ran during June 2010.

Honda's innovative billboard technology serves as a great benchmark for sports organizations looking for new ways to take their signage to the next level, notably in baseball. While a billboard with interactive elements could not be run in-stadium during play, there is plenty of down time during games (between innings, pre-game, post-game, pitching changes, etc.) when brands could engage with fans via SMS technology without having to feature personnel on-site to operate the signage.

Look for a number of sports organizations to begin experimenting with SMS technology to take their stadium signage and brand activation to the next level!

Source: Puca

Rafael Nadal, Kia, and the Australian Open Team Up to Launch "The Open Drive"

Kia is leveraging its designation as an Official Partner of the 2011 Australian Open by creating a feature called "The Open Drive" that features the WTA's finest stars participating in video interviews filmed inside the sporty Kia Optima.

Kia filmed The Open Drive features with a state-of-the-art camera system that provides multiple camera angles of the tennis stars while they answer a series of questions presented via an iPad. Fans can suggest questions for the players to answer via Facebook/Twitter and can view the segments on the Official Australian Open website as well as Kia.com.au

The Open Drive feature serves as a terrific benchmark for tennis properties (and golf) to leverage automobile partners and engage players in new ways.

Check out Rafael Nadal's appearance in The Open Drive to kick off the 2011 Australian Open below:

For more information, check out a video overview of The Open Drive below:

The Indiana Pacers Get Fuzzy With Their Vodka Partner

In November, the Indiana Pacers announced a special partnership with Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka, a vodka label created by golf legend Fuzzy Zoeller who is well known as a great Hoosier golfer, citizen, and businessman.

The Pacers celebrated the partnership on Saturday, November 20th by hosting a special promotional night where Zoeller served as the honorary captain of the game and held an exclusive meet-and-greet with the first 200 Pacers fans who purchased a special $95 ticket package to the game that included a Krieg DeVault Club Level Ticket, an autographed Fuzzy hat, one (1) drink voucher, and access to the chef's table.

Zoeller opted to align his vodka label brand with the Pacers organization in an effort to drive awareness and avidity amongst Pacers fans in the state of Indiana. As part of the partnership, the Pacers and Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka will feature two (2) bars in the concourse, Fuzzy's Garage and Fuzzy's 19th Holes (as shown below), and will feature custom courtside LED and a variety of other branding and hospitality elements at games. 

Check out a few photos of their terrific concourse buildouts and activation elements below: 

 

 

 

Lamborghini and Callaway Golf Go Head to Head in a Driving Competition

In September 2010, Lamborghini and Callaway Golf announced a strategic partnership in an effort to share the resources of their world renowned Research and Development teams. The two companies celebrated the partnership announcement with the market introduction of a co-developed material referred to as Forged Composite. But the excitement didn't stop there...

A few days ago, Lamborghini and Callaway unveiled a new viral piece that features PGA Tour golfer Stuart Appleby competing in a head-to-head competition against a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 coupe at Sandown Racecourse. In the spot, Appleby tests whether he can drive a golf ball faster using a Diablo Octane club than a Lamborghini in a 250m competition. The viral serves as a terrific way for Lamborghini and Callaway to drive awareness and interest in the new Forged Composite material. 

Check it out below... a very creative piece! 

Take Fans Behind-the-Scenes to See Players Using Your Products

Brands looking for new ways to drive excitement for their products amongst sports fans should work with players, agents, teams, and leagues to create videos that literally show players using their product. While it's easy for some category partners (apparel, footwear, etc.) to showcase athletes actually wearing and using their gear, others need to go to further lengths to show players in an authentic light with their products in-hand.

The locker room video below shows LeBron James distributing a box of his new headphones, Miami Heat Beats by Dre, to all of his teammates as a token of his appreciation. The video is terrific because it literally shows all of the players as they receive their new set of headphones and is very authentic. Realizing that LeBron, Wade, Bosh, and the entire team wear these headphones will make Heat fans across the globe who see the viral piece want to go out and purchase a set.

Behind-the-scenes videos showcasing players using products (whether in real-time or a staged viral setting) can serve as a very effective play for locker room products, electronics, jewelry partners, magazines/books, etc.).

Check out the video below for an inside look: