Marketing Student at UNI. Your connection to digital sports advertising. Includes sponsorship, and connecting brands, teams, and sports events to fans and consumers.
The NFL and military sponsor USAA are out in full force demonstrating their appreciation towards the US Military in honoring and thanking them by raising awareness for the sacrifices made by those in the service.
There is no better way to spread the word than through Americas most watched sport this fall.
For us fans, the NFL is encouraging everyone to show their appreciation in the Million Fan Salute at www.millionfansalute.com Here you are able to see news updates on players extending their passion off of the field as well as pick your favorite NFL team and support your local military. Awards are offered to the hometown with the most salutes to support their local military.
One of the largest sports icon's in history is Gatorade. Beginning in a University of Florida lab in 1965, Gatorade is known to be part of many of history's most celebrated sports moments. Gatorade takes a moment to travel through time in it's video, sharing its connection with important athlete icons in sports history.
Gatorade endorses athletes such as Mia Hamm, Hope Solo, Dwayne Wade, Usain Bolt and Landon Donovan. Gatorade is also eye catching and seen on the sidelines of NFL, NBA and MLB to increase its visibility. In a previous generation of athletes is Michael Jordan, who is known as the greatest basketball player of all time. Gatorade was with him as he became part of basketball history and redefined the game.
Gatorade creates it's presence through the success of these athletes, and positions the brand with moments that Gatorade was there to refuel and hydrate the athletes in their greatest moments.
WIN FROM WITHIN
Gatorade created history with its "Win from Within" Campaign, while it still lives today in some of the greatest athletes making history. Gatorade advertises that sports are driven from the inside out, and its time to start thinking about what you put on the inside. According to Gatorade, what's on the outside isn't enough. Check it out in this video.
EVERYTHING TO PROVE
Gatorade has a digital presence in an interactive website, You Tube channel, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In recent years, Gatorade fuels the NFL preseason training where the players have "Everything to Prove" and allows viewers an inside look at how college players turn into NFL rookies, as they have everything to prove. Gatorade invites you to follow these videos on their Facebook page, or subscribe to them to get an inside look at the NFL season competition. In interviews with the players. you can get inside the suspense and follow the players to find out their attitudes, hard work and lives before the NFL draft.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The campaigns listed above are only a small number in the impressions that Gatorade has made through out the year. Gatorade is paired with a digital global marketing agency VML and delivers creative solutions for Gatorade, as on of its clients, in marketing and technology. VML has been helping Gatorade since 2010 and has created new branded content to "fuel the G". VML has allowed Gatorade to create ipad Apps, control social media, create impressions, build an online presence to targeted fitness athletes, and create NFL films to spotlight the off-season. Below is a link to more exclusive information that Gatorade and VML have done in the past.. the question is what's next? I will sure be following Gatorade to see what aspects of sports it has to offer next.
There are many athletes who are using social media to engage with their own fans on Twitter and Facebook alone. Building a personal brand allows these athletes to perform well both on and off the field. Lets zone in on Cristiano Ronaldo, who is considered one of the best soccer players in the world. He currently plays for Real Madrid in Spain, and is team captain of the Portugal national team. He is the most recognized football player over Neymar, Bale and Lionel Messi, which may be a battle still, as Ronaldo and Messi brawled it out this weekend as Barcelona played Real Madrid in the first "El Clasico" this weekend. Barcelona beat Real Madrid in a match ending in 2-1.
NBC sports talks about The Battle for the Ballon d'Or, sponsored by FIFA, where top coaches and team captains vote to "award the football player who is considered to have performed the best over the course of the calendar year", NBC Sports. From 2009-2012 Lionel Messi has won the past four FIFA Ballon d'Or awards while Ronaldo has won once in 2008.
In looking at the battle for the award, Messi has the stats in goals and assists while Ronaldo may have the popularity. Cristiano Ronaldo rocks the social media world in creating his own buzz for his personal brand by engaging with fans.
Cristiano Ronaldo currently has about 22.2 million followers on Twitter. He creates his personal brand through tweets by sharing photos of his personal life while he also created a competition for, targeting the younger crowd that follows him. The competition winner is going to meet Ronaldo in person in Madrid. Also in his twitter Ronaldo announces matches to motivate fans to cheer on himself and his team in the upcoming matches, he tweets photos going to dinner with friends, and shares videos to promote his new upcoming line.
His new line of Nike CR7 Boys Underwear Collection is launching in the end of October. His personal website is currently under construction, but fans are able to sign up to receive a notification as soon as the website is launched.
In viewing Ronaldo's twitter page, you may also notice a handle called @GAMEbyRonaldo. The Games is a global football competition that involves real matches, real teams, and real players from across the globe. He stresses that it is a revolutionary football competition, it is REAL, and it is HUGE...this provides an exciting outlook for football fans. The competitions marketing strategy as created a fair amount of buzz on this new competition because of photos and fan contests, and I think we are all curious on what Ronaldo actually has in store for us football fans. What other super star athletes create their own personal brand well? Share below!
Just realize that there's a lot of buzz around my #cr7underwear collection for kids.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 22, 2013
I’ll be launching a revolutionary football competition. End of October, Worldwide! Follow @GAMEbyRonaldo.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) September 30, 2013
Sochi 2014 is around the corner. We are starting to see brands and sponsors out in full force for these Olympic games. Here is a video that connects the emotional ties between a mom and a child. Procter and Gamble (P&G) is always there for you just like a mom is always there for you. Shows how moms keep us going and make sure we perform to our best ability everyday. P&G highlights an emotional message in this advertisement with moms from around the world, showing where greatness starts in childhood and how moms do so much for a child that deserve to be noticed. Mom's know your great potential before we see them as Olympians, is P&G's message.
Procter and Gamble wants to acknowledge the winter games as we celebrate the athletes, but more importantly wants to celebrate and give thanks to the encouragement that go them there, moms. This gets an A+ for cause marketing in my book.
You can find several more of these video's from the "Thank You, Mom" campaign on the P&G You Tube channel.
As a world wide partner, P&G is using its Facebook page to engage users by asking them to return for a "big announcement", creating suspension for the upcoming Olympic games. On October 28th, P&G is going to reveal the faces and names of the #PGFamily athletes whose mom's have been by their side since the beginning. Check out their social media pages and tune in for more!
Beer has been advertised in association with sporting events for years. When it comes to football, it is almost iconic to the game. This is especially apparent in the commercials and media attention by beer marketers during the NFL season. Super Bowl brand sponsor Anheuser-Busch has earned high levels of engagement in releasing creative TV commercials, as well as associating ads and campaigns with the NFL on social media.
The rising political debate on the legalization of marijuana for adults is reaching high levels of media coverage, and is not disappearing anytime soon. News coverage, blogs, forums, and media buzz are stoking the fire to this debate. I recently came across an organization called the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) that is working to change state laws, and ultimately federal law in hopes to reduce the penalties given from marijuana use. With some grey areas, the organization is not afraid to express its opinion, as its political speech to "change the law" is protected by the 1st Amendment.
The organization used an ad commercial with the phrase "the new beer", a drug with out hangovers or calories. The group is looking to target beer, a highly advertised drug that has little criticism. The advertisement shows negative side affects of beer and is hoping to make marijuana the better option. Since beer is associated with the sports world and drank at sporting events, it is smart for the group to also release its ads to sports fans, especially those sporting events that beer is popular and highly advertised for, such as NFL and NASCAR. In July 2013, the Marijuana Policy Project created a pro-marijuana ad to be shown on the jumbotron at the Indianapolis' Brickyard 400 Motor Speedway. After much criticism and complaints, NASCAR decided to not show the ad at the race. Though the ad was not seen by the fans at the NASCAR race, it still drew attention and generated conversation on the pro marijuana legalization and beer criticism debate.
In responding to this event, to obtain the goal of reaching sports fans and create positive publicity, the organization should plan to show its advertisements in states that are leaning toward the legalization of marijuana or those that already have legalized it first. By targeting this audience, the Marijuana Policy Project can show its advertisements to the right viewers, who then can publicize marijuana with positive word of mouth and engage in positive conversation. This is a better place to start, rather than get shut down by criticism, as with the partial fail at the Indianapolis speedway.
In another attempt to reach sports fans, the MPP placed a billboard outside of the Denver Broncos Sports Authority stadium a day before the Broncos vs Baltimore Ravens opening day kick off.
Even though pot is legal in Washington and Colorado, the NFL does not plan to adjust its policy on marijuana for the players, though this is the topic that the billboards main message is portraying. One can also visit the MPP website and sign a petition to tell the NFL to drop harsh penalties.
Though beer is not going to disappear in advertising for the NFL anytime soon, it is being debated on whether it should be associated with sports on the college level, in hopes to reduce the number of underage teen drinkers who may be influenced by these advertising messages.
.......where do you draw the line between marijuana and beer advertisements?
At this moment on Facebook, Under Armour has 52,186 people talking about them on Facebook as well as 2,514,598 "likes" for their Facebook Page. @UAWomen has 33,945 followers on Twitter, while @UnderArmour has 249,812 followers on Twitter. In a matter of weeks or even days, with the current campaigns on Social Media, do you believe we will see these numbers continue to increase?
There are high hopes for Social Media and the use of Digital Platforms today. It is the new and cheap way to reach out to mass targeted audiences. Users and fans can join in on conversations with others through these platforms. The great thing is, with the right minds, content, and strategy, it works!! I am going to take a dive into a couple of campaign's launched by Under Armour that show an example of a sports brand utilizing social media and other digital platforms.
How this can be relative to those interested in the creation of advertising campaigns.....
The official page of the #IWILL campaign is a driver that provides an incentive for the viewer to engage in the campaign and enter the free giveaway contest. Viewers can choose to share an #IWILL photo or written declaration to be featured on the webpage and enter to win the UA giveaway. When submitting a post you must provide an email address to finalize the submission. Here you can enter the give away. After submitting you are able to click to view more submissions by others or click to visit the #IWILL UA Twitter or Facebook pages. Twitter and Facebook aren't the only platforms involved. TV spots, You Tube, and Instagram are used as well. They even created smaller campaigns to kick off the NFL season.
To say the least, I think Under Armour is providing a great opportunity for users to more fully involve themselves with the brand. They are doing it all right by providing an incentive, sense of community, responsiveness, and involvement in promoting its brand, all while increasing engagement, brand awareness and collecting consumer data in the meantime. The best part is, because its all digital, its able to go GLOBAL. (cue in your happy dance)
Power In Pink: The Focus
Under Armour is using Social Media to reach target audiences. One featured campaign is the #WhatsBeautiful Campaign targeting women on Twitter. This ad campaign begins a month before the brand's new collection StudioLux Noir reaches stores. Under Armour has realized that the potential for sales under women's athletic apparel alone has increased, as this is a growing segment in their business. Under Armour is hoping for a high level of feedback in its campaign that engages with @UAWomen, #IWill and #WhatsBeautiful on Twitter. It runs contests, offers inspiring quotes and promotes online sales. (The Real Time Report). Below is a tweet by @UAWomen that is recognizing and congratulating the winners of it's 2013 Power In Pink Campaign to celebrate women who use fitness and exercise in their fight against breast cancer. The Power In Pink campaign features stories of women who are fighting or have fought breast cancer, which offers inspiring quotes. It also has a selection of athletic apparel dedicated to help show support in the battle against breast cancer. Also, at the bottom of the Power In Pink feature page on the Under Armour Website are a number of organizations that Under Armour supports.
On September 29th Under Armour posted a Facebook post featuring Wide Receiver Randall Cobb wearing Under Armour's Alter Ego apparel that is available for purchase online.
This post, as well as many others, provides direct access to view and purchase UA's products online.
#IWILL Campaign: The Brands Recent Global Powerhouse
This year Under Armour kicked off it's biggest global ad campaign yet. It was ten years ago that Under Armour built its brand around the slogan "protect this house". CEO Kevin Plank is ready to begin the next chapter of its growth with its biggest and first global advertising campaign to date. (AdvertisingAge).
In February, Under Armour launched the campaign with this attention grabbing one minute pitch on the new technology:
A Word or Two From A Professional Influencer
Russel Scibetti of the business of sports online offered insights on the "I Will" campaign in an interview with Sports Marketing Now ( Look further on the You Tube Video Sports Marketing Now). He says:
"The slogan "I will" is a really good combination. It really fits into the fitness lifestyle element of I will take care of myself I will achieve I will succeed. I think its a nice slogan to build around as a key part to the campaign. Choices of athletes is pretty bold. They are going very young with the 3 or 4 anchor athletes that are part of this campaign. Its a risk the athlete wont pan out the way you expect them to......It does fit with the technology focus and the way they are trying to drive new emerging athletic apparel so I am pretty impressed by it. The young athlete presents a little bit of risk, as compared to "we will protect this house" which was such an anchor for them, so established and resonated so its good to see them going in a new direction."
(Tennis athlete Sloane Stephens and professional baseball outfielder Bryce Harper as well as Canelo Alvarez, Julio Jones, Cam Newton, Arian Foster are of those involved.)
The Athletes:
The athletes that anchor with UA's campaign get some spotlight for themselves as they help UA achieve their brand's highest potential.
Now that the NFL has found another way to reach its audience by becoming a media partner with Twitter, hopefully we can see more action where ever we are, both on and off the field. There is an important reason why social media and the digital world have become so popular.
This blog discusses both sports and digital advertising, but there are other areas of entertainment, such as TV and media production that help clarify the importance of using social media... so here is a little bit of off topic news to help support the notion of social media and digital advertising and how it works in other areas.
I was an intern at a tech savvy and inspiring social media studio in Los Angeles, California. The young and fabulous company is called Fanology Social. Recently, LA held a Social Media Week, where a few speakers, including the CEO of Fanology Social, and a client/actress of ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars Shay Mitchell joined in on a panel to talk about the use of social media to significantly increase fan engagement and opportunity for businesses in the TV entertainment industry. This panel provided proof that social media both monetizes and increases the growth of a business in popularity.
Providing fans w/ exclusive content on each channel is crucial to adding value and expanding your client's reach. #SMWLA#smwPLL
— Fanology Social (@FanologySocial) September 27, 2013
This is where I found out additional information on Social Media Week that crosses digital media advertising with the sports marketing industry. One panel in the Social Media Week Chicago discussed fan activation with sports sponsorship, the idea of this panel led me to research additional information on this topic. The panel hosted by Aon stated that
"As one of the most successful soccer clubs in the world, Manchester United’s 500+ million followers offered Aon a significant global branding opportunity and digital platforms afford Aon the ability to engage directly with these fans."-- SMWChicago
There is a lot of money in sports sponsorship, especially with the NFL being the most profitable and popular professional sports league in the US, and if advertising is done strategically through digital platforms, it is possible to enormously monetize the business with this exposure.
Some NFL teams are already doing a good job of promoting their team to their fans in social media and recognize the advantage. This page is worth a read to see the top 5 teams who are engaging. ZogDigital: Five Engaging Football Teams.
