Yesterday the two teams for the 2009 Interenational Bowl were announced - University at Buffalo Bulls and the University of Connecticut Huskies. Accelteon is a strategic partner with the International Bowl, thus we get a unique view into this annual cultural and sporting phenomenon.
Bowl games are essentially the post season for US College Football and occur annually from mid-December to early January. They are as much about the fan experience as they are about the game itself.
From the time fans learn if and where their team will play (usually on the first or second weekend in December) to the weeks following the game, the bowl experience brings together fans in a way unlike any other sport.
The following is a timeline from pre-announcement to post-game on how various fan groups might interact:
Pre-announcement Anticipation:
Days or hours before the bowl committees announce their selection, fans rush to online discussion forums to discuss and predict where their team may go.
This is probably the most anxious time for the fans as they don’t know if or where they are going. For example, this year University of Connecticut fans didn’t know if they should book a plane ticket to El Paso Texas for the Sun Bowl or get ready to drive up to Toronto.
Getting Ready to Go:
Once the fans know where their team is going fans go online to:
Discuss the match-up, some fans hoped for a better bowl game, opponent or location; however, most are excited about the opportunity to travel with their team for a new experience.
Try to find out from other fans what the best way to travel to the game is (car, plane or train); if they are driving, many try to find other people to car pool with.
Discuss where the best hotels, restaurants, pubs are in the host city. Some fans may group together to get a discounted hotel rate.
Team pep rallies are often held at the school before the team heads off to their bowl location. This is an opportunity for players, students, alumni and fans to rally around the team.
Living The Experience:
Once the fans arrive in the host city they may participate in a host of planned an unplanned activities:
Unplanned activities may include meeting up with old classmates at a local pub, students hanging out together with the team at a club, or a family/group of friends going to see local tourist attractions.
Planned activities may include, The Battle of The Bands competition, an awards luncheon or a pep rally before the game.
Game Day:
Fans that attend the game often head to the stadium early to participate in tailgating activities
Once the game begins, the thousands of fans in the stadium band together as one for the duration of the game.
Likewise, fans that could not make the trip often get together either on campus, or at a friends house to watch the game. However, some fans take the bowl viewing experience to another level as seen in this video.
Post-Game:
Once the game is done, fans may gather for one last meal before heading to the airport or hitting the road to get back home.
The days and even weeks following the bowl game is usually filled with fans posting pictures/videos, talking about their experiences and thinking about next season.
Brands such as FedEx, Tostitos, Allstate and Capital One have been synonymous with the bowl experience for many years. In subsequent posts we’ll talk about how companies can and have monetized this opportunity.
Campbell’s Chunky Soup brand is launching a new initiative, Chunky MVC, that activates local participation.
Campbell’s Chunky soup brand and the Coaching Association of Canada have teamed up to honour Canada’s coaches with a new campaign that asks athletes, parents and community members to nominate coaches for the Chunky MVC title: Most Valuable Coach.
The company will accept entries at Chunky.ca/MVC until late January, when four finalists will be chosen. TSN, Campbell’s media partner, will then create spots featuring the finalists and ask consumers to vote for a winner online.
As mentioned by David Allard, a Sr. Brand Manager at Campbell’s:
“We wanted something that was going to allow us to connect with consumers,” he said. “Coaches play an important role for a lot of consumers, and often they are the unrecognized heroes behind the sport.”
“Everyone seems to have a story of coach who inspired them,” he added, noting that the coaching initiative is an evolution of Campbell’s past sponsorship of grassroots sports programs, as well as big leagues like the NHL, the NFL and the most recently the CFL.
The initiative should also remind consumers of the soup’s nutritional value, he said. “Chunky is known for being a hearty soup,” said Allard. “Its relationship with sports reinforces that it is hearty as a product.”
I think this is a very smart move and I congratulate Campbell’s for identifying the tribes that exist in communities across the country. By infusing Tribal Elements into their marketing strategy, Campbell’s has found an effective way to connect with and support these tribes. The next step is for Campbell’s to seriously consider developing a Tribal Strategy.
As I blogged earlier, it is a good idea to seek opportunities to combine tribes. Another example I came across is the partnership between H-D and the Milwaukee Brewers.
A big part of the renovation of Miller Park is the addition of a Harley-Davidson Deck.
The focal point of the deal is construction of the Harley-Davidson Deck, to be located beyond left-centerfield. Slated to open prior to the 2009 season, the deck will seat up to 42 people and feature actual Harley motorcycles built into the structure.
A new entry gate-called “Gate H-D” and a motorcycle-exclusive parking lot are two other amenities included in the deal.
The partnership goes beyond branding assets and includes ticketing opportunities.
The two Milwaukee mainstays also have a joint ticket plan in the works. Under the proposed plan, they will team up to offer ticket packages that include game tickets and admission to Harley’s new museum.
Members of the Harley Owners Group will receive discounted tickets to the Harley Deck. The deck will be used for both groups and individuals, depending on the game date. H.O.G members will also be able to use Gate H-D and the parking lot.
This is one of the best examples I have seen of two organizations looking at their tribes and determining how to support them in their passions. The real win-win will be when a member of the Harley tribe and a die-hard fan of the Brewers sees the results.
Harley owner and Milwaukee resident Michael Reynolds is enthusiastic about the merger.
“Being a Brewers fan, I’m happy to see the two interact,” Reynolds said. “I go to Miller (Park) a few times a year.”
“I think it’ll be successful,” he said. “Those are two huge attractions. It’ll be fun to see what they do with this.”
There will be nothing better for Michael than riding his Harley to the Brewers game, parking in a designated lot and enjoying the game from the Harley Deck - at a discounted price of course.
I came across this great ad by Nike on Indian cricket as part of their national campaign. Launched in early 2007, this is a perfect example of how a tribal approach enabled Nike to really understand what it means to be a cricket fan in India - you play hard , you play to win and you play wherever you can - after all that’s just good cricket!
The ad was done by JWT India . You can read more about the ad and the results on the Coffee and Donuts blog.
As I was reading Seth Godin’s blog I came across a post made on January 30th, 2008 on Tribal Management. The one line in that post that caught my attention was the following:
People form tribes with or without us. The challenge is to work for the tribe and make it something even better.
From our experience meeting dozens of marketers and brand managers, this is the one major misconception many people have about tribes. It is not something that can be built - they naturally form. It is up to the organization how to strategically tap into and support the tribe.
Unfortunately, as Seth mentions, that means that the days of the brand manager leading the charge are over. Your brand is defined and driven by your tribe. The brands that manage the tribes well will be the ones that prosper in the future.
I still remember early attempts at in game product placement and advertising in the game Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. In that game, you can read virtual AXE body spray billboards and see AXE products displayed in bathrooms throughout the game. The subsequent Splinter Cell: Double Agent game had Nivea for Men products.
I agree with what is said in this article, the key is to make advertising seamless and a part of the action:
“It has to be organic and seamless,” said Jeffrey Dickstein, digital advertising sales director for video game designer Ubisoft, which integrated a Dyson vacuum into a CSI game, targeting women over 35 who were avid fans of the TV show.
The prospect of in game advertising should get any marketer excited. Video games provide a key attribute rarely found in any other media; interactivity. Where else can someone drive a 3D rendered Ford Mustang? or power up on a can of Pepsi from a virtual vending machine?
Of course, certain genres such as sports or realistic locations such as a subway station are easier to integrate ads into than fantasy or sci-fi titles.
The possibilities are bound by the creativity of the agency and the game developer. Although games should not be centred around advertising, building sponsorship and product placement opportunities should be in the minds of both developers and marketers.
As usual, our issue of Marketing magazine came stuffed with inserts and goodies. One insert that caught us by surprise was the premier issue of Vita magazine. What was surprising was that this magazine was targeted to a completely different demographic. Vita is targeted to:
Women
40 years +
Francophones
By getting all 3 parameters wrong, leads me to wonder if:
There is a bug in Marketing magazine’s database which caused them to send Vita to the wrong segment OR
Marketing magazine used a shotgun approach and put Vita in with every magazine shipped
Either way, it should be something that is addressed.
When I saw a TV spot promoting Dove’s new interactive romantic comedy called Waking Up Hannah (WUH), I was excited to see how it would come together. After all, around our office, the Dove Campaign For Real Beauty (CRB) is considered the epitome of a well thought out Tribal Strategy.
Unfortunately I was more than disappointed. While CRB connects with real women with real lives and helps women deal with self-esteem issues, WUH seems to be focused around a 20-something who thinks the world revolves around her. While CRB helps women connect with each other and makes them feel good, WUH isolates Hannah from the world and makes her seem more important than anyone else.
According to Barbara Owens, brand building manager for Dove skin cleanser:
“Girls in their 20s are often dealing with a lot of pressure and forget how beautiful and amazing their lives really are… It’s really about helping [them] wake up and get a fresh perspective on what’s going on,”
Unfortunately, the WUH site does not convey those messages in a positive manner. In my opinion, this site is completely misaligned with the brand image Dove has successfuly built.
On a side note, according to this article, most 20-somethings are probably more worried if they will have a job in the next few months.
As a part of the Weber Ultimate Tailgate Giveaway , Weber will be hosting free tailgating parties at the first four home games of the Chicago Bears.
Fans will be able to enjoy music, check out the latest tailgating and grilling necessities from Weber, receive autographs from Bears alumni players brought to you by Jewel-Osco, compete in a variety of football skills competitions, receive free samples of great-tasting Eckrich products, check out the latest offers from the Chicago Tribune, get their blood pressure screened in the Novartis Blood Pressure Success Zone and purchase beverages.
All attendees will have the chance to enter to win the “Weber Ultimate Tailgate Giveaway.” One giant prize package will be given away to one lucky fan per event. The package includes but is not limited to: Weber Q Grills, Jewel-Osco Gift Cards, an Eckrich gift card, Chicago Tribune Commemorative Framed Newspaper Covers, a U.S. Cellular Prize Pack, Comcast Tailgating Chairs, a gift card courtesy of the Novartis Blood Pressure Success Zone and XSport Fitness Gift Packs.
I think this promotion is a very good way of strengthening both the BBQ Tribe, which Weber has been successful in tapping, and the Chicago Bear Tribe:
Tailgating is one of America’s most beloved activities - Weber helps bring friends-family-fans-football together
Similarly, BBQing connects friends and families
Thus, the Chicago Bears are providing value by delivering an enhanced game-day experience. In the end, all stakeholders win.
There are opportunities out there for marketers and brand managers from various categories to find the intersection of multiple tribes from two complimentary products/services. Finding them and building upon existing synergies is a cost effective way to build your tribe.
The creative uses images of cars, homes and people padded with pillows, bubble wrap and foam.
The TV spot follows a man as he walks around a suburban setting, watching people as they try and keep themselves and their possessions protected. He passes a man on his bike who has strapped a pillow to his head and foam to his arms and legs, and waves to his neighbour who has taped pillows to her car. The man is padding-free however, because TD Insurance protect him. “People go out of their way to feel protected,” says the voiceover. “With TD insurance, you don’t have to worry, because we make it easy for you to protect yourself from the accidents of life. Get the insurance from the people you trust.”
“Our creative exaggerates the need to feel protected, and ultimately explains that there is an easier way,” said Green. “Consumers can trust TD Insurance to provide them with all of their insurance needs across home and auto, credit protection, life and health, and travel insurance by linking the experience that currently exists from TD Canada Trust and TD Waterhouse.”
Previously their advertising focused on direct marketing and branch collateral.
TD Insurance has an opportunity to build a Tribal Strategy which can leverage the power of trust. For TD Insurance, trust comes in two forms:
Trust between the consumer and TD Insurance
Trust between friends and family
With a proper strategy, TD can tap into the second form of trust and make significant gains in market share in a cost effective manner.
