THE SUPER (COLD) BOWL

With the big game coming up, its time to discuss how to create a successful marketing effort during the most cluttered event in America.  In The Surfer's Guide To Marketing, we devote an entire chapter called Big Waves to marketing efforts that are developed and activated around the most competitive environment.    Retail during the holidays, travel during the summer, and of course trying to promote your product or brand during the Super Bowl.

Just like last week's contest at Mavericks that featured a record swell, the bar is raised when the world is watching.  With 40-foot faces crushing surfers, it is not for the weak or those who are fearful.  The big stage is only for those with the skills (and guts) to drop in on a wall of water four stories tall.

Even Laird Hamilton doesn't 

always win on Big Waves

This year, with the game in New York, it's shaping up to be an interesting experiment.  The biggest stage in the biggest city in the world.  And with bad weather looming, there is a significant chance that the elements might make for a marketing disaster!  And it wouldn't be the first time.

Several years ago, when the Super Bowl was in Dallas, we were challenged with creating an interactive consumer experience for AT&T and ESPN.  We accounted for huge amounts of traffic, excited fans wanting to participate, star-power with celebrities, and we ensured we had everything we needed to make our clients happy.  But as I say in the book, sometimes it isn't IF something goes wrong, but WHEN!  And the Case Study below is taken from the book and just goes to show that even on days with Big Waves, where the stakes are high, the competition fierce, and Mother Nature is ready to throw you a curve, you can utilize the proven marketing tactics in the book to avoid a wipeout.

CASE STUDY

The Big Game

The biggest event in the United States every year is the Super Bowl.  As a marketer, it’s the big leagues in terms of scale, cost, and exposure (see the chapter on Big Waves).  Ad time in the game costs seven-figures for a thirty-second spot and sponsorship of various official Super Bowl elements are a huge investment.  So creating your own Super Bowl event that cuts through the clutter and stands out among literally hundreds of events is a costly and extensive undertaking.

So when our client wanted to be part of the action of the Super Bowl, they approached us with the ultimate opportunity to demonstrate our Barnacle philosophy and latch on to someone else’s huge efforts.  For Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, our mission was to create a presence for our client at the big game in Big D…. but without the hefty price tag or reasonable lead time.  After all, creating an engaging experience that competes with the biggest spectacle in sports without all of the pesky budget or months of preparation is what every marketing veteran lives for, right?  But as the saying goes, “Go big or go home.”

When our client’s major sports partner announced that they were going to be broadcasting all of their television and radio shows from a local mall in nearby Fort Worth, including all of their talent-filled programs, we took this as an opportunity to drive awareness and branding without having to reinvent the wheel and create the event itself.  This weeklong festival would attract hundreds of thousands of passionate fans and it was simply our job to carve out a place on the reef to get our share of plankton.  

So in an expedited manor, we secured space and created the Digital Living Room activation that accented the various broadcasts and events throughout the week.  Our interactive booth would allow fans to experience our outdoor living room complete with sofas, tables, chairs, rugs, multiple flat screens showing the network’s programming in HD and 3D, broadband displays, and tons of branded premiums all promoting how our client and its partnerships were the only option for sports fans.  Add to that our beautiful Brand Ambassadors and Starfish appearances from Hall of Fame RB Eric Dickerson, former All Pro RB Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye, and three-time Super Bowl Champion Roger Craig and we had an attractive booth that held it’s own with the existing large-scale production.

While some brands spend millions creating their own Super Bowl event including the Bud Light Hotel, DIRECTV’s Beach Bash, and more, we were able to reach thousands of passionate Super Bowl fans attending the shopping center’s events as a complement to the host network.  While our Digital Living Room was a component of the bigger picture, we served as a supporting actor to the main event and even provided value-add to their experience.   And in so doing, saved our client significant dollars playing the role of the Barnacle attaching to the existing event and the crowds they generated.

Editors Note:  As mentioned previously, surfers are the ultimate optimists and make lemonade whenever presented with lemons.  So when the 2011 Dallas/Ft. Worth Super Bowl week was hit with “the storm of the century” including wind, snow, and -5 degree temperatures, our outdoor living room seemed like a disaster in the making.  But, a few quick adjustments (and several large space heaters later) our virtual living room became a shelter from the elements for the crazy fans that still braved the cold.  While we had to endure some good natured ribbing for the unfortunate circumstances (including comments that our living room was “just like the fan’s own homes…only with five inches of snow inside”, or people wanting to tell Christian Okoye to change his nickname to “The Siberian Nightmare”, we still exhausted our inventory of client literature and branded premiums representing the maximum quantity of impressions we were targeting!

Radio Interview On The MO SHOW

Here's the latest interview with author Randy Rovegno.  Click on the link and simply play the clip.  Randy comes in at the 20 minute mark.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/moradioshow/2013/09/04/mo-radio-show-on-sports

More Athlete Controversy Makes Brands Question The Use Of STARFISH!

A client inquired about my chapter on STARFISH in lieu of the Riley Cooper situation.  If you haven't read "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" (and I can't possibly fathom why you haven't) STARFISH is my term for celebrities involved in corporate relationships, endorsements, etc.  We are currently discussing using professional athletes for a product placement campaign and the client brought up recent issues with Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, A-Rod, and even Johnny "Heisman" Manziel.   While I would never profess to be the celebrity expert to the extent of Super Agent Leigh Steinberg, whom we featured in "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing," I do have significant experience in sourcing the right STARFISH personality to drive a company's awareness and messaging.

Recently, I wrote an in-depth post about a similar issue with Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods so please feel free to read the post here.  But with this recent wave of stories making the news, it's difficult to avoid this discussion and as always, I tell clients to look at the individual and explore that specific STARFISH rather than just generalize.  I tend to use retired players due to their experience and availability but every brand, every event, and every STARFISH requires individual attention to determine their viability as a representative for your brand.

Much like a GM of a pro football team, you need to do your homework.  With someone like Riley Cooper (who recently made a racial slur that was caught on video) you could have probably gotten a feel for what kind of guy he is based on past record, his teammates, etc. When the video emerged, you can determine perhaps if it was an isolated incident or if perhaps he's not the best STARFISH to appear on the packaging of your product.  Obviously, in the immediate future, he won't need to be answering many calls from potential sponsors, but in general, you can get a feel for how a STARFISH carries themselves and represents themselves as a brand before they represent your brand.

Serious controversies like Aaron Hernandez, OJ Simpson, or Rae Carruth are not the typical situation most STARFISH get involved with so if we eliminate extreme cases, we can better dissect the risks involved with celebrity endorsements.  This offseason, there were reports about how over 30 NFL players were arrested since the Super Bowl and the world gasped!  Such an astronomical rate, right?  I would simply argue that these stats are not much different than that of the average 20 to 25 year old male.  Young men make more mistakes than the population as a whole and ask any insurance agent which demographic takes the brunt of playing "the law of averages" when determining rates.  While DUI, simple assault (bar fight), and other minor infractions are not acceptable under any circumstance, are NFL players dramatically worse than the average population in terms of most simple misdemeanors?

While someone like Johnny Manziel is obviously not eligible for securing endorsements as an amateur, would you be surprised that a 20-year-old famous guy in the social media age would have a few blips on the character radar? And let's be honest, his only "issues" involve maybe a few too many beers, sleeping in late, tweeting from sporting events, and going to a fraternity party.   In my day, that would have made him pretty much every other student in college not named Tim Tebow!  But seeing his reaction (which may even be a little justified with all the media piling on) would make me hesitant to recommend him for corporate opportunity if that option was available today.  I'm not defending any of the actions of players who end up in the news for the wrong reasons, but I just want to keep it in perspective.

Even when you do your homework, have worked with trusted STARFISH with impeccable reputations, or even have personal relationships, you might find yourself caught up in a celebrity's saga.  It's great PR when your STARFISH does something wonderful on or off the field.  After all, isn't that the purpose of even having the relationship?  Win the Super Bowl, donate to a charity, take time to mentor children in their community... it is all golden.  But even with a record of such service, it can all come into question when a player does something heinous... like leaving a $3 tip!

Obviously I'm being sarcastic when I bring up the Drew Brees "Tipgate" controversy.  Drew is also featured in "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" and I highlight his community service and overall positive stance as a role model.  But even a "sure fire" endorser of brands including Pepsi and Pampers can find himself mixed up in a debate and his recent $3 tip (on a takeout order that he picked up, BTW) is quintessential ESPN filler for the nine hours of debate shows they air ad nauseum.  There is no controversy here and I would argue that Brees is one of the most courteous and generous STARFISH out there.  Nonetheless, the Super Bowl MVP has been brought into a discussion that explores his character and doesn't revolve around touchdowns or completions!

So what's the solution?  If you want to utilize STARFISH to drive your brand, you simply need to approach it like any other resource and do your homework.  "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" explores step-by-step actions and suggestions you can take to ensure you make the best decisions possible and aside from simply creating your own mascot character for a spokesman, there will always be a variable of human error when dealing with humans!

Oh wait, didn't the AFLAC duck get fired for insensitive jokes?