As many of you have probably heard, seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has made the decision to return to racing for the 2009 Tour. Brandweek’s article about his return and the impact that it will have on his marketing deals features insight from First Call’s Managing Director David Schwab.
Undoubtedly, NASCAR fans are one of the most loyal groups of supporters in the sport space today. We often hear of their allegiance to the drivers and sponsors of the races. Yet, as the WWE took over the
Yesterday afternoon, we had the opportunity to talk with Kerry Rodgerson, Senior Manager for the WWE’s Talent Brands about some the WWE’s work. The WWE has a unique position in the space—integrating 160 different and often conflicting personalities into one sport and entertainment group. Yet, by focusing on developing unique platforms based on each talent’s personal interests and hobbies and by leveraging all of the assets that they own, WWE has successfully developed marketing opportunities for several of the their wrestlers.
John Cena, the face of the organization, is currently a spokesperson for Ultimate Nutrition and Gillette (continuing his relationship from his role on “Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race”) and has endorsed Subway and Mountain Dew in the past. With a degree in Exercise Physiology and an auto enthusiast, he can speak credibly on these topics—an important feature of any campaign. He also displays his softer side, granting over 100 wishes since 2004 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Triple H, another popular talent, had successfully maintained relationships with BSN (energy drink), Wendy’s and Miller Lite in the past. The WWE understands that as an avid motorcycle rider, he would be a perfect fit to endorse Yamaha or another motorcycle brand. Other wrestlers, such as Edge, Maria and Batista have unique backgrounds and interests (ie: sketching, NHL, guitars, fashion and martial arts) that they can speak knowledgeably and passionately about. That, along with the diehard fan base of the WWE creates the potential for successful campaigns.
WWE’s approach has served them well, as their fans are unparalleled in active engagement with the brand through various different platforms. WWE fans are anything but passive TV viewers. They watch WWE Raw on Mondays, ECW on Tuesdays, Smackdown on Fridays and even purchase the special events on Pay-Per-View. Between the events, they read WWE Magazine, peruse the WWE social networking site Fan Nation, watch WWE DVD’s, attend live events, read WWE blogs, and purchase WWE products and gear. Moreover, the WWE website gets a whopping 6.7 million unique visitors a month, each averaging a stay of 24 minutes. Clearly, the WWE engages their fans in a variety of platforms.
To the fans, the talent is not just a group of entertainers or gifted athletes. They are real people who they are able to connect with on a personal level. Fans seek out information about them and value their opinions… no small task in a media and brand cluttered world.
We here at First Call have long been championing the use of influencers in marketing campaigns. We’ve said it over and over again, but, alas, there’s always someone who falls in love with the name a celebrity can bring to a campaign instead of the credibility an influencer can lend to a product. It’s the whole bad boy/girl complex; you (the brand) get caught up in all the hype, the good looks, fast cars and denim jackets. And you forget to figure out if this person (a celebrity) is actually good for you (adds true value to the product and accompanying marketing campaign). The next thing you (the brand) know your significant other has run off with all your money (marketing budget) and is shacking up with that person you hate from work (agreeing to a deal with your biggest competitor, after the exclusivity term expires, of course). We here at First Call have seen it happen hundreds of times, if not thousands, and every time we see it happen it breaks our hearts—no, really, it does. There are good influencers out there just waiting for the right campaign to come along. So, when we see a good product paired with the right influencer we feel compelled to showcase their good sense (and our own sage advice being put in to action).
Take Sharp Emmons for example, a former cyclist and burgeoning entrepreneur, Sharp understood that nothing is better for a fledgling company than having an influencer use its product. Unfortunately for Mr. Emmons, Lance Armstrong was no longer riding in the Tour de France when he launched his product so he went out and got the next best thing, Robbie McEwen, a 3-time winner of the Tour’s Sprint Competition. McEwen, a native Australian, is a cycling star in his home country and this year’s Tour de France will mark the 11th time he has competed in the race. Last year McEwen decided to wear Mr. Emmons’ product in several of the Tour’s stages.
At this point you’re probably wondering what Mr. Emmons is selling, well it’s…socks. Yes, socks, high performance Swiftwick Socks. Emmons saw that cycling is “one of those industries where when you have the key influencers promoting your product, it begins to take off.” And once McEwen wore the Swiftwicks in the Tour de France they took off. In fact, they flew off the shelves at Mellow Johnny’s, Lance Armstrong’s Austin-based flagship cycling store, selling out in the first two weeks upon arrival. Emmons did what all marketers ought to do. He understood his market and the kind of leverage an influencer could provide his brand in the marketplace. Now Emmons is looking to expand in to new markets. Start looking for Swiftwicks in golf shops, athletic apparel stores, uniform catalogs and upscale boutiques some time in the near future.
By: Zola Short
With opening ceremonies only 32 days away, the excitement surrounding the Olympic Games is in full swing. While athletes are breaking world records, some artists have been recording tracks for records. AT&T announced today that several popular musicians have agreed to record exclusive tracks for the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack. The songs will only be available for download in August during the Olympic Games on AT&T MEdia Net (for wireless phones) and online at http://www.att.net. The music can also be accessed at NBCOlympics.com. The proceeds from the sales will benefit Team
With quotes from the decorated Olympian Michael Phelps and pop star Sheryl Crow, AT&T’s campaign is bound to receive great publicity. With the IOC’s tight stipulations on using the Olympic name, imagery and athletes, look for more creative campaigns linking non TOP sponsors to the Olympics in the future month.
USA Today writes a great profile today on Tony Hawk, the business man. All of his business projects have evolved from straight endorsement to licensing and/or property ownership. His Boom Boom JuckJam Show is a perfect extension to his old touring days. The multiple revenue streams - ticket sales, sponsorship, media partners and merchandising - are great for profits and image building. Time will tell if Hawk’s production company, 900 Films, becomes the “go to” action sports production firm for future full-length films.
When marketing to teens and young adults, research is key. What do they like? What do they not like? How much? When and where? Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), a division of Research International, published a very interesting study about the athletes and musicians recognized and preferred by teenagers and twenty-somethings. Inside were some great findings. On the athlete end, everyone wanted to be like Mike. In a section of the survey where no options were provided and respondents were asked to write in their two favorite athletes, Jordan ranked first for both age groups. The rest of each list was surprisingly similar, except that Peyton Manning ranked 5 spots lower for teens than their twenty-something counterparts. Brett Favre made an appearance on the twenty-something survey (un-ranked with the teens) and Barry Bonds squeezed his way in at #10 on the teen list. Other athletes included Tiger, David Beckham, LeBron, Shaq, Derek Jeter, Kobe and Alex Rodriguez. A separate section listed 60 “relevant” athletes, and asked respondents to mark whether or not they were familiar with a particular athlete and if they liked that athlete “very much.” Forty-six percent of teens knew and liked Tony Hawk “very much,” the highest ranked athlete of the list(although he was not mentioned in the list without athletes provided). Thirty-eight percent of both teens and twenty-somethings knew and liked LaDainian Tomlinson “very much,” but he ranked highest on the twenty-something list. The largest discrepancy: Shaq. Forty-five percent of teens knew and liked him, versus twenty-five percent of twenty-somethings. Are twenty-somethings just too used to having Shaq around? Check back tomorrow to find out what musicians made the cut in the eyes of these influential young people.
Recent Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres, tennis legend Andre Agassi, Olympic snowboarder Shaun White and crooners Sheryl Crowe and Alicia Keys teamed up to shoot a commercial…of a commercial, directed by Martin Scorsese. The promo, which is spiced up with a cameo of an unspecified male, introduces American Express’ new “The Members Project” campaign. We all know that celebrities are influencers, but it is rare for them to talk about it. Whether its going green or going to Africa, it has become trendy for stars to give back. American Express reminds us in an clever spot, that you don’t have to be famous to do so.
Kudos to Six Flags for two kids-themed partnerships announced in 2007. The first, announced several months ago, is a relationship with “kid-pop” sensation Wiggles. Six Flags will have a Wiggles-themed park inside the gates full of rides, attractions and their best-selling music. The Wiggles demo is kids 2-5. And to reach a slightly older demo, Six Flags has turned to skateboard icon Tony Hawk (truly one of the innovators of the Action Sports demo). Tony Hawk’s Boom Boom Huck Jam Tour is going to be run exclusively at Six Flags. The Tour includes skateboarding, BMX and MotoX. The five shows are taking place this month in cities throughout the US. Six Flags has also created Hawk-themed roller coasters. One will roll-out this summer with several more to follow.
We are just over a year until the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and marketers are slowly starting to activate plans. Check out http://scaq.blogspot.com/2007/05/visa-mobile-commercial-with-michael.html for a new VISA spot starring swimming phenom Michael Phelps being aired solely on the web.
I feel compelled to write about him again. In the past 72 hours, he has broken three world records and captured three gold medals. He now has four gold medals for the week with four more events to go. He is currently the world’s best athlete (and yes, you can debate Tiger and Roger Federer too). What smart company will take him out of the Olympics space and put him into a mainstream marketing campaign outside of an Olympic year? It’s not easy to do but someone has the chance now to be forever linked with one of the world’s greatest athletes.
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