Latest Thinking from IEG

Geeked About Best Buy, Children’s of Minnesota

If you spend enough time immersed in sponsorship, it can be easy for deals and activations to run together and not seem all that new or surprising. So it’s not often that a deal makes me sit up and say, “How cool is that?” Well, reading this bit of news made me do just that.

Last month, Best Buy opened the first in-hospital Geek Squad tech support precinct at Children’s in Minneapolis, the company’s hometown.

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Filed under: hospitals and healthcare, nonprofit, strategic philanthropy, activation

Free Sponsorships! When Companies Use Officially Unofficial Ties to Imaginary Properties

Without doing so consciously, I have assembled a collection of fake “sponsorships” over the years. While some of these are ambush marketing ploys (see below), what makes them fake is not as simple as pretending to sponsor a property. It’s that they’re sponsoring a pretend property—something no one can possibly own or trademark because it’s too big, too intangible, or too common. After adding to my collection just yesterday, I thought I’d share a few thoughts about how and when companies go there.

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Filed under: ambush marketing, activation

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Gears Up College Basketball Promotion; Latin Music Sponsorship

Looking for a point of differentiation in an increasingly cluttered category, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, inc. is ramping up promotional activity in the first quarter of ’10 for at least two of its brands.

For Sunkist, DPS will leverage partnerships with the Big 10 Conference, Big East Conference, Pac-10 and other college sports conferences with a national promotion featuring college athletic personality Dick Vitale.

For 7-Up, DPS plans to build on the brand’s seven-month-old Sevenisima Hispanic marketing campaign with a sponsorship of a major Latin music property. The Sevenisima campaign was designed to play up 7-Up’s healthier refreshment positioning by celebrating “flavorful moments experienced through a natural, real lifestyle.” The campaign featured a sweeps this past summer that dangled family vacations, shopping sprees and other prizes.

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Filed under: music, pro sports, soft drink, spending, sports, activation

Your New Portal to Great Activation: KarmaTube

If you haven’t heard of KarmaTube, or even if you have, I suggest you make a stop there soon (www.karmatube.org). As you might have guessed by the name, it’s a collection of videos that celebrate inspiring and world-changing ideas and people. A number of the videos chronicle admired corporate initiatives you’ve likely seen, such as The Fun Theory from Volkswagen with the piano stairs and the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.

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Filed under: digital media, new media, activation

Dirty Category Goes Green with Sponsorship

Earlier this week, Waste Management and Live Nation announced a multi-year agreement allowing Waste Management to become the ‘Official Waste Services and Recycling Sponsor’ of all Live Nation venues.

Although inherently unsexy and seemingly incredibly mundane (someone has to pick up the waste produced at concerts), this sponsorship offers far more than meets the eye.

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Filed under: digital media, packaging, trends, venues, activation

Art Basel Miami Beach, Design Miami And Sponsors Deliver For Audience

Although Audi was not the primary sponsor of either Art Basel Miami Beach or its sister event, Design Miami—roles that belong to UBS and HSBC Private Wealth respectively—it was the most ubiquitous.

Eschewing auto shows in favor of the Miami events for the unveiling of its 2010 A8, Audi of America spent north of $6 million but south of $10 million building out its presence.

The automaker, which has increased its marketing budget by 20 percent this year to seize share from its more distressed competitors in the luxury car segment, did not merely sponsor the Miami happenings. Instead, Audi took on the roles of cultural creator and arts curator. For example, in addition to providing the vehicles for the shuttle service for VIPs attending the events, Audi:

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Filed under: arts, automotive, events, fashion, festivals, financial services, retail, activation

Four Reasons CVBs Should Sponsor More and Advertise Less

Can I really tell CVBs to spend less on advertising? Am I brave enough to court the wrath of media entities and the hospitality and travel industries? OK, no.

CVBs, tourism boards and destinations should spend fewer marketing dollars on one-off advertising and a la carte direct mail marketing. Instead, spend dollars on ads and direct mail campaigns as part of—or activation of—integrated sponsorship packages.

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Filed under: associations, destination/tourism, digital media, entertainment, government/municipal, spending, activation

An Unlikely Partnership: Condoms and Curling

In perhaps the most unlikely partnership of the year, USA Curling and longtime sponsor Kodiak Technology Group this week announced a new promotion in which the two organizations will sell Hurry Hard Condoms as a platform to raise funds for HIV and AIDS awareness.

The two organizations hope to build awareness about the disease by leveraging the buzz around the upcoming Vancouver Games. Proceeds will be split between USA Curling and Central Coast HIV/AIDS Services.

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Filed under: cause marketing, olympics, sports, activation

Taking a Closer Look at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

While I know that you are disappointed because Britney Spears no longer occupies the top spot for number of searches on yahoo.com, it isn’t surprising that it was Michael Jackson that knocked her out of the top spot.

However, what I found to be more surprising is that World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is number three on the list. Unexpectedly, the only other sport in the top ten is NASCAR at number ten.

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Filed under: entertainment, events, sports, activation

Workplace Giving: Time To Party Or To Pitch In?

Tough economic times have threatened to make the workplace holiday party a thing of the past at some businesses. As this article from TheStreet.com points out, some companies are replacing this annual tradition with a donation or a call for community service.

While charitable giving and community service are to be commended, I can’t help but think of Seinfeld’s George Costanza’s take on donations in lieu of traditional gifts. Efforts to inspire or motivate employees should be more than an effort to whitewash cost-cutting. If the economy were to regain its strength tomorrow, would the holiday party be back on the schedule?

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Filed under: nonprofit, strategic philanthropy, activation