Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl

Another ESPN Regional Television owned bowl with the Title Sponsorship from Beef O'Brady's restaurant. Of Course broadcast on ESPN with TV ads and on feild signage.

Sponsorship link: http://www.stpetersburgbowl.com/sponsors_recognition.php

Results: O'Brady's home base is Tampa Floriday so there is a natural tie in with the community. Looks like most of the locations are in the southern portion of the US, college football's hot bed. Website for the bowl game is well done and also lots of info on O'Brady's website and using social media to pub the game. Good job using sponsorship to help build the brand and attracting franchisees.

Sponsorship Grade: B

What Brand are you in?

As I travel around from airport to airport you meet and see lots of interesting people. But what does an airport tell you? It should give you the feel of the brand; the city. But most fall way short of that, some are right on the brand building train and some are stumbling on it without trying. Newark and JFK fall into it just with being busy, the buzz is all over the place just like NYC. Austin TX has a local feel, live music and food that is Austin. ln Vegas the slot machines in the baggage area tell you all you need to know about Sin City. But next time you fly into Baltimore, Atlanta and Buffalo close your eyes and ask yourself what brand is being represented? I have done it and it's not easy.....

The same principals apply to a retail business, close your eyes next time you are in a McDonalds or Subway or any other retail establishment and just listen to the buzz and employees..can you tell what brand you are about to eat or drink?

What are the walls telling you?

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. R+L Carriers is the Title Sponsor of this bowl game in New Orleans. Great city to host a bowl game and will again host two games with the BCS Sugar Bowl being the "real" game. R+L Carriers is a Global Transportation Service Provider..think UPS on a commercial level.....I think?
I watched a few minutes of this game and there were more empty seats then actual people in the stadium. Game was broadcasted on ESPN so R+L had commercial spots during the game and on-field signage. And of course with all bowl sponsorships there is charity part of the sponsorship that is a feel good for the sponsor and community. Below is from the R+L website explaining what they do:

R+L Carriers is a Global Transportation Service provider designed to provide superior service at competitive pricing through safe and efficient operations and innovative thinking to the ultimate benefit of our customers and shareholders. Customer satisfaction is mandatory to ensure future success.


Official Partners Link: Not separately listed, but on bottom of website http://neworleansbowl.org/

Results: Again not sure R+L Carriers are reaching target market with this Bowl Sponsorship. But they do get there name out there in hopes of gaining brand recognition. I would imagine the lack of interest as evidence from the lack of attendance this bowl game maybe on it's way out and not sure anyone would notice.

Sponsorship Grade: D

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl

The uDrove Humanitarian Bowl is held in Boise Idaho on the Blue Turf. You maybe asking yourself...who and what is uDrove? They are the title Partner of this bowl. After visiting the uDrove website I am still not exactly sure what UDrove is, but looks like they are an app for commercial drivers to log miles and gas expenseses. Below is from the uDrove website explaining what they do:

uDrove® is a revolutionary new business and compliance management tool for the transportation industry. Using the functionality of your smart phone, uDrove replaces in-cab paperwork and delivers the data instantly to a web account – allowing you to manage your business faster, smarter and more cost effectively!

With uDrove®, you can easily track information on an iPhone®, Android™ or BlackBerry® smart phone to record driver logs, track mileage, submit fuel and business expenses, complete vehicle inspections and more.

Official Partners Link: http://www.humanitarianbowl.org/sponsors.asp


Results:Commercial drivers are a very specific niche and not sure if a bowl game on ESPN in Boise gets there brand out to there intended group. I would think most commercial drivers are doing just that....driving not watching a bowl game. But it did get me and I am sure a lot of bloggers to go to there website to see what uDrove is all about.

Sponsorship Grade: D

new QR Code for 4 Wall Marketing and Sponsorships

Breaking Down the Bowl Sponsorship Season:New Mexico Bowl

First Bowl up is the New Mexico Bowl. With Title Sponsorship from the New Mexico CVB, owned by ESPN Regional Television and of cource braodscated on ESPN. Here is a link to the list of Bowl Partners
http://www.newmexicobowl.com/index.php/another_test/bowl_sponsors


Results:
Not sure if you sat down to watch the New Mexico bowl it would make you want to go to your computer and book a New Mexico vacation? But with commercial spots on the ESPN broadcast and on field signage maybe someone booked that trip to Sante Fa for the holidays.

Sponsorship Grade: C

President Clinton can still work a room.

Politics aside President Bill Clinton can still work a room. This past Friday the former President was at the White House to meet with President Obama. They decided to talk a stroll to the press room only to find the door to be locked! President Obama asked who had the keys and how long it would take to get the press corp to fill up the room...well it took all of 5 minutes to become standing room only.

President Clinton said he felt awkward addressing the media, that ways a great way to set expectations low and over deliver in his words and control of the room. He still has the magic and again Politics aside if he ran again I believe he could talk his way right back into the office that is oval.

Who's Using Twitter

72% of Twitter users say they post updates about their personal life, activities or interests.
62% post work-related updates.
55% use Twitter to share links to news stories.
53% use the service to retweet others’ material.
40% use the service to share photos with others, while 28% use it to share videos.
24% tweet their location.

Source: The Pew Center: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1821/twitter-users-profile-exclusive-examination

Bob Hope Classic inks sponsor deal

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Franklin American Mortgage Co. has agreed to a three-year, $1.5 million sponsorship deal with the Bob Hope Classic, whose 52nd edition will be played Jan. 17-23.
The mortgage company based in Franklin, Tenn., first participated in the PGA tournament this year.
Franklin American will receive a variety of benefits, including pro-am playing opportunities, tickets, hospitality and signage at the event. The company will underwrite the tournament's celebrity dinner and be the official sponsor of the event's Celebrity Jam Session.

Cool site of the Day...Mad Men Yourself from AMC

Want to create your very own MadMen avatar and join the Advertising world....check out http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/madmenyourself/

Double dip advertising...Geico & Helzberg Diamonds

If you watched NFL football this Sunday you may have seen a Geico commercial featuring a guy who proposes to a girl who opens a jewelry box that has a Helzberg Diamonds logo on it.? Then it cuts to the lizard and old guy and they say "Oh, Helzberg, he must have saved money on his car insurance". Well I have gotten to the bottom of this "odd marriage" both companies are holdings of Berkshire Hataway...yes that little company run by Warren Buffett.

So a very interesting concept of "budding" up to save some money but at what cost to the TV networks? Not sure the networks aring the games want all these brands getting together to share air time do we...or does the NFL?

Thoughts?

Taking Social Media to the next level...actually meeting a person?

One of the biggest mistakes marketers make with social media marketing – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – is they think it means they don’t have to talk to people. They think if they’re posting to Twitter, updating their status on Facebook or posting videos to YouTube that’s it for social media marketing. But making posts without any real connection to real people isn’t really marketing. The truth is everyone is doing that. There are 450 million people on Facebook, and while a significantly smaller number are businesses, everyone is doing the same thing. They’re all busy posting away and hoping that it will get them business. ....well lets look at taking it to the next level.

The real secret of social media marketing is that these online networking tools only allow you to get into the mind space of other people. It’s rare that somebody who follows you on a social media tool comes along and buys something. There has to be a step in the middle.......and that step is a real conversation.

You have to either get face-to-face with prospects or at the very least get them on the phone. The big difference with social media marketing is these are not cold calls. These are people you had conversations with, they’ve gotten to know you, and now the two of you are ready to take your business relationship to the next level. Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t think you should start calling all your Facebook and LinkedIn connections and set up sales meetings. In fact please don’t do that. What I am saying is when you meet somebody online and they are interesting, and the two of you have an ongoing conversation online, why not take the conversation off-line?
Over the years, I’ve done this several times and the results have been phenomenal. I haven’t always known what the results were going to be, but I took the chance and talk to these people.

Once you have spoken with somebody in the real world, your online conversations take on a more personal note. They’re more likely to pay attention to what you have to say, and are more likely to send referrals your way. If things work out really well they may even become a customer.
So look for your list of connections on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Make a note of the ones you’ve had the most interesting conversations with. These are the ones you should get in touch with and continue to build a relationship with.

Lunch anyone!