Here is another example of the time-lapse video of a building transformation from hockey to basketball. These are great content pieces for your scoreboard pregame, showing what it takes to remake the building for different sports. This one is about 3 minutes long and well done.
Edited by Bernard Weil and apparently it covers about six hours. Here in Cleveland the turnaround has been done in about 3 hours (hoops to hockey) for the double dip of Cavaliers and minor league hockey. Its one of the more memorable things you can watch in sports (outside of game action).
If you are looking for Scoreboard video ideas, we have hundreds of videos related to sports entertainment in our YouTube section. Check it out here.
Here is a video of another live race element from Milwaukee. This one from the Admirals hockey club.
A couple things to really like about this promotion:
The team paid attention to the details: Custom music, a scripted race, mascot involvement
The added twist of a celebrity under one of the costumes
High quality costumes, which accurately reflected the sponsor packaging
Fans who had a stake in the action: The four fans on the balcony who would have one something if their racer won
To maximize the impact, many teams use their race with a coupon (so whole sections win a prize if their racer wins). Obviously this is a more expensive proposition for the sponsor, but it can really increase the effectiveness and crowd participation in a live race contest like this.
Live races are really gaining popularity….a live race (the President’s Race in DC) was the Best Contest of 2007 on Gameops.com and it’s the gold standard for live races.
–Cudo
With promotions like this and their always fresh content I will also nominate the Milwaukee Admirals for Best Team Operations in 2008.
ST. PAUL (AP) _ You’ve heard of the bobblehead doll that baseball teams love to hand out to fans. So how about a bobblefoot?
The St. Paul Saints are putting their own twist on the popular promotion, in a nod to one of the most notorious Minnesota stories of last year. At Sunday’s game, they’ll give 2,500 fans a miniature bathroom stall with a pair of lower legs and feet — one of which is spring-loaded so that it taps.
That’s a not-so-subtle reference to Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig, who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after an undercover police officer arrested him for allegedly soliciting sex in a bathroom stall at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. (Winona Daily News)
Leave it to the Saint Paul Saints to tackle the tough issues and tricky news stories with aplomb. I am sure some found this a little distasteful, but it certainly has crossed over into a mainstream comedy punchline seen on virtually every late night comedy show and some award shows.
The timing is a little tricky, since its a fading story….but this might have been fun later in the season when all the Republican’s convene about 5 miles away from the Saints home stadium for the Republican National Convention. I trust that would have been a hot collectible for conventioneers.
Update 3/28: These are selling for upwards of $75 on ebay…the real test of a cult hit.
–Cudo
Thanks to noted foot-tapper Joel L for this blog lead.
Saturday, May 31st, when the Grizzlies open a four-game series against the Tucson Sidewinders, is one of the most eagerly anticipated sports giveaways of the 2008 season. The first 2,500 fans through the gates will receive a Drag Kings Bobble Doll, presented by Tickets.com. The Drag Kings, Minor League Baseballs’ premier infield-dragging dance crew, will be immortalized in a desktop collectible, and will also perform on the field that night.
The Drag Kings performance on May 31st however, will have a different twist. Beginning on Friday May 23rd, fans can visit fresnogrizzlies.com, the official online home of the Grizzlies, and vote for which song they’d like to have accompany the Saturday night Drag Kings performance. One lucky fan will even win the opportunity to drag and dance with the Kings at a future game.
This is really what central California has been waiting for.
Actually the Drag Kings have become a great tool for the Grizzlies and a real part of the allure of Grizzlies baseball.
If you have missed them in action here is a clip.
The Drag Kings were noted as one of the best entertainment groups in the 2007 Best of Gameops.com awards. This year we will be searching for the best in all of sports when we add Best Entertainment Group as an official category in the awards. You can always comment in the blog or email us with nominations.
The Orem Owlz of Minor League Baseball will host Pass the Gas Night at their July 14 game. Fans who bring a gas purchase receipt from filling up their vehicle will receive a free ticket to the game.
Throughout the game, fans will be given information on how to help save gas through the use of public transportation, driving techniques, fuel alternatives, home heating tips, and more. Contest prizes will include whoopee cushions, baked beans, burritos, and gasoline gift cards. (Team PR)
A great promotion from the Orem Owls. It’s timely, simple to grasp, media-friendly, and they did a nice job connecting the game promotion into their in-game presentation. It also has a friendly PSA quality to it with the tips on saving and conserving gas.
With the timeliness of the promotion and the connection through their event (and the ability to add whoopee cushions to any promotion) I will also nominate this promotion for the 2008 Best of Gameops.com awards.
Sports Biz Blogger and Marketing Maven Darren Rovell commented on the 2008 State Farm Home Run Derby contest recently. (read the entire blog)
Here’s the deal. One lucky fan picked out of the pool of entered names in the contest will get to come onto the field and call, a la Babe Ruth, where exactly Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz will hit his first pitch.
If Ortiz hits the shot where the fan said it would go, the fan wins a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid vehicle, the official vehicle of MLB that has a value of roughly $50,500, and a 2009 season ticket package for his/her favorite MLB team.
Rovell makes the point that this makes the prize, contest, and activation of the partnership more interesting. I might debate that since I think (as explained here) it also makes it a bit more confusing, but he does point out an interesting point on sports promotions and contests.
First, they should be interesting to fans and the media. He’s right in suggesting the prize in the Century 21 contest was better, but it was really just pulling a name out of a hat. The new version engages the player and contestant and makes the experience a bit more interesting to watch. I like that the player will actually be trying to hit where the contestant points as well.
In the end the more important consideration is to look at each promotion and determine is it interesting not only for the sponsor or the contestant, but to fans and the media.
ST. PAUL (AP) _ You’ve heard of the bobblehead doll that baseball teams love to hand out to fans. So how about a bobblefoot?
Leave it to the Saint Paul Saints to tackle the tough issues and tricky news stories with aplomb. I am sure some found this a little distasteful, but it certainly has crossed over into a mainstream comedy punchline seen on virtually every late night comedy show and some award shows.
Saturday, May 31st, when the Grizzlies open a four-game series against the Tucson Sidewinders, is one of the most eagerly anticipated sports giveaways of the 2008 season. The first 2,500 fans through the gates will receive a Drag Kings Bobble Doll, presented by Tickets.com. The Drag Kings, Minor League Baseballs’ premier infield-dragging dance crew, will be immortalized in a desktop collectible, and will also perform on the field that night.
The Orem Owlz of Minor League Baseball will host Pass the Gas Night at their July 14 game. Fans who bring a gas purchase receipt from filling up their vehicle will receive a free ticket to the game.
Sports Biz Blogger and Marketing Maven Darren Rovell commented on the 2008 State Farm Home Run Derby contest recently. (