hawks thrasher activation
DESCRIPTION
patron activationTRANSCRIPT
OVERVIEW
Early in 2009, NBA owners reversed a longtime ban on courtside advertising by spirits brands in an effort to drive
revenue during the economic downturn. When the decision was made, the league also crafted policies that now allow
teams to offer hard liquor advertising on team Web sites, point-of-sale retail locations and in-arena promotions.
The Los Angeles Lakers were the first NBA franchise to accept a major spirits brand under the new sponsorship
regulations when it signed 1800 Silver Tequila to a multi-million dollar contract. The deal includes ad placement at
the Staples Center in L.A. including wall banners and also space on the arena's courtside LED display. Additionally,
the sponsorship with 1800 Silver Tequila placed banners and promotions for the brand on the LA Lakers website.
In a tough economy, there have only been a few industries that have been able to weather the storm. One of
them is the spirits category. In the overall distilled spirits industry, said DISCUS CEO Peter Cressy, 2008 showed
growth in sales for the 8th straight year, with revenue growth of 2.8%, or $18.7 billion, and volume growth of 1.6%
to 184 million cases. That is well off the average annual industry growth rate of 6% since 2000.
The residents of Atlanta have without a doubt helped in the success of the distilled spirits industry. Of the 4,874,537
residents included in Scarborough’s Atlanta Release in 2009, 1,983,357 drink some form of liquor on a regular basis.
That is nearly 40% of the population. Furthermore, about 600,000 of Atlanta’s 21 or older residents claim they
prefer liquor over any other kind of beverage. With the ban lifted by the NBA on spirit brands, this is a great opening
for the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers to explore these additional sponsorship opportunities to increase revenue and
ticket sales.
BUSINESS STRATEGY GOALS OF LIQUOR DISTRIBUTORS
Depending on the size of the deal, companies can spend anywhere from several thousands to hundreds of millions of
dollars to purchase a sponsorship with a major sports franchise or facility. The reasons why a brand would be willing to
invest in such a large agreement can be as strategic as blocking a competitor from signing the sponsorship to as simply as
the CEO of the brand is a big fan of the team. The lists of motives is extensive but can be narrowed down into four overall
objectives on why companies – specifically liquor companies – would be interested in a sponsorship deal.
‐ Brand-building ‐ Driving the company’s business ‐ Motivating and exciting the company’s employees ‐ Supporting a hometown or regional property
According to Stephen Weber, Executive Vice President of the Miami Heat, companies historically have mainly been
interested in brand-building. Atlanta is the third largest metro area in the United States with a population of almost six(6)
million. It would be common for a business to want to tap into the passion that’s fans have for their favorite Atlanta
teams and utilize the brand equity of the property to build awareness. Brands are willing to put up the necessary expense
to be associated with a well-established team with the hope that the positive feelings fans have for their favorite property
will be transferred to their own company.
In recent years, however, Weber states that companies are now more interested in the Return on Investment. Liquor
companies are interested in signing a sponsorship deal to utilize the relationship and the tangible assets received in the deal to
drive the company’s business. They want to move their products quickly and cost effectively by appealing to a mass
audience. The Philips Arena is not only the home to the Thrashers and the Hawks, Philips Arena is the epicenter of
entertainment in downtown Atlanta. Music concerts, family entertainment, and special events bring in 16 million visitors
annually making full use of the arena year round. This opportunity to drive business using the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers
facilities and resources is worthwhile for liquor distributors assuming all parties involved in the sponsorship are satisfied.
Why Patrón?
The sponsorship between United Distributors, Inc. and Philips Arena has proven to be a lucrative endeavor for both parties. When looking at the individual spirits brands, however, we can see that sales in 2008 have positive across the board except Patrón. The tequila company was the first spirit brand ever to receive the Five Star Diamond Award by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. It currently outsells all other ultra-premium tequilas in the world combined. Below is a graphical representation of the growth percentages in dollar sales of the leading liquor brands in the 52-Week period through April.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Smirnoff Vodka
Bacardi Captain Morgan
Jack Daniels' Absolut Patrón
Growth Percentage52‐Week IRI Report – April 2008
As depicted in the graph, Patrón’s growth rate in dollar sales of 33.2% far exceeds other major liquor brands. Abolsut and Smirnoff Vodka are the closest with 8.7% and 10% respectively. The tequila company was founded only 20 years ago, yet now distributes in over 100 countries in every continent except Antarctica. Patrón’s dominance in the spirits category looks to continue through 2009 as well, being noted as the #1 tequila brand in the United States by the Luxury Institute.
Based on Patrón’s success, and looking at the demographics of Atlanta mentioned on page 12, it could be argued that it would be in the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers best interest to add a partnership with the Mexican-based tequila company in addition to their current contract with United Distributors, inc. Patrón’s strong position in the market as the nightclub liquor makes way to several prime activation opportunities within and around the Philips Arena.
Sponsorship Activation Objectives
The following activations are developed with the intentions to
being universally applicable. Any liquor brand can utilize these as
forms to address mass audiences within, and outside, the Philips
Arena. Since the regulations have been lifted by the NBA in early
2009, many teams have been slow to capitalize on these new
revenue opportunities. Therefore, these activation proposals will
be unforgettable as they would be first of their kinds. There are
also aspects of these activations that go beyond simple promotions
and truly engage the fans and embrace them as part of the team.
Activation #1
Hawks Hit the Street
This grassroots activation will be a fun, eye-catching, and memorable promotion while building brand awareness for both the Atlanta Hawks and Patrón Spirits. The ‘Hawks Hit the Street’ activation would be staged in a place with high levels of foot traffic such as the CNN Food Court or Five Points.
The Hawks A-Team Dancers will suddenly break out into a Dance Off against another local team of dancers, or the Thrashers Blue Crew, wearing Patrón gear. They will engage in a dancing competition back and forth which will grab the attention of passerby’s and form a crowd of people. While the Dance Off is taking place, an operations crew will be setting up temporary basketball hoops right there in the CNN Food Court.
After the dancing is over, local street players, also in Patrón t-shirts and gear, will demonstrate their ball skills and abilities. A dunk competition is also a feature that can be added to draw even more excitement from on-lookers. While the street basketball players perform, the A-Team Dancers can be handing out Hawks flyers, coupons, or game passes.
Objectives
By doing this activation unexpectedly and by storm, this is an event that surely catches people’s attention and would stick with them as a significant and memorable moment, something any brand would want to be a part of. Hawks Hit the Street should be scheduled in early Fall to help build excitement and energy for the upcoming basketball season.
Benefits
This activation is a cost effective measure to reach a large group of people who may or may not have attended a Hawks game before. The handouts, depending on whether it was a game ticket or a pass for free shots at the game, could garner new attendees or new Patrón consumers.
SIMPLY PERFECT. MOVES.
Activation #2
Thrashing with the Thrashers
In this Place of Business activation we wanted you to connect your brand and the sponsors brand with the fans and natives of Atlanta. Since Atlanta is always known to host the best parties and have the best bars why not join the fun?
Thrashing with the Thrashers is a caravan Happy Hour that will tour throughout the city of Atlanta to local bars and clubs. This tour will consist of Thrasher Dancers, Thrasher Street team and Patrón shot girls whom will be serving sample shots to local visitors of the bars and clubs. But this isn’t any old shot that they will be serving; the shot will be made of a Patrón product mixed with a mixer that will resemble the Thrasher team colors. Below are the ingredients:
• Patrón Cintronge
• Orange Juice
• Splash of Blueberry
Objectives
The objective of this activation is to promote a new Patrón cocktail to Atlanta that carries the Thrashers name and team colors. This will drive the audience who enjoys the drink and is a team supporter to the new Patrón Headline Bar.
Benefits
This activation will increase the in-arena sales of Patrón but most importantly to help move the product. Another
benefit that will occur with this activation is the increase of visitors to Headlines where attendance is currently low.
Activation #3
Bottoms Up
For the Online and Internet activation we wanted to create a fun and exciting shopping experience and virtual promotion for Hawk/Thrasher fans. Imagine for every time you shopped online there would soon be a reward coming. So the virtual promotion allows the fan to be rewarded once a certain amount of purchases have been made on the team website. The fan will be able to keep track of how he/she is doing by participating in Bottoms Up.
In Bottoms Up there will be a Patrón glass on the webpage and every time a purchase is made the bottle will fill up. Once the bottle reaches the top the fan will be notified of winning an item by the organization and will be directed to pick-up from the Philips arena during a certain period of time.
Objectives
The objective of this activation is to promote a new Patrón cocktail to Atlanta that carries the Thrashers name and team colors. This will drive the audience who enjoys the drink and is a team supporter to the new Patrón Headline Bar.
Benefits
This activation will increase the in-arena sales of Patrón but most importantly to help move the product. Another benefit that will occur with this activation is the increase of visitors to Headlines where attendance is currently low.
Activation #4
In-Arena Headlines Bar and Grill
As part of the in-arena activation we will be redesigning the corridors and bar top of Headlines Bar and Grill. We want the traffic of alcohol consumers to head to a more hip and vibrant place in the arena where shots are always coming and drinks are always pouring.
Objectives
The main objective of this activation is to be able to increase sales and attendance at Headlines Bar and Grill. This will also help move the product and bring brand awareness for Patrón.
Benefits
The benefits would not only be to increase sales and move product but allow the fans of the Hawks and Thrashers to gain a new experience.
Activation #5
In-Arena Service
The in-arena service activation brings a new way of service to the arena that has been existence but had many limits. In the activation vendors (shot girls) will be creating and distributing cocktails seat side for fans. This allows fans to stay in their seats and retain service while watching the game. The vendor will carry Patrón bottles and mixers drinks with shaker and cups to help produce drinks seat side.
Objective
The objective of this service is to bring the Patrón brand to the seats. Basically this will be bringing in a walking billboard into the arena. It will help create a new fan experience while sitting at their seat.
Benefits
The benefits of this activation will be increase on liquor sales and moving the product. Besides looking out for the sponsor, this will also give and show fans the convenience of ordering cocktails seat side.
Activation Summary
• Hawks Hit the Street o Spontaneous Block Party
• Thrashing with the Thrashers o Happy Hour Caravan with drink samples
• Bottoms Up o Virtual Online promotion
• Simply Perfect Vision o Swirly vision giveaway promotion
• Headlines o The branding and revitalization
• Shot Girls o Seat-side shot service
Conclusion
At the end of the day you want to make sure that the Sponsor and its product/brand are taken care of, not only from a sales perspective but also from an experience never shared before. The activations presented here can be applied to any liquor brand, however now is the time to capitalize upon Patrón’s rapid growth.