Aquafina New Balance ESPN MLB 2K10 Carolyn Siska JB 4653 E*media
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Proposal
There will be three tactics used to publicize
and advertise the cross promotion. Promotions will range from inside the video
game to actual MLB games. Specific teams and players have been chosen
to bring this promotion to life in both the game and on the field. Three brands have been chosen that will
collaborate over a period of time to communicate the essence of each brand. These brands are: Aquafina New Balance, and ESPN MLB 2K10
Aquafina
Aquafina is an affiliate of the PepsiCo
company is a sub group of the Pepsi-Cola Brands. Aquafina was officially launched in 1997.
PepsiCo had partnered with MLB from
2002-2007 and was branded with the slogan, “Official soft drink of MLB.” In 2007, Aquafina was partnered with MLB
and is now in their 3rd year as the “official bottled water of MLB.” Aquafina also supports a grass root
program of the MLB called “Pitch, Hit, and Run”, which is a program designed to develop youths baseball skills.
New Balance
New Balance is a Boston-based specialized
shoe manufacturer.
Started in the early 1900’s as an arch an arch
support company and starting in the 1970’s transformed into a specialty shoe company.
The first baseball shoe was launched in
New Balance’s Spring 2006 line, but was available for purchase starting in December 2005.
New Balance currently has two styles: The 820 Molded, and The 1101 Metal On March 31st, 2010 New Balance signed
Dustin Pedroia for a multi-year endorsement contract.
ESPN MLB 2K10
In July of 1998, ESPN digital games was
developed by a company called Radical Entertainment. There were only three sports made available:
hockey, basketball and baseball. 2K is the publishing company of the
creators at Visual Concept and was founded in 1998. In 2004 2K teamed with ESPN and since
then there have been 8 games in the ESPN MLB 2K series. However, this is 2K’s 10th Anniversary of
MLB 2K. Xbox 360 is an affiliate of Microsoft and
was launched November 22, 2005.
The Teams
The Players
The following players collaborated with
ESPN MLB 2010: Oakland A’s: #40/P Andrew Bailey Anaheim Angels: #8/1B Kendry Morales Seattle Mariners: #34/P Felix Hernandez Minnesota Twins: #33/1B Justin Morneau Detroit Tigers: #35/P Justin Verlander Tampa Bay Devil rays: #3/3B Evan
Longoria New York Mets: #7/SS Jose Reyes
They also were featured in the following
video to promote the game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=jrSdNFEm0Dk
The Players
The following player was also used by New
Balance to wear their shoe during the season and promote the brand: Boston Red Sox: #15/2B Dustin Pedroia
Pedroia also talks about his partnership
with New Balance in the following video that can be found on New Balance’s Web site: http://www.newbalance.com/performance/
baseball/
The Players
The following players where chosen based
on their athleticism and stats on each team: Arizona Diamondbacks: #10/RF Justin
Upton Chicago Cubs: #25/1B Derek Lee Pittsburgh Pirates: #41/C Ryan Doumit Cleveland Indians: #24/CF Grady Sizemore Milwaukee Brewers: #28/1B Prince Fielder Kansas City Royals: #16/1B Billy Butler Chicago White Sox: #14/1B Paul Konerko
Aquafina Promotions
During the regular season of the 15 teams
chosen, there will be promotions sponsored by Aquafina to win the ESPN MLB 2K10 game. Vendors and concessions will sell Aquafina
water bottles. 2 random water bottles will be chosen and
will be branded with an MLB sticker. In between the 3rd and 4th inning, an
announcement will be made to check your Aquafina water bottles for a chance to win a copy of the ESPN MLB 2K10 game.
Aquafina Promotions
The water bottles will look
like this. Fans will check their water
bottle and if it is branded with the MLB logo, they are a random winner of the ESPN MLB 2K10 game. This promotion creates
great buzz about both products because for those few seconds, fans are only thinking about those two brand.
Aquafina Promotions
Aquafina already supports and sponsors 14
baseball parks across the country. These baseball parks will continue their
billboards for Aquafina. The 15 chosen baseball players from each
team will do commercials during the year to promote Aquafina water.
New Balance Promotions
During the regular season of the 15 teams
chosen, there will also be promotions sponsored by New Balance to win the ESPN MLB 2K10 game. Before the game, 2 random seats will be
chosen and will have a laminate footprint placed under their chair. In between the 6th and 7th, an
announcement will be made to check under your seat for a chance to win a copy of the ESPN MLB 2K10 game.
New Balance Promotions
The footprints
will look like this.
Fans will check
under their seats and if there is a New Balance footprint, , they are a random winner of the ESPN MLB 2K10 game.
This promotion
creates the same great buzz as the Aquafina promotion.
New Balance Promotions
New Balance already has a multi-year
contract with Dustin Pedroia from the Boston Red Sox. There is a proposal to also sponsor the same
baseball players that Aquafina is sponsoring. With a double sponsorship for these select
players, it will better help to cross promote both brands. Players will appear in commercials wearing
their New Balance baseball cleats and drinking their Aquafina water.
ESPN MLB 2K10 Promotions
ESPN MLB 2K10 will in-turn create
promotions for both Aquafina and New Balance. The chosen 15 baseball players will only be
shown on the game drinking Aquafina, and Aquafina water jugs will be observable in the dugouts on the game. Billboards in the chosen 15 nationwide
baseball parks on the game will be fitted with Aquafina and New Balance billboards. The billboards will look like the following
screenshot of the game:
Product Placement
ESPN MLB 2K10 Promotions
ESPN MLB 2K10 will also continue the
New Balance promotion in place; however, it will be tailored to the game. The chosen 15 players will only be wearing
New Balance baseball cleats in the game. The player will be able to associate the New
Balance brand with the players in the game and also on the field. Players will look like the following photo
wearing their New Balance baseball cleats:
Product Placement
Cross Promotion
The last cross promotion will involve all
products collectively. In both the game and on the field, there will
be brand sponsored innings. In the game, the 4th inning will be
sponsored by Aquafina and the 7th inning will sponsored by New Balance. On the field, there will only be one
sponsored inning a game. The brands will be on a three home game rotation: Aquafina: 4th inning New Balance: 7th inning ESPN MLB 2K10: 9th inning
Time Frame
A season of regular season baseball runs
from April until September.
Playoffs typically begin the first week of
October.
There are 162 games during the regular
season – 81 at home and 81 on the road. That means in total there will be 324 total
ESPN MLB 2K games given away at one ball park during a season. There will be 4,860 games collectively from the 15 ball parks given away a season. There are 181 games possible during a
baseball season.
This includes full series played in both the
playoffs and also the World Series.
Media Distribution
The average seating capacity of all MLB
baseball parks is 44,234. Assuming that each stadium fills about 70%
a game, that is 30,963 people who could be viewing the billboards and taking part in the promotions a game at one stadium. 464,445 people for all 15 stadiums That means there 37,620,045 people during
regular season home games who will view the billboards and take part in the promotions.
Media Distribution
An average game for a baseball player is 8
innings. Assuming that they also bat every other
inning, that brings the total up to about 12 appearances a game. That is 180 appearances for all 15 players a
game. Also assuming they play about 160 games
during regular season – that is about 12,960 appearances combined for all 15 players. The chosen players will generate high
impressions for both Aquafina and New Balance during a season by promoting their brands only on the field.
Potential Problems
One potential problem would be with the
players on the field. There is always a chance during a season that
a player can be injured and placed on the disabled list for a certain time period, and in unfortunate instances – the entire season. Another potential problem would be with
the promotions during the games. Possible that the random winners don’t come
to claim their copy of the game, or the place where the laminate feet are located – the ticket holders never show up to the game.
Summary
Overall, there is great growth potential for
all three brands.
The consistency of the players in both the
game and on the field will create authenticity for the brands in the mind of the consumer.
The impressions on the field allow for great
exposure to all of the brands.
The promotions allow the brands to easy
access their target market and promote their product effectively.
Baseball is America’s past-time, and it
seems as if it will stay that way for many years to come.
References
http://www.newbalance.com/public-relations/
library/2005/new-balance-launches-innovativefootwear-for-spring-2006/
https://secure.mlb.com/news/press_releases/
press_release.jsp? ymd=20100401&content_id=9043374&vkey=pr _mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
http://2ksports.com/games/mlb2k10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=jrSdNFEm0Dk
http://www.newbalance.com/public-relations/
library/2010/new-balance-announcespartnership-with-all-star-second-baseman-dustinpedroia/
http://2ksports.com/info/about http://www.xb360info.com/xbox/news/113