Sponsors Activate Around Outdoor Hockey Game In Buffalo
By Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
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Amp Energy Nets Prominent
Exposure At NHL Winter Classic |
Amp Energy drink title sponsored Tuesday's NHL Winter Classic at Ralph Wilson Stadium, and the PepsiCo brand’s impressions were everywhere during the build-up to the game. Buffalo-based WGR-AM hosted a competition outside the stadium, offering fans making the best Amp Energy sign the chance to win tickets to the game. In the league’s fan celebration area, Vivid Event Marketing set up three inflatable Amp Energy Cans that stood 10-20 feet tall. Nearby, fans could shoot street hockey balls at a net. They could also get a photo in front of an Amp Energy green screen. A silver Airstream decked out with Amp logos offered fans free samples of the energy drink. In an area adjacent to Amp’s activation footprint, Pepsi hosted more than 400 people in a hospitality tent. Inside the stadium, 14 Amp Energy logos took up the most prominent position on the rink's boards. Eight Amp signs also circled the bottom level of Ralph Wilson Stadium. Amp logos lined the stadium’s LED strip and wrapped one of two Zambonis used during the game. All of the signage was included in an incremental fee PepsiCo paid for title sponsorship that was valued in the low seven figures.
OTHER SPONSORS ON THE GROUND: Verizon, another NHL partner, set up beside Amp in the fan celebration area. Momentum Worldwide, which handled Verizon’s activation, erected a 32- by 24-foot mini-rink surrounded by eight flat screen TVs that toggled between NHL clips and a Verizon logo. Two green screens in the center of the rink allowed fans to insert themselves digitally into NHL highlights and send those to their phones. Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch gave fans a place to escape the cold, opening a hospitality tent to all in the fan celebration area. Bud Light logos surrounded people as they enjoyed beers and food sold inside.
AD WATCH: Amp debuted a TV spot, via BBDO, N.Y., during NBC’s coverage of the game. The ad featured Sabres G Ryan Miller and Kings G Jean-Sebastien Aubin facing off in a ring where they each drank an Amp energy drink and traded "Your momma is so ugly jokes." Meanwhile, Dick’s Sporting Goods aired an ad that promoted their selection of Reebok hockey uniforms. Lance Armstrong also appeared in two of Dick’s spots promoting his Live Strong line of apparel. EAS aired an ad promoting its Myoplex that featured Browns QB Brady Quinn.
SportsBusiness Daily Television Editor Paul Sanford contributed to this report.
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