2008 Ex Award Winners: Best Activation Of An Entertainment Sponsorship

Best Activation Of An Entertainment Sponsorship

Ex Award
Campaign: The Police Reunion Tour
Client: Best Buy
Agency: nCompass

Imagine being handpicked by Sting to join him onstage and belt out “Roxanne” during a pre-show closed sound check. Or put on your red dress and hang out with the likes of Courteney Cox and other celebs in a backstage Moroccan oasis while nibbling on spiced lamb chops and grilled chicken kabobs. Sound like a De Do Do Do De Da Da Da-dream come true? Well for certain members of Best Buy’s loyalty program Reward Zone as well as select employees and lucky VIP guests it was. Best Buy drummed up once-in-a lifetime experiences like these as part of its sponsorship activation for the hottest concert tour of the summer The Police Reunion Tour of 2007 in North America the first concert tour by the band in 30 years.

 “When the opportunity to sponsor this tour came up we knew it would be the event of the year and so we put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and thought what would our customers actually want?” says Jill Jasper senior manager-event marketing at Best Buy. “They would want access to tickets backstage opportunities opportunities to meet the band and go to a real sound check.”

And that’s exactly what Best Buy delivered at 39 concerts that kicked off in early spring in Vancouver and went through late fall. The retailer secured a percentage of tickets at each concert venue specifically for Reward Zone members who got first crack at them by requesting a presale code at bestbuy.com/thepolice that allowed them access before the tickets went on sale to the general public.

On top of that Reward Zone ticket-holders could enter a sweepstakes advertised in Best Buy’s weekly circular on bestbuy.com and myrewardzone.com for access to the backstage perks which included entrée into a Moroccan “oasis” decked out with brass lanterns rugs pillows and leather ottomans. Brand ambassadors in palazzo pants and embroidered tunics each wearing an 18-karat-gold Best Buy logo that hung from a dark brown leather cord greeted guests who sipped on Moroccan mint tea. Traditional Moroccan hand washes and a Moroccan menu rounded out the experience.

“Most of the guests didn’t get it until we told them that Sting and the band early in their career had loved Morocco and played there ” Jasper says. “Sting and (guitarist) Andy Summer’s homes are all decked out in Moroccan style so once they were there and able to hang out they truly felt like VIPs. The band used the space for their guests as well.”

More than 3 000 Reward Zone members participated in the exclusive experience which garnered positive feedback via on-site interviews and online consumer surveys: Impressions of Reward Zone membership was 90 percent positive and Best Buy overall achieved an 86 percent positive rating. Police catalogue sales increased 302 percent over the previous year. That’s quite a message—even if it isn’t in a bottle.

Gold Award
Campaign: Beyoncé Experience Tour
Client: Samsung
Agency: GMR Marketing

Samsung pulled all the stops during the Beyoncé Experience Tour with a red carpet entranceway a VIP lounge and plenty of other perks.

To build buzz Samsung held radio remotes at local Sprint stores giving away two tickets and a VIP Experience at the concert. At night before each performance Samsung projected a branded animated logo on the side of the building. On concert day fans were greeted by a red carpet lined with Samsung plasmas showing the Upstage phone and Beyoncé videos on a loop. Fans could text to a code to leave Beyoncé a message on the big screens.

Brand ambassadors greeted guests and gave brief demos of the Upstage.

Inside the party was pumping with music mixed by a live dj with strobe lights setting the mood. Fans were then escorted to the Samsung VIP Lounge where they received Samsung/Beyoncé gift bags. The setting was posh with plush velvet furniture plasmas looping Beyoncé videos and LED light curtains showing Samsung images. To top it off the VIP Lounge had its very own waterfalls.

Fans that didn’t have VIP tickets hung out at the Samsung Sound Lounge open to all concertgoers. Fans could have their picture taken at a Samsung photo booth retrievable on its microsite with an option to frame it in a Samsung/Beyoncé border.

The brand was able to put the product in the hands of willing consumers—and extend the conversation well beyond the concert floor. It distributed more than 40 000 download cards and 13 000 photo cards. There were more than 15 000 picture downloads 110 282 page views and 591 Samsung promotion opt-ins plus 1 619 consumer research opt-ins. Samsung was able to do 6 200 hands-on demonstrations on site and had 5 436 664 media impressions.


Silver Award
Campaign: Infiniti Cirque du Soleil Activation
Client: Nissan
Agency: Kubik

Infiniti created a series of Salon Nights specially tailored to existing and potential Infiniti owners in order to introduce its new Infiniti EX. At the center of it all was a performance by Cirque du Soleil which preceded the reveal of the new model.

Attendees were treated like VIPs from the moment they arrived. They were greeted with a purple martini—the theme color of the evening—and hors d’oeuvres. White couches bathed in purple light gave the space a lounge feel. Food stations were strategically placed around the room and a dj spun urban music throughout the event.

After the Cirque du Soleil performance the reveal of the EX began. The car itself was hidden underneath a 16-foot pyramid. With a pulley system in place the pyramid turned completely inside out from the center point until it was finally pointing down over the top of the revealed vehicle. Two Cirque performers hidden under the pyramid emerged through dry ice to enhance the moment. As all of this was happening an additional two EX vehicles were driven out from the mist into the stage area where they were joined by a Nissan Infiniti spokesperson who officially introduced the EX to the crowd.

Response to the invitations exceeded Infiniti’s expectations and additional budget dollars were allocated at the last moment in each city to supplement the event. Attendance in Toronto which sold out in 13 days was 700. In Montreal which sold out in 15 days it was 500 and in Vancouver which sold out in 19 days 490.