Red Bull Teams Up With Rickie Fowler To Create Capital Drive Hole-In-One Event

Red Bull teamed up with Rickie Fowler, the PGA Rookie of the Year, to create an incredible "Red Bull Capital Drive" PR stunt during the days leading up to the 2011 U.S. Open, played at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. As part of the stunt, Red Bull designed a 106-yard manmade hole in the heart of Washington DC's Historic Georgetown Waterfront and brought in Fowler to test whether he could make a hole-in-one in a populated urban setting.

With the Potomac River as a serene backdrop, Fowler successfully made a blind hole-in-one shot between two (2) five-story buildings and around one (1) fountain hazard after just a few attempts. Fowler relied on his precise accuracy to make the shot, despite swirling wind conditions and hundreds of spectators making the stunt that much more difficult.

To generate publicity for the event, Red Bull teamed up with Activ8Social to create a social media scavenger hunt in the streets of Washington D.C. that allowed golf fans a chance to "check in" at specified Foursquare locations across the city to win autographed limited edition golf balls and more. The social scavenger hunt event attracted 50+ participants

Check out a recap of Red Bull's Capital Drive event below:

Nike Golf Introduces "The Oven" to Showcase R&D

The following article, detailing Nike Golf's newest initiative entitled "The Oven" was written by Mike Rose, a sports marketing professional based out of Portland, Oregon.  Check out Mike's additional insights on his blog, "Rose's Garden" as well as on Twitter!

A decade ago, Nike Golf was a company trying to break into the mainstream golf market. The company had just one prominent athlete who was not even using the company’s equipment. However, Nike Golf does two things better than any of its competitors - marketing and R&D. The emphasis Nike places on R&D is something that is deeply rooted in the company's corporate culture, as it was a strong passion of co-founder Bill Bowerman. Nike has derived success from its marketing efforts that focus on the level of importance the company places on R&D, which has helped to expand its golf operations. 

Nike Golf’s current campaign “The Oven” attempts to show how Nike Golf Athletes are utilizing Nike Equipment to better their game. The campaign has allowed Nike Golf to showcase some of the premier athletes competing in golf that are using its products, including Lucas Glover, Stuart Cink, and Michelle Wie. This campaign has helped Nike demonstrate that its products are helping many players experience success in golf outside of Tiger Woods.

While Nike Golf already has strong apparel sales, the company still lags behind when it comes to equipment sales. If campaigns such as “The Oven” continue to be successful in the near future, Nike Golf will soon become one of, if not the leader in the golf industry.

Check out all of Nike Golf's clips from "The Oven" series here and a few of the best ones below:

Have You Brought on a Wine Partner?

Are you looking for new ways to leverage wine partners? Are you looking to fill new sponsorship categories?

Wolf Blass, an Australian wine brand, is leveraging its official sponsorship of the RBS 6 Nations Cup (a globally recognized rugby tournament) with a $2MM marketing campaign designed to highlight similarities between the brand and the sport. The campaign draws attention to three (3) brand attributes - quality, passion, and character - that closely associate with the sport of rugby and resonate well with fans.

Wolf Blass will feature its sponsorship-related messaging through a variety of channels - television, print, outdoor, online, and at retail. The company is complementing its messaging with a promotion that enables consumers the chance to win "Ultimate Sports Prizes" via an in-store neck collar promotion (including VIP ticket packages to the Ryder Cup, premiership football matches, etc.).

Wolf Blass' partnership with the RBS 6 Nations Cup should serve as a benchmark for U.S. sports organizations looking to fill the wine category and fully leverage a partnership. Look for more examples to come in the near future.

Check out some of Wolf Blass' outdoor messaging below:

A special thanks to Matthew Carlton of XtremeInsight.com for his insights and contributions to this column. Source: Marketing Magazine.