Winter 2012 Partnership Activation Newsletter

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Welcome to the Winter 2012 Partnership Activation Newsletter! As I noted previously, I will continue to distribute the newsletter on a quarterly basis. Thanks for your continued support and I look forward to connecting with many of you soon!

Click here to purchase the Winter 2012 Partnership Activation Newsletter for $7.99. After reviewing the newsletter, please take a moment to share it with friends via email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, personal blogs, and other platforms and modes of communication. Here is a shortened URL that you can use to include in tweets, etc:http://bit.ly/145Px7e 

This month's newsletter features a collection of insights, including:

  • Athlete Branding
  • 15+ Top Global Sports Business Conferences
  • Interactive Fan Technology at The Barca Museum
  • Freshwire - Sports Content Insider Tips
  • Navigate Research - Industry Spotlight
  • Chelsea Unseen: Behind-the-Scenes
  • Taylor University's Silent Night
  • adidas Kit Sponsorships
  • Laser Graffiti
  • Farmers Insurance's Love Float
  • SMU's Sport Management Graduate Program
  • Paciolan's Pinterest Page
  • Creativity in the Sports Marketplace
  • January 2013 Partnership Activation Rising Stars
  • The Milwaukee Bucks' #ShowMeYourMilwaukee Contest
  • The Washington Wizards' Cookie Challenge
  • A Close Look at the Chick-fil-A Bowl
  • 5 #SportsBiz Handles You Must Follow
  • 15+ Ways to Leverage Formal Attire Partners
  • Molson's Wake Up Call for NHL Fans 
  • Heineken's Bottle Wall
  • Partnership Activation Grab Bag
  • Idea Box

Click here to purchase the Winter 2012 Partnership Activation Newsletter, connect with other readers in the official Partnership Activation LinkedIn Group, and follow Brian Gainor on Twitter for additional sponsorship/marketing tactics throughout the month!

Harvard Rewards Students for Attending Sports Events with Crimson Cash

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The Harvard University Athletics Department recently teamed up with the Undergraduate Council to create a unique initiative designed to drive attendance at sporting events throughout the year. The two parties collaborated to launch a Crimson Cash program that provides students with an opportunity to earn$1 of Crimson Cash for each Harvard sporting event that they attend on campus.

The initiative, designed to drive attendance and school spirit, allows students to earn a maximum yearly salary of $30 of Crimson Cash simply by swiping their student ID at several designated swipe tents located outside the student section of each event. With each swipe, students are also automatically entered to win a larger grand prize that is awarded at the end of each sports season. 

While some industry professionals may criticize the notion of paying students to attend sports events (notably Olympic sports events), the concept could serve as an effective way to drive attendance, interest, and sponsorship dollars on campus. Athletic departments could seamlessly integrate corporate partners (looking to target college students via swipe tent branding/activation, ID card branding, and student rewards/prizing. Athletic departments can also benefit from students cashing in their team shop dollars to purchase additional merchandise, etc.

Consider ways that your school can implement a similar initiative to drive attendance at sports events throughout campus!

The Dallas Mavericks Distribute Playoff Tickets with Augmented Reality Functionality

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The Dallas Mavericks partnered with Qualcomm and Big Playar to distribute 2011 NBA Playoff tickets with augmented reality functionality, an extremely novel fan engagement tool.

Fans who had an Android phone were able to scan an image of a Mavericks player on their game tickets to receive immediate access to an interactive game on their phone. Fan participation was guided by a set of instructions featured on the back of the team's ticket stubs, which required fans to download the Mavs AR app in the Android market and hover their phone over their ticket to access the game. 

Mavs fans attending the game who did not have an Android phone could play the game at various phone zones situated through the American Airlines Center.  

It will be very interesting to see if more teams begin to experiment with ticketing-based augmented reality applications. As fans look to engage fans in new ways prior to games and during the offseason when season ticket mailers are distributed to fans, interactive augmented reality extensions could provide a perfect solution. While there are currently some drawbacks (fans can only use select smartphones / need to download the AR app to interact), these hurdles will soon be overcome as technology evolves and apps become even easier to access.

Check out a video detailing the Dallas Mavericks' augmented reality ticketing initiative below!