Winning Gameday Activation Ideas for Stronger Brand Connections
It’s no wonder experiential marketers love football season. Gamedays bring a huge influx of fans with built-in camaraderie and a common goal – to have fun and root on their favorite team. Tapping into that enthusiasm can only create stronger connections between your brand and their love of the game. So, when college campuses start filling up and pro stadium kick-off weekends come, be ready to leverage the opportunity with some fun of your own. Because gameday activations that focus on the fans are primed for long-term ROI.
How to Optimize Gameday Activations
Bring the Activation to the Fans
It might be instinctual to set up an eyepopping, branded experience on prime stadium real estate and wait for fans to come to you. But think of the missed opportunities who aren’t passing by your activation. For maximum attention, send your brand ambassadors out into the crowds to invite and attract fans to your footprint, or take the experience directly to them with street teams to canvas high foot traffic areas.
Play All Four Quarters
Budgets and enthusiasm can be hard to sustain over a 13- or 18-week season. Yet, loyal, longtime team supporters recognize and reward the loyalty of longtime sponsors. After all, branded partnerships are part of the fabric of football. Therefore, die-hard fans know which brands are opportunists and which brands are in it for the long haul. A consistent presence is the first step, and hiring an ambassador team to nurture the relationship between fans and your brand is essential, no matter what type of activation you host.
Plan to Call Some Audibles
You can’t rely on the same play every week when sustaining an experiential campaign for an entire football season. Fans will come to expect it, and suddenly your marketing offense is losing field position. So, plan your activations to be agile and have your brand ambassadors ready to call an audible so fans stay engaged and motivated to play. One way to do this is to customize your activation based on what’s happening in real-time. For example, did the team win last week? Then, execute plan A this week. Is it a big rival game? Time to go with plan B. There are many ways to keep things fresh and fun throughout the season, and fans will appreciate the Gameday synergy.
Leveraging Experiential Games and Technology
Including a fun experiential game is the perfect way to create an exciting centre piece for your event that will draw shoppers in to create a fun and memorable brand experience. Our branded mini games attraction is the perfect interactive solution for businesses participating in events, especially exhibitions, product launches, brand activations and sales kick-offs.
Reasons to Incorporate Branded Games:
- Capture data: Create valuable leads and data for post-event marketing and follow ups.
- Fully customisable: Create a bespoke advergaming tool to generate awareness around your brand, product or service.
- Flexibility: No minimum space requirement; works on mobiles, tablets and displays.
- Cost-effective: Does not require high development or maintenance costs.
- Offline functionality: No need to worry about Wi-Fi or poor online connections.
These branded mini games have been used around the world at trade shows, expos, brand events and more with great feedback from clients. You can choose from various options such as Buzz Wire games, Target Throwing games, Speed reaction games, and Penalty Shootouts.
Real-World Examples: MLS All-Star Week Activations
Brands that kick off an extra layer of engagement make events more enjoyable for fans in attendance. During the MLS All-Star Week, numerous brands took the opportunity to connect with fans in creative and interactive ways:
- Target: Handed out goodie bags and offered refreshing branded popsicles.
- The Home Depot: Hosted the “Paint the Corners” attendee activity.
- Continental: Featured a mini-field game for fan participation.
- AT&T: Acted as the exclusive jersey patch partner and led various interactive challenges.
- Audi & Coca-Cola: Created captivating activation areas for fans to take photos.
- Michelob Ultra & BODYARMOR: Executed “hit the target” and “hit the goal” challenges.
- Captain Morgan & Caterpillar: Integrated "Meet & Greet" opportunities where fans had the unique opportunity to meet their favorite players.
Don’t forfeit away games or out-of-town fans. Gameday activations don’t have to be limited to the campus, a stadium, or the team’s hometown. You can still execute activations where fans congregate in town or in-state, such as bar promotions, retail events, or sweepstakes-driven tailgate parties. Brands can still earn meaningful gameday engagement and interaction without shifting dollars to a 30-second TV spot. By showing fans how much a brand values their contribution through activations that enhance their enjoyment, brands score plenty of loyalty points.
