Consumers were invited to visit www.borubarband.com and vote for their favorite bar band. A panel of judges spared viewers’ eyes and ears by selecting 14 semifinalists from among 800 applicants representing 47 states.
To generate interest, Boru brand ambassadors hit the bars hosting “Defend the Bar Band” nights. Patrons were spurred into competing in impromptu Guitar Hero competitions. For their hard work and hard rocking, they received promo kits containing posters, T-shirts, hats, tattoos, coasters, napkins and other items.
A band called The Loveblisters emerged victorious after voting had ended. The band received a professionally produced music video of their song Devotion as well as $10,000 in new equipment. The Castle Brands-owned Irish vodka also delivered the track to 650 radio stations using Yangaroo’s eNotes technology.
“This year’s Boru ‘Defend the Bar Band’ competition was extremely successful, with more than eight times the number of bands participating over last year’s number,” says D’Arcy King from C2 Creative, Castle Brands’ agency of record. “Fan involvement through online voting helped The Loveblisters, capture the top spot in the competition and claim the title of the most passionate and authentic bar band.”
Thanks to the success of the campaign, Boru is looking to vastly expand the competition in 2009 in hopes of finding the next The Loveblisters.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Boru Takes Battle of the Bands Online
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Ask The Experts – Party Favors
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There’s nothing bad about these goodie bags. this month, our experts provide answers to four readers who all are looking for the perfect parting gifts.
Q. We’re a Fortune 500 firm that’s having a huge holiday soiree for our best clients in December. It will be held in a nightclub and have a disco theme. What kind of parting gifts can we give to clients that will help them remember us in 2009?
A. A parting gift is a perfect way to ring in the New Year. But one that helps a client remember a certain company must have some sort of significance. The most important factor is the message you’re trying to express. “You want to leave your client with a gift that has meaning behind it,” says Diana Martin, founder and president of Prezents Inc., a promotional products distributor. “A gift that can be used over and over again, such as a vase or a salt and pepper shaker, is ideal. Use a message such as, ‘Shakin’ things up in 2009,’ to help generate that lasting impression.”
Or, try a gift that is colorful to grab the client’s attention year-round. “Gifts that illuminate are very hot these days,” she says. “Something like a candle, which is small but meaningful, is enough to keep a client’s interest in your company at an all-time high.”
Kathy Gregorio, a promotional products distributor for Imperial Marketing Inc., says your gifts should have some sort of value to the client, so it’s not put in a box and forgotten about.
“You want something that can be used daily or even used when a similar event comes along,” Gregorio says. “A disco ball keychain and a lava lamp that plugs into a USB port are two gifts that are not only nice enough to keep around, but they are also constant reminders every time the client views them.”
Another idea: Give the clients a CD with disco music on it. “It’s a great way to address the theme of the party as well as give the clients a resource to be revisited,” she says.
As an additional bonus: You could even go as far as decorating the gift bag. Michelle Altobelli, CEO of Altobelli Advantage and a promotional products consultant, says although the necessities inside the bag should be of importance, the gift bag itself can be used to show your company put a lot of time in planning this event.
“The gift bag should also be of high quality, not just the gifts inside,” Altobelli says. “The gift bag could have your logo on the outside with an array of tissue colors coming out of the top.” Of course, you’ll want the goodies inside to have your logo on them too, so your client knows exactly where they got them from.
Q. I work for a charitable organization and am planning our annual holiday tea for our volunteers. Most of the 100 attendees are executive women. I’m looking for an upscale gift for each. My budget is $25 per person. What can I give them?
A. A volunteer is someone that works for a community primarily because they chose to do so. These good-hearted individuals should be appreciated. And it’s good you are going out of the way to do just that. The most important component is to thank each one for the amount of service they put in.
“In this situation a thank-you gift makes the most sense,” Gregorio says. “I would highly recommend a tea traveler mug filled with teas carrying a thank-you message on the outer package.”
Gregorio also recommends giving the volunteers something to satisfy their appetites during the event.
“The attendees could have an edible treat, such as tea cakes, which would serve as a gift and also symbolic to the tea event itself,” she says.
Other food products might include rich chocolate truffles, chocolate wafer cookies or even petit fruit candies as delectable treats.
Karen Sherrill, director of marketing for a promotional products supplier, believes each person has a budget flexible enough to work with multiple gifts. “The budget allows you to make a huge impact on the volunteers,” Sherrill says. “From imprinted gifts such as mugs or pens to something more elegant like a wine carrier gift set, the budget leaves enough room for you to please each person.”
Sherrill also suggests gifts that can be used for the volunteer’s family members to let them know the organization runs solely on the kindness put in by someone from their home.
“Gifts like an FM radio, a highly functional clock, or retractable ear buds are ones that can be brought home, so even the ones who weren’t there know the volunteers are appreciated,” Sherrill adds.
Q. I’m planning a festive beer bash at a local bar for a group of 20-something customers. Can you suggest some fun, or even interactive, giveaways that will help get the party started?
A. To some, the hardest thing to do is get comfortable in a room full of strangers. It’s difficult at times to begin introducing yourself without having a cup of liquid confidence first. But a simple game can help break the ice. “The easiest way is to start with social interaction,” Martin suggests. “The host could create groups of five customers who have to generate answers to some beer questions with the winners getting prizes.”
Martin suggests prizes such as a high-tech bottle opener, a grooming set or even a Swiss Army knife.
Altobelli also agrees a game is the best way to start this particular event. “Assign certain people a lighted blinking button and make a match-making game out of it by finding the person with your color,” she says. “The winner could get some lighted shot glasses, a hat that lights up or even some shirts that light up with your company’s logo on it.”
Adding to the game idea: Get the customers involved with every college dorm room’s rapidly growing game, “Beer Pong” (must be 21 or older to play).
“It’s a game that is extraordinarily popular right now,” Gregorio says. “The balls could also have the company logo on it as a way to advertise your company.”
Beer nuts, towels and light up ice cubes are also some great prizes Gregorio believes will contribute to the theme.
Q. I’m planning a black-tie, end-of-year awards event for our best employees. What type of item can we put in a gift bag to let the employees know how much we value them?
A. Finding a gift to let your best employees know they’re appreciated is easier said than done. After all, a gift sometimes leads to employees knowing exactly how valued they are. Since these are your best employees, you want to make them feel extremely important. “In this particular situation, less is more,” Martin says. “Employees tend to measure what their employer thinks of them, so something luxurious should factor in.”
Martin suggests something that lets the employee know they’re exceptional such as a leather briefcase, a set of napkin rings for four or even a coupon for Omaha Steaks. It doesn’t have to cost much. But it should leave the employee with the feeling of acceptance.
Altobelli explains that the gifts should show a tremendous amount of quality and should be elegant enough to show the importance of your employee to your company.
“Something such as the annual Swarovski ornament, a set of crystal glasses alone or packaged with a bottle of wine, or a set of champagne flutes with a bottle of champagne are classy gifts,” she says.
She also suggests offering candy as fillers that could be placed in the glasses or its own separate candy dish. “A crystal candy dish filled with expensive truffles is always a gift that shows significance and value,” she says.
Fillers could also include fancy jumbo cashews, jumbo California pistachios, crunchy English butter toffee, pecan turtles and even chocolate covered raisins to add to the implication of elegance.
You may even want to personalize the gift. By personalizing a gift you are showing how worthy your employee is to the company. “An etched bottle of wine with the corporate logo on it and personalized with each employee’s name is showing you care,” Gregorio says. “Packaged in a single wine carrier with a cork screw or a bottle opener and your employee will know why they chose a career with you rather than any other company.”
Matthew George is an editorial intern for Successful Promotions.
Major league tie-in
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New York Mets and Boston Red Sox fans were treated to more than just a riveting run at the Major League Baseball World Series title. They were also given the chance take batting practice at Shea Stadium and Fenway Park, respectively, and win baseball-themed prizes thanks to Wise Potato Chips.
The East Coast potato chip brand deployed “The Snack Squad” to two of its top markets from June 24 to July 13 to hand out 25,000 Wise-branded “Snack and Score” game pieces. Wise, which is the official potato chip and Cheez Doodle of the two teams, hit surrounding neighborhoods to promote its popular snack brand.
“Wise is a great street brand, and our business is primarily done in delis and bodegas,” says Amy Erlich, account director at Source Communications which handled the promotion. “It is important to take it to the streets and have fun at the same time.”
Game piece recipients had the chance to win an HP computer, go to an away game compliments of Amtrak, win game tickets as well as logoed shirts and mouse pads. The promotional products “raise brand awareness,” Erlich says. “The shirts looked like rock concert T-shirts. The image on the front was of David Ortiz and Jose Reyes. They’re cool shirts.”
Wise has given away the game pieces for three years. This year was the debut of The Snack Squad. Radio ads as well as subway and platform signs supported the promotion. Wise also has signage in both stadiums.
“The association with Reyes, Ortiz and Wise is impactful,” Erlich says.
Telecom Gets Creative
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Can you hear me now?” We’ve all heard that Verizon expression more times than we’d care to.
Repetitiveness is a key driver of the strategy behind wireless providers like Verizon and AT&T’s media plans. That’s why no category spends more on measured media. The $5.4 billion, per TNS Media Intelligence, shelled out for ubiquitous ads last year that tell us brands like AT&T has “More bars in more places” far surpass most other segments put together.
AT&T, which rebranded itself from Cingular, spent $1.86 billion on media last year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. While Verizon wasn’t too far off at $1.43 billion. Sprint Nextel was third at $988 million. After that the drop off is steep with T-Mobile doling out $500 million and Alltel budgeting for $200 million.
Why so much money? “Repetition drives memorability,” says Roger Entner, senior vice president of the communications sector for Nielsen IAG. “You need to hammer it home over and over again.”
Every year up to 20 million people are changing carriers, says Entner. “It’s an intensely competitive industry. The pool of subscribers that is up for grabs is huge. A small difference in the effectiveness of the advertising can have a massive impact.”
What’s more, the landscape keeps shifting. One day, it’s “all you can eat” data plans, the next it’s the LG Chocolate phone and then its AT&T’s iPhone. “They need economies of scale to spread their message,” says Entner.
Products Help to Differentiate
Some brands, such as Virgin Mobile, Tracfone and MetroPCS, are using creativity to gain an edge in this competitive space.
Virgin Mobile, for one, has differentiated itself by leveraging its heritage as a music retailer. It created the Virgin Mobile Fest. Unlike some of the other concerts put on by challenger brands, Virgin’s concerts are the real deal. This past year, the show was held at the Pimilco Race Course in Baltimore August 9-10. Acts included the Foo Fighters, Bob Dylan, Iggy and the Stooges, Kanye West and Stone Temple Pilots.
The thousands in attendance took refuge, during the festival, in three domes. Two were sponsored by Kyocera and one by Dell. Within the Kyocera “recharge dome” consumers received co-branded bamboo fans and towels as well as sunscreen.
Virgin gave its VIPs a pack that included a concert branded shirt and backpack. “We try and surprise them with Virgin giveaways,” says Laura Jordan, director of events for the Virgin Mobile Festival. “When you give them a tube of sunscreen when they’re freaking out because they forgot to bring it, they think ‘wow, they thought of me.’”
Most of the items Virgin selects “are to remind concert goers of their experience,” Jordan says. “We see people bringing back the towels we did last year or the fans we gave out.”
While Virgin is never going to spend a billion on ads, the festival and promotional products distributed at it “is more a sticky experience than a traditional media play,” Jordan says. “People have positive associations with the brand because of the experience they had. If you come up with something innovative that they will hang on to, it becomes viral in nature.”