Promo - January 2008 - (Page 9)

POWER CHORDS When battery maker Energizer wanted to add a community element to the marketing for its Energi to Go line of portable power devices (think mobile chargers for your iPod or cell phone), they could have built a stand-alone site or added a forum to the main Energizer site. Instead, they opted to go where the customers are. Working with a new community activation division of interactive agency MEC Interaction, Energi to Go went looking for the places on the Internet where people are already talking about music and power. They finally landed on www.Pandora.com, an Internet radio site that takes users’ favorite songs and “programs” other similar tunes and artists. The site lets users set up accounts, build as many as 100 “channels” around particular songs or bands and return to that programming any time they want to discover more new music. Users can pay a monthly fee for the service, but by far the majority of Pandora’s 3.3 million users rely on the free ad-supported version. Energizer didn’t want to just rent real estate from Pandora with ads, says Jordan Hirsch, group director for MECi. Instead, they offered to build and sponsor a community discussion forum within Pandora called “Take the Power Back.” The forum offers a number of discussion threads, including an area to share Pandora playlists, a section for concert reviews and a relationship-advice channel called “I Will Survive.” Most pertinent to Energi to Go, the Pandora forum also offers a “Portable Power” thread aimed primarily at professional DJs, who often carry their music repertoire in an iPod these days. Energizer has committed to sponsor the board for two months, with an option to continue after Jan. 7. “We went to Pandora with a channel they didn’t already have, backed up with media they didn’t need to create,” Hirsch says. “They benefit from a new interaction for their users, and Energizer gets to learn from the conversations around power and music.”—Brian Quinton Slap Shot NHL skates new lines to spark fan interest/Richard Tedesco The National Hockey League is running a power play of new promotional and media moves to stir fan interest in the competitive U.S. pro sports marketplace. Among the league’s latest moves is the upcoming Amp Energy NHL Winter Classic game, an outdoor match-up between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. The New Year’s Day tilt in Buffalo, the first outdoor NHL game in the U.S., is intended to evoke the sport’s beginnings on outdoor ponds and rinks. Pepsi will pump up its Amp brand with signage and other activation plans unavailable at press time. The match-up has already succeeded in getting fans’ attention, selling out the venue’s 73,000 seats 15 minutes after tickets went on sale. That tops the 57,000 fans the NHL drew in 2003 for the outdoor Heritage Classic played in Edmonton, Canada. Skating on the “The notion of having new media edge, the NHL the game return to its roots is making video was important,” says Brian highlights Jennings, NHL executive vice available via Verizon president of marketing. “It’s Wireless. a big event and part of our long-term strategy is to do big events and break through the clutter in the marketplace.” That clutter in the current sports marketplace has left the NHL struggling to share the spotlight with the other pro sports, particularly football and basketball. A fragmented television strategy has hurt the NHL in recent years. The outdoor Winter Classic will air on NBC as the first of 10 games that network will carry during the NHL regular season. The Versus sports cable network carries 70 NHL contests, while 50 games are carried on the league’s own NHL Network, which is helping to solidify the picture as that channel gains carriage on cable systems around the country. It also gained traction on satellite TV this season, with its introduction on DirecTV in November. But the NHL has also actively sought new media exposure, especially with a younger fan base. It struck partnerships last season with MySpace, YouTube and Google Video, all of which now offer NHL clips. In November, it struck a deal with Continued on page 10 Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / January 2008 9 http://www.pandora.com http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - January 2008

Promo - January 2008 Contents Editor's Note Viral But Virtuous Slap Shot Power Chords Tuning In Auto Play Trekkies Unite Commentary Retail Report: Get In Here! Generating Store Traffic Yankee Candle Shopper Marketing What Seniors Want Cyber Stumping Party Hearty Q & A: Paper Trail Ambush Marketing The Agency Center Resource Center Back-End Foundation Index of Advertisers

Promo - January 2008

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