Promo - January 2009 - (Page 12)

ADVERTISEMENT Valspar Paint and the US Open: A Perfect Match While tennis stars Roger Federer and Serena Williams were making headlines on the court at the 2008 US Open, Valspar Paint was gaining strong notice of its own. For the second consecutive year, the twoyear-old paint brand turned heads as a corporate sponsor of the US Open and US Open Series—the only paint brand to have ever taken on professional tennis. Performance Challenge The Valspar Paint Performance Challenge, held in every North American market hosting a US Open Series tournament, was the centerpiece of the creative campaign. Fans who signed up were challenged to hit as many targets as possible during 30 seconds of backhand swings and 30 seconds of forehand swings. The top scorer in each market won a trip to New York to compete against the other top scorers at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center during Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, the prelude event to the US Open. This year’s ultimate winner advanced into Arthur Ashe Stadium where, in front of 20,000 tennis fans, he competed against Federer and Williams as well as Rafael Nadal and Lindsay Davenport. The ﬁnal event was broadcast on national TV. “The Valspar Paint Performance Challenge generates a lot of PR for Valspar Paint because it’s very unique to have a fan compete with the pros on CBS,” says Amy Linde, Impact’s vice president of business development. Announcing the Sponsorship It’s one thing to pay for a sponsorship. It’s another to communicate that you’re doing it. The sponsorship proved a perfect match. As millions of eyeballs viewed the star power, beauty, and athleticism of the US Open—held in summer during peak house painting season—they were also made aware of the quality, performance, and beauty of Valspar Paint products. The sponsorship and related creative campaign was the brainchild of Euro RSCG 4D Impact, a strategic, ROI-oriented provider of consumer marketing services. To spread the word about Valspar Paint’s sponsorship of the US Open, US Open Series, and the Valspar Paint Performance Challenge, Impact put brand signage in US Open and US Open Series tennis courts, ads in event programs, signage in local tennis clubs, and banner ads on websites for the US Tennis Association (USTA), US Open, and US Open Series. Impact also sent email blasts to USTA members and developed a tennisthemed micro-website attached to the Valspar Paint website. Adding to the excitement this year, Impact created a virtual version of the skills challenge. Now fans had the option of testing their skills online at the micro-website, with a Wii-like game at the Valspar Paint booth at the tennis tournaments, and live on the courts. Aligning with a Proven Equity “For a new brand or new product, aligning with a proven equity is very important,” says Bill Meyer, Impact’s CEO. “Valspar Paint is a premium paint brand. The US Open is a powerful property. The image and attributes of the US Open and US Open Series align with the attributes Valspar Paint wanted to communicate about its brand. “Having its name on side court signage along with IBM and Lexus gave Valspar Paint enormous credibility and the opportunity to align itself with other powerful brands in the minds of consumers,” adds Meyer. And, they were the right consumers. “Buying a can of paint is a very emotional $20 purchase, and usually both members of the household are involved in paint decisions,” notes Meyer. “Unlike auto racing and other sports which deliver a male-dominated audience, tennis draws men and women. Having a gender-balanced audience enabled Valspar Paint to reach both members of the household at the same time.” With just half a dozen brands sponsoring the US Open and US Open Series, Valspar Paint was also assured of a clutter-free environment. Unique Activation “Before we started negotiating with the USTA we knew exactly what we wanted to do from an activation standpoint and what we wanted to accomplish from a campaign standpoint,” notes Brad Wirz, Impact’s senior vice president for experiential marketing. “When we got into negotiations with the USTA, we made sure that we did not negotiate out any asset that we needed to use.” Their measures of success? For two years running years, Impact’s campaign for Valspar Paint exceeded expectations in terms of impressions, awareness goals, and purchase consideration.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - January 2009

Promo - January 2009 Contents Editor's Note Casual Games Dr. P and the Roses Outside the Cup Geek�Chic Expresa Tu Hispanidad Jump Start Commentary The Show Must Go On Fed Up Q&A: Smart Food Agency Center Resource Center Gray Goes Green Index of Advertisers

Promo - January 2009

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