AA Scrambles to Unleash Promos at NBA Finals
When it became evident earlier this month that the two National Basketball Association teams heading for the finals were hometown favorites based in a pair of American Airlines hubs, company officials did some quick thinking. The question for the airline’s marketers was, what promotions would fly quickly to leverage a first-of-its-kind opportunity?
The airline had four days to decide before the Miami Heat would play the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas last Thursday, said Billy Sanez, spokesperson, American. The result of a quick brainstorming session was the Where Is the American Road Warrior contest, which broke June 11 to coincide with Game Two of the NBA Finals.
Before each game, fans can visit AA.com/hoops to obtain a secret code word or phrase, like “We know why you fly,” and generate clues on how to find the American Road Warrior. Then, one hour prior to tip-off, fans can try to locate the warrior (actually an AA staffer wearing a branded T-shirt) outside the arena where the game is being played. The first five fans to find the warrior and give the correct secret code word receive two round-trip coach tickets to destinations in the continental U.S, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.
Additionally, a select number of other winners receive a $100 American Airlines gift card redeemable on AA.com.
“It’s been great both in Dallas and Miami,” Sanez said. “We had several hundred people looking for the Road Warrior…even an hour and half before the game.”
American partnered with radio stations in both Dallas and Miami for the call to action. Season ticket holders and fans were informed of the promotion via newsletters and blogs that cover the Mavericks and the Heat. The airline also posted information about the contest at the games.
The promotion has been so successful, the airline has since built on it, Sanez said.
Tonight, as game four of the finals gets under way at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, fans viewing the action at a watch party at the American Airlines Center in Dallas will be randomly chosen to receive vacation packages to any destination the airline flies.
During the first two games, held in Dallas, four fans were randomly picked as Ultimate Mav fans and given airline tickets to catch games in Miami. And during the hoop action at each arena, the airline is stuffing two of 40 branded T-shirts with a pair of first class tickets to any destination the airline flies. Ten shirts are also stuffed with American Airlines gift cards worth $100. Each T-shirt is blasted into the stands by the teams’ mascots using a canon prop.
In total, the promotions account for a “very minimal” amount of expenditure for the airline, Sanez said. Since American battles high fuel prices all the time, “we don’t have a lot to spend so we have to be very creative,” he added.
The airline had agreed to a 30 year, close to $200 million naming rights deal for the Dallas arena, according to The Associated Press. That arena opened in 2001. For the Miami arena (which has an image of an aircraft painted on its roof visible from Miami International Airport) the airline will reportedly fork out $42 million for 20 years for naming rights, the report said. The Miami arena opened in 1999.
“Not only are we getting awesome TV exposure and media buzz, but more than 40 other countries are broadcasting the NBA Finals,” Sanez said. “Because we are an international carrier, it means we’re marketing in Europe, Latin America and Asia almost as a side effect, and having a brand presence there, too.”
If the finals go to a game seven in Dallas, “we know we have to do something big because we want to do something memorable for the fans,” Sanez said.
American handles the arena promotions internally. The Dallas office of Weber Shandwick handles p.r.
AMR Corp. is the parent company of American Airlines. The airline is the largest scheduled passenger airline in the world serving 172 cities with a fleet of 840 aircraft. In 2001, American carried more than 80 million passengers.
