Fantasy Basketball
Here’s a marketing challenge for you: Get cell phones, basketball and college into a single promotion.
Alltel Wireless has found a way — with a sweepstakes to promote its new My Circle calling service. It lets people call any 10 numbers for free.
Launched in partnership with 13 universities, the promotion gives one fan from each school the chance to shoot a basket during a big game and win $100,000.
But they have to play their way there. Each contestant will create a team, made up of 10 friends or family members. And they will shoot for dollar values ranging from $200 to $2,000, leading up to the big prize.
The first game in the series occurs on Feb. 3 at Michigan State University and the last on March 1 at the University of Texas.
How do fans enter the contest? One way is by text message. Or they can do it by logging onto MyCircleMania.com. All these options will be featured in a multi-channel promotional campaign.
For one thing, Alltel has added tags to its national TV spots. And it has created a radio spot featuring popular college basketball analyst Dick Vitale.
In addition, brand ambassadors will visit each campus to provide information on My Circle — and the contest. And Vitale will appear at in-store events in four markets to create free voicemail greetings for consumers.
Fans will also be alerted to the sweeps by stadium Jumbotron messages and announcements during the games. And they will also learn of it through Alltel’s in-store TV network and P-O-P displays.
Moreover, Alltel plans to send three text messages to the customers who have opted in to receive basketball “fan alerts” on their cell phones.
Alltel will not discriminate in its sweeps — even non-students are welcome to play if they have cell phones. But the firm will refrain from marketing to entrants who use competitive products.
“That would be unacceptable,” says Samira Zebian, director of sponsorship marketing for Alltel. “While we may not go back to them with a specific targeted message, we have brought them to our Web site, engaged them with our brand and hopefully given them a very positive experience.”
Alltel will, however, use the consumer data it collects online to assess the program’s effectiveness. For example, it can determine the number of opt-ins that come from any one campus, and compare that against its market share there.
In addition, Alltel has reached out to fan clubs, online communities and other groups affiliated with the schools to spread the message about the promotion.
“When you try to find some of these grassroots clubs or viral opportunities, you have to be very careful,” Zebian says. “You don’t want to go in with a commercial message. It’s a delicate balance.”
The prizes will take many forms. The grand-prize winner will get Kyocera phones, game tickets and VIP experiences. And Alltel will make a donation to the school’s scholarship fund.
Players are also eligible for daily prizes, including Kyocera phones and accessories, basketballs autographed by Vitale and Alltel Wireless gift cards.
And Alltel will give out 10,000 instant-win scratch cards at every game — with every card a winner. The prizes include a Samsung phone and accessories. Also being offered are discounts: free activation plus $50 off the first bill if a person switches to Alltel, and $25 off any accessory at ShopAlltel.com.
“Instead of passing out the traditional T-shirt or foam finger, we wanted to give fans something we felt they would perceive as very high value and hopefully encourage them to shop us,” Zebian says.
The overall campaign for My Circle includes print ads and TV spots by Campbell-Ewald, poking fun at the competition. It goes under the title: “Sales Guys.”
Alltel spent $110 million on advertising during the first three quarters of 2006, compared with $87.4 million during the same period in 2005, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Zebian says the spend for the My Circle campaign was “significant.”
“It is absolutely the focus of our attention right now,” she adds.
