Total Cereal and Men’s Health magazine have teamed up in a sponsorship deal for a nationwide search for the all-around, seasoned guy in the “Total Guy, Total Package” online contest.
The sponsorship pairs Men’s Health, a popular source of information, including health and nutrition, for men who enjoy healthy, active lifestyles, with Total, which bills itself as healthy, nutritious cereal developed with men in mind.
To participate in the contest (more contests/sweepstakes), which ends June 10, entrants submit an essay and photo. The winner receives a trip for two to New York City, a feature in Men’s Health, a personal fitness and nutrition consultation and a year’s supply of Total Cereal.
Kim Seifert, associate marketing manager for Total, and Jason Schumann, integrated marketing communications manager for General Mills, gives us the details.
CHIEF MARKETER: How did the sponsorship with Men’s Health come about?
SCHUMANN: It was really kind of an organic relationship. As we looked at our core male audience member and at media outlets that were reaching that target audience Men’s Health came to the top. They talk to men about nutrition and a holistic nutrition lifestyle and had so many properties that we could leverage for this project.
CM: What properties are you tapping?
SCHUMANN: We’re tapping a lot of different properties. The branded partnership will have ad units running on Men’s Health website, information on the contest in Men’s Health e-newsletter sent to the publication’s subscribers, inclusion in-book in the InsideOut Page (promotional page) and earned media by communicating the contest via Men’s Health social networks and once the winner is selected via media interviews.
CM: How is the sponsorship being activated?
SCHUMANN: Total is showing up as the sponsor of this Men’s Health contest. All of the promotions live within Men’s Health, with banner ads and social outreach. In July, you’ll see a full-page promotion and they have these multiple promotional and digital opportunities that we’re taking advantage of for the contest. In addition to that, Total is doing more proactive outreach to blogger communities and some posts to our Facebook page, but the bulk of the sponsorship is the branded partnership through Men’s Health.
CM: What is the goal of the sponsorship?
SEIFERT: To celebrate the Total guy. He’s very well rounded and most importantly he understands how fitness and nutrition fit in to his life.
SCHUMANN: From a brand marketing perspective we’re opening up our awareness with Total in this male audience so it’s one of the more bold programs we’ve done to reach that marketing group.
CM: What will you do with the essays?
SEIFERT: We’re pretty excited to read through the essays to get insights to the Total guy we’re trying to reach—what he’s doing with his life. We hope to learn from these essays. What’s most important for us is to understand what other ways our brand can fit into this man’s life and how we can share information about our product. Learning more about his lifestyle is going to be a big benefit.
CM: What metrics are you using to determine the success of the sponsorship?
SCHUMANN: We’ll look at the number of entries and at overall fan engagement. We’ll look at the partnership with Men’s Health and the exposure that we’re getting through all of the properties that we worked with on Men’s Health and basically just look at overall awareness. Obviously, we’ll be looking at sales. That’s certainly one of the metrics that we’ll be tracking.
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