Author: Donna DeClemente
We recently started working with a client who has a popular YouTube channel called the CboysTV, along with as a small eCommerce business. The Cboys are a group of young entrepreneurs and entertainers who specialize in living life to it’s fullest every day! The Cboys have been best friends since a very young age and all of them grew up in the Cormorant Lakes Area of Northern Minnesota. They claim to have been blessed with a busy and exciting lifestyle of both work and play and taken their ‘talents’ of humor and recklessness to a fan base of now more than 500,000 people on YouTube!!
They launched their first small business with CboysTV.com and began selling Cboys merchandise such as shirts, hats and stickers which has been a huge success so far. They also started doing some giveaways which they promoted both on their YouTube channel and their website. They came to us for assistance with this latest sweepstakes since it involves a prize of high value. The Cormorant Boys Giveaway #8 Sweepstakes launched on February 17 and runs till the end of March. There will be one Grand Prize Winner awarded at the end of the Sweepstakes who will receive a snow bike kit which consists of a 2019 Kawasaki KX 450 F along with a Timbersled® Riot Kit. The combination of the two has a total grand prize value of $10,000. I wasn’t aware that you could convert a dirt bike to ride in the snow, but obviously there is a big market for it. Click on the photo below to view their latest video that promotes this.
They expanded their online business by launching a couple of other websites, www.wideopenparts.com and www.erasedproducts.com and starting selling other products helmets, goggles, gloves and more. So fans will receive one entry into the Sweepstakes for every $5.00 of merchandise (excluding tax and shipping) that they purchase on any of their three websites. Since all sweepstakes in the U.S. have to have a No Purchase Necessary clause we also have opened a PO Box for the sweepstakes where people can mail-in their entry as well. There is no limit to the number of entries that can be received from either method.
So I wish these young entrepreneurs much more success and hope we can assist them with many more future promotions. Be sure to check out more of their videos on their channel.
We’re working again this year with the Republic National Distribution Company, who are distributors of alcohol beverage brands. They have asked us to assist in three different text-to-win mobile sweepstakes for their clients so far this year. Here’s an overview of each one.
We started off 2020 with The Botanist Ginuary Sweepstakes which is sponsored by Remy Cointreau USA and is running January 1 till the end of February. Participants are invited to text the keyword Botanist to the short code 65047 where they will receive a text message back with a link to a form that they need to fill out and submit to receive an entry. They may also directly visit the online form located at https://go.sweeppea.com/BOTANIST to receive an entry. At the end of the sweepstakes period we will draw 15 Grand Prize Winners who will each receive a Home Bartending Kit valued at $100.
Next we launched The National Margarita Day Sweepstakes, also sponsored by Remy Cointreau USA ,which kicked off on January 15 and runs till March 15. Participants text the keyword Cointreau to the shortcode 65047 or enter directly online at https://go.sweeppea.com/Cointreau and follow the same instructions as in the Botanist Sweepstakes. At the end of this sweepstakes will will draw 20 Grand Prize Winners who each receive a Margarita kit that includes a Shaker, Jigger, Lime Squeezer, Tank Top, Tee-shirt, Temporary Tattoos, Coasters, Photo Backdrop, Photo Props, Inflatable Margarita and Inflatable Bottle all valued at $250.
The last sweepstakes running now is The Born Bayou Sweepstakes sponsored by The Stoli Group USA which started on February 20 and runs till the end of March. Here participants are invited to text the keyword BAYOU to the shortcode 65047 or enter directly online at https://go.sweeppea.com/Bayou and follow the same instructions as in the other two sweepstakes. At the end of this sweepstakes we will also draw 15 Grand Prize Winners who will each receive craw fish pot and a retailer gift card for a total prize value of $586 each.
All three brands produced in-store point-of-sale materials to promote their sweepstakes in retail locations. Setting up a text-to-win sweepstakes is a great way to encourage in-store displays. All alcohol beverage brands are required by law to confirm participants are 21 years of age or older at the time of sweepstakes entry. So by providing the additional form we can asked for their date-of-birth in order to comply with the law, along with other data such as name, email address and also mailing address which makes it easy to ship the prizes direct to the winners.
We hope to continue to assist this client with more of these text-to-win sweepstakes as the year moves on. If you are interested in running one please contact me.
Valentine’s Day this year falls on this Friday, February 14, just in case you weren’t aware. Everyone including retailers, brands, restaurants and other businesses all have been providing us with ways on how best to celebrate. This holiday appears to get bigger and bigger each year.
One of our long-standing clients, Sandals Resorts, has gotten in the love mood this year with a special Valentine’s Day sweepstakes called “The Suiteheart Sweepstakes”. Sandals is giving one Grand Prize Winner the chance to stay at a “Love Nest Butler Suite” and enjoy an ultimate luxury vacation. The sweepstakes started on February 1 and runs till February 29, yes it is a leap year. All people have to do is visit the Sandals website at www.sandals.com/Suiteheart2020 and fill out the entry form to gain an entry into the sweepstakes.
The Grand Prize winner will receive a Sandals 7day/6night “Luxury Included” accommodations for two in a Love Nest Suite at any Sandals resort that they can choose from located in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Barbados or Grenada. Each Butler suite offers the utmost in privacy and plush elegance, including 24-hour room service with professionally trained butlers.
The “Luxury Included” amenities include local airport transfers, unlimited 5-Star Global Gourmet dining at up to 16 restaurants per resort, unlimited beverages and premium brand drinks, daily and nightly entertainment, land and water sport activities at the resort (scuba diving for certified divers), wi-fi, tips and gratuities and resort taxes. The only thing not included is the airfare to any of the islands. Total prize value is $6,500.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all. I am just hoping that it doesn’t snow on Friday so that my husband doesn’t have to work late and we can enjoy a quiet meal at home with a nice bottle of wine!
The Kansas City Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in over fifty years against the San Fransisco 49er’s last Sunday 31-20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The two teams were tied going into halftime, but then KC scored 21 points in the 4th quarter to seal the game. Patrick Mahomes, the Chief’s quarterback, was the youngest player ever to earn both MVP honors and a Super Bowl. And it’s the first title for their coach, Andy Reid, 61, who up until Sunday night had been known as the best head coach to have never won a Super Bowl or NFL championship. This was his second Super Bowl appearance in his 21-year head coaching career.
Besides the ads, people were talking about how great Demi Lovato sang the national anthem after she just recently had a emotional performance on the Grammy’s.
The other big winners of the day were Shikira and Jennifer Lopez who performed for the Pepsi Halftime show. Their performance has gotten more coverage then the game itself. Alex Rodriquez, J-Lo’s finance, tweeted while dancing with the audience, “AMAZING!! She ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED IT! Wow, that was so fun!”
Now back to the ads. Which one was your favorite? While the majority of the ads focused on humor, the ad that instead tugged at our heartstrings, Google’s “Loretta”, was the most effective ad of the year according to video ad tech company Unruly. I had seen the ad already since it had been released before the game, but still have to admit it choked me up a bit. It brought back memories of my parents who we had lost our mom seven years before dad. However, I still don’t understand what Google’s Assistant is really all about, so I may look into it a bit. One article I read pointed out that it was strange that Google spent this much money to show us a different way to catalog our photos.
Two of the top three ads by most articles I’ve read, including USA Today’s Ad Meter, were automobile ads. At number one was Bill Murray who was featured in Jeep’s Groundhog Day ad, along with an adorable groundhog. This made perfect sense with Super Bowl Sunday being on Groundhog Day this year. Number Two was the Smaht Pahk, Hyundai Sonata’s Remote Smart Parking Assist feature which included David “Big Papi” Ortiz among others. I had to go back and watch the Jeep ad since I missed it during the actual game…it was worth it.
One of my personal favorites, Weathertech’s Lucky Dog ad, featured Scout, a golden retriever cancer survivor. I also have a golden retriever, Molly, and as I wrote in last’s week post, my daughter attend the the University of Madison’s Veterinary School and is now a vet. So I am partial to this ad.
Another first was made in this year’s Super Bowl game with Offensive Assistant Coach of the 49ers, Katie Sowers, on the field. She is opening the door for women and LGBT people to help them pursue any career that they chose. Thanks to Microsoft for showcasing her in their ad Be The One: Katie Sowers.
Pepsi, which sponsors the Super Bowl halftime show, drove the largest Twitter conversation share with its interactive tweet campaign, which invited users to guess elements of the half time show. Pepsi used its campaign to drive awareness for Pepsi Zero Sugar, which included giveaways and major prizes tied into its new offerings. People were invited to Tweet #PepsiSweepstakesOK every time someone said OK during the broadcast to enter for a chance to win.
So we experienced a pretty good football game, some memorable performances by J-Lo, Shakira, and Demi Lovato and also were entertained by Bill Murray, those folks from Boston, Baby Nut, Lil Nas X and Sam Elliott, and a host of others. It was a fun few hours to spend at the start of February.
Here’s looking forward to the next NFL season. Hope you enjoyed my posts.
This Sunday, February 2, Super Bowl LIV will finally take place in Miami at Hard Rock stadium. It will include the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the San Francisco 49ner’s. Since the NFL Conference Championship games that were played almost two weeks ago now there have been many Super Bowl ads and teasers released. An average 30-second spot ad during this year’s Super Bowl costs over $5 million and up to $5.6 million.
One of the ads that you’ve must have heard about was a 30-second teaser from Planters in which they killed off their iconic Mr. Peanut mascot. This was one of the ads that had been getting the most responses on social media. Many were posting tributes to the mascot, who was created in 1916. Planters planned to run the ad on television before the game, along with a spot of Mr. Peanut’s funeral during the game’s third quarter. The brand was encouraging people to “pay their respects” by participating in its social media campaign and by entering a contest to win Mr. Peanut swag.
However, due to the real and horrific death of nine people in the helicopter crash that included Kobe Bryant and this 13-year old daughter, Gianna, the brand has paused their campaign. A spokesperson for Planters said that the pause only impacts paid advertising on channels like Twitter and YouTube an some other outreach in the immediate wake of this tragedy. However, they have not yet said that they are changing their plans for Super Bowl Sunday which includes a spot that features Mr. Peanut’s Funeral.
Walmart announced this week that it will air its first-time Super Bowl television commercial to highlight the benefits of its expanding pickup service. Walmart was actually founded five years before the first Super Bowl in 1967 and has held out as an 
advertiser in the Big Game for more than 50 years up till now. The ad it titled “Famous Visitors” includes a 60-second TV spot which will run during the game that shows 12 characters from popular movies and TV programs who “touch down on Earth” from “across the galaxy” to collect groceries and other products at Walmart curbside pickup stations.
Here’s an ad that has not gotten much publicity but was shared on Facebook by my daughter Alex, who is a veterinarian. A 30-second commercial from WeatherTech will feature the University of Wisconsin Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine that will air Sunday during the game’s second quarter. WeatherTech, an automotive accessories, home and pet care products manufacturer, is paying for this $6 million spot along with supplying the talent, company founder and CEO David MacNeil’s golden retriever, Scout.
A 30-second commercial from WeatherTech will feature the University of Wisconsin Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine that will air Sunday during the game’s second quarter. WeatherTech, an automotive accessories, home and pet care products manufacturer, is paying for this $6 million spot along with supplying the talent, company founder and CEO David MacNeil’s dog, Scout.
MacNeil had lost three previous dogs to cancer and was devastated when an ultrasound identified an aggressive cancer on Scout’s heart that left him with no more than a month to live, according to the university. A recommendation from a local veterinarian led MacNeil last summer to UW Veterinary Care, the school’s teaching hospital. Oncologist David Vail and other hospital specialists stabilized Scout’s condition and came up with an aggressive treatment plan. Some of the faculty and staff will appear alongside the 7-year-old golden retriever in the commercial that follows Scout’s journey to recovery. My daughter, Alex, spent her last year of clinical studies at U W-M in their veterinary school and now works at the Golf-Rose Animal Hospital in Schaumburg, IL. We are also currently dog parents to Molly, our 4 1/2 year old golden retriever.
Many brands have all created some great ads and campaigns to help make their Super Bowl investment pay off. I’ll post once more next week to summarize how the actual game was as well as how the ads scored. We’ll also get to see how well the Pepsi Half Time show featuring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira was received. I’m sure these two ladies will definitely entertain us. And yes, it should also be a great game between two really good teams that I’m looking forward to.
Last weekend we got to watch the two NFL Conference Games that determined which teams are now headed to Super Bowl LIV. First we watched the Kansas City Chiefs take down the Tennessee Titans to make it to their first Super Bowl in 50 years. The Chiefs says that they’re happy to earn their head coach, Andy Reid, another chance at a Super Bowl. In the second game of the day the San Francisco 49ner’s took the lead first and stayed there the whole game to beat the Green Bay Packers. Both teams now headed to the Super Bowl have a great offense, but trying to stop Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback, is a tough job. However, the 49er’s have one of the best defenses in football today. So we should be able to watch a great game taking place on Sunday, February 2, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Between now and then we’ll be hearing more about all the marketing and advertising associated with the Super Bowl. In my Road to the Super Bowl post last week I mentioned that Fox Sports, who is broadcasting the game, had sold out of spots running during the game back in November. Several brands have announced the ads that they will be running, including some major vehicle brands. One car brand that is not running an ad, but has created an interesting campaign around “The Big Game” is, Volvo USA.
Volvo has declared February 2, the same day as the Super Bowl, “Volvo Safety Sunday”. The Volvo Cars Safety Sunday Sweepstakes will give away $1 million in cars if a safety takes place during the Super Bowl. To participate, consumers must visit VolvoSafetySunday.com between now and just before the game begins. On the site, visitors are encouraged to design their own Volvo from 2020 models, adding the features of their choice. On the summary page, participants will be presented with a “Try to Win This Volvo” button. Clicking on it creates a unique configuration code, which is necessary to enter the sweepstakes.
Volvo is hoping to draw a comparison between a safety during game play, which can change the course of a game, and the automaker’s own safety features, which it claims have been a game-changer for millions of people. A safety is a relatively rare occurrence in football that happens when an offensive team is tackled, loses or fumbles the ball in their own end zone, which scores the defensive team two points.
Giving away $1 million in Volvo cars is cheaper than buying a Super Bowl ad, which cost on average around $5 million for a 30-second spot. Volvo doesn’t have to award any of the prizes if a safety doesn’t happen. Still, if a safety does take place, Volvo has purchased what we call “Prize Insurance”. The insurance company works up what the odds are of a safety happening and charges a fee based on those odds. If a safety happens, the insurance company will pay for the value of the prizes. Las Vegas is offering 6-1 odds on a safety occurring during the big game. Volvo is working with the same insurance company we work when we require prize insurance as well.
We’ll have to get use to Sundays with no football soon. For now we have Super Bowl Sunday to look forward to. As I said it should be a good game and many of the ads will entertain us as well. I’ll feature a couple more of then next week, so check back.
The Road to the Super Bowl has moved forward. Last weekend was the NFL divisional playoffs with four teams that got to clean out their lockers the next day for the season. The big surprise was the loss of the Baltimore Ravens who had been on a winning streak until they took a couple of weeks off. So this Sunday it will be the Tennessee Titans vs. the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship and the Green Bay Packers vs. the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC Championship. The two teams that win each game will then move on to play in Super Bowl LIV in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on February 3.
In last week’s post about the Super Bowl I wrote about who’s performing for the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show and Pepsi’s Super Bowl Halftime Sweepstakes. Fox Sports is broadcasting the game and back in November they stated that they had sold all its available commercial inventory, 77 slots in total. Normally the network broadcasting the game hasn’t sold out this early and they believe that advertisers are looking for more live telecasts. Fox has been selling 30-second ads to run during the game of over $5 million and as much as $5.6 million. Last year CBS sought between $5.1 – $5.3 million for a package of inventory in its 2019 game.
Two of the most expensive ads will be from the campaigns of Democratic presidential nominee contender Michael Bloomberg and President Donald Trump who will each spend approximately $10 million to buy 60 seconds worth of advertising during this year’s Super Bowl. Bloomberg’s goal is in “getting under Trump’s skin” with the ad buy, as expressed by a Bloomberg campaign spokesperson. Bloomberg is using his own money for the ad. While Trump’s campaign is drawing funds from the Republican National Committee. This year the Super Bowl, watched by nearly 100 million people last year, falls the day before the Democratic caucuses in Iowa.
Frito-Lay, an official Super Bowl sponsor, is bringing Cheetos and Doritos back with Super Bowl ads. Doritos has been in the game multiple times including a decade of “Crash the Super Bowl” contests in which they invited amateurs to submit commercials from which the winners spots aired during the game. More recently they have been including celebrities in their ads. This year they confirmed two 30-second spots. One will feature Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Terry Bradshaw and Tony Gonzalez that includes the Doritos, Lay’s and Tostitos brands along with Bradshaw wearing Tostitos boxer shorts. Other food brands that have confirmed Super Bowl ads are Avocados From Mexico, Heinz, Pop-Tarts, Pringles, Sabra and Snickers.
Hyundai is one of several automobile companies running Super Bowl Ads. They have already launched this teaser ad showcasing a funny Boston-accent lesson between Big Papi and Rachel Dratch. Great to see David Ortiz looking good and having fun after a horrible shooting almost cost him his life! Other auto brands running ads include Audi, Kia, Toyota and Porsche (first all-electric vehicle).
I said in my post last week that a 49ers vs. Ravens match up would be a great Super Bowl game. That’s definitely not happening now. So, Kansas City here they come!
Happy New Year! Welcome to the new decade. I hope everyone’s holidays were great and you were able to share the time with family and friends. It’s taken me a little bit to get caught up and back to writing for this blog, but here I am. It’s already the 10th of January which means we’re way into the 2020 NFL Playoff season and a countdown to Super Bowl LIV. I normally take the first month of the year in this blog to discuss football and many of the marketing, advertising and promotional activities that surround it. So let’s start by reviewing where we stand.
First off, Super Bowl LIV will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on February 2. We are now down to the divisional playoff games which are this weekend. We’ve already had the Wild Card Weekend and my team, the Buffalo Bills, played in it, but had a heartbreaking lost to the Houston Texans. But we have great hope for them next year!
Here are the teams that will be playing this weekend that are listed in the screen below. They are the Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49er’s, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, the Houston Texans, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Seattle Se hawks and the Green Bay Packers.
Marketing and promotions tied into the Super Bowl have been running even before we started the Playoff season. Pepsi, who has been an official Super Bowl sponsor, again ran their Super Bowl Sweepstakes which offers a chance to win a trip for two to be on the field for Pepsi’s Halftime Show. This year we will be entertained by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. To enter the Sweepstakes Pepsi invited people in December to follow Pepsi on Twitter and tweet @Pepsi with the hashtag #PepsiHalftimeSweeps. The trip includes round trip airline transportation to Miami, a hotel room for three nights, round trip ground transportation to and from Miami airport, the halftime show and $400 in spending money. Pepsi makes it clear that watching the game won’t be on the itinerary with this stated in the rules “No ability to attend or watch the game will be provided.” This Sweepstakes has now ended and 17 Grand Prize Winners have been selected.
One of my favorite brands is also an Official Sponsor and running a sweepstakes to win a trip to the game. The Olay Super Bowl LIV Trip Sweepstakes just kicked off on January 7 and runs till January 20. People can enter through the brand’s loyalty program, Club Olay. For new Club Olay members people need to become a member by creating an account and once registered, click the “Enter Sweeps” button to receive an entry. Existing Club Olay members who are subscribed to receive emails need to log-in and click the “Enter Sweeps” button. Existing Club Olay members who are not subscribed to receive emails must first opt-in to receive future communications.
Grand prize winner will receive a 4-day/3-night trip to Miami, FL for themselves and a guest to attend Super Bowl LIV. The prize package includes round trip airfare for two, hotel accommodations for 3 nights and $100 Uber gift card.
I’m looking forward this weekend to be entertained by some great football games. I was lucky enough to get Lamar Jackson on my Fantasy team this year, so now that the Bills are out of the playoffs, I’m going with the Ravens. A 49’ers vs. Ravens Super Bowl match up would be great.