Sports: Mediavest, Sprite
Dec 1, 2008
The National Basketball Association's Sprite Slam Dunk competition is, almost by definition, one of the most exciting events in all of sport. So how do you make it even better?
You leverage cutting-edge technology and put the voting in the hands of your TV audience. That's what MediaVest and Sprite did for this year's Slam Dunk competition, which was won by Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.
The campaign's goal was to make Sprite's core consumers, young African-Americans, feel like they were part of the action by voting for the winner via online or text messaging. As it turned out, the campaign was a slam dunk.
During the five-minute voting window, viewers sent more than 856,000 text votes and over 101,000 online tallies, far outpacing the campaign's goal of 30,000 total. And the buzz continued even after the event: Howard's winning slam dunk, with over 1 million YouTube views to date, became the sixth most-watched video ever on YouTube's NBA channel.
The TV event, with Sprite signage throughout, was the most watched in Slam Dunk competition history, with 5.2 million viewers, a 7 percent increase over the previous year. Among Sprite's target audience, African-Americans between the ages of 12 and 24, ratings spiked 25 percent.
With numbers like that, Sprite and MediaVest are planning a repeat performance next year. And the Sprite Slam Dunk event also is being used by parent Coca-Cola of North America as a case study in the area of mobile consumer participation and marketing.
"This was unique in that most professional sports events relegate their audience to a passive spectator role," said Julie Goldstein, vp/activation director at MediaVest. "We advanced the Sprite Slam Dunk event beyond a TV viewing experience and made it something much more interactive, dynamic and relevant to NBA fans and Sprite consumers."
For more Buzz Awards Coverage coverage:
2008 Buzz Awards Winners
Millions Are Talking: Do you know who is creating the buzz?
Grand Prize Winner: McDonald's Brave New World
Event Marketing: ABC Domestic TV, Dr. Scholl's for Her
Online: Proximity Canada, Alka-Seltzer
Viral Marketing: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Adobe Creative Suite
Music: The Marketing Arm, AT&T
Outdoor/Out-of-Home: Butler Shine Stern & Partners, MINI Cooper
Print: Fallon Minneapolis, Sci Fi Channel
Radio: OMD, Visa
Reality TV: Mediavest Worldwide, Herbal Essences
Scripted Television: R&R Partners, Valley Metro
Social Media: OMD, McDonald's
Sports: Mediavest, Sprite
Wireless: Moxie Interactive, FOX Studios/Jumper
Integrated Campaign: Campfire, Verizon/a>
Public Relations: Coburn Communications and AARP
User-Generated: Catapult Marketing, Pedigree
Film/Movie: Davie Brown Entertainment, Mountain Dew
Buzz People's Choice Awards