Boost your image with Chivas de Guadalajara

10 days, 2 trips to PPL Park.  My first trip was with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) for the Union’s match against Chivas de Guadalajara (9/1), and the second was with Fox Soccer Channel for the Union’s match against the Chicago Fire (9/11).  While I was fulfilling different roles – marketing operations and broadcast production – my trips to Philadelphia enabled me to asses SUM’s partners activation practices from multiple vantage points.  While I was impressed with many of our partners on-site presence,   I was most impressed with Boost Mobile’s activation of its Chivas sponsorship (disclaimer: I work for SUM’s partnership marketing department but not on the Boost account).

Boost’s launched its sponsorship of the 2010 Chivas Tour with an in-store autograph session with Chivas legend Missael Espinoza.  The event was promoted on a Spanish language radio station in Philadelphia, and the radio station was on-site for a remote broadcast.  Furthermore, Boost built a cause marketing initiative into Missael’s appearance. The brand donated a $1,000 dollars to a local organization which enhances the educational opportunities of children from low-income families.  The in-store event was a modest success; however, the brand was able to maximize its on-site activation at PPL Park.

Boost had three distinct activation areas at SUM’s pre-game event zone “Futbol Fiesta”.  The first was a lounge area where fans were able to escape the interminable Philadelphia heat and relax on sofas provided by the brand.  The second was a miniature soccer field where attendees were encouraged to participate in a juggling contest, and the third was a skills area were fans were challenged to demonstrate their accuracy on penalty kicks.  In the middle of the three areas, Missael was on-hand to sign autographs for the more than 5,000 visitors to Futbol Fiesta.  The success of Boost’s on-site activation was attributable to the brand’s ability to speak to its consumer, and the Chivas consumer at the same time.

The brand fit between the Chivas property and Boost enables the partnership to ‘boost’ the profile of both the property and brand.  Boost is known for its ability to speak young minorities, first with the comical “Where you at” advertising campaign, and then with its partnerships with hip-hop artists Game, Ludacris, Kanye West, Fat Joe and Young Jeezy.  The Chivas fan base is a predominantly young-male, Mexican immigrants.  An obvious target of Boost Mobile, which defines itself as the phone company which does not require its customers to sign contracts.

Boost’s partnership with SUM and the Chivas property enables the brand to speak to an audience familiar with its message, and engineer substantial brand equity with these potential consumers.  Translating the brand equity into receipts at the register will be contingent on more variables than its Chivas sponsorship, but the sponsorship allows Boost to place itself within a community which is of significant interest to the company.  We will have to wait and see the results.