Cubs. Sox. Enough said. Check out my coverage of the series at my personal site, brandonzeman.com.
This weekend is big not just for baseball fans, but also for businesses looking to score big on the rivalry. Last year McDonald’s was a leading marketer of the rivalry, with commercials of Cubs and Sox players playing pranks on each other. This year, though, they have been silent. But many other businesses get in on the act, and I’ll be finding and documenting what I find this weekend.
I was at the Cubs game Wednesday night, and saw some great ads from Wrigley. I only managed to snap a shot of one ad, but they all revolve around Wrigley’s new Slim Packs. The print ads highlight the slimness of the product by comparing it with things Wrigley Field or Cubs fans would encounter. One ad read ‘Slim as the chance having a DH here’ referring to the designated hitter-less National League.
I’ll try to find the other ads around the net and post them when I do. For now, enjoy this little number which digs nicely at White Sox fans.
Baseball and beer go together like peas and carrots, peanut butter & jelly, and Cubs fans and agony. While watching the Cubs game come to an end yesterday, Coors Light sponsored a reader email question on the air. It got me thinking how the great domestic beer brands try to reach fans at all sporting events, and particularly here in Chicago at Wrigley Field. Budweiser and Bud Light are by far the most prominent brands inside and around Wrigley, due to some sponsorship agreements. Miller Lite has a large billboard on one of the right field rooftops, but is otherwise silent at Wrigley. And with the inclusion of a Coors Light sponsored segment of the on-air broadcast, all three major domestic brands are presented to consumers and fans of the Chicago Cubs. There will no doubt be advertising clutter, but how the brands use their promotions and placements will result in either engaged customers or wasted ad spending.
For me, I like customized marketing initiatives. For example, the custom Budweiser neon sign that resembles the historic front sign of Wrigley Field. Budweiser went beyond typical, corporate signage and customized that sign to appeal to Cubs fans. As a consumer, this shows me a higher level of fan acknowledgment and even brings a sense of closeness to such a large brewer like Budweiser.
To take this even further, the Miller Lite billboard that sits atop a right field rooftop changes nearly every home series to highlight rivalries or interesting aspects of the visiting team.
