As the Major League baseball Playoffs got under way, sponsor T-Mobile leveraged the postseason action by crowdsourcing fan film of baseball lovers singing the classic anthem ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’
Fans are encouraged, via MLB’s own media channels, to post ‘video selfies’ of themselves singing the age-old baseball classic song ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’.
A branded mash-up version of the song, featuring the best of the crowdsourced uploads, will form a flagship 60-second TV spot that will debut in the seventh inning of Game 4 of the World Series on 25 October.
The fan films will be edited together along with clips of star players, celebrities and broadcasters singing the classic tune on their own sites and social channels.
T-Mobile has already shot players from the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals singing the anthem tune.
The telecoms outfit describes the activation as ‘The Biggest 7th Innings Stretch Ever #TheBig7th’.
‘It’s a great way for us to demonstrate all this user-generated content coming together over our ‘data-strong’ network,” explains T-Mobile Director of Sponsorships & Events Meredtih Starkey.
Comment
The approach dovetails neatly with the brand’s other MLB activation – which is fan-led and crowd-created -0 which aims to project its ‘People Power’ positioning.
Earlier this season, T-Mobile and the MLB teamed up to launch a new fan-chosen award – the T-Mobile MLB Game Changer Award.
T-Mobile and MLB invited baseball fans to decide for themselves which were the pivotal game-changing moments throughout the season and then to vote for them
T-Mobile MLB Game Changer runs live on mlb.com/t-mobile.
Every day fans can vote for one of two game-changing moments and each Daily Champion advances to the next day to face a new challenger. During the final week of the season, fans vote for one of the top five Daily Champions.
The winner of this fan vote will receive the ‘T-Mobile MLB Game Changer of the Year’ award – presented at the close of the regular season.
Fan voting is via Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #Champion or #Challenger.
Those voting will also be entered into a prize draw with the chance to win weekly prizes ranging from game tickets and MLB merchandise to T-Mobile devices and accessories.
This campaign is promoted across social media – including a set of branded ‘Game Changer’ YouTube films, such as
and
‘T-Mobile set out to fix a broken industry and forever change the game of wireless – so game changers have a special place in my heart,’ said T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
‘Which is why this award rocks. Because it recognizes those with the grit and guts to step up and change the trajectory of a game, a season or even baseball history.’
‘T-Mobile has been a tremendous partner for Major League Baseball, and we applaud their efforts to change the game in wireless,’ said Tim Brosnan, EVP Business at the MLB.
‘It’s fitting that T-Mobile, which prides itself on giving consumers freedom and choice, be the driving force behind an award that empowers fans to choose the most significant game-changing moments in baseball each day.’
This season also saw T-Mobile work with All-Star players Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen in a national, baseball-themed TV campaign developed by agency Publicis Seattle.
and
These activations are part of T-Mobile’s multi-tiered set of baseball rights which, in addition to being a League partner, also sees the telco act as presenting sponsor of the NLCS on Fox and of the World Series coverage on MLB.com.
For the 2014 season, T-Mobile also has team sponsorships with the Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals.
Activations around these team partnerships include player appearances, retail promotions, T-Mobile Title Nights at the park and other fan activities.
T-Mobile also sponsors the All-Star FanFest and it has a license agreement with Major League Baseball Players Association.
The telco also leverages its rights by offering its own customers free access to the hugely popular MLB.com At Bat app and its subscription features for the 2014 MLB season ($19.99 value).
Links
#TheBig7th Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/thebig7th
MLB Fan Cave #TheBig7th
http://mlb.mlb.com/fancave/blog/article.jsp?content=article&content_id=98469604
T-Mobile YouTube
T-Mobile Website
Major League Baseball Website
Major League Baseball Players Association Website
