Enterprise Rent-A-Car is activating its NCAA Basketball Championship sponsorship by inviting consumers and fans to participate in its branded ‘Ultimate Pick Up Moment’ programme.
Consumers are driven to the Enterprise Facebook page to vote for the ‘Greatest Pick-up Moment In March Madness History’.
(A pick-up moment is slang for a game-changing play where a player seems to defy the odds, do the impossible and inspire the team and the fans.)
After voting on each Pick-up Moment Matchup to arrive at the eventual winner: a simple mechanic that matches the knock out March Madness brackets structure.
The gaming structure is based around the NCAA Championship format and sees 16 individual Pick-up Moments paired against one another and players simply vote on each matchups through four separate rounds of voting.
The most voted for moments move on to the next round until one ultimate pick-up moment will be crowned champion.
Participants are also invited to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win weekly prizes and one grand-prize. The Grand Prize winner will get two tickets plus a VIP trip to next year’s 2015 NCAA Men’s Final Four game.
The initiative is promoted via an integrated, multi-channel marketing campaign that spans traditional media and digital advertising, plus a public relations push and social media work.
FleishmanHillard, the brand’s PR agency partner since 2001, has been working on PR for the initiative and secured Smith as a spokesperson, who will also be featured in media appearances and online advertising.
Another strand of the campaign sees Enterprise link with online media owner Sporting News’ for an ‘Ultimate Tournament Moments’ online film – which sees the rental car company invite the news outfit’s expert team to rank their favourite ‘Sweet 16’ moments in NCAA tournament history.
The 2014 program, which targets sports fans (specifically college basketball supporters) who are both current Enterprise customers and prospective customers, is the largest that the car rental outfit has run for March Madness.
It runs through March up until the last match of the Final Four competition on 3 April and is being fronted by Turner Sports basketball analyst Kenny Smith
Smith serves as the campaign spokesman and features in the campaign’s digital ad executions.
The March Madness campaign follows a late January TV commercial which revolved around the brand, its employee and consumer college relationship and loyalty to NCAA and college sports.
A further related, expert blog-based strand of the car rental brand’s March Madness activation is led by brand ambassador and former basketball coach Matt Doherty.
The former college head coach, who also played on the 1982 National Champion University of North Carolina team, has linked up with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to offer his thoughts on this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament via a branded blog.
Comment
Enterprise Rent-A-Car has been an official sponsor of the NCAA tournament for the ninth year.
‘The beauty of March Madness is that it is followed by a wide audience, which consists of both spirited and more casual sports fans,’ explains Enterprise publicity manager Greg Phillips.
‘Because the tournament generates such strong interest each year, we believe it is an ideal event to activate a consumer marketing program around.’
The objective behind this promotion is to engage customers and basketball fans nationwide via an interactive experience that is designed around the service feature the company is best known for – ‘We’ll Pick You Up’.
‘Just as basketball student-athletes work to pick up their teammates and fans through inspirational plays, Enterprise employees pick up customers and co-workers with best-in-class customer service,’ says Enterprise brand marketing assistant VP Jim Stoeppler.
Links
Enterprise Pick Up Game Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/enterpriserentacar/app_405175326285171
Enterprise Matt Doherty’s Tournament Talk Brand Blog
http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/deeplinkmap.do?bid=056&dcpCode=MARMDNSS
NCAA Final Four Website
http://www.ncaa.com/final-four
NCAA Websites
