Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp. is doing some targeted marketing with its latest campaign.
The motorcycle maker, part of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., is going after young, urban riders with the latest version of its Hayabusa sport bike.
The company is doing a social media and hip-hop advertising campaign dubbed “the MC Battle for the Streets” hosted by Busa Beats.
San Francisco-based digital agency Questus is handling the work.
Suzuki set up a Web site where aspiring rappers can compete for a customized Hayabusa while rapping about the bike.
Site visitors get to vote on the tracks, with the top 10 vote-getters going before a panel of celebrity producers who’ll cast the winning votes.
Suzuki did something similar on a smaller scale last year. The winner of last year’s contest, Northern California’s J.Pigg, is touring motorcycle shows representing Suzuki.
This year, Suzuki’s working with Marc Ecko’s Complex Magazine, part of Los Angeles-based Complex Media LLC, which runs several Web hip-hop and street clothing sites for young men.
The motorcycle maker also is working with Grand Terrace-based mixed martial arts clothing maker Tapout LLC on a custom motorcycle campaign.
Tapout helped develop a custom Hayabusa as part of a promotion for the International Motorcycle Shows now making its way around the U.S.
Super Push
The Seal Beach office of Atlanta-based sports marketing shop Leader Enterprises Inc. had a big week.
The shop, which specializes in sports and events marketing and public relations, ran a number of Super Bowl pregame events with clients including DirecTV Group Inc., Motorola Inc., Vizio Inc. and Gerdau Ameristeel Corp.
The company worked with DirecTV on its annual Celebrity Beach Bowl, which saw actors Taylor Lautner of “Twilight” and Kevin Dillon of “Entourage” face off in a flag football game with some pros including New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
Leader Enterprises oversaw construction of a 7,000-seat arena on the beach in Miami for the game.
It assisted with the live event and television production as well as handling much of the onsite media relations.
The shop also worked on another DirecTV project in South Florida highlighting its NFL Sunday Ticket package, which allows viewers to see games outside their own markets.
Leader Enterprises did an “Ultimate Displaced Fan Search” promotion looking for uniquely passionate “displaced” NFL fans who maintain steadfast loyalty to their favorite teams, despite living far away from the team’s local market.
The company staged a media tour along what’s known as radio row at the Super Bowl with contest winner Phil Hughes from Lexington, Ky., and Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Leader Enterprises worked with Motorola on its promotions before and during the Super Bowl with spots featuring football’s Twitter king Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The company hooked up the two to push Motorola’s Motoblur technology, which allows cell phone users to connect to a number of social media networks in one application.
Ochocinco, whose Twittering has gotten him into trouble with the NFL, is doing a Twitter-based news network with Motorola called Ocho Cinco News Network.
Leader Enterprises also helped run Vizio’s Top Value Performer Award.
The award was created during the 2007 season by Leader Enterprises and Irvine-based Vizio Inc. to celebrate the professional player who accomplishes the most for his team relative to his salary.
“The award has taken on a life of its own where agents and athletes are vying to be part of it,” said Todd Brooks, president at Leader’s Seal Beach office.
The previous two winners of the award, David Garrard and Matt Cassel, parlayed their success and their award into larger contracts entering the next season, according to Brooks.
Leader Enterprises also oversaw a marketing push by Florida’s Gerdau Ameristeel, a steel producer that created the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee’s Champions Arch.
The arch was built by Gerdau Ameristeel using recycled steel from the Orange Bowl and Dolphins Stadium and was illuminated during Super Bowl week.
Red Carpet
Irvine-based online search engine Local.com Corp. is looking to give some users a chance to rub elbows with celebrities on Oscar night.
The search engine that directs users to local businesses started a new events section, focusing on directing users to local events.
The section features the latest information on local events, with users able to search events by category, including concerts, conferences, festivals, galleries, food, theater and museums.
As part of the launch, Local.com is giving users the chance to attend the Oscar Awards Ceremony in March.
Its “Red Carpet Evening at the Oscars” giveaway is intended to drive traffic to the event section.
Visitors who register at local.com can be entered to win an exclusive Oscar prize package, which includes tickets for two to an official Oscar viewing party and dinner, a walk on the red carpet, tickets for two to an official Oscar after party and star treatment with hotel and transportation accommodations.
The company has been growing even in the downturn thanks to its local advertisers looking to get some additional exposure as ad dollars have shifted away from traditional methods.
