Costa Mesa-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. is back for a second season as presenting sponsor of College Football Live: Hyundai Thursday Night Kickoff on ESPN.
The program will air before 12 games on Thursday night throughout the season, with Hyundai spots set to run before kickoff and during games shown on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Hyundai also will have promotional displays at 151 game-day events at college stadiums nationwide during the season.
“College football fans wear their colors more proudly than any other fan base,” said Steve Shannon, Hyundai marketing vice president. “Reaching fans not only through TV but also at stadiums where that passion is rooted gives us a more genuine connection to the sport and those that love it as much as we do.”
Hyundai also plans to showcase the 2013 Santa Fe at the games, marketing it to football fans as the “ultimate tailgating vehicle.” The Santa Fe will be prominently featured in college football creative and on-site displays throughout the season.
Hyundai will also display the Hyundai Veloster Turbo at games.
An ad campaign running in Sports Illustrated beginning Sept. 10 will feature the Santa Fe along with real fans showing support for their teams. Hyundai will also be the presenting sponsor of SI.com’s college football team pages, featuring a “Super Fan” photo contest.
Hyundai is promoting the ad campaign through its Facebook page. It asks fans to post a photo or video displaying their team loyalty under the “Show Your Loyalty” tab.
Hyundai’s advertising budget for the first quarter of 2012 was about $88 million. Hyundai is part of South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Co. and oversees distribution to all U.S. Hyundai dealerships. Hyundai sold 645,691 vehicles in the U.S. last year and has 977 employees in Orange County.
Avia Campaign
Aliso Viejo-based athletic shoe manufacturer American Sporting Goods Inc. released the spring 2013 marketing campaign for its Avia brand. The new collection is geared towards gym enthusiasts who participate in the following activities: boot camp training, competitive and recreational running, and kickboxing.
ASG manufactures and markets athletic, fitness and basketball footwear under the Avia brand.
The campaign launched in August with a new tagline that challenges athletes to “Push On.”
“We want the brand to make a personal connection with those who can benefit from our products and bring back the Avia swagger,” said Ed Goldman, vice president of marketing at Avia. The ad campaign focuses on stark contrasts of black and white to communicate the message: “You’re either training or you’re not.”
Avia plans to market the campaign through social media, direct marketing, sports marketing, street marketing and college campus outreach.
St. Louis-based Brown Shoe Co. acquired ASG in February of last year for $145 million. Prior to the acquisition, Avia had a 2010 advertising budget of about $6 million, according to New York-based Kantar Media.
Brown’s other brands include Dr. Scholl’s, Vera Wang, Franco Sarto, Sam Edelman, among others. The company’s retail division operates Famous Footwear and Naturalizer stores and their websites, along with shoes.com.
Brown had $2.6 billion in revenue during its most recent fiscal year.
Social Strategies
Among recent promotions using social media:
• Anaheim-based action sports clothing retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. is giving away a trip for two to the Converse Fader Fort which features four nights of live music October 17-20 in New York City. PacSun is promoting the contest through its Facebook page.
• Irvine-based restaurant chain Mimi’s Café did a Pin It to Win It campaign on Pinterest. The restaurant asked customers to follow them on Pinterest, create a board titled Lifting Children’s Spirits with Mimi’s Café, upload a minimum of 10 inspirational images, and then register the link to Mimi’s website. The winner received a hot air balloon ride for two, restaurant gift cards and a donation in the winner’s name to a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.
