Sports and Consumer Promotions

Sporting events can create an engaging platform for consumer promotions. Tying your promotion to a conditional outcome generates excitement for both the game and the brand.

It can be based on more than who wins or loses, in fact almost anything that may happen during a game or match can trigger winners and corresponding rewards or prizes.

And what makes sporting events so intriguing is the uncertainty of what can possibly happen.

Volvo is a brand that is associated with safety.  For the 2021 Super Bowl 55, Volvo offered consumers a chance to win the Volvo of their dreams – a brand new Volvo that was custom built online by each consumer entering the promotion.  What would it take to potentially win the brand-new Volvo?

 A big stroke of luck!

If either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Kansas City Chiefs scored a safety at any point during the big game, Volvo would activate a drawing to give away $2MM worth of Volvos to lucky winners However if there was no safety, no cars would be given away. It's as simple as that.

Why a safety? Volvo places a heavy emphasis on safety in its cars, with a goal of saving a million lives with new safety innovations. A "safety" in football occurs when a runner with the ball is tackled in their own end zone, or if the offense commits a foul in their own end zone. In any case, the defense receives two points and possession of the ball. What are the odds? In the 256 regular season games during the 2021 season, 24 safeties were scored. It happens a bit more often in the Super Bowl, with nine in the 54-year history of the game.

So, consumers who entered had to hope for a safety for a chance to win the Volvo that they created to enter the drawing.

There were many reasons to watch the Super Bowl.  Some were rooting for their favorite team, others were waiting for the spectacular halftime show while others were tuning in for some of the best advertising by the biggest advertisers. But for Super Bowl 55 there were also many viewers who were watching and rooting for a safety!

$2MM is a sizable financial risk for a brand and most would be reluctant to put $2MM on the line on the chance that a certain event may or may not happen during the game. However, VCG PromoRisk was able to eliminate all the risk for Volvo and take on the entire $2MM liability for just a fraction of the cost in the form of a Fixed Fee.

The result of the game?  Tampa Bay won and there were two big opportunities for a safety during the game, but in end none were scored, and the drawing was not activated.

The consumers who entered learned a lot about Volvo, along with the many options available. And Volvo collected thousands of warm leads who provided contact data along with the make and model of their current car, a treasure of information for future highly targeted marketing campaigns.

Sports of all kinds bring opportunities for exciting promotions that capture attention for brands.

The Summer Olympics, NHL, NBA, MLB, FIFA, NFL, Tennis, Golf, Auto racing – literally any sport with uncertain outcomes.

We at VCG can make your big idea promotional goals come to life while taking away the financial risk associated with an unknown outcome.

Contact us and let us show you how we can make your big ideas happen!

VCG SportsRisk partners with agencies, brands and sponsors to create promotions that deliver BIG sports-related ideas without the risk