Dana White, the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and social media extraordinaire, recently teamed up with Digital Royalty to provide the sport's fans with unprecedented access.

Prior to the UFC 118 Event in Boston on Saturday Night, Dana White tweeted out a phone number to his 4.5MM Twitter followers that allowed UFC fans to call him directly and share their predictions for the fights on tap that night. Within seconds, White received a call from a loyal UFC fan and shortly thereafter heard from a number of other fans from across the world.

Amy Martin of Digital Royalty documented White's "Fan Phone" strategy and created a video case study that she recently posted online to help bridge the gap that exists between the virtual and physical worlds. Check it out below!

Sports organizations looking for new, creative ways to drive sales of tickets and select merchandise should consider modeling a tactic recently implemented by the San Francisco Giants. The Major League Baseball Club's marketing department created a terrific infomercial spot to promote Tim Lincecumb wigs (called Timmy Wigs) the team is selling for $10 at the ballpark. Lincecumb, the team's ace who has won the last two NL Cy Young Awards is a fan favorite in the Bay Area and one of the league's shining stars. 

Since the team created the infomercial spot, Timmy Wig sales have skyrocketed and the video is on its way to becoming a huge viral hit. 

Informercials are becoming a relatively mainstream practice in the sports business space as teams and athletes have used them to drive buzz in the social media marketplace. As you will note, the Minnesota Timberwolves created a Mr. Love Miracle Glass Cleaner spot in 2009 to promote Kevin Love as ROY and Vitaminwater has used Steve Nash, 50 cent, and Kobe Bryant in several infomercial spots. 

Hats off to the San Francisco Giants on a well executed merchandise campaign! Check it out below:

The University of South Carolina Athletics Department recently launched a terrific new promotional microsite to drive fan excitement for the upcoming 2010 football season. The site features a number of interactive elements that have generated a significant amount of interest amongst the University's avid fanbase following USC Athletics across the nation.

The site's unique features include:

• Hometown Videos
  • Where USC football players discuss their South Carolina hometown
• The Most Garnet Hometown
  • Online submission process where fans can vote for which county they think has the most passionate South Carolina fans for the chance to win (2) free tickets in the Champions Club for a Gamecocks football game
• Gamecocks Wallpaper Builder
  • Fans can create a custom USC wallpaper background that can be downloaded to their PC
• "What They're Saying"
  • Live Twitter feed with updates and links regarding South Carolina Athletics
• Social Media Elements, Links to Drive Merchandise Sales, Ticket Sales Elements, and more!

The site's interactive elements have delivered immediate results. In just two weeks, the USC football microsite generated 45,000 hits, 1,700 registrations, and 300+ photo uploads. These figures will only continue to rise as football season draws near. Check back to learn about additional ways the University of South Carolina Athletics Department is engaging fans on-site and online! 

Are you looking for new ways to drive consumer interest and awareness at retail? Are you looking for new ways to bring window displays to life?

Nike recently celebrated the completion of the World Cup at its Nike Stadium retail location in London by adorning 17 5m x 3m window panels with portraits of Nike's key athlete endorsers in the soccer space. Nike turned to London-based artist HelloVon to create the spectacular mural display, which spanned the length of Oxford St. in London.

Check it out below:

Source: ItsNiceThat.com

Are you looking for new ways to promote team/player affiliations in high-traffic outdoor settings? Are you looking for new ways to "own" subway and train stations?

Nike leveraged is "Write the Future" World Cup campaign in Denmark by giving a subway station in Norreport a complete makeover. The campaign was designed to demonstrate Nike's support for Denmark footballer Nicklas Bendtner, with the hope that he could guide his team to the promise land and become a leading scorer in the World Cup.

Check out Nike's terrific metro station branding initiative in the video and photos enclosed below:

Source: Nakedcomms cph's Flickr Photostream 

As sports properties look for new ways to engage fans through non-traditional channels, they should take a close look at how Dana White and UFC are utilizing Twitter to reward their followers.

White is using the official Twitter account of UFC and his own personal Twitter profile to host a #Hunt4UFC scavenger hunt that rewards UFC fans with a variety of prizes. To drive awareness for upcoming fights, White provides a call-to-action to fans via Twitter, posting his location and offering up a prize to the first person who can meet him at that location and repeat a message, etc.

White recently posted a viral piece that shows a fan tracking him down to win free UFC gloves within just 3 minutes and 33 seconds of his post... a pretty remarkable feat! UFC's originality and authentic approach to using Twitter has driven an avid fan following online (White has 1,115,000+ followers; UFC has 139K followers).

Check out the video below and consider new ways that your organization can use Twitter and various other channels to reward fans through non-trational means!

A special thanks to Chris Boggs of GMR Marketing for his insights and contributions to this column.

Brands and retail partners looking for new ways to impact consumers in a retail setting should take a close look at a recent strategy implemented by Centauro, Brazil's largest sporting goods chain. Just prior to the World Cup, Centauro impacted thousands of consumers shopping for Brazilian soccer apparel across the country with the use of a simple, weighted hanger.

There is a common expression in Brazil that every time a player sports the country's distinct yellow soccer jersey, they are wearing the weight of Five World Titles on their shoulders. That is because Brazil has won more championships (5) than any other team in World Cup history.

Centauro capitalized on this expression by hanging all of the Brazil World Cup jerseys in its stores on a special 2kg hanger that sported a branded tag, "Feel the Weight of Five World Titles". The simple, weighted hanger became an unexpected and impacting communication platform, driving curiosity and buzz amongst consumers at retail. The campaign, implemented across 120 retail locations, served as an effective way for Centauro to drive awareness for its Brazilian jersey offerings in-store.

Check out a viral piece that captured consumer reactions in-store below:

Source: AdsoftheWorld.com 

Are you looking for new ways to make a splash in the local marketplace?

Looking to make a huge splash in the 2010 NBA Free Agency period, the New Jersey Nets unveiled a massive 225 x 95 foot mural today at a major Manhatten intersection just blocks away from the New York Knicks' offices at Madison Square Garden. The billboard features a depiction of the team's new Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov standing alongside Jay-Z, complete with the slogan "The Blueprint for Greatness".

There is no question that this billboard will catch the eye of many NBA free agents, sending home a message that the Nets organization, under the guidance of new leadership, are serious about becoming major contenders and taking over the Big Apple. The massive mural display will surely be picked up by all of the major newspapers and media outlets and will instantly becoming a topic of water cooler conversation across the globe.

Check out the massive billboard below, which is now complete - just hours before the NBA's Free Agency period begins!

Photo Source: Marianne O'Leary's Flickr Photostream

Sports marketers looking for new outdoor messaging tactics to engage fans should due some diligence researching new advancements in projection technology.

Sony recently celebrated the 2010 Champions League Final by dislaying two (2) unbelievable 3D soccer themed projections on the outside of two buildings in Madrid, Spain. Sony teamed up with NuFormer, an agency based out of the Netherlands, to create 3D projections symbolizing a central theme of "Imagine Football in 3D". The company showcased the projections on the facade of the Plaza Santa Ana and the Colegia San Agustin in front of a few thousand guests. 

Sony created the projection footage specifically for this live event and worked hand-in-hand with Madrid's city Council to secure the rights to project the interactive display onto the walls of both buildings.

Check out Sony's soccer projection messaging below:

Source: NuFormer

Universal Studios recently teamed up with the Los Angeles Dodgers to create a viral piece designed to drive buzz for the opening of the park's new King Kong 3D attraction, which opens on July 4th. Universal Studios is releasing a series of viral pieces to drive awareness for the ride, which was designed by director Peter Jackson, and turned to its neighboring partners, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for some assistance with the first piece.

Universal Studios launched the first viral piece, a scene that appeared to be a catastrophe at Dodger Stadium, on May 25th. The video made it appear that King Kong left giant ape footprints near home plate and caused some destruction in deep center field.

Check out the video below and consider new ways that your sports organization can align with theme parks and movie producers to create similar viral pieces in the near future!

Are you looking to feature new, interactive elements at your games? Are you looking to incorporate 3D signage into the game day experience?

The Grant Sign Group is a company based out of Canada that has been delivering outdoor advertising experiences for over 35 years. The company is considered an industry leader in a variety of outdoor advertising sectors and is beginning to do more and more in the 3D space.

While the company's offerings primarily cater to businesses looking to promote their products and retail locations, they recently created a signage piece that can directly cater to teams (as shown below). The company created a 3D billboard display for Pattison Outdoor (an outdoor marketing agency) that features a fan's mouth moving up and down.

The signage piece would make for a tremendous, interactive outfield signage piece (if a ball went in the mouth, situated above the outfield wall, one fan would win jackpot or free dentist trips for life) and/or a creative way to drive fan attention to messaging in the concourse level. Check it out below!

As noted in this week's SportsBusiness Journal, Roush Fenway Racing has turned to The Barbarian Group to retool its website and online sales strategy in an effort to attract more sponsors. Roush's new digital efforts are highlighted by a new collection of sales and marketing videos featured on the site designed to tell an entertaining story that also effectively makes a sales point.

The first viral spot is a QVC spoof that features Roush Fenway Racing's Sean Pragano detailing the value of sponsorship opportunities at RFR. The video serves as a great benchmark for other organizations looking to retool their sponsorship sales efforts with a fresh new look (especially coming out of a tough economy).

Check out the clip below and consider new ways that you can breathe new air into your sales efforts!

For more, check out Roush Fenway Racing's Official YouTube Channel.

Source: SportsBusiness Journal 4/26/2010 (subscription only)

Are you looking for new ways to engage consumers in outdoor settings? Are you looking to capitalize on the growing usage of mobile phones?

Take a quick look at a terrific outdoor digital initiative DDB recently executed on behalf of McDonald's in Stockholm. The outdoor game tasked consumers with taking a picture on their cell phone of menu items that bounced and soared past the screen. Can you say engaging?

Now take a quick moment to think of all the applications this could have in the sports space. A team that prominently features a similar digital display piece on the facade of their stadium/arena could create a similar offering that tasks fans with taking camera pictures of:

• Dropping tickets - A team could allocate a block of 100 tickets per game discounted at 50% off to fans who take a picture of a dropping ticket on their cell phone and take it to the Will Call counter for purchase
• Dropping balls - Teams could make this item very hard to catch (fast speeds) and offer autograph merchandise to any fans who are able to take a picture of it on their phone
• Dropping concessions (hot dogs, popcorn, etc.) - Teams could offer free/discounted concessions items to fans who are able to take pictures of these items on their mobile phone
• Partner Discounts (dropping movie tickets, free gas vouchers, project starters, etc.)
• Dropping dollar bills - Teams can offer $5 bills that are redeemable for a $20 purchase in the team store on game day
• Dropping Mascot - Teams can offer fans, who take a picture of the mascot soaring across the screen, the chance to partake in unique experiences at the ballpark (promotions, video board cameos, behind-the-scenes tours, promotional giveaway opportunities, etc.)

Digital boards located outside stadium venues offering similar digital games could serve as a great way to reward fans who aren't able to make it into the game or come to attend a watch party. Consider this tactic when you are looking for new ways to reward those attending games (pre-game and post-game), not attending games (premier games, watch parties), and are looking for a reason to just stop by and check out the stadium during the week.

Are you searching for new campaigns centered around the World Cup? Are you looking for new, compelling soccer campaigns?

Puma recently released an outstanding World Cup advertising campaign entitled The Journey of Football. The spot, created by Syrup, showcases the impact that soccer has had across Africa and celebrates the origins of the game and its ability to unite nations.

Puma's campaign serves as a great example of ways that non-Official brands can still create captivating campaigns that energize consumers around the world. 

There's no question that this Puma spot, to the tune of Gnarls Barkley's hit song 'Going On' will get you excited about the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Check it out below: