Sports organizations looking for ways to enhance their premium giveaway nights should take a moment to benchmark the Cleveland Cavaliers' recent Snuggie Night presented by KeyBank. The team took the Snuggie giveaway night to the next level by asking all fans with a ticket to arrive early to the game to partake in a Guinness World Record attempt. The offer was so enticing, tickets were rumored to be going for 10-times face value for the event.

For the first five (5) minutes of the game, 20,000+ rabid Cavaliers fans wore their Snuggie, helping the team set an official record for most fleece blankets of one (1) colors worn in one (1) place: 20,562. While fans put on their cool premium giveaways, so did Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and the Cavs' dance team, who were given custom versions. Even the Cavaliers and Pistons players were given special, large-sized versions of the Snuggie premiums with their names and numbers monogrammed.

What are the chances of setting your own official Guiness World Record? Unfortunately, just 3% of the 60,000 applications submitted on an annual basis are approved and executed. But they can always say no...

Check out a video of the Cavs' Snuggie execution below! Well done, especially to KeyBank on their post-event execution featuring a microsite with pictures, videos, and a sweepstakes offer for fans who weren't able to attend!

A special thanks to Alex Vitanye of the Ohio University Center for Sports Administration for his insights and contributions to this column. Source: Cleveland.com

2K Sports recently announced that it is offering a $1 million prize to the first person who throws a perfect game in its new release, MLB 2K10. The skill-based challenge marked a unique way to engage fans and drive a significant amount of buzz around the release of the game on March 2nd.

The simple catch? Entrants must record the entirety of their game, either with a camera aimed at the television or recorded digitally. To ensure legitimacy of submissions, 2K Sports is working with Twin Galaxies, a worldwide sanctioning authority for video game high scores and records... And only one (1) person can win!

The chances of a perfect game happening in the Major Leagues? Just 16 perfect games have been thrown in Major League Baseball since 1901 (during a stretch of 160,000 regular season games).

The company created a special microsite to reveal the details around "The Battle for $1,000,000", which included a set of nine (9) detail instructions:

1. Get a copy of MLB 2K10 for XBox 360 or Playstation 3
2. Read the Perfect Game Official Contest Rules and Legal Rules Carefully
3. Print a Copy of The Perfect Game Checklist to Help Ensure You Don't Miss a Step
4. Set up a Recording Device to Record Your Perfect Game Attempt
5. Play Your Perfect Game Attempt in the MLB 2K10 Contest Mode in the MLB Today Section and You Must Use the Pitcher That is Set to Start the Game for That Particular Day
6. Throw a Perfect Game Without..
   1. Making any pitching substitutions
   2. Calling any coaching visits to the mound
   3. Pausing the game
   4. Delaying the game (waiting 60 seconds or more between pitches)
   5. Changing any of the control options. User must play using Total Control Pitching and Total Control Hitting (these modes are set to default when attempting the perfect game)
7. A Verification Code will Appear After Your Perfect Game - Input That on the Perfect Game Website
8. Print Two (2) Copies of the Verification Confirmation Page
9. Send Via Overnight Courier Your Recording Of Your Perfect Game on DVD Marked with Verification Code, Name, and Gamertag to 2k Sports Attn: MLB 2K10 Promotions Team 10 Hamilton Landing Novato, CA 94949

Check out the promotional trailer below:

Source: Kotaku.com

The Minnesota Wild have teamed up with Anheuser-Busch to create a unique Snowmobile Giveaway that will provide four (4) lucky fans the chance to win a team autographed Arctic Cat snowmobile and a Triton trailer during the team's home contest against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday, January 27th.

For the chance to win the exclusive prize pack, valued at $10,000, fans 21 years of age and older simply have to complete and submit a simple registration form on the Minnesota Wild team website. One fan will be selected via the online submission process as well as three (3) lucky others who will be randomly chosen in the arena that night. Submissions will be accepted until 10pm CST on January 25, 2010, so hurry fast for your chance to win!

With Super Bowl XLIV just weeks away, the Doritos brand has been busy capitalizing on all of the pre-game buzz with its "Crash the Super Bowl Challenge". For the fourth consecutive year, Doritos has hosted the "Crash the Super Bowl Challenge", a promotion that The promotion that offers consumers the chance to produce a :30 branded clip worthy of being featured on air live during the Super Bowl.

But in 2009-10, Doritos raised the stakes even higher than ever before. The company is offering a $5 million shared grand prize payout if three (3) of six (6) finalists can beat out the ad pros and garner the top three (3) spots in the USA Today's annual Ad Meter.

With the stakes higher than ever, Doritos received over 4,000 entries from creative individuals around the world eager to win the mega prize. From January 5-31, fans can vote for their favorite finalist at www.CrashtheSuperBowl.com for the chance to win free Super Bowl tickets... every day.

Doritos is currently featuring the videos of six (6) finalists on its site, which will be pared down to three (3) and aired down to the Super Bowl. Head to the site to check them out!

The Atlanta Thrashers recently held a hilarious on-ice race between three fans competing as Applebees entree items... As you watch the race, you will notice that the Thrashers called on the team's mascot and an inflatable sumo wrestler to add some excitement to the race.

A must see... Check it out:

The Dallas Mavericks recently teamed up with retail partner Academy Sports + Outdoors to feature an All-Star baby race during the 3rd quarter of a recent home game that turned out to be a huge hit with fans. The contest pinned four (4) babies sporting Dallas Mavericks gear racing (slowly) across a mat in front of thousands of the team's supporters.

The Mavericks did a tremendous job executing the promotion by leveraging the PA announcer to drive fan excitement and featured some great camera angles of the action on the video board.

The All-Star baby race served as a great way for Academy Sports + Outdoors to distinguish the fact that it is the Official Headquarters for the Dallas Mavericks for all fans (men, women, kids, babies, etc.). The collaborating parties could bring the promotion to life slightly more by assigning sections to each of the four babies (with the winning baby's section receiving $5 gift cards while all other participating sections receiving a discount at purchase). Nonetheless, Mavericks fans in attendance won't forget the baby race (and Academy Spots + Outdoors) the next time they are shopping for their kids!

Check out the Mavericks' classic All-Star baby race below: 

The New York Giants celebrated their final regular-season game at Giants Stadium by featuring a special video to the tune of Bruce Springsteen's hit song "Wrecking Ball" on the jumbotron. The three (3) minute clip featured countless pictures and video memories from the historic venue and honored a collection of the finest players to ever play for the Giants organization.

Check out the memorable tribute video below:

The New York Rangers have teamed up with the NY Lottery over the past few years to feature a Human Puck Race competition during intermission that has proven to be a hit with fans. During Rangers games, fans can stop by the New York Lottery table to enter a drawing to compete in a 3-man Human Puck Race on the ice for a chance to win a select prize ($30K cash instant ticket, $50K grant instant ticket, etc).

The Rangers do a tremendous job building crowd excitement with some recognizable sound effects and a captivating in-arena PA announcer calling the shots.

Check out the videos below to see how the contest is executed:

The Reading Royals of the ECHL recently announced that all fans in attendance at the team's game against the Elmira Jackets on December 18th will have the chance to shoot to win a free ham courtesy of Berks Packing. As part of the Berks Packing Holiday Ham Shoot promotion, fans will be invited down to the ice after the game and will be given one chance to score a goal from a designated spot on the ice for a chance to win.

The unique promotion will be held in conjuction with a holiday food drive that the Royals and the Greater Berks Food Bank are hosting at the game on the 18th.  

The University of Alabama Athletics Department sparked the football team's historic 2009 season with a terrific pre-game video board intro. The clip features a collection of Alabama players describing the significance of the jersey number they are wearing (e.g. #31 stands for the team's bowl victories) to the tune of AC/DC's classic hit "Thunderstruck".

The vignette serves as a best practice for sports organizations looking to highlight their team's history in their pre-game video board introductions. Check out the clip below:

Notice: In the clip, the University of Alabama Athletics Department failed to mention jersey #0 (believe it or not, the team has never had a Heisman Trophy Winner)...