36/velocity sports & entertainment

Velocity wants to make it clear: They’re about more than just sports sponsorships and properties.

“We characterize ourselves as lifestyle marketers,” says CEO Mike Reisman, one of the founding principals when Velocity spun off from Clarion Marketing and Communications 10 years ago. “Our job is to go into a client without any real bias toward sports, entertainment, culture or anything else and understand the most appealing way to get into consumers’ lifestyle interests.”

For example, a joint campaign between AT&T Mobility and Rock the Vote last fall reached out to a young mobile-loving audience 18-29 on both sides of the political spectrum with interactive tools, sponsored music events, and a mobile vehicle that let attendees record a public service announcement.

The campaign was intended to register 2 million voters and wound up exceeding that goal by 31%, says Michelle Berg, senior vice president and account director.

Of course sports are as much a part of the American lifestyle as politics or music, and Velocity has been able to hook its clients into some highly visible properties. Longtime Velocity client FedEx has managed to integrate with two important sports franchises: the FedEx Cup, a points-based award for players on the PGA Tour, and the “Air & Ground” awards for the NFL.

Both sponsorships aim to integrate the brand’s primarily B-to-B business with sports in a way that is “authentic, endemic and relevant,” says Senior Vice President Chris Caldwell. In the case of the PGA, the activation included themed customer promotions and direct marketing campaigns that let customers who shipped more earn golf rewards, as well as partnerships with golf suppliers such as Callaway that put the FedEx name into golf retail locations.

“Sports and entertainment” aptly describes Velocity’s newest client, the Sports Illustrated Group, for which the firm was named agency of record last February. Velocity quickly announced an experiential event around the magazine’s annual swimsuit issue. These included a Las Vegas launch party for consumers featuring models from the issue.

PROMO 100 SPOTLIGHT: Sports

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