Pepsi, Washington Mutual Back Latin Grammy Awards
Pepsi, Bally Total Fitness, Allstate and Washington Mutual are among a slate of brands backing the seventh annual Latin Grammy Awards, which will take place for the first time in New York City this year.
To hype the event, which takes place Nov. 2 at Madison Square Garden, first-time partner Bally Total Fitness offered free salsa and reggaeton fitness classes. The company is also running a sweepstakes to send a grand-prize winner and guest to New York to see the Latin Grammy awards. Print ads, TV spots and online materials support.
Bally Total Fitness joins Washington Mutual, Allstate, Pepsi and the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. as first-time sponsors. Marketers leveraged the show—expected to generate more than $30 million in revenue for the city—with Hispanic audiences via sweepstakes, events and promotions.
NYC Marketing handles sponsorship sales and coordinates promotional activation for the event. NYC Marketing is working with sister agency NYC Big Events, which helped bring the awards to New York City, and The Latin Recording Academy on the event. The Latin Grammy Awards previously took place in Miami and in Los Angeles.
“We developed a powerful marketing program and promotions celebrating the flavor and culture of the Latino community,” said Jim Donofrio, NYC Marketing senior VP-sales and partnerships.
NYC Marketing used the same model for the Latin Grammys that it had developed to secure $4.5 million worth of sponsorships across 14 brands for the Country Music Association Awards held last fall in New York City (it’s first time out of Nashville) (PROMO, January 2006).
New Washington Mutual customers who open a free checking account are automatically entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to attend the awards. Signage, print ads and radio spots support, Donofrio said. For its part, Pepsi has launched a promotional campaign in Los Angeles and New York that includes rolling out 3.6 million customized cans and placing ads on the back of more than 400 Pepsi delivery trucks in Manhattan, he said. In addition, Pepsi launched a sweepstakes at Pathmark and White Rose stores in October dangling a trip to see the show.
Allstate is the exclusive subway sponsor that will take guests from the show to the Latin Grammy Awards after party. And this week, a double-decker bus branded with Allstate signage, will drive throughout the city to plug tune-in to the show, airing Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Univision Network. On the day of the show, the bus will serve as bleachers for the green carpet event (dubbed by sponsor Heineken, the show’s official beer and malt beverage).
In addition, the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. created a sweepstakes that will send winners on two grand-prize trips to Puerto Rico. Consumers can enter at GoToPuertoRico.com. The sweeps runs through Dec. 31. Online materials support.
Returning partner Verizon Wireless is offering exclusive VCast Music Service coverage, including nominee interviews, ringtones, wallpapers and downloads. The wireless company also hosted street parties in various cities around the U.S. that showcased Latino bands. Local radio stations and food vendors attended the events, which ended Monday. The brand also ran a text-to-win sweepstakes to send a winner and guest to the awards show. Verizon is also offering content on VerizonWireless.com.
As part of the festivities, NYC Big Events and NYC Marketing is hosting Latin Grammy week dedicated to the music event touching fashion and retail, sports and parks, culture and entertainment and education and culinary aspects in the city’s five boroughs. Each theme has an assigned day with corresponding events. Today, consumers can look for Restaurant Day, where more than 100 local restaurants will offer discounts and special Latin dishes and International Day, a day dedicated to the traditions of various Latin countries through events, art and music.
