Cenergy - Activating Brands

Cenergy Gets Charged Up

The Cleveland Cavaliers needed help creating an identity for their new NBA Development League team and Cenergy heeded their call. The new team, that calls Canton, Ohio their home, began their inaugural season on November 25th. Cenergy developed the team’s new name: The Canton Charge and designed an accompanying team logo and secondary mark to go along with it. The primary mark, in wine, gold and white, features a musketeer-style cavalryman, holding his sword forward. The secondary mark, similar to the C-Sword logo used by the Cavaliers, features a sword crossing the letter, ‘C’.

From team jerseys to center court – the new team identity unveiled just in time for fans to shout, “Charge!”

 

The TBS Bobblehead Tour Goes the Extra Mile

10,568 miles. 8 Cities. Over 500,000 Fans.

Postseason Pete wrapped up another successful road trip at the close of the MLB season. The now iconic twelve-foot tall bobblehead dressed in team colors and donned TBS and affiliate logos for scheduled stops in Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta as part of the 2011 TBS Bobblehead Tour. Pete also made an additional onsite appearance at the MLB Fan Cave in NYC.

To freshen up this year’s fan experience, a new green screen photo interactive joined Pete on tour. The new interactive allowed fans to pose for the camera and put themselves in a photo framed to look like a TBS Postseason poster. Fans could view their picture on site and received their framed printed photo right at the event.

Interactive batting and pitching cages as well as co-branded giveaways were also a big hit with fans.

In total, Postseason Pete made an impression with over half a million fans on site and he got up close and personal with thousands of fans across eight cities who chose to have their photo taken or participated in the interactive elements of the tour. And when Pete hit the road, he made an impression too: the tour vehicle got an estimated 1 million views on the road.*

That’s why with Postseason Pete and the Bobblehead Tour in their wheelhouse, TBS knows there’s nothing better than a baseball road trip.

 

* Based on industry standard of 101 visual impressions per mile and 10,568 total miles travelled.

 

Cenergy and First Niagara Team Up

In mid-August, First Niagara acquired the naming rights to the home of the Buffalo Sabres.  Although it was an exciting new partnership, the deal was struck just before preseason play -- leaving the Buffalo-based financial institution less than six weeks to transform the entire arena to the First Niagara Center. 

And that’s when the fun began. 

Working alongside our neighbors in the marketing teams of First Niagara and the Buffalo Sabres, CENERGY created a new identity for the arena and applied the new look and feel to everything – from exterior marquee signage right down to apparel for ushers and arena employees.

Additionally, CENERGY has developed special programs intended to activate the new sponsorship among First Niagara employees, customers and the community to help leverage the passion for the Sabres in Western New York. 

First Niagara is proud to call Buffalo home and CENERGY is proud to help create a new legacy for Buffalo sports fans.

Let’s Go Buffalo!

 

Cenergy Girls "Get Dirty"

We always knew the women of Cenergy could muck it up with the best of them.  So, on a beautiful Fall Saturday, the Cenergy Mud Women donned their matching tees and participated in the First Annual ‘Dirty Girl Fun Run’ at Emery Park (about 3 miles from the Cenergy office).  Looking sharp (at least at the beginning of the race), Cenergy’s Mud Women battled obstacles that included rope ladders, hay bales, and the occasional mudslide. An enthusiastic crowd greeted the dirty girls as they crossed the finish line covered from head to toe, in you guessed it, mud.

The Cenergy Mud Women team featured Sarah Nuendorfer, Colleen Aungst, Natalie Moore, Amy Strzelec, Sarah Walzak, and team motivator, Elisa Lovelace Jones.  Training for next year’s event has already begun.

Cenergy Delivers What Tribe Fans Crave™

The Crave revolution is expanding on all fronts and has now begun to arrive in Cleveland, Ohio. Thirsty baseball fans at Progressive Field were introduced to the ice-cold chocolate milk at this past weekend’s Cleveland Indians’ Kids Fun Day where they couldn’t drink it in fast enough. Over 5,000 kids and parents sampled Original Chocolate and Strawberry-Chocolate Crave from our team of Crave brand ambassadors called Field Agents.

“Fans loved having another delicious beverage option at the game,” said Vic Grogovitz, the Indians SVP of Sales & Marketing. Crave launched sales at five Grab ‘n Go stands, concessions and with in-stadium vendors to give Progressive Field and sports fans an ice-cold and wholesome alternative to get refreshed during a game.

The Crave Field Agents, wearing guerilla-esque berets, boots and gloves, delivered samples to fans and invited kids to join the revolution with a free Crave Moohawk™. The launch captured the attention of Cleveland Indians fans and gave them something new to crave at their next baseball game.

Check it out at www.icravemilk.com.

 

Zippo Lights Up Live Nation with Cenergy

Zippo is rocking Live Nation events at amphitheatres across the country this summer. We’re amping up the Zippo brand experience for concert-goers in ten markets between March and October, including venues in West Palm Beach, Tampa, Dallas, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston and Chicago. By the end of the summer season, Zippo will have completed over 200 activations at Live Nation concerts throughout the U.S.

Zippo “Flamettes” -- brand ambassadors wearing 60’s-era inspired dresses with custom details reminiscent of the iconic Zippo lighter -- meet and greet tailgaters in parking lots, take fan photos and drive traffic to the revamped Zippo Hot Spot retail tent inside the gate. And, at select venues, the Flamettes utilize a Zippo golf cart to meet and greet fans throughout the lot, making them a highly visible onsite mobile presence with lots of fan buzz.

The brand experience continues inside the gate as well, where the Hot Spot retail tent literally lights up the venue. The Hot Spot draws fans into the retail space with a custom Duratran installation, and fans who visit the booth are given the opportunity to win door prizes as well as the ultimate seat upgrade with the Zippo Hot Seats Sweepstakes. To take the brand interaction even further, the Flamettes help booth visitors use ipads in order to enter to win the $250 in Live Nation concert cash. It all combines to create the perfect way for Zippo to light up the fan experience and drive sales this summer.

 

Beard-a-thon® Scores Record Year

While the Boston Bruins raise the Stanley Cup for the first time in 39 years, hockey fans across North America can celebrate a job well done.  That’s because the 3rd annual NHL playoff Beard-a-thon^® has raised $545,000 for charities across North America during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, making it the most successful Beard-a-thon yet.

Over 6,000 hockey fans, celebrities, and NHL players participated in this year’s Beard-a-thon. Partakers pledged to maintain their playoff beard during the duration of their team’s playoff run and received donations from fans, family, and friends.

Since launching Beard-a-thon in 2009, fans and NHL players have raised over $1.2 million for charity.

Fans of the Stanley Cup Champion, Boston Bruins, led all NHL teams by raising over $75,000 for the Boston Bruins Foundation. And, this year marked an inaugural partnership with the NHLPA, allowing Canadian hockey fans to raise over $188,000 for Canada’s Heart & Stroke Foundation. Proceeds in Canada will help fund the installation of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in hockey rinks across Canada, while U.S. proceeds will benefit various NHL team charities.

The 2011 individual top grower is former NHL player and current Director of Development for the Boston Bruins Foundation, Bob Sweeney, who raised $9,800 with his playoff beard. Among the 173 NHL players who participated, Philadelphia Flyers forward, Scott Hartnell, led the pack by raising $12,235 with his beard.

Check out www.beardathon.com

 

Cenergy Drops Into The Big Apple With Sun Drop

When Sun Drop asked us to help them build brand awareness and support distribution for their product in New York City,  we naturally made Madison Square Garden and the Big East basketball tournament the center of activity. The Cenergy team dropped the citrus-flavored soft drink into the streets of midtown during the Big East with a chopped and dropped El Camino – complete with hydraulics, a killer sound-system and a bed full of ice-cold bottles of soda.

We created a unique experiential event for Sun Drop, already widely popular in the southeastern United States, by centering it around a truly standout sampling vehicle meant to maximize reach and establish brand impressions within a densely populated urban market.  After sourcing the perfect vehicle -- a 1968 El Camino from California -- it took approximately 138 man-hours and just 20 days to restore and transform it from outdated ride into buzz-worthy campaign centerpiece.

 

A squad of Sun Drop Girls rounded out the event. Dressed in form-fitting yellow jump suits, the team of brand ambassadors not only turned heads, but also engaged the public on the street, provided photo ops, handed out product samples and distributed coupons to basketball fans exiting the Garden and passing by New Yorkers. It all combined to create a powerful statement that Sun Drop had officially “dropped” in New York City. 

The CRAVE™ Revolution Has Begun

Crave has successfully landed on campus.

Cenergy has been helping the innovative new brand of chocolate milk to utilize social media tactics and pop-up experiential events to engage consumers in unexpected ways. These pop-up events, that Cenergy and Upstate Niagara call “Craves,” can happen anytime, anywhere and create a huge buzz for the product. This was apparent when Upstate Niagara took advantage of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie premier on November 19^th to create a unique product launch on the University of Nebraska Lincoln campus. Students who sampled the product were given activation cards encouraging them to become fans of Crave on Facebook. The first 125 students who became fans and posted a secret code to the Crave Facebook page won two free tickets to an exclusive midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a local theatre.

The event, which was built around driving student interest through a sense of exclusivity, was a hit. The campus store saw an 8% redemption rate on Crave coupons, 500 product samples were given out, and over 215 students became fans of Crave on Facebook. And buzz extended beyond the event with media coverage in the student paper, The Daily Nebraska.

“The UNL Crave event was a huge success for us,” said Ken Voelker, VP of Marketing for Upstate Niagara Cooperative. “Over 500 students were introduced to Crave during four hours of on-campus sampling, and we were able to give 250 of them an awesome experience with the Harry Potter premiere. It’s our aim to really connect with our consumers through events like these.”    

Crave is the creation of Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc., a family of dairy farmers in Western New York State who care deeply about quality and freshness. Their commitment to their 390 farms provides consumers with a line of fresh, wholesome, safe and delicious dairy products. For more information about Crave, visit icravemilk.com.

 

It’s Official: Upstate Farms Craves Cenergy

It’s a partnership as natural as milk and cookies. Upstate Niagara Cooperative (Upstate Farms) and Cenergy are collaborating to launch a delicious and groundbreaking new dairy beverage.

Cenergy will oversee a fully-integrated campaign designed to introduce and maximize brand awareness for the new beverage, due to launch in a chocolate flavor throughout the Northeast and Mid-South late 2010. It is something Upstate Farms calls “a new kind of chocolate milk” – and every player on the Cenergy team, from experiential to digital, is excited to be working on this innovative new brand.

Upstate Niagara Cooperative (Upstate Farms) consists of a family of local diary farmers who care deeply about quality and freshness. Their family of 390 farms provides consumers with a line of fresh, wholesome and delicious dairy products.

Ken Voelker, Director of Marketing for Upstate Niagara Cooperative says, “Cenergy’s relevant experience in launching CPG brands, combined with their experience in youth marketing, is a great fit for us. We needed an agency that can take us to the next level.”

Visit our blog often for more news about this exciting new Cenergy client!