May 6, 2008

Marketing Campaign: Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

WINNER: COMCAST SPORTSNET PHILADELPHIA FOR COMCAST SPORTSNET'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY

Philadelphia sports fans are notorious. If one of their teams wins something important and you're in town, run for cover. And if they lose big time, same thing. So when the local sports network Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia turned 10 last year, Comcast and the city itself treated the occasion like your average Philly sports fan would — they literally and figuratively lit up the town. The celebration of the TV home of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers and Flyers bound the teams, the fans, the network's employers and giant cable operator itself ever tighter. Comcast SportsNet ran classic games from the past 10 years, produced on-camera vignettes and special programming for Comcast On Demand, created a microsite, sponsored games with local sports franchises and threw both a 10th anniversary viewer appreciation bash and a Philly Sports Day party. The city itself kicked in by lighting up the Philly skyline with a congratulatory message, and Philadelphia Magazine ran a 13-page story about the anniversary.

Comcast made sure that SportsNet employees understood that they are the reason for the network's success by throwing a 10th Anniversary Employee Celebration. Comcast also got employees involved in the development of the anniversary campaign in the four months leading up to the anniversary by asking them via e-mail to reminisce about the network's history.

A World Series victory would have been the icing on the cake, so to speak, but edging out the Mets for the division title must have been sweet consolation.

Fast Facts

• The viewer appreciation bash drew 600 people; Philly Sports Day drew 300.

• There were more than 10,700 orders for 10th anniversary on-demand programming during October and November 2007.

• The 10th anniversary microsite got 105,000 page views between September and November 2007.

Honorable Mentions:

Siegel+Gale for tru2way Brand Creation and Market Launch — The strategic global branding firm was called on by Comcast and its partners in the OpenCable platform consortium to develop a brand name — tru2way — that would click with the media, Wall Street and consumers.

DIY Network for Blog Cabin — DIY succeeded at drawing more than 4.2 million online votes on the features of its cabin in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The unbeatable tagline: "You design it. We build it. You could win it!"

HSN for "We're Going to Surprise You" — HSN got viewers and buyers engaged in July 2007 by showcasing merchandise within the context of a refreshed look and feel, and by surprising fans with visits and call-ins from celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Paris Hilton and Donald Trump.

Retirement Living TV for James Harvey Hylton NASCAR Sponsorship — The network for mature audiences was so inspired by 72-year-old NASCAR driver Hylton's stated desire to qualify for the Daytona 500 that it became his sponsor. The network just couldn't pass up the opportunity to see its logo speed down a legendary track.

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