Alltel 'My Circle' Huddles-up with NFL

From PromoXtra:
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Alltel Brings 'My Celebrity Circle' to NFL
Wireless phone provider Alltel is launching an integrated marketing campaign this month to tout its "My Circle" feature for users. The campaign includes a contest and celebrity endorsements by high-profile NFL receivers.

"My Circle" allows Alltel Wireless customers to get unlimited free calls to and from the 10 phone numbers that matter most to them any time of day or night. "My Circle" numbers can be any combination of wireless, home and office numbers located anywhere in the United States, regardless of local phone company or wireless carrier. These 10 numbers are in addition to customers' mobile-to-mobile calling community and do not require a special handset.
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You may recall seeing the clever Alltel television commercials incorporating lookalikes of spokespeople for each of the major cellular carriers in an effort to illustrate that Alltel's My Circle feature allows free calls to friends no matter which mobile service they use.

With Alltel's intent to promote this feature using NFL players, it certainly opens the door for advertising and promotional opportunities with The Fan.

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VBRs & HALF-BAKED:

• A campaign that uses all the on-air personalities to show they can use MyCircle no communicate matter which airshift they work.
• How about a college player based version of the same NFL campaign? Mary B. has a client that is trying to promote former-Buckeye players, perhaps the MyCircle extends to linking players no matter which year they played?
• This can also be applied to Mix -- what if the sports celebs were musicians? My Circle crosses barriers of different record labels? Signed vs. Unsigned artists?

Networks Tout Fall Shows Via Web

From Promo Xtra:
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In an effort to promote the new fall line-up, broadcast networks are turning to the Internet to give viewers a taste of what's to come.

AOL has teamed up with Warner Bros. Television and NBC to feature online premiums of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Twenty Good Years before the shows air this month. The shows will be available at AOL.com/television one week before the network broadcast. The Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip episode launched yesterday and Twenty Good Years rolls out Oct. 4.
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VBRs & HALF-BAKED:

• With so many shows trying to appeal specifically to male or female viewers, our stations have the perfect individual audiences to which to preview the new fall tv season.
• Why not offer the shows via streaming video from a special TV page on our site(s)?
• Streaming videos could certainly carry a short preroll promoting the network on which the show appears (perfect for the promo requests we get from WWHO and FOX -- and a helluva a lot better than a moldy 'watch and win' contest!)
• The preview page could also offer a ratings-based feedback system to allow visitors to weigh in on what they think of the individual show (1-star = bad... 4-stars = good.)
• Our listeners feel special because they are getting a 'sneak peek' from the station, and the previews are perceived as CONTENT instead of ADVERTISING.

Whirlpool Spins Love & Laundry Social Events

See the linked article for details, but here's the gist of it...

Whirlpool is taking its laundry appliances to the social scene by hosting Spin Cycle events that will give singles a chance to meet, mingle and have some good clean fun while playing laundry-themed games that can earn them Whirlpool prizes.

The first of four Whirlpool Spin Cycle event loads up in Atlanta on Sept. 7 at the brand's Insperience Studio, a showroom featuring Whirlpool appliances. Others will hit restaurants, lounges and unique locations in Minneapolis and Charlotte, NC, before the cycle ends on Oct. 9 in Dallas.

Whirlpool hopes to connect singles to its brand through social events. Relationship expert Dr. Pepper Schwartz who penned the relationship guide Finding Your Perfect Match will host each singles mixers event. Playing off of the age-old, romanticized notion of people finding their match at the Laundromat, each Spin Cycle will feature laundry-related games. For instance, Find Your Sole Mate matches couples based on socks, and a Laundry Olympics tests who can perform timed chores the fastest, such as folding bed sheets blindfolded. Winners receive Whirlpool Fabric Fresheners and copies of Finding Your Perfect Match.

Throughout the evening, consumers will get to tinker with the brand's new suite of appliances aimed to fit their lifestyles; whether a bachelor doing mini-loads in a city apartment (Duet Sport system) or a family doing several loads of laundry each day (Cabrio system).

Each event is geared toward reaching second-time singles (divorcees) and singles over 30 because of their level of disposable income, Whirlpool said.

Whirlpool paired with relationship Web site Perfectmatch.com to draw Perfectmatch.com's relationship-minded members to the event in each region. E-mail blasts were sent to the Web site's members, and some event-goers will receive a free Perfectmatch.com membership.

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VBRs & HALF-BAKED:

• A chance to create "It's Just Laundry"?
• Involve 'big box' retailers?
• What about the local 'suds & duds' type places?
• I've seen a internet cafe / laundromat combination...
• Whirlpool's focus on 'second-time singles' and 30+ singles match well with Mix audience