Surprise and delight has long been a popular strategy in everything from sports marketing to entertainment. You string the unsuspecting consumer along with a head fake — then delight them at the end with a reward.
Delta Air Lines is poised to pull it off with very amusing results in a new Delta Dugout baseball promotion starring Matt Harvey of the New York Mets, retired New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and other big names, The online sweepstakes will offer fans free tickets and VIP on-field experiences.
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Bill Betz, General Manager of Sponsorships and Brand Activation for Delta, gave Sporting News an exclusive preview of two Rivera/Harvey videos that will break online Monday across Delta's social media channels. The videos will also play up on the big scoreboards at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.
New Yorkers are supposed to be a wary lot. But curiosity gets the better of them in Delta's hidden camera campaign. Harvey and Rivera do a great job trolling, then delighting hard-bitten New Yorkers.
Here's how Delta did it. They set up faux Mets and Yankees "dugouts" in the public square fronting the iconic Flatiron Building (seen on everything from the Late Show with David Letterman to Friends ) near Madison Square Park in midtown Manhattan.
With pedestrians wondering what was up, the airline rang the "Delta Dugout" phone and watched who answered the call. Harvey and Rivera then informed the consumers over the phone they were talking to the baseball stars — only to emerge from hiding like a scene out of Candid Camera. Harvey and Rivera give the happy fans free tickets and autographed jerseys. Everybody hugs it out.
The tagline: "Delta is bringing you closer to the action and your favorite players."
When you go for the unscripted/hidden camera route, you never know what's going to happen. Some pedestrians just stared at the ringing phone but wouldn't answer. Others were more aggressive. When Rivera rang, there was practically a scrum as several fans rushed for the phone at the same time. Delta got it all on camera.
"That's the sort of stuff where you hope you get that — and we got it," said Betz.
Betz counted on the surprise factor to make the shoot a success.
"Who's expecting to see a dugout in the middle of Flatiron Plaza? The more you you can get people walking by, and wondering what's going on, that's a good thing. But to have (Rivera or Harvey) sitting in a trailer (watching on hidden camera), that's where it really starts to get fun. Because it's totally over-the-top."
Betz teased the campaign by tweeting out pictures from the June 9 shoot. Rivera and Harvey had fun surprising fans. "I think that came across in the videos," said Betz.
Today people got a surprise when they picked up a ringing phone in the #DeltaDugout ...a gift delivered by Matt Harvey pic.twitter.com/eIniXepnbf
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 9, 2015 Delta is partnering with baseball "ambassadors" from the five MLB clubs it sponsors for the Delta Dugout campaign. They are: Rivera from the Yankees; Harvey from the Mets; retired John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves, David Price of the Detroit Tigers and Trevor Plouffe of Minnesota Twins.
Each MLB club will support the effort across their own digital channels. Fans can sign for the sweepstakes by visiting one of the five team sites. If you don't have a Delta SkyMiles account, you'll be automatically enrolled in the program.
