Entering new market

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Brands are taking advantage of the national attention on both men’s and women’s basketball athletes during March Madness, but their strategies differ. Some had campaigns ready to go before the tournaments began, while others have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which programs and athletes emerge as this year’s biggest stories. Last year, Doug Edert and his signature mustache cashed in when Saint Peter's made history by becoming the first 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight. Entering March in 2022, Edert had around 1,500 followers on Instagram and was rarely posting. A year later, he has more than 148,000 followers and has worked with national brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Barstool Sports. Edert’s mustache is again a focus this year as it adorns special edition Pringles cans. The ““March Mustache Collection” also features Duke’s Dariq Whitehead and Virginia’s Ben Vander Plas. Fans are asked to show off … [Read more...] about How Brands Are Using The NCAA Tournament To Strike New NIL Deals

When the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—back after a six-year absence—begins its 50-city tour of North America this September, it will include 75 highly trained performers and a litany of extravagant acts. Tightrope walkers will flit across a triangular rope, 30 feet in the air. Acrobats will launch themselves between four spinning wheels suspended from stadium ceilings. BMX bikers will spring off a giant trampoline. And a 360-degree set studded with massive video screens and enhanced with sonic spatial technology will envelop audiences in the spectacle. There won’t, however, be any lions, tigers, or bears. Oh my! “When you have a brand called ‘The Greatest Show on Earth,’ you can’t downscale,” says Juliette Feld Grossman, chief operating officer at Feld Entertainment, which acquired the iconic circus in 1984. “You really have to reimagine and reinvent.” Founded in 1871, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus delighted American families … [Read more...] about The Greatest Show on Earth gets a second chance

Explore the full 2023 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies , 540 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the firms making the biggest impact across 54 categories, including advertising , beauty , design , and more. How do four septuagenarian Swedish pop stars pull off a dazzlingly energetic 20-song set list before thousands of fans in a custom-built stadium? Easy: They get their holograms to do it. ABBA Voyage , a stunning marriage of art and technology architected by the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), has been a critical and financial success. It’s also a symbol of how the live performance industry is being transformed by technology, as digital elements are deployed to deepen fan immersion while staying true to what makes a live music experience so irreplicable. With concerts becoming increasingly visual extravaganzas, artists have access to new mediums to explore their creative … [Read more...] about The 10 most innovative companies producing live events in 2023