Sponsors Opted for Last-Minute Entry Into 45-City Warped Tour

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Just before the curtain rose for the first performance of Vans Warped Tour 2007, three companies managed to slip onstage.

Lucha Libre USA, a firm dedicated to selling Mexican-style pro wrestling to U.S. audiences, held a press conference at the Santa Monica Pier on June 24, five days before Warped started, to announce it would produce grappling matches at every stop of the 45-city tour. The shows will feature some of Mexico’s most popular masked men such as Super AAA, Mini Chessman, Psicosis and The Angel.

Then, the day before the tour hit the road, its final two partners got on the bus. Myspace.com the Santa Monica-based subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media, teamed up with Snocap, a San Francisco-based music Web site, to sponsor a tent where fans can meet performers and download free tunes.

Both deals show marketers’ interest in reaching the youth demographic, albeit with different priorities.

Lucha Libre USA targets the male-dominant WWF fan base and the Latino segments. The company has a partnership with the AAA, a behemoth league that controls nearly 80 percent of the wrestling market south of the border. According to the company, lucha libre is the second most popular live event in Mexico after soccer.

MySpace-Snocap focuses on the music connection. More than 70 bands will play on the Warped tour, including headliners such as Bad Religion, Gallows, Tiger Army, Poison the Well and the Vandals.

“MySpace Music has seen some fantastic bands grow their following exponentially, and now their fans can hang out with them on site at the Vans Warped Tour,” said Kelley Electa, executive director of promotions and events for MySpace. “It’s like a MySpace page come to life.”

The Warped Tour, sponsored by shoemaker Vans Inc. of Santa Fe Springs, started in 1995 as a combination skateboarding and music fest. Over the years it morphed into a traveling youth carnival with music in the big tent and advertisers hawking their wares outside. The carny folk this year include representatives from AT & T;, Energizer batteries and L.A.-based Hot Topic fashion boutiques.

This year’s version opened with a sellout in Pomona on June 29, followed by a gig at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on June 30. The tour won’t re-enter the L.A. market until its final performance on Aug. 25 at the Home Depot Center in Carson.


Joke the Vote

Professional marketers should keep an eye on a campaign from the team behind the Comedy Central’s cable TV show “Reno 911!” that will test the limits of viral marketing this summer.

Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon both actor-writer-producers on the “Reno” TV and film franchise have partnered with Declare Yourself, a national nonpartisan youth voter group, to make 20 short videos, all shot in Los Angeles, calling on 18-year-olds to become registered voters in time for the 2008 election.

Norman Lear, the former sitcom producer and founder of Declare Yourself, has put together an Internet dream team to distribute the non-commercial campaign. Partnership deals with Yahoo, MySpace, YouTube, Google, Friendster, Evite and Good Search will promote the comedy shorts and their message.

In terms of traditional media, the campaign will work with radio giant Clear Channel Communication and Comedy Central.

On the celebrity front, the L.A.-based Lear has brought on America Ferrera, star of ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” and Hayden Panettiere from NBC’s “Heroes,” to serve as spokeswomen for the project.


Tu Ciudad Site

Tu Ciudad, the English-language magazine for L.A. Latinos, has relaunched its Web site with daily news updates, entertainment reporting, calendar listings and a dining guide. Until now, Cuidadmag.com was a typical lifestyle magazine site with digital versions of the print edition and little else.

“New statistics show 78 percent of English-dominant Hispanics using the Internet,” said Publisher Jaime Gamboa. “Many national and local advertisers are looking for additional options that complement their print advertising campaigns to reach this dynamic consumer and they can now do so.”

However, despite backing from corporate parent Emmis Communications, which also owns L.A. Magazine, the Tu Ciudad Web team comes as a late arrival to the market. Several publishers already have staked a presence in the same space, including LatinoLA.com and the L.A. hub for Spanish-language Univision Radio, which owns three of the biggest signals on local airwaves. As for the advertiser-friendly functions of the site, such as search engines for restaurants, clubs, theaters and shops, CitySearch and similar services have been there already.

Nonetheless, Tu Ciudad hopes to attract ad dollars with features such as custom videos of local chef’s recipes, music play lists from celebrities, forums and blogs.


Agencies & Accounts

LCO Levine Communications Office will start a digital entertainment division with charter client GoFish, an online video network for both made-for-Internet original programs and user-generated content. LCO President Dawn Miller will head the digital operation. The agency’s online track record includes work for National Lampoon, MSN and HomeExchange.com. For GoFish, LCO will publicize the dating show “Seduce a Celeb,” celebrity parody “Hidden Celebrity Webcam” and “Mixed Martial Arts Today” hosted by UFC champion Bas Rutten. Fusion Innovative Marketing, a Sherman Oaks-based agency, will build a series of portal sites for men in conjunction with FHMonline and local radio stations.


Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at

[email protected]

, or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.

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