Last year’s Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints, will kick off their season with a home opener against the Minnesota Vikings Thursday night. In anticipation of the game, running back Reggie Bush is giving away eight autographed footballs to fans who track them down scavenger-hunt-style.
Bush and his agency, Activ8Social, have concocted the social media challenge Reggie Bush #RedZones. As part of the campaign, which started Monday, autographed footballs are being dropped in the city of New Orleans. Fans have to piece together clues via social media sites — Facebook, Twitter, TwitPic and Foursquare — to snatch up the footballs in question.
Twitpics will highlight the general vicinity of the Redzone football drop, and Foursquare checkins (also posted to Twitter) will more precisely indicate each football’s whereabouts. Reggie Bush’s Facebook page is serving as the command center for the scavenger hunt and will help fans find out about drop times and track down clues.
The #RedZones contest also incorporates Stickybits into the action. Fans will find physical displays featuring a photo of Bush and a Stickybits barcode littered throughout the city. They can scan the code to add a photo, video or message in support of Reggie Bush, and the most creative bit will win an autographed football. Bush’s Facebook page includes a Stickybits tab, so out-of-towners can participate in the challenge as well.
While timely, given the start of the new season, the social media scavenger hunt is also likely designed to deflect negative attention away from the NCAA’s June decision to penalize USC for improper benefits to Reggie Bush during his time at the school. It has yet to be determined whether Bush will have to return his 2005 Heisman Trophy.
Still, athletes and social media promotions go hand-in-hand. During the NBA playoffs, Amare Stoudemire’s Facebook page gave fans the opportunity to purchase discount playoff tickets via a custom group buying application. As social media becomes an essential part of the sports enthusiast’s lifestyle, we can expect to see even more of these campaigns pop up.
Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Twitpic, Twitter
More About: facebook, foursquare, new orleans saints, reggie bush, stickybits, twitter
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