Home > Content > Promotion Pill Game Review : Chicago Rush
Promotion Pills: Gameops.com Team Reviews In 2007 Gameops.com will be reviewing five games around sports. In our reviews we will highlight promotions the team does in-game to showcase what teams are doing over the course of their games and for one or two promotions we will look at how by applying a simple “pill” the team can power up and improve the promotion.
Our Promotion Pill feature is designed to help enhance your promotions with our prescription for extra strength promotional power. These Promotion Pills can be applied to your promotions to enhance them and make them more interesting and effective for fans and sponsors.
Chicago Rush Game Review
July 9th, 2007
Reviewed by: Jon Cudo and Isaac Wood
Our second visit of the year is to All State Arena in Rosemont, IL (formerly the Rosemont Horizon) to watch the Chicago Rush in the Arena Football League Conference Semi-Finals against the LA Avengers.
We have notes from the game presentation, photos from the game action, lots of video and will conclude the game review with the introduction of another Promotional Pill. These pills help to isolate different elements of a promotion to help find ways to improve them. Our goal is to create Pills that any team can use and apply to their own promotions.
Like the 2006 Gameops.com series Six from Six, this is our 2007 content series. In Six from Six we reviewed six teams and found six things they did well, building a list of 36 tools for you to consider when reviewing your own show. In the Promotion Pill Series we are building another list, this time a list of Pills (or tools) that you can apply to your own promotions to see if there are ways to enhance the value for fans or sponsors. Each Promotion Pill is intended to be broadly written so anyone can apply their affect to their own promotions to find ways to make them more powerful.
Game Review:
The RUSH put on a defensive showcase to beat the Avengers 52-20. The game advanced the RUSH to the AFL Semi Finals in San Jose. (Game Story).
The List of Promotions
First let’s look at several of the promotions the RUSH presented at this game. Following the list, we will look at two the promotions and apply our first Promotion Pill to see how they might improve or further enhance the entertainment or sponsor value of the promotion.
Discover Card Touchdown Winner. This is a simple PA hit where one fan who registered for a Discover card at the game is awarded a prize in the endzone following a RUSH score. Simple and effective. Good placement in the game, following a score. Like many of their promotions they kept it simple and quick. The contest was done twice, once in each half.
Aaron Seat Upgrade - Furniture Store sponsor with a standard seat upgrade promotion. Two fans were upgraded from poor seats to premium seating.
Popeye's Missed Kick Promotion - If the opposing team misses an extra point you win a free Popeye's leg. A nice incentive for fans to cheer against the kick.
Following the made kick they had a Popeye's trike race, the placement of the trike race following the missed kick promotion (although it may not have been planned) enhanced the awareness of the Popeye sponsor effectively.
Popeye's Trike Race -
A simple trike race on adult trikes. In this case the team had two Bear football players as the race contestants, which made the race feel important. The race is on the video, where you can see the fun ending. I liked the use of the cheerleaders as the pylons since it's difficult to get large signs out on the field quickly. (see video)
Sideline Autographs - I had not been to an AFL game in a few years and this announcement really stood out to me. The AFL is very aggressively promoting their fan-friendly access to players. In that light they made several announcements during the game regarding a post-game autograph session with the players and cheerleaders. It is a good example of highlighting and marketing what the AFL feels is a critical distinction of their product.
LaSalle Bank Football Toss - A very good promotion using the field, the trademark AFL net/field goal, signage spelling out the sponsor name, good sponsor visibility and connection. The team also did a nice job in contestant selection. In this promotion the contestant won prizes for throwing the football into the field goal uprights. It's a throw that isn't impossible, but would be very hard for a younger fan. the RUSH selected a very capable fan, and the fans got behind him as he successfully made 6 of 7. (see video)
T-Shirt Sling - The RUSH used their game night staff to sling t-shirts into the crowd. A standard presentation, yet effective in getting the crowd up and engaged.
Sauce-o-Meter - Good use of a sponsor, creating the "Sauce-o-Meter" for a BBQ Sauce/Rib Restaurant sponsorship. The team didn't take themselves too seriously and the fans responded well when told "Let's Get Saucy!"
Bosch Power Box Toss – This contest was just fantastic. The contest was between two fans. The object was to throw a Bosch Power Box from the end zone to a target on the field (about 15 yards away). The hostess pointed not to worry about damaging the tool, since they are built tough", which is the exact message the sponsor would want. The fans saw a great visual contest which was fun, interesting and competitive. in this case they also saw one guy actually land it in the bulls eye, which was pretty incredible as well. All in all, a great promotion from all perspectives: the fan, the contestant, the team and the sponsor. Bosch Toss
Throw like a Champ - Contest to throw the ball through the uprights from mid-field.
2 chances to win $25. Followed by a commercial in-arena for the sponsor.
Catch Off the Net Contest - Another interesting sport-specific contest. The backup QB throws the ball high off the net and fans try to catch the ball in the air. If you watch the AFL you know this is an important skill for kick-off returns. It's actually somewhat challenging and this makes the players looked skilled. In this contest two kids competed, the second was able to catch the ball in the air. This also was a great way to involve a player (which is truly rare in pro sports) in a live contest ...another showcase of the AFL's commitment to player accessibility. (see video)
Football Toss (Pepsi Twist) Contest – Contestant picks 3 dancers who are holding numbers. The numbers determine how much they are throwing to win. He gets a chance to "Twist It" and double his money by throwing from 10 yards farther. He elects to do that, makes the throw to win the cash. The crowd was into this playful bet and was loud for his successful throw. There were a lot of contests that involved throwing the football, but they all were unique and I didn't feel like it was a lack of creativity due to the various differences in the contests.
Sobe Adrenaline RUSH Dancers On-field Performance - The PA noted that the routine was choreographed by Gloria (a nice nod to the coordinator).
This is a very good dance team, better than many NBA teams I have seen. Any dance team dances down to the level of the least talented dancer, but I couldn't tell if they had a weak element. All did the most difficult parts in this very strong dance number with great choreography.
Good camera cooperation (the camera operators stayed clear of the performers). (see video)
Boxing Match Promotion - This was a sponsored boxing promotion with oversized gloves and a quickly assembled ring at mid-field. Oddly it had a fan versus pit crew person (Rush Interactive performer) The promotion was well staged, but it was unexplained why a staffer was taking on the fan or why other fans would have a rooting interest either way. The response was sluggish at best. A change of pace from the football-related promotions, but seemed to miss the objective of entertaining or adding value to a sponsor.
In Part 2 we introduce a Promotion Pills and see how the RUSH have or could enhance their show. These pills are designed to breakdown any promotion, ask some key questions to find ways to improve any promotion. During 2007 we will be reviewing five games and introducing our more comprehensive list of pills to help you create a full medicine chest of promotion enhancing drugs. [Read More...]
Gameops.com Promotion Pills: Promotion Enhancing Drugs 
Sideline Autographs - I had not been to an AFL game in a few years and this announcement really stood out to me. The AFL is very aggressively promoting their fan-friendly access to players. In that light they made several announcements during the game regarding a post-game autograph session with the players and cheerleaders. It is a good example of highlighting and marketing what the AFL feels is a critical distinction of their product. 
Sauce-o-Meter - Good use of a sponsor, creating the "Sauce-o-Meter" for a BBQ Sauce/Rib Restaurant sponsorship. The team didn't take themselves too seriously and the fans responded well when told "Let's Get Saucy!"
Football Toss (Pepsi Twist) Contest – Contestant picks 3 dancers who are holding numbers. The numbers determine how much they are throwing to win. He gets a chance to "Twist It" and double his money by throwing from 10 yards farther. He elects to do that, makes the throw to win the cash. The crowd was into this playful bet and was loud for his successful throw. There were a lot of contests that involved throwing the football, but they all were unique and I didn't feel like it was a lack of creativity due to the various differences in the contests.