Can On-Field Guerrilla Tactics Create Value for Partners?

During the inaugural Sporting KC match played at Livestrong Sporting Park, a man dressed as a cow darted onto the field and amazingly scored the first goal ever at the new stadium (using his own ball). The on-field ambush performance was impressive to say the least.

While teams should never consider this type of fan activity, it does generate a great reaction from the crowd and is a tactic that shouldn't be ignored. Teams looking for ways to drive awareness for new team partners or ones with renowned mascots (either locally or nationwide) should consider staging an on-field stunt that generates stadium buzz.

For example, soccer teams could align with Chick-fil-A to have a trio of cows storm the field during pre-game warmups or halftime festivities chasing a chicken. The same could apply in the NBA (during timeouts, halftime, pre-game festivities), Major League Baseball (between innings), the NHL (between periods), tennis (between sets), etc.

There are a number of non-traditional, simple on-field stunts that teams can consider doing to generate awareness. Instead of having the mascot get tackled by a series of security guards, they can turn it into a humorous play where the mascot scores a goal, showcases a new product, interacts with the team mascot, etc.

Check out the action from Kansas City as a thought starter:

Brian Gainor is a passionate sports marketer with agency experience as well as an extensive background working in the NFL, NFL Europe, and collegiate athletics. As a Sports Partnership Activation Consultant, Brian created Partnership Activation, Inc. to provide sports business professionals with "industry best practices" - creative ideas that provide opportunities to generate incremental revenue. #activationstag #activationstag #activationstag