Event Marketer

Crown Royal is expanding a program it instituted last year to renovate and refurbish barbershops in black communities across the country. The company has refurbished 11 barbershops since the effort kicked off in early 2005; it plans to work on 12 more through June ’07. The company expanded the program based on feedback from consumers and the barbershop owners Giovanni Sgro Crown Royal’s multicultural brand manager told Buzz.
 

Hasbro’s Tiger Electronics is targeting pre-teens with its first-ever multimarket tour. The Tiger Electronics Totally Tech Tour invites kids to interact with the company’s products including the I-Dog a combination electronic pet and music player.
 

To back national media around its My Circle calling plan Alltel Wireless is building related activation around its college football sponsorships on 12 campuses.
 
To participate in the My Own Game program students write essays for the chance to have a college football game-day “sponsorship” named in their honor plus tickets to the game for the winner and 10 friends. Ten finalists at each school compete for votes from their university community; Alltel stages a pep rally on each campus and gives the candidates t-shirts buttons and a bike to help them campaign.
 

A three-pronged initiative started a few weeks ago is giving discount retailer Marshalls an opportunity to show off its merchandise to Chicago shoppers. The TJX Cos. chain started the effort by dressing models head-to-toe in apparel that’s available at the store and having them do everyday errands in high-traffic areas. The hook? Each piece of apparel had attached an oversized price tag so consumers could get a feel for the stores’ low prices.
 

Del Monte’s Pup-Peroni dog snacks brand is hitting dog parks festivals retailers and community events as part of a 37-week campaign.
 
The setup for the “Dogs Are People Too” tour includes computer kiosks consumers can use to find dog-friendly restaurants and hotels across the country. The event also includes a pet-and-owner photo op which Geoff Tanner brand manager for Pup-Peroni said has been hugely successful. “We’ve had an 80 percent retrieval rate and 50 to 60 percent of people are forwarding it to their friends ” Tanner told Buzz.