When Sponsors Get it Right

I happened to attend a Jonas Brothers concert last night and once I was able to see beyond the seas of screaming girls and flocks of parents gripping their children, I took close notice of the incredible branding and sponsorship. Let me set the scene; THOUSANDS of kids ranging from the age of 4 to 20 who hang on the Jonas Brothers' every word, live by their likes and dislikes and value their opinions as if they were the Bible. Then you have hundreds of parents who come to these concerts to make their kids happy as well as some who just love these boys as much as their kids do. Basically what you have is a huge mass of people screaming, crying, desperate for a piece of anything Jonas.

Enter sponsors... the most prevalent sponsor was definitely Verizon. By
giving these fans the opportunity to text their feelings directly to an enormous screen situated above the entire audience, Verizon is able to engage not only their existing customers who already get free texting, but also have the opportunity to target non-Verizon customers who just want a piece of everything Jonas. Wouldn't it be easier if, just like the Jonas Brothers, they were Verizon customers too?

Sponsor #2 was Burger King. Before the concert began, the Emcee came out to do a contest. Since the Jonas Brothers LOVE Burger King and have made the actual "burger King" a main feature of their tour, it's only natural that they would give away 4 free dinners courtesy of the Jonas Brothers to 4 lucky winners. You should have seen these people go nuts! FOR BURGER KING!!!!!! It's not like they were giving away a lifetime supply of fries here...we're talking one meal. You would have thought it was cash they were throwing into the stands. But, because just prior to the contest they aired a commercial featuring the King on tour with the Jonas Brothers that showed him on their tour bus, in their home, on their plane (MarquiJet...I'll get to that one soon) and basically a key part of their lives, these fans have now fully incorporated and accepted Burger King as another aspect of life that is all things Jonas. It is now a part of their lives.

The final and MUCH smaller sponsor was MarquiJet/ Netjets. This was more of a private sponsor, but they got their point across loud and clear. There was a meet & greet scheduled for 6:30pm with the Jonas Brothers, exclusively for MarquiJet and Netjets clients and their kids. These people get to meet the boys, have a picture taken and get autographs. They walk around with 5"x 7" passes around their necks with a 1" thick branded necklace along with a bright green branded bracelet. ANYONE who sees these people knows they have something special, you can't miss it. Inside the meet & greet is a step and repeat featuring the sponsor that is intermixed with the Jonas Brother logo. Basically anything Jonas is as good as MarquiJet and Netjets. It raises the Jonas Brothers brand in addition to solidifying approval from the MJ/Netjets client. Both parties win; the kids are happy, the clients feel they have received something very special and the Jonas Brothers are thrilled to be linked to such an elevated brand. This is an example of sponsorship on a smaller scale, but never the less, very important to the big picture that is the Jonas Brothers brand.

In the end, it was amazing to see how three boys can cause such a stir. Almost every night they influence thousands of people and sponsors who are lucky enough to get their endorsement can't thank them enough!