Carmex
Carmex and Lebron James: Half-Court Hero
I was the creative lead on a campaign that ultimately resulted in a “Viral Video for the Year Award” and a “My SportsCenter Moment” commercial.
- Client
- Carmex
- Engagement lead
- Michael Kraabel
- Shared experience: our team has worked on projects and led engagements for many clients over the years, and the lead named here brings that experience to every Voyager project.
- Services
- Campaign
- Directing
- Social Media
- Film
Overview
A campaign built around the Lebron James Half-Court Hero Contest. It was part of a larger outreach program to reach deep into the Carmex fan base, with an online promotion that built the Carmex database and grew its social media following.
We did not have the money to be an official Lebron James sponsor, so we sponsored the new LebronJames.com website, at a fraction of the cost.
Creative brand sponsorship
We developed content and promotions that fit both the Carmex brand and Lebron James.
The centerpiece was an online sweepstakes. The winner would take a half-court shot for a $75,000 grand prize. We negotiated for the shot to take place during a break in a Miami Heat game. Our contest winner made the shot, a half-court hook, and it went viral.
Media tour
After the shot, media calls started within hours. We were booked on Good Morning Miami, CNN, Inside Edition, Good Morning America and many radio and media interviews. Carmex saw an immediate uptick in sales.
The shoe stunt
Carmex had a limited marketing budget. Lebron James was a fan of Carmex and used it during warm ups. We could not sponsor him as an athlete, but we could sponsor his new website and social platforms, long before influencer marketing became mainstream.
When Nike launched its online shoe customization tool, one of our account managers spent a few minutes on the site and, for $225, ordered a pair of Carmex-branded shoes in Lebron's size. We sent them to the locker room through his management team. The post earned 188,223 likes and 13,458 shares.
Half-Court Academy
As part of the sponsorship we could produce a number of pieces for LebronJames.com and his social channels. I wrote a script treatment for a multi-part Half-Court Academy Training Series. We rented a local university gym and converted it into the set. We filmed on Christmas Eve, an 18-hour day.
Results
The shot was captured live on TV and picked up by SportsCenter. The source lists: top of Reddit, number one play on SportsCenter, a three-day PR tour on national TV in New York, 500 million impressions, $7M of brand exposure, a 30% sales lift for two weeks in peak season, and a Viral Video of the Year award.
Media
The work
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