Having once been in the business myself, I love sports marketing. I still follow trends and I especially love watching how it plays out on gamedays in stadiums and arenas worldwide. However, for the recent cool promo I really like, I had to look no further than the athletic department at the school I work for.

Chanticleer Athletics has partnered with a local Bojangles restaurant on a very engaging and interactive halftime promotion. Once the halftime presentations and acts are through the public address announcer directs the attention of the crowd to the video screen. A message then comes up and fans are told to tweet it as fast as they can. The PA guy notifies the crowd that the first person to tweet out the text will win a $100 gift card while the second place person will receive a $50 gift card. Of course the message is a Bojangles advertisement that includes the local Bojangles Twitter handle (@GSBojangles).

This was the message that you had to tweet out at yesterday’s game.

Once that message appears, you can pretty much hear the entire stadium deep in thought tapping on their phones. I participate and put myself under great pressure to tweet it out as soon as possible. Any little type of error while I type that impedes my progress causes me great frustration. When the message disappears from the video board, you can hear a collective groan from the crowd.

You bet I participate in the promotion! Sadly, even having a great vantage point on the sidelines didn’t help me to win. (Thanks to Kevin Olivett for taking the sneaky photo).

The winners are announced over the public address system…both real name and Twitter handle, a big deal for people who are obsessed over building their followers. At the first game where this promotion was ran, the winners were even recognized in an on-field presentation with the Bojangles mascot. The social media leverage for Bojangles increased even more as the winners sent out Tweets and photos saying how cool the experience was.

At the Chant football game on September 27, the Bojangles promotion had its debut. This is the winner of the $100 gift card.

If I was a business owner, what the Grand Strand Bojangles is doing right now is exactly how I would be spending my money. I would partner with a sports team or another entity that draws big crowds and do whatever I could to promote my social media networks. The fact that Bojangles is getting word out on their #1 social channel in such a creative and high profile way makes their investment even more impactful.

Seth Horton (left), Bojangles representative (center), and the Bojangles chicken (right) look on as tweets start to pour in at the September 27 game.

I tip my hat to Seth Horton and Kevin Olivett of Chanticleer Athletics and the Grand Strand Bojangles team for thinking up and executing such a great promotion. I love seeing this type of stuff. By the way, the Chanticleer football team won again yesterday and now boast a record of 8-0. When the polls come out tomorrow, the Chants will be the #2 team in the country (FCS). Purchase your tickets now for the next home game (11/15 vs. Monmouth) and not only watch some great football but also participate in the @GSBojangles Tweet-Off. Don’t Blink.