When Brand Sponsorship Works

April 19, 2017 – So, I am sure we are all excited and relieved that #ApriltheGiraffe FINALLY had her baby. Perhaps no one is more excited about the whole event than the marketers at Toys “R” Us.

I was not an avid follower of the pregnancy saga. Been there. Did that. Got the t-shirt (and three offspring of my own). But, I couldn’t ignore the live Giraffe cam as it came through my Facebook feed every day. Then one day, I noticed something different. There was a Toys “R” Us logo on the feed.

It turns out that during the baby watch, that seemed to go on forever, the contract for the Adventure Park’s live stream sponsor ran out. Candace Disler, an observant assistant PR manager at Toys “R” Us, took notice and contacted the park. With the Toys “R” Us mascot Geoffrey already a household name, the sponsorship was a perfect fit. All it took was a PR pro who was in tune with the news of the day and had the courage to act on the challenge given her team to look for new ways to grow and extend the brand.

During the two weeks since Toys “R” Us took over sponsorship and the new baby was born, the stream had more than 300 million views. In another brilliant move, when the precious moment finally happened the logo switched to Babies “R” Us. Toys “R” Us also created content and creatively positioned giraffe products on its own websites. The brand’s social channels increased 200% since the sponsorship and the brand got coverage on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Today, Fox News Channel and CNN.

Well played Toys “R” Us.

Read about it at http://www.campaignlive.com/article/toys-r-us-sticks-its-neck-april-giraffe/1430871#ccQKctFTv7Fd6PyI.99