March 9, 2011

Revolution Ramp Up Advertising...

Revolution taking over billboards in Central Sq., Cambridge, Ma.
No your eyes are not deceiving you, there are actually Revolution billboards showing up in the city.  They started to appear this week and will be part of a larger advertising campaign that is ramping up including print, radio, television and bus advertising on buses in Providence, RI.

People have been asking questions of a billboard that has shown up in Central Square that has Darrius Barnes hangin' tough with a construction worker, don't get your hopes up it's not a stadium hint.  We spoke with Revolution Marketing Director, Cathal Conlon, earlier tonight who says this is a broad campaign tying Revolution players with New England characters, such as a fisherman, a construction worker, etc.  The TV spot is expected to hit the air tomorrow or Friday, and will help tie the print and billboard themes together.

We here are a little concerned at the lack of a website on the billboards but Conlon had this to say about billboards:

"Billboards by their nature are intended for people driving by them so the time spent focusing on them is way shorter than a print ad for example. We feel that it is not necessary to crowd our message with the website and the phone number in order for the visual to be effective. For us specifically, if someone sees the board and it grabs their attention, we don't expect them to have the time to write down and or punch in an email address. They will most likely look it up later, and if it does grab someones attention, to the point that they want to find us, not having the website on the board won't stop that. Some of the most effective visuals out there are simple and clean and almost make people ask the questions. ...[F]or the billboards, which are all about quick impactful imagery, I believe it (the web URL) is unnecessary."

We'd still like the website to be on the billboards but we respect and understand the reasoning. The billboards look good overall and we look forward to seeing the other parts of this campaign later on this week.  We will post the TV spot here when it becomes available, you can expect to see that on ESPN and Comedy Central, but especially on ESPN during EPL coverage and Sportscenter.


Want to see the billboards for yourself? Here are their locations:
  • 2 on I-93 Southbound
  • East Broadway in South Boston
  • Kneeland St. in Chinatown
  • 2 on Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, Ma.




This is way better than their phonebook campaign...
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12 comments:

  1. mclaws.rMarch 9, 2011 at 10:09 PM

    now, if only we could get a drink at the cambridgeport

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  2. AnonymousMarch 9, 2011 at 11:40 PM

    billboards in boston? encouraging people to go to an 80,000 seat stadium with 15,000 people in it, 45 minutes OUTSIDE the city? with gas at $3.50 and no outside beverages allowed? Um it works for the Patriots because 1) it's 8-10 times a season max 2) american football is THE MOST POPULAR SPORT IN AMERICA. sorry kraft, I love soccer but this ain't gonna work. use your millions to come up up with a better business plan. or at least build a stadium yourself.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 9, 2011 at 11:55 PM

    Can anyone tell me where I can purchase Revolution gear such as jerseys besides Patriot Place?

    I haven't been able to find anything in sporting good stores, but perhaps someone can offer some advice.

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  4. ChuckMarch 10, 2011 at 7:33 AM

    @anonymous question about Revs gear.

    You are really stuck with either Pats Place, or the pro shops website. Sometimes you can stumble on stuff at TJMAXX or Marshalls, but it is rare. I have heard there is something to do with licensing issues, but I have no idea as to the validity of that. All I know is that Revs gear is not readily available.

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  5. UnknownMarch 10, 2011 at 7:42 AM

    You get Revs gear at Dicks

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  6. UnknownMarch 10, 2011 at 7:43 AM

    Love the ads btw !!!

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  7. UnknownMarch 10, 2011 at 8:08 AM

    Better than phone books and a step in the right direction. I hate the front office as much if not more than the next guy but this is a good thing.

    I'd imagine being the NEW ENGLAND revolution there'd be billboards/advertising in other NEW ENGLAND cities say Providence. But at least its something.

    @Anonymous--Jerseys...go to ebay.

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  8. AnonymousMarch 10, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    saw one of the ads on a providence bus. as far as merch, I have seen stuff at Dick's sporting goods pretty often and it's usually on sale

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  9. EdMarch 10, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Also had an ad in yesterday's Metro similar to the above with Reis in a Red shirt with the Revs logo holding a scarf above his head.

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  10. MontyMarch 10, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    Marketing ... wow! Great move Revs.

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  11. AnonymousMarch 10, 2011 at 2:03 PM

    If the Revs were an established mainstream 'entity' perhaps this "unknown man" holding a New England scarf campaign would resonate.

    Sadly, after 16 years, how many folks do you know that still say "Hmmm, Revolution soccer? Never heard of it?"

    If the organization were a bit more self aware, they would realize the folly of not listing a website or phone, or attempting some limited clever marketing campaign based on inference.

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  12. AnonymousMarch 15, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    I went to my local DSG and the only Revs gear they had was about a dozen hats and some youth t-shirts.

    ReplyDelete

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