By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
There was Mitsubishi Motors’ complete car line-up on display in front of Sam Boyd Stadium. There was a Mitsubishi Outlander on a platform on the field sidelines where four lucky fans sat to watch Arizona State play Fresno State. And another Outlander, the 2019 Green SUV of the year, sat in front of the Mitsubishi hospitality tent at the pregame fanfest.
As title sponsor activations go, the Mitsubishi Motors’ presence at the Las Vegas Bowl was a major splash for the car manufacturer that previously had media buys with ESPN to promote its brand. ESPN also owns the Las Vegas Boal and uses its bowl game properties as content for its broadcasts.
Under the first year of a two-year deal with ESPN, Mitsubishi practically had a mini dealership at Sam Boyd Stadium with no less than 19 vehicles on site.
“We’re putting the brand in action,” Francine Harsini, Mitsubishi Motors senior director and chief marketing officer, told LVSportsBiz.com outside the Mitsubishi hospitality tent before the game.
The title sponsorship “gives credibility to the brand. We want to increase awareness,” Harsini said. “We have to have a presence.”
A fan who entered a Mitsubishi sweepstakes online won a contest to sit on a platform on the field that also showcased the Outlander model on the sidelines in a corner of the field. Take a look of what Mitsubishi Motors called the “Ultimate Tailgate” — one so close to the action that it’s inside the 40,000-seat stadium. .
LVSportsBiz.com caught up with the winner of the Tailgate sweepstakes contest, Andy Fidler, of Colts Neck, NJ who brought his three kids for the game. The free three-day, two-night trip for the Las Vegas Bowl was valued at about $9,000, Filder said. He and the kids stayed at Mandalay Bay courtesy of Mitsubishi.
Mitsubishi also brought 300 of its dealers to Las Vegas, and those 300 brought another 150 guests, Harsini said.
Under the title sponsorship, Mitsubishi received 200 tickets and purchased another 200 and have two full sections, Harsini said.
There was also a large Mitsubishi Motors social tent behind one of the end zones, while the company name and log appeared on the field at the 25-yard lines.
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Mitsubishi will have the title sponsorship for the 2019 game, which matches the best of the Mountain West Conference against a Pac-12 team.
The deal allows Mitsubishi to re-up in 2020 when the Las Vegas Bowl moves to the new Raiders stadium, but the bowl game’s affiliated conferences are up in the air after 2019. Mountain West officials can try to keep the MW’s affiliation with the Las Vegas Bowl when it leaves Sam Boyd Stadium in 2019.
The Las Vegas showgirls were on hand for the bowl game that was sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
There were lots of open seats behind the end zone in the stadium and also in the corners. It was not a Utah-BYU match-up, in other words. The announced crowd was 37,146.
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