Chicago Fire Soccer Jersey Unveiling Party

For soccer fans, the unveiling of the new “kit,” or uniform, for the season is a very big deal. This year’s Chicago Fire jersey unveiling took place at Rockit Bar & Grill in downtown Chicago at lunchtime on January 14. The Fire is our client and All Terrain’s responsibility was to invite and help manage media and VIPs. The media, both sports and non-sports, was there in full force as were the fans, eager for a first look at the uniforms and an autograph.

Fire superstars Brian McBride and Logan Pause were on hand to model the dark and light versions of the uniform, complete with details like the 4 Chicago stars on the shirt (do you know what the 4 stars on Chicago’s flag stand for?) Miss Illinois 2009 and Rockit owner Billy Dec were on hand along with Amy Freeze, Fox 32’s weather superstar, who served as EmCee. Amy is a HUGE soccer fan and was totally in her elements with the guys. Of course, Best Buy is the uniform sponsor of the Chicago Fire so you saw plenty of “blue shirts” around as well. We got some great photos from the event, courtesy of the Chicago Fire so check them out.

$365 for a Promotional T-Shirt?

Marketing people are probably scratching their heads on this one. Jason Sadler is wearing a promotional t-shirt, and charging people to do it. The price goes up the later it is in the year, a gimmick to get media attention since visibility isn’t dependent upon the calendar but on quantity and quality of those who see it. But he’ll Tweet, Facebook and Youtube about your shirt.

We just did a t-shirt estimate for a prospective client. For $83,000, we could probably put logoed t-shirts on 15,000 or more people PLUS convince 365 of them to Tweet, Facebook or Youtube about it. Still, credit to Jason for finding a way to get money, and to get some good press about it also, even if his clients probably don’t gain much out of the deal.

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Go Ducks! Molting Season in Oregon

The University of Oregon’s marketing machine has come a long way since I went there for my Master’s degree … ahem … a few years ago. Back then, the Donald Duck icon, granted by Disney, was everywhere. Of course, we students embraced it as our own, though a few of the granola types complained vigorously about academia promoting a corporation. Since then, Oregon athletics, helped by Nike up the road in Portland, have done a great job not only on the court and field, but also in using regularly refreshed uniforms as a way to brand the school and raise visibility. Today, Oregon unveiled their 2009 football uniforms and they’re getting some rave reviews already. And a lot of publicity for the school and Nike.

I’m even digging the yellow accented shoes.

Oh, and College Football News has picked Oregon #7 in their pre-season rankings. Gone are the days when it was just our track team and debate team winning championships. Go Ducks!