• by Tanya Gazdik , August 11, 2009

Prince is engaging tennis fans with trivia questions in a social media campaign pegged to the U.S. Open.

"Do You Know Prince?" integrates online, social media, mobile, and event marketing. The goal of the campaign is to increase product demonstrations and drive additional brand awareness globally.

The effort is based on trivia questions available in English and Spanish, that test consumers about Prince, its new EXO3 racquet line and the U.S. Open, which runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13. New questions are posted every day. After completing the questions, fans are invited to locate a retailer in their area via a hyperlink to demo a new EXO3 racquet.

Fans can learn about the campaign through outreach tactics, including social network posts, blog and message board outreach, and mobile messaging. Quiz questions are posted daily on social network sites, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Hi5, Bebo and Orkut. Questions can also be obtained via a campaign microsite at doyouknowprince.com or by texting the keyword PRINCE to short code 95495.

Fans are recognized by the brand for participating and will be eligible to receive complimentary equipment. In addition, select fans will have the opportunity to obtain information on local product demo events, a gift with purchase program, as well as an exclusive event to be held in New York City just prior to the start of the open.

New York-based Conversation created the campaign while text message distribution is being facilitated by Conversation subsidiary BuzzTxt.

"Prince and Conversation will conduct outreach to the most active consumers to participate in a fall influencer program targeting active players locally," says Frank O'Brien, founder of Conversation, LLC. "Additionally, opt-in registrants will be contacted periodically via email, text message and social network posts to continue momentum among the consumer base."

This is Prince's first larger-scale, integrated social media effort, although the brand has been active in online communities, O'Brien tells Marketing Daily.

Prince is not conducting a media buy for the campaign; however, there are several sites placing banners organically -- resulting in valuable, targeted impressions among the most active segment of consumers, O'Brien adds.

The "far-reaching" social media program allows fans to experience the brand in a "fun yet meaningful way," says Prince Marketing VP Linda Glassel. "Whether it is on-court or on-line, we want to reach players at every touch point where they engage with the sport," Glassel said in a statement.