• by Karl Greenberg , August 31, 2009

Canon U.S.A. is touting its digital single-lens-reflex cameras with a pair of promotional photo contests plus new advertising around NFL football.

In one, "Why Do You Love Football?," a panel of judges that includes Archie Manning and Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Miller will rate photos from amateur shutterbugs. The winner gets a trip to attend Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida and the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Celebration, and the winning photo will be displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for one year.

A second promotion, "Shoot Like a Pro," involving 10 NFL teams, gives fans of each team -- who are also amateur photographers -- the chance to shoot from the sidelines of one the team's games, with the team photographer serving as mentor. The winner also gets free tickets to the team's games and a Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i camera kit.

Rob Altman, camera marketing manager at Canon, tells Marketing Daily this marks the fifth year that Canon has done "Shoot Like a Pro," and the contest typically gets 150,000 entries. This year, the program will also be used as a dealer incentive. "We will reserve some spots for dealers; for instance, letting a salesperson who has the best month enter to win. We are also letting dealers use it as incentives for consumers to take photo workshops. We are allowing them to use it to generate ROI -- that's the main difference."

In May, Canon launched "Live Learning," an on-site program in several cities comprising classes and workshops conducted by professional photographers, dubbed "Canon's Explorers of Light."

Altman says Canon will also launch a new NFL-themed TV spot in the fourth quarter, promoting Canon's digital SLR line. "It's a big national campaign for us," he says, adding that Canon will also use its association with the NFL for a print and online campaign.

But Altman says using its marketing relationship with the NFL simply to plaster the Canon name at venues is ineffective. "We have found that having, say, a sign at the stadium that just says 'Canon' is not as effective as consumer experiences. That's why we do these programs."

Canon signage on scoreboards and video screens will tout the amateur photographer programs. For the "Why Do You Love Football?" contest, Archie Manning will do satellite media tours, online communications and direct marketing to current owners. Canon also sponsors the NFL photo gallery on NFL.com, which has advertising directing people to the Canon contest microsite, which goes live this week.

Canon does a similar amateur photography program around other themes -- a "National Parks Photo Contest" nature photography contest in the spring and summer, for instance. "We like to say here that we are not just selling cameras, but selling photography," says Altman.