• by Tanya Gazdik , July 8, 2010

Verizon is sponsoring soccer-viewing parties in 1,000 FiOS TV customer homes nationwide to watch the FIFA World Cup final on July 11.

Last month, Verizon teamed with Irvington, N.Y.-based House Party, an experiential marketing company, to recruit FiOS TV fans to host simultaneous in-home soccer-watching get-togethers. Each of Verizon's party packs included a Flip Ultra Camcorder, which hosts are encouraged to use during the party to capture the excitement of the event from the comfort of their homes. FiOS TV fans have already uploaded content online to the Verizon FiOS Ultimate Battle Game Day Watching Party site (www.houseparty.com/fiosbatalla).

Hosts of the FiOS soccer-viewing parties are encouraged to enroll in Share the Network, Verizon's referral program. Hosts who do so can earn a reward card worth up to $100 (reward currently doubled until July 15) for each friend they refer who signs up for Verizon Internet and TV service. All referrals made by Verizon's Ultimate Battle Game Day hosts will have the potential to win $5,000 cash (the winner will be randomly selected).

"The house party fits nicely into Verizon's FiOS marketing plan because it's giving potential customers the opportunity to experience FiOS TV and the chance for existing customers to refer Verizon's services to these potential customers," Patricia Foster, director of marketing for Verizon, tells Marketing Daily. "Typically, people need to see things for themselves to believe in it."

The parties will allow hosts to share FiOS TV-exclusive gadgets with their friends. "FiOS TV also has a functionality that allows TV watching to be interactive -- for instance, you can post an update on Facebook or Twitter," Foster says. "These house parties will allow potential customers to be exposed to and be familiar with these features that only FiOS TV offers."

Subscribers can log on to Twitter to offer up their own game commentary, or on to Facebook to keep friends posted on all the action -- right on the TV screen while watching the game.