Jackson Marketing Group began its partnership with the Harlem Globetrotters in 2016. Our mission was to design and produce print, digital and out-of-home ads to promote Globetrotters appearances at more than 300 venues throughout the United States and Canada for the team’s 2017 World Tour.
That sounds easy enough until you realize that there are 20 Globetrotters marketing directors needing numerous looks, ad sizes and formats for multiple Harlem Globetrotters teams playing 364 dates per year. An added challenge was to fulfill those creative requests within 48 hours, no matter how many ad variations were ordered.
But the greatest challenge, says Jackson Account Rep Jessica Head, is that there was no order form or ordering system for requesting ads and promotional materials.
“Marketing directors were sending emails requesting a certain size print or digital ad that oftentimes didn’t include all the required specs,” Head said. “There were a lot of emails going back and forth, as you might imagine. It just wasn’t an accurate or efficient system for meeting tight deadlines for the client or for our creative team.”
Jackson’s solution is HGImaterials.com, an interactive ordering system that gives HGT marketing directors an easy way to place orders online for digital ads, web banners, magazine and newspaper ads, traditional and digital billboards, flyers and coupons. Each category offers multiple templates that can be customized with venue name or logo, show dates and times. Orders are placed and fulfilled within the 48-hour window.
“The order form includes all the information you need to know when placing an ad. It’s helped train marketing directors to think like creative people and ask the right questions of the venues they’re working with, like does the ad require crop marks or bleeds, or does the vendor prefer a JPEG, PNG or another file format?” Head said.
For example, the print ad order form includes fillable boxes for width and height and bleed, and check boxes for four-color or black and white. Vendor specs can be uploaded and special instructions can be included. The order form for online ads includes check boxes for file formats and animation.
To date, Jackson has localized more than 3,000 Harlem Globetrotters ads from orders placed through HGImaterials.com.
So, what do the marketing directors think of the new online ordering system? This email received from HGI Senior Director of Marketing & Sponsorship Aryn Bryant gives you an idea. “Your new ordering site is truly magical,” Bryant wrote. “It just took me 22 seconds to order a print ad. Yes, I timed it. What shall I do with all this extra time I’ll now have this season?!”
Learn more about Jackson’s digital services.
SHARE THIS:
