Each Monday, we will share some great activation practices throughout the sports and entertainment landscape. This blog will serve as a space to highlight innovative ideas and campaigns. Want to have your idea or campaign featured? Send us a note on Twitter at @Navigate_Res. 

It’s no surprise the NCAA Men’s Final Four advertising has been a hot topic of discussion amongst sports marketers the past couple weeks. Our last few blog posts have discussed various topics revolving around the marketing activity of NCAA sponsors during this year’s March Madness Tournament. With the championship game finally arriving, we figured it calls for one last post on the topic of the Final Four featuring major NCAA sponsor, Coca-Cola. 

This passed week, Coca-Cola debuted what their calling “Drinkable Advertising” which consisted of a 26-by-36-foot billboard display at the March Madness Music Festival that dispensed free samples of Coke Zero. However, the drinkable advertising campaign doesn’t stop there. During tonight’s championship game, Coca-Cola will air commercials featuring that will allow viewers with the Shazam mobile app see Coke Zero poured on TV while a glass, also, fills up on their mobile devices. Once the digital glass on viewers’ mobile device is full with Coke Zero, they will receive a free 20oz bottle of the drink. 

Coca-Cola has not only developed a first-of-its-kind sponsorship activation with a standard billboard that dispenses their product for consumers to try, but they have effectively tied in mobile and traditional television advertising all in one campaign. While many people are familiar with the Coke Zero product, avid original Coke drinkers may not care to try the healthier alternative. Coca-Cola’s clever and creative campaign has compelled passionate basketball fans to not only interact with product both digitally and live, but encouraged them to sample their product with a free giveaway. While there are many successful NCAA sponsorship activations revolving around Final Four, Coca-Cola continues to make their presence known.