Photo credit: http://courseoftheforce.com

Calling all aspiring Jedi knights!  You’re cordially invited to take part in an epic relay race — lightsabers included — leading up to Comic-Con International 2012. From July 7 to July 11, participants will run quarter-mile sections of terrain spanning from Santa Monica to San Diego, and are (of course) encouraged to sport their finest Star Wars-themed running gear. This monumental event is aptly dubbed “Course of the Force.”

Tell me this doesn’t sound like a good time! I’m thinking of at least checking it out, but if you’re so inclined to run it, you can register here. All proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of SoCal.

Personal Style

The man on the defensive end of the Super Bowl XLVI-winning New York Giants, Justin Tuck, knows how to show his appreciation. Tuck’s teammates each got a special gift in celebration of the NY Giants’ Super Bowl win — and MKTG INC was happy to join in the celebration. We facilitated the engraving of 84 personalized bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label — one for each of Tuck’s teammates and coaches. The bottles were engraved in 24 hours, just in time for the parade, and media outlets such as ESPN’s SportsCenter, Yahoo! Sports, Fox Sports, USA Today and AM New York spread the news about Tuck’s championship gift. Each bottle had the player’s name on it along with the label “Super Bowl XLVI Champions.” Mario Manningham’s bottle was engraved with the words “The Catch” to commemorate the most-talked-about play of the game. Congrats, Big Blue!

Photo credit: SportsGrid.com

Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant signs pairs of the new Nike KD IV Coppers for select fans in Oklahoma City, Friday, Dec., 23, 2011. (Photo by Alonzo J. Adams)

This past December, NBA superstar Kevin Durant (KD), with the help of MKTG INC and Nike Basketball, set out in his conversion van to give away pairs of his Nike Zoom kicks, known as the “KD IV Copper.”  The shoe’s unique copper colorway was developed for his Christmas Day matchup with the Orlando Magic.

KD gave away the highly anticipated shoes to fans at three different locations. The twist? No one knew where those locations were ahead of time.

To match KD’s humble demeanor, MKTG INC avoided in-store chaos with a grassroots approach that built a groundswell online. KD posted teasers about the activation via Twitter, giving fans a heads up that they’d need to keep their eyes open to score a free pair.

By featuring destinations from KD’s ‘Basketball Never Stops’ commercial, MKTG INC tied the programming to the brand, while giving fans an intimate experience with their local star.  KD tweeted the destinations in real-time, as fans flocked from all over Oklahoma City for a chance to win a pair of the KD IV Copper and meet the NBA’s quiet superstar.

The response on Twitter was overwhelmingly positive. Over 6000 related tweets were posted over the course of three days, all with one recurring theme: Kevin Durant is awesome (and generous). In fact, a Santa hat-wearing KD made ESPN’s Top 10 Plays on the night before Christmas, spreading Christmas cheer and wishing all a good night.

Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant poses for a group photo with fans and winners of the new Nike KD IV Coppers in Oklahoma City, Friday, Dec., 23, 2011. (Photo by Alonzo J. Adams)

Pop-up Pretties

Photo credit: Business Insider

It’s looking more and more like the pop-up is a “trend” that’s here to stay. But no two pop-ups are the same, and not all are created equal. Here are our tips, originally pubbed in Business Insider, for creating pop-ups that really step up.

The Answer to All Your Problems

Still looking for that perfect holiday gift? It’s not too late to get in on the hottest holiday trend sweeping the nation: the official MKTG INC Holiday Sock! Call now!

Small's All Good

FedEx is at it again. While you were still napping off your Thanksgiving feast, FedEx was giving $1 million to small businesses nationwide. FedEx partnered with American Express to join in the second-annual Small-Business Saturday on November 26, the day after Black Friday. The shopping holiday supports small businesses that boost the economy, create jobs, and add local flavor to neighborhoods everywhere. FedEx teamed with American Express to give away $1 million in “Shop-Small” gift cards. Read the rest of this entry »

In this week’s Goodworks column, AdAge focuses on our very own MKTG 4 Good initiative, looking at how a fundraiser to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti soon developed into a company-wide mission to leverage agency expertise in the service of the community. Good works, indeed!

Photo credit: TopSpin

A piece in this week’s Wall Street Journal takes a look at how pop-ups are growing from occasional marketing tools to sustainable business models. A great example is right here in MKTG INC New York’s basement: Chelsea Market, which will host pop-up cycling studio KiwiSweat through the end of October. KiwiSweat is a pop-up-only gym that temporarily inhabits a series of surprising NYC locations, providing fitness lovers with new and unique workouts every few months. The concept taps the “surprise” allure of the typical pop-up to make daily workouts more exciting, and it all happens in unexpected locations like city rooftops, MoMA and, yes, foodie mecca Chelsea Market. Bon workout!

Photo credit: Ramsay De Give for The Wall Street Journal

Fun fact: Before Charlie Horsey was our boss, his boss was Bob Barker. Well, indirectly, anyway. To learn more about that and other little-known gems from Charlie’s wild and wooly 20-plus-year career, check out the MKTG INC CEO’s interview in sales and marketing mag FINS.com. Come on down!

While most eyes will be on Yankee Stadium in October, earlier this fall Nike’s Bowery Stadium played host to Dark Sun, an exhibition by photographer Ari Marcopoulos. For two weeks, the MKTG-designed space was adorned with black and white pictures of New York’s burgeoning surf scene and wave-shaped sculptures that doubled as skate ramps.

Check out this Cool Hunting post for more details on Marcopoulos and a full write-up on the installation.

Photo credit: Coolhunting.com