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Technology Stocks : Nortel Networks (NT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (9382)	1/22/2001 12:14:10 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14638

Sports as a venue Three years ago, Nortel Networks Inc. was a struggling telecommunications company that was angling for a competitive edge. The Brampton, Ont.-based company had just acquired floundering Bay Networks Inc. to give it a new network equipment hardware product line and at the time had little awareness among the senior business decision-makers it sought. Nortel used integrated sports promotion and sports advertising programs to change that. Bruce Horner, director of global advertising for Nortel, said sports was the obvious choice "because it allows us to showcase our brand and gives us a tight linkage to our target market.’’ Nortel is a marquee advertiser on Monday Night Football, college football bowl games and the NCAA basketball tournament. It also markets itself globally through sponsorships of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and International Rugby Board’s World Cup Championship. "We use paid media to showcase our involvement in high-profile sports properties,’’ Horner said. Brand awareness for Nortel has grown from practically nil to 83% among its target audience in the last three years, placing it neck-and-neck with archrival Cisco Systems Inc. for mind share, he said. Shunning the Super Bowl Nortel has also paid ABC Sports to ensure prime advertising space at this year’s NHL All-Star Game. Such NHL players as the Dallas Stars’ Joe Nieuwendyk and Detroit Red Wings’ Chris Osgood, who have both been featured in a series of Nortel print advertisements, are among the players expected to participate in Nortel autograph-signing opportunities and client dinners staged around the event. "There’s no question that the association helps open doors with customers," he said. Like many b-to-b companies, Nortel is shunning the Super Bowl. "The event doesn’t deliver the targeted audience the company seeks," Horner said. Marketing strategist Ries stressed that companies can take advantage of the Super Bowl without dropping serious coin. "You can bring your best salespeople to the Super Bowl city, invite your best clients and have a b-to-b marketing event without ever buying spots," he said. btobonline.com