Companies stump their stuff in Denver
— -- The political partying has started.
The Democratic National Convention opened Monday in Denver. Next week, the Republicans get underway in St. Paul. And marketers — seeing a chance to reach tens of thousands of delegates, government and party officials, volunteers and spectators — are putting on their party hats, too.
"If you look at the makeup of convention attendees and delegates … these are some of the most influential people in the country. They are opinion and thought leaders in their community," spokesman Greg Martin says. "You rarely get (access to) such a high level of people."
On Thursday, Coca-Cola North America will hold its largest-ever sampling event at Invesco Field at Mile High for nominee Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Coke will dole out samples of VitaminWater, Coke Zero, Simply Lemonade, Nestea and Gold Peak tea, as well as bottles of Dasani water to those in security lines. It plans sampling in St. Paul, too
Capitalizing on a passionate convention crowd can be smart, as long as it's bipartisan, says Joe Erwin, president of ad agency Erwin-Penland and former head of the South Carolina Democratic Party. "If you start picking favorites then you're going to limit the growth of your brand."
While Coke and GM are "official providers" for each convention, brands don't need a formal affiliation to vie for attendee attention.
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