A fan-friendly brand experience

U.S. Cellular is the nation's 6th largest wireless provider. Yet many consumers don't realize that the brand's lineup of phones, plans and services can play ball with bigger-name competitors.

So when U.S. Cellular decided to spread the word - without spending a fortune - by leveraging their 2010 Major League Baseball sponsorships, they made the call to AMP Agency.

Consumers gravitate toward brands that enhance experiences without shoving marketing in their faces. AMP took this insight to heart when creating exhibits inside the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals stadiums.

The idea behind the experience was to provide engaging activities (powered by U.S. Cellular phones and services, of course) that let fans do exactly what they came to the park to do: be fans.

At each of the teams' 81 home games, visitors posed with player cutouts, took fun pix with featured phones and walked away with branded photos to remember the moment. The Virtual Batter's Box let the all-star in all fans swing for the fences - and major-league prizes - using Wii-style technology. Consumers also learned about U.S. Cellular phones and offers, swapped out dying batteries and charged their phones to stay in touch during the game.

In 243 games across the three cities, U.S. Cellular enhanced the experience of a day at the ballpark for nearly 120,000. Almost 60,000 tried new products first-hand. Close to 80,000 left with personal - and branded - photo memories. And everyone learned that U.S. Cellular offers all the phones, plans and services it takes to be considered a big-league provider.