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Dove celebrates coaches through social media, attracting football fans

Dove Men+ Care Deodorant is attempting to engage with football fans by accepting nominations for its Caring Coach of the Year award via Facebook and Twitter, showcasing how marketers are gearing up to incorporate football content during the fall.  

The brand is rolling out its second part of its campaign to honor and spotlight coaches from all over the nation, emphasizing the importance of helping out your community, which solidifies a positive brand image. The Dove award is one of many campaigns showcasing men?s care brands incorporating football into marketing content. 

"Social media is an integral part of the Caring Coach campaign, we want to hear the stories of how coaches have impacted the lives of student athletes from fans across the country," said Matthew McCarthy, senior director of antiperspirants/deodorants at Unilever. "To encourage sharing of these stories on social media, we are inviting everyone to nominate their coaches for the Caring Coach of the Year award via a robust paid media campaign on Twitter that allows people to submit their entry with  #CaringCoachAward or by visiting Dovemencare.com/caringcoach. 

"Additionally, we will be sharing what it means to be a Caring Coach on Instagram and allowing people to submit their nominees on that platform with #CaringCoachAward," he said. "The four coaches who most strongly display passion, determination, respect, support and encouragement, as selected by our brand and our partners, The College Football Hall of Fame and University of Oklahoma?s head football coach Bob Stoops, will be honored in the Hall in Atlanta during an induction ceremony in December. 

"All winning coaches will also receive funding for their local football programs."

Caring coaches
Dove is hoping to engage social media users in a discussion about local coaches who go the extra mile in helping their communities with the hashtag #CaringCoachAward. The brand is encouraging consumers to share their stories of helpful coaches they know, and also nominate them for the award. 


A photo from one of the entries to win the Caring Coach Award


Posts of those sharing names and stories are congregated on the campaign?s mobile optimized aggregate site. For instance, one user shared a post on Facebook and Twitter reading ?Coach Cook tirelessly works to pull together the children of Grove Park, he is always challenging the boys and stresses the importance of education and teamwork.? 

A few football players and parents have share pictures of their coaches along with stories of their significance. 

Football campaigns
Similarly, Head & Shoulders is partnering with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. as the new face for its campaign to also entice football fans, rolling out video advertisements through YouTube. 

Also, the Hershey Company's Reese's brand recently appealed to college football fans this season by partnering with popular on-air ESPN personalities to get consumers in the game through social media contests, helping it stand out during the fall marketing frenzy (see more). 

Oregon State University also showed college football?s leverage on mobile by incorporating real-time, interactive social media displays into a Web page on its football signing day to boost engagement and build brand identification via a platform employed in professional sports leagues (see more). 

"Dove Men+Care Deodorant is committed celebrating the ways in which coaching impacts the lives of the men who coach and the athletes and communities that surround them," Mr. McCarthy said. "96 percent of coaches today believe that coaching youth or high school sports enrich their lives, so we want to be sure we are honoring them for showing their care. 

"We also want to make sure that all coaches are equipped with the tools they need to most effectively coach their athletes both on and off the field, so we are working to create a free, coach-sourced curriculum later this season to help coaches shape the next generation of leaders and achieve the most fulfilling coaching experience," he said. 

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer