By Nick Tylwalk Nov 06, 2009 |
With Upper Deck continuing to produce baseball cards in 2010 despite losing a license to use MLB logos and trademarks, it's going to have to draw on every bit of creativity it can muster. That extends to advertising and marketing as well, so the company is thinking outside the box a bit and allowing one lucky collector to be the face of 2010 SPx Baseball.

In partnership with Beckett Media, Upper Deck recently announced a contest that will allow baseball collectors to send in their own talking points for why they collect SPx Baseball. Since the print ad campaign will be running in Beckett publications, Beckett Media will narrow the entries down to five finalists, and Upper Deck will select the winner from among the final five.

The finalists will be unveiled on Beckett's website on November 17, with the winner announced on Upper Deck's Facebook page two days later. A photographer will be sent to shoot the winner in time for the ads to appear in Beckett magazines shipping in January.

Along with being immortalized in the ad campaign, the winning collector will receive free baseball product from Upper Deck.

"We know our customers are very passionate about their collections and why they collect, so rather than having an advertising agency try to capture why they collect SPx, we want to hear from them directly," Upper Deck marketing manager Chris Carlin said in a press release. "We're excited to hear the response."

Entrants have to come up with a catchy nickname - the football and hockey collectors featured in similar ads went by "Case-Breaker" and "Hit-Man," respectively, plus fill in the following callouts:

I expect... _____

I..._____

I bust boxes for... _____

I... _____

I... _____

I make collecting history with every pack.

I collect SPx.

Entrants simply have to fill in the blanks and email their responses plus a jpeg image of themselves to BSCM@beckett.com.

The upcoming 2010 SPx Baseball set will feature six autographed or memorabilia cards in every box, plus new Shadow Box inserts. Patch cards from 2010 Exquisite Baseball will also be included in SPx packs.



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