Right Guard Open Recap

The Right Guard Open, the second stop on the five-city AST Dew Tour, took place in Cleveland, OH, July 19 – 22, 2007. As title sponsor of the event, Right Guard received prominent placement on-site to accompany its comprehensive national television package on NBC and USA.

 

The Right Guard Open drew more than 50,000 spectators despite an uncertain weather forecast throughout the week. In particular, all activities on Thursday, July 19 were temporarily suspended due to gale force winds and rain. Despite the inclement weather, The Right Guard Open in Cleveland still ranks as one of the top five AST Dew Tour stops for overall attendance since the tour’s inception in 2005.

Click here for additional photos of Right Guard Open signage on site.

Pre-Event Awareness

Long before July 19th, the Dial Corporation had challenged Cenergy to “take over” Cleveland in the time frame leading up to the event. To that end, Cenergy implemented several tactics which resulted in increased awareness throughout the city.

The most prominent stunt which resulted in measurable “buzz” came in the form of the “Powerstripes in the City” promotion, where 20-foot sections of green stripe were laid down throughout Downtown Cleveland. Both local and national outlets have pointed to the promotion as groundbreaking.

Cenergy also orchestrated a local Rite Aid ticket promotion, as well as a text-to-win radio promotion for Right Guard.

Click here to read the full story on the “Spot the Stick, See Some Tricks” and Rite Aid promotions.

Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians

During the Cleveland Cavaliers’ playoff run, the AST Dew Tour street teams promoted the Right Guard Open at all the Cavs’ home games. Additionally, Right Guard athlete Jean Postec signed autographs at the pre-game fan fest, and was featured courtside during one game.

Finally, on the Monday preceding the AST Dew Tour, Right Guard worked with the Dew Tour and Mongoose bikes to bring out the Mongoose BMX Stunt Team to the Cleveland Indians game that night.

Coincidentally, The Police were in concert at the adjacent Quicken Loans Arena, which made for crowds in excess of 50,000 for the two events combined.

Additional photos of the Indians pre-game event can be found here.

The Right Guard Xtreme Xperience

Once again, the Right Guard Xtreme Xperience was a (if not the) featured attraction in the AST Dew Tour festival village. Not only was the display a focal point for crowds on-site, but the Xtreme Barbershop was also featured prominently in local PR coverage.

Local NBC Affiliate WKYC broadcasted a live morning show from the barbershop on Thursday morning. Click here for images of Right Guard PR coverage, which includes the WKYC remote, as well as Jean Postec’s appearance on WERE Radio.

Additionally, the mohawks-for-charity aspect was played up on Cleveland.com and in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Click here to view the story on Cleveland.com.

One modification to the booth from Baltimore was the concerted effort to promote RGX more prominently for the remainder of the tour.

New graphics were created, and new RGX uniforms were purchased for our sampling staff. Click here for more RGX photos.

Other highlights from the Right Guard Open:

• Nicole Akre represented Right Guard in presenting the trophies for the winners in the Skateboard Vert competition. Shaun White took first place. Click here for images from the awards ceremony.
• Autograph sessions by our Right Guard-sponsored athletes, Steve McCann (BMX) and Jean Postec (Skateboard Vert). Click here for associated photos.
• General photos of the Right Guard Xtreme Barbershop
• General photos of Right Guard and RGX Staff
• A performance recap of the Right Guard-sponsored athletes can be found here.

Panasonic Open Recap

The first stop of the 2007 AST Dew Tour, the Panasonic Open, took place June 21 – 24 in Baltimore, Maryland, where Right Guard rolled out its interactive display — the Right Guard Xtreme Xperience. The Right Guard Xtreme Xperience features multiple interactive elements including product sampling, a BMX Bike giveaway, a reverse bungee jump, Xtreme mohawk station, and more.

The Panasonic Open drew more than 54,000 attendees over its four-day run — the second highest attendance numbers in the AST Dew Tour’s three-year existence.

Below are three videos which accurately capture the environment of the Right Guard Xtreme Xperience. The first is the Xclusive VIP area, where the Right Guard girls, some lucky fans, the emcee, and the DJ get the fans pumped up about Right Guard by tossing them premium items such as headbands and Mardi Gras beads.

The next video shows off the Xtreme mohawk station and Power Up Bungee. The lines for these two elements were at least 20-deep the entire weekend.

The third video features one of the many contests conducted at the Right Guard Xtreme Experience — a neon green slushie eating competition. The winner of this competition earned a sample pack, some autographed merchandise, and the opportunity to “chill” in the VIP area upstairs.

Panasonic Open Recap Links

Right Guard Athlete Recap

Right Guard Xtreme Xperience Statistics

Videos from the 2007 AST Dew Tour Panasonic Open.

Photos from the 2007 AST Dew Tour Panasonic Open.

AST Dew Tour Panasonic Open Event Summary (PDF file)