HBO Pounds The Pavement To Promote Boxing Series

To hook in a younger fan base for “Boxing 24/7,” a four-episode series that follows the journey of boxers Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton from the streets to the big fight in Las Vegas, HBO recently sent out street teams to five U.S. cities.

Brand ambassadors handed out tune in postcards and posters at sports bars, gyms, and police and fire departments in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City. At hbo.com, fans could enter to win an all-expenses paid trip to go behind-the-scenes in Las Vegas before the big fight. With a focus on a younger crowd, HBO will have a film crew on the ground in Vegas to film the winner’s experience and then post it on Facebook to entice additional submissions for future winners on hbo.com.

“To reach this younger audience, we decided to do some online advertising, and to get the word out we put teams on the streets in very targeted locations in top markets,” says Sandy Ortiz, manager of consumer advertising and promotions at HBO. “It drives the people on the street to hbo.com, which is where the sweepstakes and information about other HBO programming lives.”