FOX Sports Detroit continues to do its part to help bring Detroiters out of the winter blues with its seventh annual APRIL IN THE D campaign, celebrating the city's passion for sports and the welcomed arrival of springtime.
This year's campaign will invite fans to tour the city to see life-size bobbleheads of some of their favorite Detroit athletes: Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer (lobby of the GM Renaissance Center), Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter (lobby of the GM Renaissance Center), Pistons center Andre Drummond (Rosa Parks Transit Center), Pistons forward Josh Smith (Rivard Plaza/Riverfront), Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard (Campus Martius) and Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk (Grand Circus Park). All six life-size bobbleheads will be featured outside Comerica Park for the Detroit Tigers home opener on March 31.
FOX Sports Detroit partnered with the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Pistons, Downtown Detroit Partnership, City of Detroit and CBS Radio: 99.5 WYCD and 97.1 The Ticket for this initiative. In addition, the teams will have April in the D giveaways at the following games:
March 31: Detroit Pistons vs. Milwaukee bucks - first 5,000 kids receive a Josh Smith Detroit Pistons silicone slap watch
April 2: Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins - first 7,500 fans receive a Red Wings gnome
April 13: Detroit Pistons vs. Toronto Raptors - first 5,000 kids receive an Andre Drummond Detroit Pistons silicone slap watch
April 16: Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians - first 10,000 fans receive Tigers April in the D logo gloves
April 23: Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox - first 10,000 fans receive Tigers April in the D Anibal Sanchez 17k game DVD
Here are details of each component of APRIL IN THE D:
Programming: Thirty-five games will be televised in high-definition on FOX Sports Detroit and FOX Sports Detroit Plus. The Tigers are scheduled 24 times in the month, starting the celebration a day early with the March 31st home opener against Kansas City. The Red Wings close out the regular season with four games on FOX Sports Detroit in the month of April. The Pistons also round out their regular-season schedule with seven games on FSD.
Marketing: In addition to a steady rotation of on-air promos, APRIL IN THE D will be the subject of aggressive off-channel campaigns in the form of outdoor electronic billboards around metro Detroit; radio spots on several stations; stadium/arena signage and branded merchandise for public events.
APRIL IN THE D will also be featured in a print and online advertising buy, in addition to also reaching fans at FOXSportsDetroit.com and the network's social media outlets. Fans are encouraged to tag their photos with the Bobbleheads using #AprilInTheD on Twitter and Instagram.
FOX Sports Detroit's APRIL IN THE D campaign premiered in 2008, in keeping with the ongoing 'D' branding effort by the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Web: Follow APRIL IN THE D activities on the website.
Sponsor: Belle Tire is the official sponsor of FOX Sports Detroit's APRIL IN THE D.
