The inaugural Billboard Concert Marketing & Promotion Award will be given to a sponsorship or promotion that benefited the concert industry at large by stimulating attendance to live events and providing value to fans. The sponsorship or promotion must achieve its marketing goal in a quantifiable way; and can be a tour title sponsorship, a venue naming rights deal, a touring artist's endorsement deal, a single show sponsor, a festival sponsorship, or other deal, as long as it pertains to live performance that took place between Jan. and Sept. 2007.

The six finalists, which were determined by a panel of Billboard editors and industry experts include: Jaegermeister Mobile Stage; Jeep/Soul2Soul Tour featuring Tim McGraw/Faith Hill; U.S. Cellular Stage/Milwaukeee Summerfest; Blackberry/John Mayer 2007 Tour; Hershey/Brad Paisley Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour; and the Verizon Wireless/Fergie 2007 Tour.

Voting is open until October 31st, so don't miss your chance to choose the winner!

The winner of the first-ever Billboard Concert Marketing & Promotion Award will be announced at the Billboard Touring Conference & Awards, set for Nov. 14-15 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. For more information about this event, go to: http://www.BillboardEvents.com




The six finalists:


*The Jagermeister Mobile Stage on Ozzfest and other events.



The $1 million Jagermeister Mobile Stage served as the all-important second stage on Ozzfest in 2007, where an estimated 500,000 people saw bands rock hard on Jager's dime. Ozzfest went out as a free, sponsor-driven event in 2007, so the fact that the Live Nation-produced tour did not have to spring for a second stage production was crucial. Jagermeister not only supplies the stage but also the lighting, backline, PA and an experienced crew that runs it.
In some cases, venues would add Jagermeister to their product offering just because the stage was coming. Overall, Jagermeister's involvement with live music sponsorship has helped the company more than triple North American sales in less than a decade.




*U.S. Cellular/Milwaukee Summerfest




The telecom title-sponsored Summerfest's U.S. Cellular Connection Stage was set up to connect with Gen-Yers and demonstrate its technology. The company accomplished that goal through a number of on-site promotions including free downloadable music from emerging artists that performed on the stage as well as text message and pix-2-Web promotions. This is a great example of how a telecom can leverage a stage sponsorship.




*Jeep with Tim McGraw/Faith Hill Soul2Soul




The objective of the Jeep-sponsored Tim McGraw/Faith Hill Soul2Soul (S2S) 2007 Tour was to align the brand with a powerhouse tour by artists with a genuine affinity for the Jeep brand. The multiplatform campaign pulled in fans through the "My Favorite Jeep Story" contest that awarded tickets and VIP perks for the final show.
Jeep also toured and displayed the autographed S2S Customized Jeep Wrangler, which was donated by Jeep to Tim and Faith's personal charity, Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, and was auctioned on eBay for $70,100. The tour was second leg of the top-grossing country tour of all time; more than 578,000 fans attended over the summer.




BlackBerry-sponsored John Mayer 2007 Tour




This was the first tour sponsorship deal for both Blackberry and John Mayer. Throughout the tour, the BlackBerry Curve device was portrayed as a way for Mayer and his fans to stay connected. At each tour stop, BlackBerry product specialists were on-site at the Experience Centers to show fans the music, video, and photo capabilities on the BlackBerry Curve device.
BlackBerry also hosted exclusive sound check parties for their employees and AT&T's workers (AT&T had pass-through carrier rights). Mayer performed for 450,000 fans, all of whom were exposed to the BlackBerry brand, and ticket sales in some markets increased by more than 50% from his previous tour.




Hershey/Brad Paisley Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour




A national media and retail campaign around album, "5th Gear" and his Bonfires & Amplifiers 2007 tour. "S'more Access to Brad Paisley" promotion gave five fans the chance to be temporary members of Paisley's road crew. Hundreds of other prizes-including autographed guitars and exclusive music downloads-were also awarded.
The tour gave Paisley a platform for his music and tour to be mass marketed in a way that only national TV and millions of impressions could do. It was by far his most successful tour ever.




* Verizon Wireless/Fergie 2007 Tour
Verizon Wireless' sponsorship of Fergie's tour illustrates the many ways telecommunications companies can leverage deals and connect with consumers. The tour helped Verizon accomplish multiple objectives: gain new customers, reward existing customers, demonstrate new products and services, drive revenue through the sale of products/services, build relationships with a hardware partner, and gain exposure in nontraditional retail outlets.
The tour did not offer tickets for sale. With the exception of a limited number of given away through radio station promotions, tickets were available by taking one of the following actions: downloading a Fergie video or music content through Verizon's V Cast service, purchasing a Motorola handset, or attending an in-store event at Verizon Wireless or at co-sponsor Kohl's outlets.