Before a record 13.5 million people watched the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet during Super Bowl Sunday, visitors to New York City were treated to a live “Puppy Bowl Experience” at Discovery Times Square.

Mohawk was actively involved in the weeklong celebration, which created millions of consumer impressions for Mohawk and its retailers via a detailed plan encompassing digital, social and experiential components.

As the official carpet sponsor of Puppy Bowl X, Mohawk’s SmartStrand starred on the field and created the perfect stage for the entire 15,000 square-foot facility. Visitors enjoyed a fully interactive experience, including a live Puppy Bowl game, tailgating activities and photo opportunities with Mohawk’s SmartStrand Unleashed mascot, “Mo.” More than 5,000 attendees snapped photos with “Mo,” including top-tier media and celebrity guests.

“Both Animal Planet and event visitors were amazed by the durability and cleanability of SmartStrand carpet,” said Elise Demboski, Mohawk’s vice president of creative services. “Not only did SmartStrand hold up beautifully to the large volume of human guests, it also came clean after six days of accidents and messes made by all the canine players. All attendees received a SmartStrand Silk carpet sample and several people were already on their mobile devices on-site to locate a local Mohawk retailer. The ‘Puppy Bowl Experience’ proved to be the perfect interactive setting, enabling thousands of people to experience SmartStrand carpet in a way that generated major editorial coverage and social media excitement.”

In addition to several on-air mentions during the big game, Mohawk was brought to life online through the live Puppy Bowl X Times Square Practice Cam at AnimalPlanet.com, through multiple digital banner advertisements and mid-roll videos directing consumers to MohawkFlooring.com. Mohawk maximized on the weeklong action with daily sponsored posts on Facebook and Twitter, reaching more than 200,000 targeted consumers. Through Mohawk’s social media vendor partnership, Aligned retailers had access to social posts and images, so they could share the excitement with consumers in their respective markets. 

To build on the social success of the SmartStrand Unleashed kick off, Mohawk invited 10 top-tier pet-focused bloggers to participate in the “Puppy Bowl Experience” and blog about the event and their experience with SmartStrand carpet.  According to Demboski, the resulting posts engage targeted consumers in an organic way that yields great convergence results. s

“We’re just getting started! The Puppy Bowl is only the beginning of Mohawk’s year-long SmartStrand Unleashed campaign, and retailers can promote the sponsorship throughout the year,” said Demboski. “Stay tuned to MohawkFlooring.com/Unleashed for new developments and to view Mo’s adventures on The Better Show. SmartStrand Unleashed is a multifaceted campaign designed to generate leads for our Aligned retailers, while providing them with a fun, unique way to communicate the powerful benefits of SmartStrand.”

SmartStrand Unleashed POP Kits have just arrived to Mohawk Aligned Partners and a full suite of marketing materials, including comprehensive event kits, are available now on MohawkToday.com.