Challenge
The history of today's EA SPORTS Maui Invitational dates back to Dec. 23, 1982, when little-known NAIA Chaminade University of Honolulu upset top-ranked Virginia, led by All-American Ralph Sampson, 77-72, during a Hawaiian layover for Virginia's squad. Hailed by many in the national media as "the biggest upset in the history of college basketball," the win put Chaminade on the map nationwide and led to the creation of the Maui Classic - today's EA SPORTS Maui Invitational - two years later in 1984.

EA SPORTS and KemperLesnik have long partnered to produce the Maui Invitational to meet EA's goal of raising overall brand awareness and company visibility, generating buzz for the release of its annual NCAA March Madness videogame, and leveraging involvement with a premier sporting event, its surrounding entities and key players.

Our Solution
Since EA SPORTS assumed title sponsorship, KemperLesnik's creative and strategic efforts have provided a marketing and PR vehicle through which EA can achieve its visibility and sponsorship goals. Year after year, our strategy is based on:
delivering the brand to households nationwide via ESPN telecasts, as well as print, online and broadcast media coverage;
facilitating exposure to NCAA teams and personnel, sports industry reps and gaming lifestyle figures, and creating relationship-building opportunities with EA's target market.

Results
Each year, the agency team's results are dramatic. The most recent campaign produced nearly 3,100 pages of coverage nationwide and more than 235 million impressions. All 12 games were televised on ESPN networks, yielding coverage on more than 1,000 broadcast programs and making 181 million impressions. Associated Press College Basketball Editor Jim O'Connell calls the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational "The best in-season tournament in the country - the standard by which all others are compared."