Wendy's College Tailgate Tour visits Virginia Tech on Saturday

Hokie legend and NFL Hall of Fame Member Bruce Smith will greet fans prior to kickoff

September 27, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour, an interactive, fan-focused pregame experience featuring food, music, games and special guest appearances, will make a stop at the Hokie Village Fan Zone on Beamer Way on Saturday from 4:30 to 7:15 p.m. in advance of the matchup between Clemson and Virginia Tech.

Hokie legend and NFL Hall of Fame member Bruce Smith will make an appearance at the Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour from 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET.

Each stop of the Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour is anchored by a customized, Wendy’s-branded, 18-wheeler that includes a patio, roof-top party deck, IMG Audio radio desk, indoor lounge and a 14-foot Daktronics videoboard that will display live college football and sponsor content. Brands including Nissan, Pringles, Coca-Cola and TCL will bring the activation – nearly half the size of a football field – to life with a variety of interactive experiences, including virtual reality, esports, social media opportunities and product sampling. The Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour is owned and operated by IMG, the exclusive multimedia rights holder of Virginia Tech Athletics.

“The Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour highlights IMG’s commitment to creating unique activations for brands that connect them directly to the excitement and fanfare around college football season and the most passionate fans in sports,” said Andrew Judelson, executive vice president, sales and marketing, IMG. “In partnership with IMG LIVE, we are excited to provide a platform that further enhances the fan experience on game day.”

Each stop of the Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour features a one-hour live radio show produced by IMG Audio, distributed on TuneIn and hosted by Stephen Hartzell of College Sports Now. He is joined by former players, coaches, influencers and local radio analysts each week.

The full schedule of the 2017 Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour includes stops at the following IMG College partner schools (in bold):

Oct. 7 — Pittsburgh @ Syracuse

Oct. 14 — Ohio State @ Nebraska

Oct. 21— LSU @ Ole Miss

Oct. 28 — Texas @ Baylor

Nov. 4 — Army @ Air Force

Nov. 11 — Florida @ South Carolina

Nov. 18 — Mississippi State @ Arkansas

Nov. 25 — Ohio State @ Michigan

More details on the activations:

Wendy’s footprint will include the Wendy’s food truck, which will serve free Dave’s single cheeseburgers made with fresh, never-frozen beef. Fans also will have the chance to square off against their own rivals in cornhole competitions, where an emcee will energize the games and let college football fans know that Wendy’s serves fresh, never-frozen beef on every hamburger every day.

Coca-Cola will host a sampling at the tour stops where Coke has pouring rights. Inside the Wendy’s trailer, Coca-Cola also will sponsor the virtual reality demo area featuring brand integration in an immersive, 360-video VR experience. MandtVR will provide the headsets and create original, customized VR content celebrating college football.

Also inside the trailer, TCL will host an eSports Gaming Lounge featuring a variety of videogames and live college football action on their televisions throughout the footprint. TCL will conduct an onsite sweepstakes each week where one lucky fan will take home a television.

Nissan will amplify its College 100 partnership by bringing the DieHard Fan Experience to the Wendy’s College Football Tailgate Tour. With co-branded giveaways, airbrush artists, co-branded phone charging stations and much more, Nissan is helping fans take on game day. Fans also will be able to check out all-new vehicles, such as the Nissan Rogue and Nissan TITAN, and enter to win sweepstakes for great prizes.

Kellogg’s will activate its Pringles brand with an interactive flavor stacking experience that allows fans to “Pop, Play, Eat” with their own team-inspired Pringles flavor stacks.

The Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour will be operated by IMG LIVE, the experiential marketing agency of IMG.

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About IMG

IMG is a global leader in sports, events, media and fashion, operating in more than 30 countries. The company represents and manages some of the world’s greatest sports figures and fashion icons; stages hundreds of live events and branded entertainment experiences annually; and is one of the largest independent producers and distributors of sports media. IMG also specializes in sports training; league development; and marketing, media and licensing for brands, sports organizations and collegiate institutions.

Media Contact: Mike Scanlan, IMG, 216-436-3544, mike.scanlan@img.com

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