FOX Sports South Honors Service Members with Tribute to the Troops

* 100 Service Members Participate in Pre-Game Ceremony, Hospitality Event

* Military-themed Telecast Includes Special Guests, Graphics and Troop Shout-Outs

On July 3, FOX Sports South honored military service members with a special Tribute to the Troops celebration at Turner Field and throughout the network's telecast, which included exclusive coverage of the on-field ceremony, a message from Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, interviews with special guests, customized sponsor and troop shout-outs and military-themed graphics.

At-Event

100 service members - more than half of whom were concluding a 14-day rest and recuperation period before shipping back to active duty in the Middle East - attended the game and pre-game hospitality as guests of FOX Sports South.

* Arrived at Turner Field on two chartered buses with police escorts

* Received the "red carpet" treatment, greeted by local Girl Scouts and the Braves Tomahawk Team and Heavy Hitters drumline

* Participated in an on-field ceremony televised as part of the Braves LIVE Pre-Game Show

* Received special Tribute to the Troops t-shirts, which were also worn by the Braves LIVE talent and production team

* FOX Sports South General Manager Jeff Genthner, Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez and pitchers Scott Linebrink and Scott Proctor, as well as Braves General Manager Frank Wren and EVP of Sales and Marketing Derek Schiller and Braves LIVE talent Brian Jordan, Fred Hickman and Jerome Jurenovich addressed the group and participated in a pre-game meet-and-greet.

On-Air
Special Braves LIVE Pre-Game Show earned best rating of the season and featured:

* Interview with Major Mark Brown of the Rest and Recuperation program's Atlanta Personnel Assistance Point and General Steve Blanton of the Georgia National Guard

* Footage from all of the day's activities including the service members' red carpet arrival at Turner Field, pre-game hospitality event, Presentation of the Colors and singing of the National Anthem by Atlanta-based Atlantic Records recording artists Hamilton Park

* Pre-taped message from Georgia Governor Nathan Deal

* Pre-taped messages from Braves players thanking the troops for their service

 Sponsor Participation
* Vignettes supporting the Tribute to the Troops event were shot for full-season Braves sponsors Blimpie, Sherwin-Williams, Hyundai and Blue Bell. Sponsor messages were rolled into the game telecast as an added value benefit

Web
*Articles from FOXSportSouth.com's Jon Cooper previewed the weekend and recapped the Tribute to the Troops

OAP

* Tune-in spot for Sunday Braves on FOX Sports South included Tribute to the Troops messaging

* In-game reads and drops leading up to the event


Social Media
* Pre-event and day-of coverage to promote Tribute to the Troops to more than 50,000 Facebook fans and Twitter followers

* Leveraged relationships with Atlanta Braves bloggers and military organizations to encourage tweets about the event