Many times we all get caught up in the hype…the necessity to make sure our athletes. schools and teams are associated with the big names to gives us “street cred.” However in these challenged times, the mainstream names and providers…from the drink category to media companies to apparel…are struggling to make ends meet even with the most mainstream of partners, so expecting the dollars and promotional pop for second tier partners is even more of a struggle than it has been before. More importantly, add-ons to gain marketshare that major brands interested in athletics needed in the past, second tier or mid-major conferences, niche sports, rising athletes, are not as viewed as important on ROI anymore because of the economy, because the time invested in building or capturing success just takes too long. So what can mid-major schools or niche sports d. Look to build business relationships with new brands looking for the same type of exposure, and finding creative ways to build economies of scale and creative programs that may not put dollars in the coffers up front, bit will generate interest and buzz and help reduce existing costs for the bottom line. One recent example of was highlighted in this week's Sports Business Journal, a just announced partnership between the apparel brand CRONS and the Big South Conference. CRONS, which stand for “Come Ready or Never Start” is as much a lifestyle credo as it is an apparel brand, since the company does not yet have a retail presence. What it does have is the ability to address a conference like the Big South as a partner and work with those schools to supply product which they may have been buying for athletes and build out affiliate and community based marketing programs that can help the schools with fundraising, brand awareness and social responsibility, all important messages for today's challenged times in athletics. Even more important, CRONS gets to treat the Big South as a test case for other potential mid-major partnerships, and the Bog South gets some great exposure with little downside in being a test case for a rising brand. Would it be better for a Mid-Major to have cash flow from a large apparel bran. Of course. However in today's marketplace having brands that work as partners on many levels and can provide best in class service may be better than taking a small check for a big name and not seeing a longer term, across the board return. Interesting move by both and worth following going forward.
Some other good reads…the new York Times has a good piece on the shortcuts many have tried during the New York City Marathon... Terry Lyons has a great piece on the late Cecil Watkins…and Don Walker in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a good piece on the top arena songs of alltime…
