College Basketball

Why The Yanks Win With Hope Week…

August 21, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

Yes they are the defending World Champions and as so have a responsibilty to give back to their fans year-round.  And from expansive foundations run by Mariano rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Joe Girardi and many others, the New York Yankees do find ways to give back all year round, just like many teams on every level in every market. However what sets Hope Week apart for the Yankees is the expansive connections each and every member of the organization makes with so many different organizations during the busiest part of the season.  The plan, which ranges from visits to having various groups and organizations come to Yankee Stadium, takes every part of the organization and exposes the brand to a wide variety of stories that will have a cumulatiive ripple effect way beyond the initial meetings.  It is Community Relations and outreach to the max, and as a result garnered exposure not just locally but nationally, with a full-length feature on the Today Show on Friday.

Matching The Brand And The Athlete Not A New Challenge…

August 19, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

Recently writer Michael Sokolve had a piece in the New York Times about the issues today’s iconic athletes have from a public perspective. Sokolove’s argument is that today’s greatest on field athletes…Tiger Woods and LeBron James included…needed to tell the world themselves how great they were to build a public, and very lucrative persona.  The iconic athletes of the past, he argued, let their achievements and those around them judge success in the public sector, and the need for self-gratification on achievements was not needed.  While it is easy to make that assumption, it is hard to say how the elite athletes of the past would have adjusted to the media trends and demands of today, and conversely, how today’s elite athletes would have done with different, and sometimes less, pressures of past generations.

The Voice of the Fan Gets Louder, Even at 9 a.m. on a Saturday

August 14, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

There are certain preconceptions that people, especially mainstream media, have about bloggers and those who are heavily engaged in fantasy sports , and well, many of them  may be true.  They hide behind a computer screen and never face those who they criticize…they live in their parents basement and  use the written word as a cry out to all who have wronged them in the past…they have little or no knowledge and only exist to grab some fame with outlandish and unsubstantiated rumors and on and on.

Can the Pac 10 Make An Eastern Impact?

July 29, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

This spring and summer, perhaps more than any other offseason, the Pac 10 Conference and its schools have made headlines that have transcended game coverage across the nation.  Whether it was the continued controversies surround USC, the expansion and shift of schools, television contracts, Bowl alliances, coaching shifts, the Pac 10 has grabbed its share of headlines.  The latest came this week, when Commissioner Larry Scott announced the latest national plans to grow the face of the conference, completed with a rebranding plan and vision and plans for a larger east coast presence for the conference (designed by Ed O’Hara and his team at SME), which because of its geography, continually lags behind overall exposure in the winter to conferences like the Big East, Big 10 and ACC in the mind not just of sports fans but of marketers and sales folks on Madison Avenue.

What Value Global Events? Ask Spain…

July 16, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

As the world moves on and experts look back on what value the World Cup brought to the African continent, perhaps they should look no further than the now reigning champion, Spain. Steadily over the last few years, the Spanish athletic programs across the board have transformed the Iberian Peninsula into a world power, whether that be in sports like golf and tennis or soccer and basketball.   Why?  Probably a number of factors but two of the most important are facilities and exposure, both of which are the fruits of Spain’s ability to host and then effectively leverage the World Cup and the Olympics.  Those two events ten years apart, World Cup in ‘82 and Olympics in ‘92, provided a platform to the world and to young athletes  on the benefits not just of top level competition, but also of they ways sport can be a social unifier.

SME Shows How To Build A Brand…

May 21, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

In the day to day struggle of making ends meet and achieving ROI, companies can lose focus as to what their core message and mission is.  The ability to grab little pieces of a financial or sales pie, or to satusfy a business partners immediate as opposed to ling term needs, can get a company offtrack, and sometimes that simple distraction or change in vision can prove very costly for the long term.  The lack of consistency of message and branding and mission can really determine what competive companies are successful in their space, and what companies can fall by the wayside.  Now it is true in today’s challenged economy that one does have to be flexible and answer to many, many masters from time to time.  Creativity is key. However flexibility does not have to mean being inconsistent with messaging or look and feel.

A Channel To Cheer For…

May 17, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It may sound silly to some casual sports fans, but anyone who has been around a youth sports events, or even a high school or college event, can understand the pervasive presence of cheerleaders.  The young girls man the sidelines at Pop Warner or CYO games, the dance teams are becoming an even larger presence at higher levels, and even internationally  what many people scoffed at as a vanity play for preppy girls years ago has become its own cottage industry.  From cutesy cheers to sexy and seductive dances and everywhere in between, cheerleading and dance, and all the camps, costumes and hours of practice that go along with it even in a challenged economy, is growing to the tune of $4 billion dollars a year.

Rutgers Awaits A “Big” Branding Decision…

April 25, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

It was another roller coaster week in New Brunswick, New Jersey. As one Fred Hill achieved a milestone (in baseball), another was let go after a tortuous and painful process and another Scarlet Knight heard his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft. Maybe all of that activity is a harbinger of what lies ahead for the Scarlet Knights as a program and an institution as the Big Ten continues to ponder what’s going to happen next with the size of its conference.

Short-Sightedness 101: Colleges Charging The Media For Coverage?

April 18, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

We are all more than well aware of the challenges faced in both sports and entertainment these days for the discretionary dollar.  With every dollar spent comes five questions  about ROI, need for staffing, value of programs and actual amount of earned media, so the need to both justify and find extra sources of ancillary income is higher now than ever.  The question now really ois the value of traditional media vs. new and social media, and how to still get not just the most buzz, but the most eyeballs pout of every dollar invested. While there are programs, like the one Octagon launched this past week called Fanwaves, which start to show the creative ways to pull sponsors and brands into social media for return, the best mix is still a combination of the traditional and the new channels of communication available.

Does Losing Net a Value For Butler?

April 6, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

A week or so ago Darren Rovell had a blog post on what, if any, value the New Jersey Nets had lost by “winning.” By passing the Philadephia 76ers with their tenth win, was there any actual value from going from the worst ever to just another losing team.  The answer according to the collectable market was no, but on the PR side, there is a bit of a value in being the extreme, whether that is best or worst.  Certainly the Nets have orchastrated more ccoverage through all their losing than if they were just mediocre, and ironically now that they have passed the 76ers and have reached 11 wins, all that gallows humor has disappeared.  Part of it is that baseball has arrived and the Final Four has pulled eyeballs, but part of it is definately that there is no interest in mediocrity, no matter how compelling the story.  people love the best, and they have an interest in the worst.

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