College football

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.

Brand NFL Gets Stronger, Despite The Clouds On The Horizon…

August 1, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Granted there is a labor dispute in the distance and the Jets still have issues in the New York marketplace with PSL’s, but it is hard to argue that even in a challenged economy the brand of the NFL remains strong and gets stronger. It can be argued that the opening of training camp has come close to eclipsing the reporting of “Pitchers and Catchers” as the day that fans look forward to the most…the NFL Draft has easily become a media and brand spectacle like no other…fantasy football play is the dominant game of choice, almost four to one over baseball, because of its simplicity and appeal to the casual fan…and the one  game a week schedule gives the NFL a chance to build week on week like no other sport.  Even those who argued that parity diluted the game have fallen short of their argument, as witnessed by the record numbers who tuned in for last year’s Super Bowl, featuring two of the smallest markets (Indianapolis and New Orleans) in professional sports.

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.

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.

West Virginia Gets Out Front In Heisman Campaign

May 14, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

It seems like there is no offseason for major sports, even on the collegiate level.  In football, even without a 1-A playoff system, the Bowl Season is followed by the combine and workouts days followed by  spring football  followed by the draft followed by…maybe there is a bit of a lull as student-athletes take exams and coaches clean their offices.  Then this week comes the first Heisman salvo for 2010...a video campaign launched by the University of West Virginia RB Noel Devine.

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.

Is The UFL A Brand Compliment For The NFL?

March 29, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

There were  some good things that happened in the UFL’s first season.  They proved they could deliver a credible product, gave some coaches and players a chance to showcase their skills and they survived a season full of empty stadiums, inopportune dates, shifting cities, small sponsor support and well produced but negligible eyeballs on TV.

The Cost of Growing The College Brand…

March 21, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

This past week we saw a unique yin and yang of college brand strategy in the New York metropolitan area.  Seton Hall fired coach Bobby Gonzalez for creating a renegade program (with some won/loss success) and besmirching the school’s overall image, while St. John’s fired head coach Norm Roberts for doing many of the things to create a quality program but not winning enough (also tack on Rutgers retaining head coach Fred Hill, who was given the chance by athletic director Tim Pernetti to create a little more stability and some wins for the program).  The two schools in a Big East Conference that is now more football driven for brand and dollars than ever before face a very difficult question, both on brand and finance.  What is more important, can you have both, and can you find a way to justify expenses to satisfy all?

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