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IRL Gets A Chance To Get Back In The Branding Race…

March 15, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

February  was certainly one of the most intriguing months on the sports calendar in recent years. It began with a record Super Bowl, took us through a controversial Daytona 500, saw a very intriguing two weeks of Olympics, and a record setting NBA All-Star game.  So now as we hit the ides of March, we look to what the rest of the calendar can shape up to show us, outside of the usual hoopla of March Madness and spring training in the United States.  The month of March in past years brought us the AFL, the ideas of spring professional football, indoor soccer, and lots and lots of indoor and outdoor lacrosse, all of which have either gone the way of the Buffalo or are in some form of relaunch or reorganization.  So with those brands on hold or being re-jigged, there are two intriguing platforms which will kick it into high gear for what could be make or break years in terms of growth, IRL and soccer.

“Lombardi Mania” Coming To A Theater, A Screen or a TV Near You Soon…Not Soon Enough

March 12, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

For a while I have been involved with the upcoming dramatic play Lombardi, which producers Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser will bring to Broadway in November.  The play is based on the best-selling book “When Pride Still Mattered” by Pultizer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, and is going to be a very intriguing mix of dramatic theater and the story of an amazing and engaging personality.  However Lombardi the play will not be alone.  HBO is working on a documentary on the career of the legendary coach and leader, and this week, a movie project was revived, now with ESPN involved, that will debut in 2012 starring Robert De Niro as Lombardi.  All three projects will have a different take…the film will concentrate more on the players and the glory fo the game, the documentary will recount the facts of his life through the eyes of those who knew him and the play will really tell a larger story about the ups and downs of a mercurial figure who overcame some early setbacks to be a success.

The House of Mouse Raises It’s Sports Brand…

February 27, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Slowly, steadily, the good folks at Disney and ESPN have turned one of the brand’s more quizzical efforts into a mecca, not for characters, but for the character built through sport.

A Cause Worthwhile…Athletes, Pols Step Up To Battle Childhood Obesity

February 16, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Big time sports and entertainment events draw big time advertising dollars. We all are more than familiar with the amount of sponsorship spent on Super Bowl, Olympic and NBA All-Star ads these past few weeks, and the payoff in exposure brands got with the largest TV audience of all-time for the Colts and the Saints last  Sunday. One of the biggest categories that support those events is snack foods.  People loved watching those Doritos commercials, and loved chowing down on bowls of the stuff as they were watching the game. The tailgate, the junk food, are all very much a rite of passage surrounding the great American sporting event.

Who Will Win The Battle of The Busiest Weekend On The Sports Calendar?

February 11, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It is a good thing the NFL moved the Pro Bowl to the week prior to the Super Bowl this year.  The game got much-needed attention and a record crowd, and won’t have to deal with being an after-thought on perhaps the busiest big event weekend on the sports calendar.  Yes a week after the Super Bowl became the most watched television event of all-time, three major events…the opening of the Winter Olympics, the Daytona 500 and the NBA All-Star Game, will all battle for eyeballs, sponsor return and casual sports fans within 72 hours. Who will win?  The battle has already begun.

Racing Looks To Find New Fans…Pinewood Derby Anyone?

January 26, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

We are coming up fast on Daytona for NASCAR’s start,  the IRL is looking to rebrand and re-emerge after unification with IZOD as a title sponsor, even Forumula One is looking to find its place again. So as the economic times start to recede and sponsor dollars are becoming a tad looser again, what can racing do to find audiences to grow and keep adding fans for life.  One idea is for one of the circuits to embrace a time-honored tradition between thousands of boys and their dads with the Boy and Cub Scouts of America: brand the Pinewood Derby. For those who don’t know, Pinewood Derby is a mid-winter troop by troop competition in which dads and sons take a wooden block of five ounces and fashion it into a mini-soap box car to cpmpete against other troop members on a downhill track.  Pinewood Derby bonds fathers and sons, instills interest in science and design, gives kids an interest in racing away from a video screen and is just plain fun.  Virtually every troop in the United States has the race, and generations of scouts have enjoyed the practice over the years.  Yet, no one in racing has thought to find ways to honor design (especially now in the digital age), and add on some branding to enhance the car design. It probably is not a stretch that hosts of drivers, technicians and even sponsors who have gone through scouting can connect with Pinewood Derby as well.  To have one of the major circuits latch on and find ways to promote scouting through a Pinewood Derby promotion could be a cheap, affordable longlasting promotion at a time when racing is not top-of-mind, but could provide a great lead-in to the upcoming season.  Does it answer all the questions as to where racing can go to increase its viewership and demo?  No.  But it is a great grassroots tie to a group that has a strong  affinity for brands that support it (the scouts) and has very little downside or large cost associated with it.  Start your engines (or at least your blocks of wood).

Can MMA Grow In The Garden? State, That Is.

January 7, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

There is still more than a little contention over how “hot” professional Mixed Martial Arts is as a sport.  One thing is for sure, the UFC as an experiential brand, is certainly very hot and very active for the men’s demo, and that experience was again in full force for their New Year’s weekend card, which again saw a sold out crowd in Las Vegas and put a cap on a record year for pay-per-view sales.

Sports Books Worth Reading And Giving From 2009

December 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

I will be the first to say I am not a strong critic, nor do I read every book out there. However I do read a great deal and try to figure out what are the books that teach me something, even of some of the most public of figures, that I didn’t know before and what can I take away from this that can apply to work, personal life or friends, colleagues or family. Also, what do I think are just really well written stories. So below I have highlighted a list of some of the books I have gotten to and enjoyed, and others may enjoy too. Some are on most people’s lists…some are a little more obscure, but all are well written and have great value. I also have to admit I have not read Bill Simmons’ book or Chris Ballard’s on the NBA, or the Agassi book or my friend Jon Wertheim’s book on tennis this year. That is my bad, but that’s what the holidays are for. These are also in no particular order, other than Marty Appel’s name started with A and thats the first one I thought of. Feel free to send along other suggestions to me at fatherknickerbocker1@yahoo.com

On Heisman Weekend, “The Rudy Awards” Score Points…

December 13, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

“Rudy.” Great story, great movie. Yes the real Rudy is a bit over the top, bit that’s another story. It never detracts from the essence of the message the movie conveys. “Rudy” resonates with people on so many levels, and if the idea gives rise to ways for others to have their story told and be inspiring to those around them today, then its a very noble effort for the creators.

Globies Race To Keep Growing The Brand…

November 21, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

It is not easy trying to remain relevant with national brands for the travelling road show. There are less performances of the circus, less ice shows, less boxing matches, less LPGA events, less AVP events, less, less less. When you do not have consistent brand relevance in a market and are out of sight for all but one week a year, the ability to keep an event fresh and top of mind when discretionary income, and with that partner value, can be hard to explain is making the “tour” even more difficult to sustain. So what does a touring brand do? You try and find national platforms that give the product year-round life, so that when the event does make its annual stop into down there is something to draw the casual fan. One group that continues to do it well is the Harlem Globetrotters, and their latest attempt at large and long-term branding relevance is with their participation in CBS’ Amazing Race. The Globies, who have two players, Flight Time and Big Easy, participating in the reality show this season, have used the show to keep the brand fresh for the casual fan, and even build a little momentum for the upcoming start of their next multi-city, multi-week tour which begins during the Holidays. Are the guys playing hoops? No. But like the use of “Dancing With the Stars” for other athletes, The Amazing Race and the publicity around it gives the brand watercooler talk at a time of year when the team would not be top of mind and would be struggling to find a way to connect even with their strongest of supporters. The brand has also used various levels of social media to piggyback off the push “The Amazing race” does every week to drive viewers to the show, and has created a positive partnership that could serve as a template for getting Globetrotter branding into even more properties. There was a time during their heyday when team spokespeople were part of multifaceted marketing campaigns, cartoons and special year round, and that brand value for the Globetrotters is now returning in more creative communication and brand platforms that are looking to tie with a group that has recognition with casual sports and entertainment fans. Does it matter if the Trotters pair wins TAR this year? No. It mattered more that they stayed in the race and on the show long enough to drive interest and draw more eyeballs to the brand. By making it to this stage they have achieved their goal and have helped forge a bridge to when the season tips off, which is a win for their brand and all their partners.

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