Media Post

The Business of Baseball Never Sleeps…

December 16, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Maybe it’s because the World Baseball Classic pushed the World Series into November. Maybe its because the winter meetings came at a time this year when the rest of the sports world was Tiger-crazy and not much else was going on. Maybe its because baseball is doing as good a job of strategically stretching out its news over a longer period this year. Whatever the reason, the amount of information that is ongoing for the business of baseball seems endless, and for those involved in the branding of America’s pastime, its probably a good thing. Whether you are following the business of minor league baseball and the great things that so many teams do to stay relevant with offseason promotions, or are part of all the hot stove action going on, or are taking interest in the potential Hall of Fame candidates announced, or even getting ready to purchase tickets for the Sunday Night opener on ESPN, there is no shortage of daily information, news and notes for the baseball fan, ardent or casual. While virtually every other sport on the planet takes an offseason, baseball finds ways to stay relevant. Even on the competition front, as baseball finishes in North America games are starting in the Caribbean, and in 2010, in Australia with a new pro league. Is it overkill? Does it lose relevance? Strangely not. More importantly if you are involved in the branding business of baseball, the sport finds ways to stay top of mind, giving the brands that are involved on some level incentive to stay fresh and informed. While some may decide the actual season is too long, the fact remains that as a business and as an entertainment property, there may be no sport that feeds the sould of its core fan more than baseball, and in these challenged times, that’s a good thing for ROI.

The Stunt Makes A Comeback…

November 17, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

As we move towards the end of what has been a challenged year for many in the brand activation side, we are seeing more and more unique ambush plays and creative sponsorship partnerships designed to extract every dollar, or generate dollars and interest, with every passing day. The moves are probably coming more out of creative minds letting loose and brands being willing to try a little more edgy a push for ROI, but in each case the opportunities have created buzz and made for an entrepreneurial sense of “one upsmanship” that is both refreshing and challenging for all involved in sports and entertainment. The recent examples included: Hebrew National pulling a unique ambush and challenge for those players caught eating hot dogs on an NFL sideline (after the Jets Mark Sanchez was caught on camera eating during a game), the Captain Morgan pose and subsequent followup this week by Diageo during last week’s Eagles NFL game, Boise State and the Big West Conference looking to raise their profile by hiring a PR firm and selling “shares” in their athletic program (as reported by Darren Rovell) with each holder getting a voice in marketing plans, and the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” sponsoring last Saturday’s championship fight between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquaio.

History Channel Pawns Off A Great Promo For Upcoming Fight Night…

November 10, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

The linking of pawn shops and boxers may not have always been a positive experience, but this week, as part of the promotional campaign for the title bout between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao, “Pawn Stars” and boxing will share equal billing. That is because The History Channel, working with Top Rank and the Leverage Agency, came up with a very unique cross promotion for the History Channel’s new Vegas reality show which featured the lives of a family of Pawn Brokers and debuts at the end of the month. The “Pawn Stars” logo, series stars and even a sweepstakes will be interwoven into the HBO pay per view broadcast this Saturday night, giving the show a platform in a demo that fits and giving the fight a unique promotional platform in and around Vegas. Media Post’s David Goetzel had an indepth look at the cross promotion, which will also be woven into all of Top ranks advance media buys for the night. In addition to being an interesting media play for both properties, the move fills canvas space and distressed inventory and will also lure casual fans…those who may enjoy reality TV and may not watch a professional fight…into the promotion or the pay per view market. The replay of the fight on HBO at a later date can also benefit from promotion on “Pawn Stars” when it airs later in the month, another way in which a somewhat unconventional but very practical and cost efficient cross branding exercise can work. Now could some see it as a step down for the canvas signage that usually or used to appear at top fights? perhaps. But in a day where everyone is looking for bang for the buck, the championship fight and its reality TV cousin could be the first in a long line of similar ties ins with the reality show and key athletic events in their demo.

Hebrew National Strikes While The Sanchez Dog Is Hot…

October 29, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

Timing is everything, whether you are an official team partner or not. Take Conagra Foods Hebrew National Hot Dogs for example. The Kosher Dog, with a few professional sports ties but not many, made a very smart play this week to tie to the Jets, the NFL and poster boy quarterback Mark Sanchez by capitalizing on the shots of Sanchez munching on a hot dog on the sideline during Sunday’s romp over the Oakland Raiders. In honor of the on-camera hot dog sneak, Hebrew national announced today a plan of free hot dogs for anyone holding a ticket to any professional football game this season (hello UFL) where a quarterback is caught on camera eating a hot dog. The announcement strikes home for many reasons. One it is a great ambush marketing play for a brand which is more regional than national and usually doesn’t get national exposure, especially even remotely tied to a professional sports brand. Second it is set up so that the chances of a mega-giveaway are slim, but if the viral nature of the offer gets out and there is a quarterback and a cameraman smart enough to catch the sneak during a broadcast, the exposure will fare outweigh the cost. Third, it is perfectly worded to avoid any mention of NFL team, so as not to infringe upon any rights, and fourth, it is a great example of a brand making light of an incident which probably was taken way to seriously anyway. Now will a team take advantage? Could a college or minor league brand up the challenge? Will Hebrew National be prepared for a deluge should the challenge play out? All to be seen. Regardless of the outcome, the brand beat the competition to the bunch and added in a nice PR spin, as captured in the New York Post and other places Wednesday. Good old fashioned spinning in a time when brands are always looking for the unique, cost efficient brand.

The State of Rutgers Gets Some Great Guerilla Exposure

September 18, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Saturday Rutgers will take on Florida International University in Piscataway, New Jersey but despite the result, the two biggest gains in popularity for the school may have been made away from any court or playing field this past week. First, on Tuesday night’s Jay Leno Show on NBC, award winning documentarian Michael Moore sported a Rutgers hat for his time on stage with Jay. Then later in the week, urban designer Mark Ecko announced that he was creating a line of Rutgers-themed apparel in honor of his alma mater. Moore has been wearing the Rutgers caps as a tribute to Scarlet Knights grad Ann Sparanese, who started the letter writing campaign to save his first book “Stupid White Men,” which criticized President Bush, while the limited edition Ecko line pays homage to the designer’s time spent in New Brunswick on the Rutgers campus (he is an alumnus) and will be sold online at Shopecko.com.

Brand Jeter…

September 12, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

September 11, with thoughts of a day of service and reflection proposed by President Obama, may be turning the corner from negativity and grief to positive action (although we should never forget and many need to and still should morn the loss on that day). However on Friday night we were again reminded as to how sports can help be a salve on wounds, and take us to places we never thought we could get to emotionally. Case in point, Derek Jeter. MLB, through their Day of Service and Rememberence initiative, and their announcement of giving back to veterans, created a very nice platform for transition for fans on 9/11, and tied it into the red hats worn by all players. However the person who helped New York turn the corner was Jeter, who broke Lou Gehrig’s Yankee record for hits on 9/11, and gave all a reminder of what brand leadership by example is all about. Brand Jeter is not flashy…there is little digital marketing and splash to it. It has solid, longstanding promotional partners who build very effective programs around his persona…Nike, Ford and Gillette…and his “Turn Two” Foundation does more works of service quietly than publicly in many cases. Still the Jeter brand is one of control, and effective control. In a time where many athletes try to build and expand brands into something they are not, or try to attach themselves to products just for the dollar or for the buzz, the Yankee captain and his business team have remained steady, the quality which many brands in and out of sports should aspire to. Of course Jeter’s onfield longevity and consistency play a key role in that, as does his soft spoken nature. But it could be very easy for Jeter as a brand to try and grab more edgy sponsorships or lend the name to a quick payday. Thus far there has been no need, and as an athlete leadership brand, the bet is that the position will stay the same….and now he has even given us a reason to look back fondly on 9/11…for sports anyway.

Even In A Down Economy, Open Activation Still Leads The Way…

September 7, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As other mega-events like the Super Bowl, NASCAR, the NBA Finals, the All-Star game, golf’s U.S. Open shied away from large scale media activation and branding with many of their partners toward more subtle and community-oriented activation, the tennis US Open has moved steadfastly ahead in telling its stories, growing its base and solidifying its place as the mega event it has become, even in the slowest of years. Of course it helps that the Open is in New York at the same time every year, and can use its US Open series to build toward the two weeks. However the fact that the USTA and its partners continue to find stories from fashion, green efforts, celebrities, athleticism and grassroots, along with its business stories, is a testament to forward thinking business and smart and aggressive brand building. Even in week one, a look around found an NPR and Fast Company piece on the USTA’s leadership in green space amongst sports, stories on the value of selling oversized tennis balls, the value of the US Open “flame” as a brand motivator and story after story about the fashion styles of players and fans around the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Then there are the brand activation stories, ranging from Amex’s expansion of their partnership to IBM’s expanded role with the USTA. Throw in the new TV deal with ESPN, the controversy with issues of coverage with The Tennis Channel and some rising American stars on the court, and once again the USTA gives all large scale events and brands a great run for their exposure dollars, and shows how even in challenging times an event can be creative and resourceful with messaging and partnerships instead of the running and hiding that has been seen elsewhere. Great effort by all to again take a world class event and find world class coverage.

Marveling At A New Opportunity For ESPN…

September 1, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It was only a few years ago that Marvel Entertainment caused an uproar amongst baseball traditionalists by trying to put spider webs on the bases at MLB games as part of their promotion for the first “Spiderman” movie. The backlash caused MLB and Marvel to scale down the promotion and saved the “sanctity of white bases” for the time. Flash forward to today’s more challenged times, where outfield signage and in game promotions dominate as a way to gain more ROI for partners, and MLB is now one of the leaders in finding ways to integrate unique content and promotions into their games and production, albeit still not on the bases.

Sharing Content…Why It Works, Why It May Not…

August 26, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Recently there has been more and more talk amongst media outlets of sharing content, especially for sports. Media Post laid out an extensive plan with many of the top newspapers looking to share editorial over the next few months , which will certainly give outlets that have already cut back on travel the advantage of having some fresh, albeit less local, content. It fills pages, and probably exposes some writers and columnists to a larger audience than before, and may actually create some double duty for beat writers who may have to file one story for the local team and one with additional quotes for the road team. From the aspect of saving additional jobs and keeping content fresh for those papers, it works. Where it doesn’t work will again be in the loss of point of view or quality writing, or additional access for writers who may get to know an athlete, a coach or a team just that much more when he or she is with those athletes every day. Although in this time many professional teams have a skeleton crew traveling with them for long trips anyway it may not make that much of a difference, but for times when there is extra access needed…or blog notes or a breaking story…the lack of a road presence may not play well with a shared content idea. Still it is a calculated risk papers will take. However into that void comes opportunity. Locally, any number of sites are popping up to fill the gap in local coverage. In the Hudson Valley Region of New York, writer Rich Thomaselli has launched the Hudson Valley Sports Report to give more coverage to local sports now not being covered by newspapers that had cut back. Enterprising publicists will also be able to track which stories and which writers are getting more play on a regional level, and can increase the breath and scope of their clients’ coverage by pitching a columnist who can potentially have a piece syndicated to many markets as opposed to just one. The gap will also create opportunities for enterprising bloggers who get access to expand their following as well. Now will any of this make money or drive traffic? Unknown. It will cut costs and use economies of scale for newspapers who continue to go through lean times as they adapt to a new business model, but whether the shared sites, or even these low cost alternatives can become a profit center remains to be seen. The fact is that media coverge of the past is fading into memory and the current day coverage remains in flux in an economy that remains sketchy. Figuring out which media outlets will grow, and then merchandising that coverage, will be the biggest challenge.

Mallards Make Access Something To Quack About…

August 12, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The sanctity of the lockerroom before game time is probably viewed as the last piece of quiet for coach and player. Media access ends, most staff are out and teams can focus on the task of being a professional athlete. However as teams strive to find more ways to give fans and brands more and more ROI, even that sanctity can reach a compromise. The latest move in ultimate access is being offered up by the Quad City Mallards of the International Hockey League, who will allow access certain VIP seats lockeroom access as close as 30 minutes before game time, along with other exclusives for their elite season ticketholders. The Ice Row seats, a first for hockey, is probably one that can be emulated in other sports at the minor and collegiate level, and seems like a natural for sponsorship as well. As always there must be buy-in from the coach for such close game access, and both union and media rules would probably prohibit such close in lockerroom access at the highest levels, but for a franchise looking to be innovative the 30 minute rule is an interesting one, and it will be interesting as well to see whatever prohibitions will be looped in (cell phone cameras shooting chalkboards could be a small issue or Twitter reports on injured players), but the idea gets points for innovation, access and the potential of a nice sponsor return. Nice try by the Mallards to continue to offer more, and drive relevance and interest in the offseason, a brand building exercise that is wrote in minor league baseball but is now just moving to a new level in minor league hockey.

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