Brewers Promo Scores…

May 16, 2013 by

Sometimes it’s the smallest markets that are the most innovative, and in baseball the Milwaukee Brewers certainly fall into the category of smaller markets, bigger ideas for fans.  For several years the club has created a cult following by creating scavenger hunts in the spring around the city for little gnomes looking like their beloved mascot Bernie Brewer. Fans would scatter out to find each hidden collectable, with a special prize connected to the beloved trinkets. Many times, within minutes, the trophies would even go viral and find their way on to eBay, helping create a pretty unique secondary market for the Brewers brand regardless of how they were faring on the field. The promotion drew lots of buzz and gave fans a special extra as baseball came into focus in Wisconsin.

This past week the Brew Crew continued the tradition with a little tasty expansion. The club placed thousands of sausage ornaments across the area around Miller Park,  as part of their innovative “Spring Madness” promotion.  Fans were tipped to the promo when earlier in the week, their famous polish sausage was missing from their nighty and popular race around the infield during the game. The result was a hunt that spread virally to help find the sausage somewhere in Miller Park. The popular activity had people lined up on a weekday at 5 am, all with the hopes of grabbing an ornament even before heading to work. Thousands disappeared in a few hours, and the secondary marketplace for the unique and limited collectables again heated up.

The promotion didn’t have lots of flash and a big marketing spend behind it. It took place at a time of year where the other professional teams, and the regions colleges, are in a lull. And it also hit just when the weather was starting to warm up and fans of sport are starting to think more about baseball.  Would it work in a major market? The numbers may get out of control to manage for people looking for something free.  Maybe also major market teams would not see the value in the giveaway like their smaller market cousins. However the Brewers understand their fan base and what motivates them to turn out on a spring morning and show their loyalty to their hometown team, albeit for some freebees. Those freebees can turn into sales down the line, and the collectable hanging around the house is a nice reminder for casual fans on who has been there for them when they have some disposable income to push out during the summer. Scavenger hunts,  even in a high tech would, always seem to have added value despite the logistical concerns, and they tie greatly to the traditions of baseball, which for all of its advances is still an activity steeped in tradition. Maybe Silicon Valley millennials would thumb their ipads at a trek for some trinkets, but in Milwaukee, the promo seems to work just fine.

Filed Under: Gaming, Minor League Baseball, Minor League Hockey, MLB Tagged With: , , ,

Atlantic League Tries To Put Time On Its Side…

May 1, 2013 by

Independent League baseball has its challenges. Without the guiding hand, and finances of Major League Baseball, the clubs are subject more and more to a fickle economy and casual dollars that may or may not believe that “future stars” are unfolding before their eyes every night, as opposed to a host of never-beens who are holding on for a few dollars just to play a few more innings.

However in some cases, the leagues that have survived the longest have actually been some of the most innovative in professional sports. No MLB “Big Brother” looking in means they can be a little more edgy, have players a little older and sometimes have games even more competitive than traditional than affiliated  minor league teams. There are few restrictions placed on managers with pitch counts and innings played, so the games have a little higher competitiveness, and with the Indy teams sometimes a last stop for players, there is sometimes an even heightened competitiveness that is sometimes lacking in affiliated teams, especially at the lower levels. While all minor league teams have to be creative in getting fans out for the experience of a night at the ballpark, it is the Indy league teams that have to watch each and every dollar, especially since in many cases the owner of the team has the whole P and L, from salaries of players and staff to hot dog roles.

Every once in a while you will also see a former star looking for a last shot surface at one of the Independent League teams, as opposed to signing on with an affiliated organization where he won’t get a full or long look. It may be a little more money, but the focus is on developing future players with affiliated teams, not in the one shot for former MLB players. The Indy Leagues are about today, about winning, and about the experience for fans.   

So into that entrepreneurial spirit is the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Inc. one of the steadiest and oldest independent leagues in North America. With teams around many major markets, the Atlantic League has gotten its share of coverage, and wayward stars over the years, but this year the league is setting out to be even more innovative with baseball in general, by tackling one of the sports’ biggest complaints. Length of games.

How are they going to try and do it?

•    Strike Zone - The Strike Zone defined in the Major League Official Rules will be called by Atlantic League umpires in 2013. In practice, despite the rulebook definition, professional baseball pitches above the belt are generally called a “ball” these days. In the past, the Official Rules Strike Zone was called and the Atlantic League would like to attempt to measure the effect of calling the existing rule on pace of the games. The objective of enforcing the Rule Book Strike Zone is to see if this will reduce number of pitches in a game and to speed up play by encouraging hitters to put balls in play earlier in the count.

•    Hitters – Existing Rule 6.02 prohibiting hitters intentionally leaving the batter’s box and delaying the game will be enforced.  Managers and umpires shall strongly encourage hitters to be ready to bat, and hitters shall minimize time between pitches. Hitters are not to step out of the batter’s box after every pitch. Public Address announcers must stop player walk out music once the hitter enters dirt area around home plate. After a warning, umpires may call a ‘Strike’ for additional violations.

•    Pitcher Warms Ups – Existing Rule 8.03 which states “Pitchers will be allowed eight (8) warm up pitches, but shall not consume more than one (1) minute” will now be enforced, as will Existing Rule 8.04 which states “when the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball.” After a warning, each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call ‘Ball’.

•    Time between Half Innings – Existing Rule 9.05 regarding “keeping the game moving” will be enforced. Umpires and Official Scorers shall monitor time from the making of last out until first pitch of next half inning is thrown. Goal is 90 seconds or less instead of the existing 120 to 150 seconds.

•    Frequent Visits to the Mound – During the first half of the 2013 season, the Atlantic League will also be evaluating whether modifications to the rules regarding mound visits by the manager, coaches, and position players should be added to the experimental program. While this evaluation is being made, managers have been requested to attempt to minimize mound visits and, where feasible, make pitching changes between innings rather than during an inning.

•    Game Reports – Within 24 hours following the end of any nine inning game that exceed 2 hours 45 minutes, a written report describing what events caused the game to exceed the 2 hour 45 minutes must be sent to the League Office, by each Manager, Umpires, home club General Manager and Official Scorer.

•    Enforcement – This experimental program is a cooperative effort involving all Atlantic League players, Managers, Coaches, Umpires and Front Office. The League expects voluntary compliance and does not anticipate needing enforcement actions that might disturb the flow or integrity of the Game. As data is collected and evaluated adjustments to this program may be made from time to time.

Now from a business standpoint, sometimes longer games mean more concessions consumed, but the goal of the experiment is to draw the repeat customer, one who will see this as speaking directly to their busy lifestyles and will keep them coming back for a few hours at a clip, vs. three or four.

The move also opens up even more sponsorable items for teams…each change brings a host of new ways to promote and keep the game moving at a reasonable clip. If the changes stick, they could get adopted and tried elsewhere, which projects the Atlantic League as innovative and thoughtful about the game. If they fail, it is another good try by clubs looking to get exposure and try and find ways to improve the fan experience.

Now in no way do Indy teams detract from the fan experience of affiliated minor league teams. They complement each other well and often borrow ideas back and forth. However for a league looking to gain marketshare and cut through the clutter, some time adjustments will help, and the Atlantic League has the time to give it a try.

Filed Under: Minor League Baseball, MLB Tagged With: , , ,

Can Professional Ultimate Frisbee Fly?

April 24, 2013 by

Amidst all the hype of baseball, the NFL Draft, the NBA Playoffs, the NHL regular season finale, even the start of outdoor pro lacrosse came another property launching in a crowded marketplace. It has cool colors, lots of action, has been played by millions, can be coed, is fast paced and easy to understand. It even received an NCAA sanction to be played on the collegiate level officially last year. Any guess?

 Professional Ultimate Frisbee. An eight team league launched the last few weeks with outposts from New York (The Rumble, although they are playing in Union City, New Jersey in Roosevelt Stadium, nice timing with “42” coming out last few weeks) to Vancouver. They have mascots, telegenic athletes probably with good backstories, female General Managers and a game that is full of fun and acrobatics. What they don’t have are sponsors, television, and real mainstream crossover appeal. They have salaries and ticket prices, even season tickets for real fans following the teams. Can it work? Really tough.

 Now club sponsored teams on the collegiate level have worked for years, and there is now more structure to the college game, with thousands playing for the college championship. It is fun, invokes school pride, is easy to follow and probably gives many winter sports athletes a little respite, but that’s what it is…fun camaraderie amongst schools with some bragging rights packaged in. There may be brands willing to spend against the audience, but with the thousands of choices out there, activating against that group could be tough. Beverages who can pour onsite, or even energy bars would make sense, but large sums spent against it without lots of media and even digital exposure is going to be tough to get. That’s on the college campus.

 Now on the “professional” side? Organizers will point to thousands who play the game recreationally and probably a void for a sport like spring football that may bring people out. It can be acrobatic and testosterone driven as well. But a professional league that can make money…which is what professional sports are supposed to be about? Really tough to sell. With ticket prices comes attendance, with attendance comes hard numbers, with hard numbers comes results. Can they be measurable to have brands spend against it? Well established sports…lacrosse, fast pitch softball arena football, indoor soccer, rugby, cricket, even women’s soccer…have tried with large pockets to develop pro leagues or tours, and most times they have fallen hard, struggled to survive or have failed to launch despite the outcries from the core or passionate fans. A well-established Olympic sport like beach volleyball has gone through several professional iterations and is now trying to come back ye again this summer despite mountains of red tape in the past. Great game, fun to watch, great on site activation but very, very expensive to do.

 Now maybe because it is so new without lots of baggage that professional Ultimate Frisbee can succeed. Controlled costs, fun in the sun, athletes willing to promote, a good feel for digital and social media play in its favor. However there are hard costs…staff, stadia, ticketing, event production, that even with a tight bottom line still cost money, not to mention travel, coaching, medical insurance etc. etc. Probably some brands will take a look, but these days every penny spent against sponsorship is heavily tracked for ROI. Maybe there is a global media company out there with deep pockets who sees Ultimate Frisbee as their gateway to a younger active demo ale video gamers and X Games followers. Maybe.

 It would be great if all these properties survive and thrive. Innovation, diversity, athleticism and compelling content are all good and can create more jobs in the marketplace. However in these challenging times can such niche endeavors bring repeat customers and a good ROI? Is a sport played by millions recreationally needed in the professional realm, where costs are higher and so are expectations? Many have tried, few, if any have succeeded. So we watch, we wait and we toss around the Frisbee and see where it lands. Maybe it will be a win, maybe not, and you have to give those who have put up some dollars credit in some way for trying. It’s a really tough way to fly a business though.

Filed Under: Ambush Marketing, ESPN, FIFA, Gaming, Jobs, Lacrosse, Minor League Baseball, NBDL, NLL, Olympics Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Little idea, BIG win for all

April 10, 2013 by

How do you make hay with Sunflower seeds in a crowded market with limited money? Come up with a big idea and then pitch it as so. Good example?  BIGS Sunflower Seeds.

The privately held Colorado Company has stiff competition in the consumer marketplace, but they took a natural tie…baseball…and came up with a unique national platform, one that doesn’t need an official endorsement from MLB, has a story line in multiple markets, has a charismatic character to tell it, and even has a charity tie, all winning elements that can even go viral..

The company partnered with Zack Hample, a best-selling author and record-setting baseball collector, who will try to snag a baseball at every big league stadium in 2013, raising money for Pitch In For Baseball along the way.  In the BIGS Baseball Adventure, Hample, who has collected more than 6,400 baseballs during batting practice and live games, and literally wrote the book, “How to Snag Major League Baseballs”, will attempt to collect a game-used baseball from all 30 baseball stadiums – a challenge that has never been achieved. For every stadium in which he succeeds, BIGS Sunflower Seeds will donate $500 to Pitch In For Baseball, the worthwhile charity which provides equipment at no cost to kids around the world. They recently started a program to help replace equipment lost in the Northeast by Superstorm Sandy.

  From a branding standpoint there is no downside for BIGS. They already have product in market, there is no lay out for in store or in stadium promotion, and Hample knows his way around a ballpark. The social world lends itself to some great video which can be exploited should he come up with some amazing catches, or even runs afoul of some people with lighthearted controversy. PIB has no loss on the charity side as any cash coming in is an upside they can promote along with Hemple in every market, and the long baseball season lends itself to hundreds of attempts to get this done. Some teams may also embrace the effort to help promote in stadium, which BIGS can take advantage of on the back end. It may not be a top news story but it has scale and is equipped with all the low cost elements of potential success. It’s simple, and it works for the long haul.

Smart move by BIGS to fit with some right partners…now catch balls and chew some seeds.

Filed Under: Ambush Marketing, College Baseball, Fox, Minor League Baseball, MLB Tagged With: , , ,

“Feeling Thorny” A Great Marketing Try…

March 27, 2013 by

Professional Women’s Soccer needs every break it can get in its third go-round. Two well-funded previous attempts to create a pro league have come and gone, and now a third version funded in large part by USA Soccer and some others with a stake in the game is going to give it another try.

This version will have eight teams based in Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Western New York, New Jersey, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.  and will have heavy cost control and marketing spends to try and make it moderately successful.

One of those teams will be the Portland Thorns, who have the savvy and skill of the MLS Timbers, one of the best success stories in North American startups in the past 30 years, to draw from. The Timbers know how to sell the soccer experience, and with it, the stories, athleticism and the professionalism of the female athlete as well. It won’t be easy getting exposure, but this past week the Thorns created a good amount of buzz before even giving anyone a chance to talk soccer.

The team started to market a program to draw attention to the squad, with the slogan “Feeling Thorny,” as an off color play on words. In a progressive town like Portland, with a young, vibrant and active community, the shorts sold like wildfire.  Team head Mike Golub, one of the smartest marketers in sport, and someone who knows the marketplace, said that last week   half of the sales at the Adidas Timbers store in Jeld-Wen Field were of the T-shirt, giving the team a nice lift and showing most importantly, that the organization was not afraid to take a chance to expose the franchise to a casual audience. It was not a big spend, with billboards and TV ads with suggestive poses…it was a controlled test to see what the market would bear to help get the franchise off the ground in an unconventional way.

It appeared to be working. The slogan was vetted with a wide group of supporters and was even created by a female employee who did not see the short as offensive.

That’s when the PC world started to chime in. A Facebook page went up and the social world started reacting, positively and negatively to a slogan which some people found offensive and sexist to a family audience. The team, seeing that the simple slogan could cause more damage than it’s worth and could be a distraction to a franchise that is going to struggle to hit its margins, quickly recanted and pulled the shirts. End of story.

While it is probably the right thing to do for a franchise in need of every ounce of support as a startup, it is a shame that the Timbers organization, one which has taken every positive step to make sure it is part of the fabric of the community in Portland, had to recant on a slogan which was clearly not meant to be taken seriously, and did not offend the core fan or the women who were playing for the team. It had a great viral effect, and probably really hit home with a Portland community that loves a bit of an edge and can be all about counter culture.

Can “Feeling Thorny” make it back? Doubtful in the mainstream. Can those t-shorts find a niche home and help the team grow, even if they are not “official”? You betcha. The slogan and the shirts struck a chord with casual fans, and even by pulling them, the organization sent a message that the game is supposed to be all about having fun and enjoying the communal experience of sport.

The next promotion probably won’t be as edgy, but for sure the Thorns brain trust as created a demand for a product, and by testing the waters has given a nice look into their marketing prowess as they attempt to help a league, and a sport, finally turn a corner.

Nice try Timbers/Thorns, keep shaking the tree.

Filed Under: Ambush Marketing, Crisis Management, ESPN, FIFA, Minor League Baseball, MLS Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Classic Success?

March 23, 2013 by

Success is sometimes how you define it. If you look at the World Baseball Classic as a vehicle about American baseball and fandom, then you walk away from this year’s event scratching your head. Team USA, without the requisite stars, once again failed to reach the final round. So chalk up an L for the event.

However if you look at the event as a way to grow the sport globally, it’s hard to say that the WBC doesn’t achieve its purpose in only its third iteration. Record TV numbers aboard, record traffic in the digital space, more cumulative viewers for a network only a few tears old than it has had for any game or series not in the postseason, the rejuvenation of the sport in a key growth area, strong crowds of the country’s fastest growing ethnic population showing up in droves to see games, and thousands of global impressions in the media. Throw in some new sponsors and added value for some longtime MLB partners, and if those are your parameters, then the event did its job.

If MLB’s roles, as stated from the beginning, was to use the event as a way to expand the footprint of baseball globally, then how could the event be deemed a failure. Live baseball being show in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the new interest in an emerging economy in Brazil, the reinforcement of the game in a place where the game has some roots in Italy, the very important excitement that event generated in Puerto Rico, where the sport had been slipping away, not to mention the overwhelming success of the Dominican Republic, and the event looks like a winner.  Japan, the two time champion, had issues when it came to the States, and their player support problem is similar to that of the U.S., but for the other Asian nations that made the field the event was a draw and a news happening.

For the Americans that participated, the experience appeared to be a string one. As the U.S. came closer to the final round before being pushed out by Puerto Rico, there was even talk of some of the young stars like Bryce Harper already watching and pledging allegiance for the next go-round.  Maybe that type of enthusiasm can sway teams and agents who held players back again this time. The injury factor? Injuries can happen anywhere, Mark Teixeira’s wrist, hitting off a tee, had nothing to do with the jersey he wore that day.  Are there risks? Sure. But there are risks in playing in any spring training game.

At the end of the day, the WBC is still a work in progress. Maybe there is a slightly better time and format to create a country vs. country championship for pride that will grow the game. However the event generated the interest in a large way in the game at a time where hoops and hockey are still ruling the roost, and most importantly, it gives global baseball as a brand a showcase. That showcase, given the pressures the game is under to expand, is essential for the long term health of the sport. Soccer and basketball, individual sports, and properties like cricket and rugby, have taken their shots eroding the grassroots efforts of baseball, and have even taken some pieces of the core of the sport in the United States.

Is the WBC needed to keep American baseball fans glued to their seats? No. it is needed to reinforce the worldwide positioning of the sport, and to shore up emerging programs where future stars can also come from.

To say the global growth of baseball is not needed because of its place in America is a very dangerous game to play. All sports to be successful and lucrative at the highest levels need a global footprint. It’s why even American football is trying still to find a niche abroad. Now that’s probably not for the fan of baseball today to worry about. His or her game is doing more than just fine. However for the stewards of the game, the look always must be to the future, to the young consumer who may engage in the sport as a brand way down the road, the only way to do that is to enhance and grow in places where the game can or mat emerge, and that’s where the WBC fit in.

It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t All-American, but it was engaging it was multi-ethnic, and it helped move brand baseball ahead. Now on to Opening Day.

Filed Under: College Baseball, Crisis Management, ESPN, Minor League Baseball, MLB, Olympics Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Majoring In The Minors, Hockey Style

March 19, 2013 by

Anyone who has ever been around minor league hockey knows that the challenge to fill seats can be even more daunting than for the toughest minor league baseball teams. Baseball is all about sun and fun and a family experience in the outdoors..an inexpensive rite of summer. Hockey is indoors, in the winter many times in markets where the sport was imported and has not been a part of the culture for a long period of time.

For sure there are exceptions…Kalamazoo, Hershey, Syracuse…but for the most part minor league hockey is more about the action and the moment than about the passed on storied traditions of its summer cousin. That probably means that minor league hockey promoter probably have to be a little more edgy and a little more adult focused to grab the attention of a crowded winter calendar for the casual fan. The good thing is that most teams, even more than baseball, are really adept at social and digital media, and usually control their own rights and content (most of minor league baseball’s rights are now controlled by MLB.com).  So there are less impediments to taking to the digital space for sometimes racy and often times  creative spur of the moment instances. From fights to people with a few too many to drink in the stands, minor league hockey is more about the edge to put butts in seats than it is about the wholesome. Even with all that in mind, the minors does deliver its share of the creative, here are a few recent ones.

Crunching The Billboards: The Syracuse Crunch of the AHL are always one of the more original clubs in finding ways to draw attention. In the fall, they ran some suggestive billboards with the attractive Carol Grow, replete with call in number. The promotion drew some fire from groups, but it got the team ink. How did they top it? In January, they took the same concept, and dropped veteran bearded winger   Eric Neilson into the “call for a good time” ad. The team got a double bounce on the exposure, showed they were more than willing to have some fun at their own expense, and also showed they were being responsive to the community….the idea of the male player on the board actually came from a female fan.  Smart all around move for a Central New York team that knows its market.

What Happens In Vegas:  The ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers are another franchise who knows its clients, especially in Sin City. While they don’t really cater to the tourists in the casino’s, they do know what will catch the attention of a veteran Nevadan. So what did they do?  They staged “Over 18 Night,” where the players went  “topless.” Well not really.

The team actually came up with a jersey design which had the guys done uniforms come complete with drawn on abs and nipples.  The night was replete with risqué promotions, and the jerseys went for charity on the clubs site after the game.  Bo blood, no nakedness, but lots of fun for the fans for a night off the strip.

The Condors Fly With Exposure:  Another club that always seems to find its way into the headlines for its promotions is the Bakersfield Condors are another ECHL club looking for an edge. They promote themselves as number one in family entertainment and tout the large amount of money they have raised for charity, but they are always known for some fun promotions like their Charlie Sheen Night a few seasons ago.

This year the team had their mascot come ice side, along with a real condor and its handler, for a little fun fly by to promote the values of the rare bird and the team. However the bird’s handler slipped on the ice, and said Condor got loose, flying round the arena and setting off a viral video stream that went global. The team found a way to get the video out as well, especially when there were no injuries as a result of the incident, but they did get an added publicity boost…from PETA.

Being good Californians, PETA saw the video, and immediately went to the aid of the distressed bird and its handler, even issuing a statement about the incident far and wide to an even bigger audience than those who saw the viral video or had ever heard of the Bakersfield Condors.  PETA asked the team to ban live animals from its games and basically stick with the mascot…which of course can give the team a whole new set of promotions in the future. Sometimes the best exposure come from the spur of the moment, and the Condors found a way to make some chicken salad out of a challenging situation.

So while the three promos may not fit in minor league baseball, at least with affiliated clubs, they did raise the attention and the interest during  long hockey winter for a trio of promoters that understand their markets and how to attract visibility, and the casual fan.

Filed Under: Minor League Baseball, Minor League Hockey, NHL Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Brand USA and Baseball…A Good Global Fit

March 15, 2013 by

If you are a baseball fan living in the United States and watching or attending the World Baseball Classic, you may see an ad with former Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine and others urging you to travel and explore the United States. Why would a company take out ads and preach to the converted you may say. The answer is actually pretty simple…the ads really aren’t for you.

The partnership was created by The Corporation for Travel Promotion, now doing business as Brand USA. It was founded in 2010 to encourage travelers from all over the world to visit the United States of America. The public-private marketing entity works in close partnership with the travel industry to maximize the economic and social benefits of travel in communities around the country. Through its website, Discover America, Brand USA will inspire travelers to explore America’s boundless possibilities. So what’s the deal?

Simple. The program is designed to capture the interest of non-Americans in areas OUTSIDE of the US to come and visit, and the feeling is that the WBC, with its global appeal early in the spring, is the right platform. It is the first time that Brand USA has ventured into the sports waters to try and get the attention of the casual tourist, and if it works it will probably lead to other spends where the audience is global but the target is tourists who would have an interest in coming to the US. Now even with its slow start for casual acceptance here in the US this spring, the WBC and its country vs. country concept has done really well in other host cities and in broadcasts. The promotion actually had more activation points in stadia outside the US than it did in Phoenix, Miami or San Francisco, for the obvious reason that that is where passionate local fans are consuming their baseball. The same goes for local broadcast vs. American broadcast. Push heavy with those following Japan or Chinese Taipei or the Netherlands…they love baseball, they are intrigued about the WBC and maybe you can strike a chord and get them to make travel plans to the States this summer.

Using Valentine, a baseball figure with great international appeal who is multilingual, also makes great sense in trying to engage media and fans who are not just around to cover team USA. Does it hurt at all to engage and remind Americans about seeing their country? Of course not. But the main focus is to get people to come to the States to visit and spend those disposable dollars, and baseball and the WBC seem to be a great litmus test for the corporation.

The WBC seems to have been a great test spot for Brand USA. They got their message in front of millions in a setting where people were watching not for seconds but for a good period of time. Baseball has natural breaks in the action which can lead to longer discussion points, and the ties to baseball and an American experience for a consumer are obvious. So while it wasn’t the hard sell of a consumer product, Brand USA has chosen an interesting forum to get out their tourism message. If it works it could be a home run for future partnerships, especially as American sports look more globally for consumers, and teams with global appeal look to access the American marketplace.

Filed Under: Minor League Baseball, MLB, Olympics Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Rawlings, SABR Hit A Homer…

March 8, 2013 by

One of the interesting questions around the endless numbers crunching that takes place this time of year around baseball is what exactly, other than team player evaluation, fantasy play, and sports talk, is the real value for all of the statistical analysis.

Teams need ways to properly analyze talent for sure, and the minutia that goes with baseball fandom is interesting to some, but is it really quantifiable for brands that spend millions supporting and activating around the sport? Is there a way for a brand to effectively use analytics to market and get a return on its investment?

On Friday one such partnership seems to have been announced that can maybe help solve that opportunity, and if it works ay open up a door for brand analytics partnerships with some great upside. SABR (The Society For American Baseball Research) announced a partnership with sporting goods company Rawlings to give hard data analysis to its tentpole award, the Baseball Gold Glove.

This collaboration will add a new sabermetric-based component to the award selection process and gives the brand another step in the lifting of the profile of one of baseball’s unique and historic awards

As part of the multi-year collaboration beginning with the 2013 season, SABR will develop an expanded statistical resource guide that will accompany the Rawlings Gold Glove Award ballots sent to managers and coaches each year. In addition, SABR will immediately establish a new Fielding Research Committee tasked to develop a proprietary new defensive analytic called the SABR Defensive Index™, or SDI™. The SDI will serve as an “apples-to-apples” metric to help determine the best defensive players in baseball exclusively for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award selection processes. The collaboration also installs SABR as the presenting sponsor of the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award.

Since its inception in 1957, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award voting process has included national sportswriters, a secret players-only ballot, and the current system where each manager and up to six (6) coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their respective league, but not for players on their own team. Beginning in 2013, the managers/coaches vote will constitute a majority of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners’ selection tally, with the new SDI comprising of the remainder of the overall total. The exact breakdown of the selection criteria will be announced once the SDI is created later this summer.

The SDI’s ability to accurately compare players from different positions will help determine the updated Rawlings Platinum Glove Award presented by SABR. Fans will continue to have a voice during this process, once the newest class of Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners is announced in November.

So what does this mean? It means that an award, perhaps for the first time, will have hard statistics, in a formula, attached to the voting process. While the human element will still be a large factor, using this new index provides a first-time measuring stick for what was once totally arbitrary, and can really give shape to this, or any awards voting process. If successful, this type of analytic formula could officially apply to help alleviate some controversy in any voting process. Should a certain formula for success be used in determining Hall of Fame balloting, or even an MVP choice? How about the Heisman?

Of course it won’t be totally driven by analytics, but the Rawlings/SABR partnership shows that going forward, randomness won’t be as essential in the voting process for an award which does have its base in statistical performance. It doesn’t take any of the mystique out of the award. In many ways it sets the right benchmark for success, at least partially, and it puts everyone on an even playing field that is unbiased. The numbers don’t lie.

For Rawlings, a brand with long roots in baseball, it is a very smart move. It gives the Golden Glove even more legitimacy for a casual fan, and it provides the voters and the hardcore fans with a benchmark to work with, instead of just going on a hunch. It improves the brands ties to MLB, and shows all its interested parties that the company is being progressive and smart with its sponsor dollars and with a model that could be cutting edge in the way awards are judged in the future.

Sure sometimes sports, especially baseball, can be victims of paralysis by analysis, But in this case SABR found a way to take all those numbers and increase the value of a brand that is wed to the success of the sport, and that makes the partnership both unique and a winner for everyone.

A smart business move for both parties, and one with some nice opportunities for replication by other brands in a host of sports who are enamored with statistics but aren’t sure how to use the numbers to improve on the ones that matter most for them…those in the sales category.

Definitely a hit from a sports business perspective, as Opening Day approaches.

Filed Under: College Baseball, ESPN, Minor League Baseball, MLB, NCAA Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Can You Topps These?

February 15, 2013 by

The Topps Company has had various fits and starts in its existence and now is trying to survive in a digital world where traditional sports car collecting is interesting but no longer essential for those who follow a team. The collectable card company one had a host of brands vying for attention, but today, while several still exist, Topps still has probably the biggest recall for brand banes by the casual fan.

In recent years they have tried video, digital cards, companion projects and special events to try and draw more attention to their brand and keep growing in a really challenging market.

So it should come as no surprise to those who enjoy the brand and follow the company that as pitchers and catchers reported, Topps found its way into the baseball news, not once but twice this week.

First the company pared with the Detroit Tigers to unveil Topps unveiled the world’s largest baseball card on Tuesday, measuring 90 feet by 60 feet  (very nice touch on the baseball-like card dimensions)_. The larger than life image of The Detroit Tigers Prince Fielder graced the teams’ main field in Lakeland, Florida and broke up a relatively quiet sports week. It got the Tigers some pop as pitchers and catchers reported, and served as a reminder that Topps is still a string brand to remember tied directly to the sport that helped bring it to the forefront…baseball/

The next move for attention this week from the brand was the exact opposite of its loud large card statement. It was quiet and very effective to gain out the card company into the mainstream. The strong regional website Chicagoside caught on to the fact that all-time MLB hit leader Pete Rose has been omitted from the new  ”Career Chase,” category on the 2013 series of cards. The addition indicates how close — or far — that player is from some MLB milestone along with the player that holds the record.

On at least two cards… the Chicago Cubs’ Starlin Castro and the Chicago White Sox’s A.J. Pierzynski…the number of Rose’s record, 4,256 career hits is listed, but no mention of his name. Now there is no precedent before this year since the category is new on Topps’ cards, but it does set up a unique future collectable making the move valuable to the brand and its fans in addition to just being a “stunt” like the large card. The move will re-stir a debate amongst the baseball world as to Rose’s Hall of Fame ineligibility, and may even find its way into the former slugger’s reality show, giving Topps another media bump down the line.

Now none of these will cure the ills of the card industry or tilt the scales and the ledger sheet for Topps…the cards are still static offerings in a world that craves immediate updates, but they do serve as very well placed reminders of the brands creativity and draw, with maybe more newsworthy notes on the way as games begin.

The stunts cost relatively little and brought relevance to Topps, which both are string signs of a brand that understands the value of setting itself apart while reminding its core audience that they are here to stay.

A good start to baseball for a brand that built itself around the diamond and its millions of fans.

Filed Under: Ambush Marketing, ESPN, Minor League Baseball, MLB Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
«Older Posts
None :P None :P