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: , , ,

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: , , ,

In 140 Characters or 120 Minutes…The Communicators Who Communicate

April 1, 2013 by

One of the opportunities and also one of the issues with social media is that the stream and the quest for information and access is never ending. The pipeline if you choose to use it, never really shuts off. So into that vacuum of information, especially for the consumer, comes the communications head in sport of teams, leagues, governing bodies, and broadcast entities.  Like every new medium, some choose to embrace, some run and hide and others take a wait and see approach. Sport, on the team level at least, is a business of ritual which can sometimes be endless, and for some teams with long rituals and full press areas, those rituals are sometimes hard, if not impossible to change, even if there is benefit.

Some teams see the social media space as a way to reinforce the company line and that’s about it. Buy tickets here, here is tonight’s promotion, here are some facts about our players…much of it is not new or innovative, but it is effective to use social media to make sure that followers have some information, especially about the bottom line for the team. Often times these feeds are not personalized, they are generic, and can be generated as much by an intern as they would be by a senior staff member. They provide a service, but don’t really give the consumer much more insight or added value than they would get in other places. It’s access, but not access that enhances the experience or sheds light into what is going on with the team, or the athlete they passionately follow.

As a communications tool to the masses, for those teams that choose that path it works for them.

The tragedy of taking that path is that many times those communicators on the staff are great storytellers who often times can provide a very unique glimpse through their daily interactions. Little slice of life anecdotes which followers of the team, media, business partners, would find interesting. Because these men and women spend so much time inside the business of sport, and they are usually skilled communicators, they have both a different take on things and see the business from a side that is pretty unique. Can they mix in the obligatory shill for a giveaway day? Sure. Would they take shots at the team or officials in lean times, probably not.  However using social media as a fun way to peer inside the glass tower is a way for those who do the communication to better communicate even humanize the team or the entity that they represent in sport.

Who does the mix well? Some, like Josh Rawitch at the Arizona  Diamondbacks or Ron Colangelo at the Detroit Tigers  or Jim Saccomano at the Denver Broncos, or Charles Bloom who was at the SEC for a long time and is now at the University of South Carolina, or Mike Kelly who went from the ACC to the BCS,  do a great job of mixing in information and anecdotes from a long career. One of the first, and best, adopters of social media is New York Giants longtime communications head Pat Hanlon, who not only gives some solid insight into team goings-on but is not afraid to mix it up with fans and the media, usually in a good natured way. Most recently, the New York Mets longtime PR leader Jay Horwitz became a media story himself when he took to twitter like a fish to water, and provided amazing insight every day from a life dedicated to the orange and blue, telling tales of players past and present, mixed in with a lighthearted look at himself, in 140 character bursts. It is a fun and very unique peer into the inner workings of sport at its highest level. It is genuine, fun and very sincere.

Now that type of look, or the work that Hanlon and others do is not sanctioned by every organization. The Brooklyn Nets for example, recently cut off their lighthearted “Nets PR” twitter feed, which was providing some fun, some silly little slices of life inside the team.  While no real reason was given, the feeling is similar to what other teams, colleges and leagues feel…social media should be a marketing tool to push product, not to entertain fans. It’s may not be the right approach for some, but it is the choice of the organization. Sure, sometimes the rat-tat of social can also burn those who get caught up. Several teams and colleges have had to recant statements when front office execs, even some in communications, have fired off shots at media members or fans too hastily. However all that can be avoided if you think before you hit send…the same advice, most communications executives give to their players and coaches.

So no it’s not for everyone…however for those who use the medium well, communicating with the top communicators can be fun and effective, and a strong tool to engage fans and even grow brand and media following. The folks who do it well don’t shill, they are good story tellers and communicators, with a gift to spin a tale efficiently and make the game and those who play very human.

They make social media fun and interesting to their followers with their genuine approach learned from a lifetime of being on the inside. After all, sport is big business, but it is supposed to be fun, and communicating that fun is what brings fans, brands, and even media, engaged and interested, in good times and bad.

Filed Under: College Baseball, College Basketball, College Football, Minor League Hockey, MLB, MLS Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Head and Shoulders Doesn’t Whiff With New MLB Program…

March 31, 2013 by

For the last few years men’s hygiene brands have used the sports space to lift awareness with a series of fun and engaging campaigns, the latest of which was their “Smelf” campaign starring All-Pro Wide receiver Greg Jennings for Old Spice. It was the next in a series of fun and irreverent campaigns that men’s brands have used to try and generate buzz and ROI in a very competitive and growing space, one which needs to capture the eye of the female purchaser sometimes as much as the male.

Before we had “smelf,” we did have the Pittsburgh Steelers Troy Polamalu using his expansive head of hair for “Head and Shoulders” as well, a campaign which certainly generated interest and innovation for the Procter and Gamble brand as well.

Now the one upsmanship in the space goes back to the diamond from the gridiron, and shays back to Head and Shoulders again.

H and S will kick off another fun play on words on opening day with their “Season of the Whiff,” which will go coast to coast when MLB gets started this week. The campaign will be across all forms of media, and will be integrated into game broadcasts in 11 markets, encouraging fans to use the #Whiff hashtag with their team’s Twitter handle each time a pitcher strikes out an opponent.

The brand won’t just be looking for social engagement either…it will put $1 for each strikeout to Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) and can push social media by giving the MLB club whose fans rack up the most #Whiff tweets monthly an additional $10,000 for local chapters.

Head & Shoulders will also take an active role in New York, the home of this year’s MLB All-Star Game in July. By wrapping subway cars as part of the outreach.  To make sure they also get ample play out west, the brand by tapping Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson and All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton as spokespeople for the campaign.

The whiff is a great play on words for the diehard fan, and by throwing in a charity component the campaign will have legs outside the traditional fan engagement property that can sometimes get lost in the programs that MLB offers up. It is a catchy, convenient and widespread program that has appeal both locally and nationally, and is a next great step in the men’s healthcare category for P and G.

Filed Under: ESPN, Fox, MLB 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: , , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , ,

Controlling The Assets…

February 1, 2013 by

With every passing week the stakes for team ownership continue to rise. The casual dollar of the fan gets tighter, costs rise for everything from labor to player development, social media drives more and more interest but also more and more expectations and brands want to see more and more of an ROI for the dollars they spend. While in most major team sports in North America revenue sharing has helped even some of the playing fields between big and small markets, the quest for added dollars at the local level continues to be very very high. At some point the ticket price will hit somewhat of a ceiling, and while the value of live sports is unlike anything else in entertainment, the price on that value still fluctuates. It is true that team sale prices for the most part rise every year, but what to do to generate dollars once you own the team leaves many members of senior leadership scratching their heads from time to time.

One key area that is being revisited is overall rights control. The ability to control your digital and broadcast rights have skyrocketed, and the idea of starting ones own network, once thought to be out of the question, is now still the way to go for many teams, especially in major markets. Six regional sports networks in Los Angeles you say? If you have the content and can provide live programming and fill around with low cost shoulder programming, then bring it on. Not the easiest route, but a sure way to at least control your own destiny.  Just ask the LA Dodgers.

Anther trend in recent years is to take some of your brightest most entreprenurial business minds, with some funding, and form a joint venture outside of the core team to develop new ventures to bring added value back to the ownership group. Finding other sports properties to purchase, developing real estate, making sure that ancillary events are filling a venue and then selling against those ventures requires time and fulltime effort, something that is hard to do when senior staff are concerned with the primary goals of a team…selling game sponsorships and filling seats. In the past those type of ventures were farmed off to consulting companies to concentrate on, and the ownership group took a cut but did not have full control of the venture.

In recent years however, ownership groups have seen a different tact work, especially in major markets, and are using that tact to keep control over all the ancillary and new business away from team day to day functions. It is becoming more financially viable to control all the intellectual capital and the ventures than to partner with an outside group and share. Some of the more bold strokes have been funded ventures like Fenway Sports Group in Boston or Silver Chalice in Chicago, which look at new ventures to bring into the fold of existing well run sports organizations like the Boston Red Sox or Chicago White Sox. yet others are joint ventures like Legends Hospitality, formed between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees to not just manage food services for the two premier brands, but to go and partner with other venues and properties to build additional revenue streams. RSE Ventures is another, created by Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross not just to help his NFL team, but to work on new and emerging ventures that expand the holdings of Ross into other areas. The latest was announced this week, with longtime sports executive Wally Hayward leaving the Chicago Cubs to form W Partners, co-founded by Cubs owner  Tom Ricketts to concentrate on ventures in and around Wrigley  Field but also in other areas of business like the teams’ new training facility in Arizona. Whereas in years past Hayward or a Cubs executive would oversee that work with an outside consulting firm, all that work now falls under the owner directly, outside of the day to day responsibilities of the club but within arms reach. It is convergence of opportunity and control of new revenue streams at a time where every dollar counts to be competitive. TV rights come up every few years, but ancillary dollars with a quality and iconic brand never seem to go away.

Now for sure there are pratfalls. Teams in the past have tried to combine ventures in sports and entertainment and have failed because of a lack of understanding of different cultures. Other owners have been too bullish and have gone the all-out takeover  of teams without fully understanding the challenges in a different country. You can’t always impose a new culture on a successful brand. This is also not the same as an ownership group with multiple teams in multiple areas, like Comcast Spectacor or Altitude in Denver or AEG. They own several teams that operate under a shared umbrella, and that is their core business. These new offshoots look to new business really outside the main scope of work. Some of it is unconventional, some is entreprenurial some will take years to develop and some may be try and fail, but all the efforts go to identifying new and sometimes revolutionary revenue streams that were not thought of before. It is not for everyone, even at the highest level, but it is intriguing.

Will this be a trend that continues? There are still well qualified consulting and sales groups out there globally doing outstanding work with many ownership groups as partners, so there is a great deal of work to go around. However for some owners with this new vision, it seems that the drive to identify and control what could always be farmed out is an interesting challenge, and one which certainly bears continued watching in places like Chicago and other markets around the world.

 

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