MLS

Football vs. Football…Parity Not Always Needed To Grow The Brand

August 29, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

With the Premier League now going in the UK and the NFL just a few weeks from kicking off in the United States, it is interesting to look at the two monster branding organizations and see how they run in parallel tracks in some ways and are apart in others still. Both have global aspirations, with soccer’s foothold as the world’s largest and most popular sport helping buoy the marketing, digital  and branding rights for the top EPL clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea for years.  Tours to North America for clubs like Tottenham and Manchester City this past summer also help raise awareness amongst casual fans looking for a bigger soccer jines than MLS can sometimes provide, especially in major markets, and the trical following for most EPL clubs keeps awareness attendance and local and regional value going.  The aggressive push for additional outside ownership for clubs like Liverpool has been an issue as the global economy shrunk, but overall the global awareness of the Premier League, what it stands for and for many of its clubs has never been higher.

Why The Yanks Win With Hope Week…

August 21, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

Yes they are the defending World Champions and as so have a responsibilty to give back to their fans year-round.  And from expansive foundations run by Mariano rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Joe Girardi and many others, the New York Yankees do find ways to give back all year round, just like many teams on every level in every market. However what sets Hope Week apart for the Yankees is the expansive connections each and every member of the organization makes with so many different organizations during the busiest part of the season.  The plan, which ranges from visits to having various groups and organizations come to Yankee Stadium, takes every part of the organization and exposes the brand to a wide variety of stories that will have a cumulatiive ripple effect way beyond the initial meetings.  It is Community Relations and outreach to the max, and as a result garnered exposure not just locally but nationally, with a full-length feature on the Today Show on Friday.

The Latest Niche Sport Goes Down…RIP AVP

August 15, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Late Friday afternoon, after most of the business world was done for the August week, came the release that the AVP had closed its doors.  Despite the success of the Olympics, the marketability of its mature stars, the work of former head Leonard Armato and current head Jason Hodell to build interest and following as a lifestyle sport, the end came in mid-season.  It was not for a lack of committment by those running the business, or by its players or its fans.  The AVP had even scored a big victory in January by keeping beach volleyball as an NCAA sport, and a flood of new sponsors…KFC, Nivea…had come on in recent months.  So why did the AVP join the ranks of the AFL, the IFL, the MISL, the USL,  the AAFL and so many other niche leagues?  It is more a reflection of the continued issues in the economic climate which still has yet to recover.  If major sports that have massive audiences, long term media partners, and major brands behind them are struggling to find ROI, then the smaller guys are still the first and the easiest to go.  For all the spending that is done at the highest levels of sport…World Cup, NASCAR, the four major sports in the North America, and even now in MLS…the decision makers can still point to millions, not thousands, who will see the product and the brands that are associated with them. While it is true that there are smaller brands looking to activate against a core audience, you still need major exposure to generate the kind of revenue needed to support and sustain an organization for the long run.  The AVP was also burdened with the problem of facility…each week a new stadium had to be built and configured in a new site to make the sport run well.  It would be like moving a golf course or tennis courts from one place to the next each week.  very, very expensive and very cost prohibitive.

Baseball Playing The Global Card, But Do Most Know?

August 12, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

There is perhaps no more global sport on the professional level than baseball. At some level of the professional game, over 35 countries on five continents are represented, and the number grows each year.  Major league Baseball International spends millions developing players around the globe, and the results can be seen in recent weeks, when Chinese Taipei edged Australia for the World Junior title, Cuba won the World University championship, and this week the Women’s World Cup is being played in Venezuela. The coming Little League World Series will also have its global look and later in the fall millions will tune in to watch the World Series.  Yet for all its domestic success, it is basketball (this week announcing regular season games in London between New Jersey and Toronto) and soccer (with Chinese investor Kenny Huang looking to add to his work in hoops) continues to grab headlines that baseball should also have.  Why is that?

What Value Global Events? Ask Spain…

July 16, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

As the world moves on and experts look back on what value the World Cup brought to the African continent, perhaps they should look no further than the now reigning champion, Spain. Steadily over the last few years, the Spanish athletic programs across the board have transformed the Iberian Peninsula into a world power, whether that be in sports like golf and tennis or soccer and basketball.   Why?  Probably a number of factors but two of the most important are facilities and exposure, both of which are the fruits of Spain’s ability to host and then effectively leverage the World Cup and the Olympics.  Those two events ten years apart, World Cup in ‘82 and Olympics in ‘92, provided a platform to the world and to young athletes  on the benefits not just of top level competition, but also of they ways sport can be a social unifier.

Landon The Brand…

July 1, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 3 Comments 

While France and Italy were wringing their hands and Nigeria was suspending their team for two years, the United States was moving on to figure out how to capitalize on the next step success that was realized in the World Cup.  Despite the loss to Ghana, more casual fans tuned in, logged on and talked about World Cup in the States than ever before, giving the sport a new opportunity in its growth at the professional level. So what’s next?  The NHL used the success of the Olympics to elevate it’s awareness for the rest of this past winter and spring, how can MLS and professional soccer in general do the same?

What’s Good For Africa Could Be Better For Brazil…

June 14, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

While the world watches, enjoys and ponders the long-term effects a positive World Cup will bring to the southern African contintent, it is interesting to wonder even more about how the best practices and experiences brands, fans and the media will work in the favor of Brazil. The South American country will have a rare double in the next decade, hosting World Cup in 2014 followed by the Olympics in 2016, and the good will built out by the outreach and discoveries in South Africa this month can bode very well for the growth of the business of sport in South America going forward.

New real estate in sports brands expands…

June 5, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

As the scramble to get the best value for sponsorship dollars, as well as added eyeballs for products and services, continues on in a challenged economy, two brands took a leap step forward in the New York sports marketing scene this week.

Louis Vuitton Plus Soccer Legends = Cool Brand Promotion

June 2, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Looking through the Sunday New York Times I spied an amazing ad (art by Annie Lebovitz) featuring soccer legends Diego Maradona, Pele, and Zinedine Zidane. An ad for GQ? An indepth tease for ESPN’s World Cup coverage? Nope.  It is the focal point of a multi-level international brand campaign by Louis Vuitton that ties all elements of style, sport, and digital together with some traditional fun. The campaign, dissected in the LA Times, was shot in Spain with the three soccer legends getting together to “hang out” under the watchful eye of Leibovitz.  All alone it is an amazing series of ads as art, promoting the quality of the brand.  Then one visits the website.

Pro Guides Getting More On The Stick For Media…

April 29, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 3 Comments 

The legendary journalist Jimmy Breslin once said the beauty of holding and reading a newspaper is that you never know what surprises are in store when you turn the page.  That of course was well before the Kindle and IPad infused world we are now in, where data and all forms of media can literally change in the blink of an eye, with no worry of turning the page.  Newspapers and information sources become outdated in many cases as soon as they are printed, or the next news cycle begins, and technology is giving us the ability to continue to streamline our information process.

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