New York Times

Matching The Brand And The Athlete Not A New Challenge…

August 19, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

Recently writer Michael Sokolve had a piece in the New York Times about the issues today’s iconic athletes have from a public perspective. Sokolove’s argument is that today’s greatest on field athletes…Tiger Woods and LeBron James included…needed to tell the world themselves how great they were to build a public, and very lucrative persona.  The iconic athletes of the past, he argued, let their achievements and those around them judge success in the public sector, and the need for self-gratification on achievements was not needed.  While it is easy to make that assumption, it is hard to say how the elite athletes of the past would have adjusted to the media trends and demands of today, and conversely, how today’s elite athletes would have done with different, and sometimes less, pressures of past generations.

My friend Jay died Monday…

August 10, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 8 Comments 

On Monday coming home on the train I got an email from my colleague Rich Sandomir of the New York Times who asked me if I had heard Jay Larkin died.  It was so very sad news.  Jay was one of the few mentors that I had…I learned more from him in a little over a year about learning to manage people and grow  business at the now defunct International Fight League than I had in countless years at Madison Square Garden or other stops.  He was a legend in boxing, a gentleman and a Brooklyn native with a killer instinct and business savvy that as he put it, made Showtime a strong Avis to HBO’s  Hertz. More importantly, he was a devoted father and husband who knew when to have a good time and when to work.  He helped bring professionalism to the most brutal of sports, and he always spoke his mind.

On The Record…Sort Of…

August 5, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

This past week has seen two prominent sports names…LeBron James and Brett Favre…dragged into the middle of controversy by being invlved in stories that were sort of on the record sort of not, but both show the continued issues media have with ethics, the battle to get out unique content and the growing rift between those who want coverage and those who have all coverage thrust upon them.  The first involved ESPN reporter Arash Markazi and his trailing of James and crew in Las Vegas. The murkiness over whether James’ team knew who Markazi was and what he was doing in a public place trailing the soon to be Miami Heat star is one issue, the fact that the reporter really didn’t find much and reported as such is another.  It is clear that Markazi never clearly stated or showed that he was a member of the media when he started asking questions to the group, but whether some people knew or didn’t know is the issue.  He did go to Las Vegas to see what he could find, and the resulting story, which ESPN did remove when it caused some controversy, was the product of his trip.  Should he have clearly said why he was there and asked for access, should James’ crew have known why he was there, should ESPN have removed a pretty benign story or should they have posted it in the first place is all the source of the debate.

So We Now Move On…

July 10, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

Stephen King was once asked who his audience is for his novels, and his answer was that he writes for everyone who slows down to look at accidents. It is the sense of spectacle that makes events, no matter how bizarre or contrived they sometimes seem, that draws everyone to them.  Case in point was the past week, or month, or year, and all the information, misinformation, rumors and talk about LeBron James and free agency, all of which came to a head with a huge audience on ESPN Thursday night.  So now that the world knows and is debating winners and losers, what is it that we really know today that we didn’t know yesterday about James’ move to South Beach?  Some thoughts…

More Expensive Real Estate Up For Grabs For Brands? NFL and WNBA…

April 23, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The continued quest for landing valuable real estate in the sports space got another nice pop this week, when Microsoft’s Bing became the latest brand to make its way to a WNBA uniform, landing a partnership with the Seattle Storm.  The jersey signage, especially for MLS and the WNBA, has been a boon to sponsorship, and last year patches made it on to the front of NFL and NBA practice jerseys as well, bringing some brands additional incremental value and teams some added revenue. While the four major team sports still are backing off from jersey signage which is common elsewhere, it is starting to seem more like an inevitability that the integration occurs, the question is porobably where, when and at what price.  Would it start with minor league baseball and hockey, like it already has for the UFL and the D-League?  And who would be the first to test the licensing waters?  All to be seen, but certainly the backlash from the WNBA and MLS has been minimal (although it is true neither has invested the millions in brand development that the four major leagues have over an extended period of time).

CRONS prepped for the spotlight…and got a part of it…

March 19, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It almost happened Thursday…almost.  Robert Morris University almost threw Villanova a knockout punch in the first round of the NCAA Regionals in Providence, but in the end too many close calls gone the other way and one shot too few sent the Colonials back to suburban Pittsburgh.  However, as pointed out in Thursday’s New York Times, the apparel brand coach Mike Rice’s team brought to the Dunkin Donuts Center may have been one of the bigger winners in the first round.  CRONS, which stands for Come Ready Or Never Start, was one of a handful of teams not to wear Nike or adidas in the field o0f 65 and is the only brand not available at retail.  It was also the only brand to not just score coverage with its unique story, but in delivering all the right messages and merchandising the story (a newsletter to all its coaches and partners that followed an email with a link and call to action earlier in the day) to give the story legs well beyond wtaherver RMU did on the opening day of the tournament.  The brand also positioned itself for followup with partners should RMU have pulled the upset, which would have given CRONS at least two additional days to re-tell the story, which links Rice, a former assistant at Pitt to company founder Pat Cavanaugh, who played for the Panthers and runs the company from Pittsburgh. The value of the story as a launch point for the brand to grow will be intriguing and seems like the next logical step in their growth process…from a grassroots brand to finding a niche with small colleges to Robert Morris to a deal with the Big South Conference…all the while occupying the same space that many of their clients also fill…that of the underdog.  It’s a great example of Cinderella showing up and bringing along a friend, and after her ball ends, the friend continues on thanks to a very nice boost.  A good story amongst many for the first round, and perhaps one of the better off-court collegiate branding stories in a while.

Racing Back To The Top…

February 14, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

As one looks for continued signs of resurgence in sports marketing…record viewership for the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympic Opening ceremonies, more global sponsors building activation platforms, increased and more diverse ad spending dollars being but forth from ‘09…perhaps one should look to racing as a bell weather.  Yes it is true that “The Great American Race,” the Daytona 500, will just beginning NASCAR’s season this weekend, and that the aggressive new launch of IRL is still a few weeks away, but there are continued positive signs which are showing that racing, one of the the industries hit hardest in the recession the last few years, may be returning to form in terms of viewership, attention and brand awareness. NASCAR has started awareness campaigns in theaters across the country, designed to promote the personalities of the sport, has enhanced their digital presence and begun a more intense program to get their faces out to the widest possible audience going into the season.

Can Vancouver The Brand Be The Biggest Olympic Winner?

February 7, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

There has been much talk about Lindsey Vonn’s suggestive Sports Illustrated cover, Stephen Colbert’s great sponsor play, “The Flying Tomato” worrying about snow, Heather Mitts being a klutz and the Jamaican Bobsledders missing the cut, but can Vancouver the city and the region be the biggest winner in this year’s Winter Olympics? The coming events have not had the hype or hysteria that others Olympics have had, probably because of the lack of big name American stars and less promotional dollars, as well as the fact that this will be the first Olympics since the crash of the financial markets. The Winter Olympics are also never the huge casual fan draw that the Summer Games are, but they are still the first Games in North America since Salt Lake City, and may be the last ones for some time to come.  So can a city known for its beauty and with a well established resort as a host (Whistler) find a way to push itself into the consciousness of the American sports fan, the global sports fan, and with that the branding and event world with a successful games? Could the region be a great example as to how established areas, in addition to emerging ones like Sochi for 2014, use the Games to grow and thus justify all the cost spent competing to host a global competition?

Be It Snow or “Sol,” Niche Sports Continue To Struggle To Build Brand

February 4, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Even as we move to some of the most lucrative, buzz-filled and highly anticpated events of the year in the next few weeks…Super Bowl, Daytona 500, Vancouver Olympics, NBA All-Star Game…the struggles for second tier and niche sports continue.  This past week, the Los Angeles Sol, arguably WPS’ most successful franchise in year one, folded despite leading the league in attendance.  Then a story in Wednesday’s New York Times pointed out the financial struggles of one of the world’s biggest niche sports…The Iditarod…which has now lost a great deal of its sponsorship and its television contract. While not seemingly linked, both losses show that especially in challenging times, the need to over deliver on brand value is bigger than ever, and the idea that even the most loyal investors will continue to put dollars into an event on an emotional or passionate buy are long gone.  The Sol’s problems are endemic of any start-up league or brand. Despite a solid product and a significant one year investment, the parent company did not see brand growth in the future and decided to cut its losses without finding a buyer in the marketplace.  The troubling thing is that the team is perhaps in the most marketable area, in a soccer-specific stadium and with marketable stars.  Like the recent demise of the Houston Comets and Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA, both franchises that seemingly had all the outer appearances of success, ownership made the bold decision to cut losees and move on.  What does this say for the future of WPS?  Chalking the loss up to churn would be OK if it wasn’t in the second largest media market in the country.  The question will be answered over the course of this summer, when soccer mania heats up with the men’s World Cup.  Seeing if WPS gets some of the halo effect with brands is going to be very important to see if the league grows, or if it sets, just like it’s Sol.

Why Embracing The Blogosphere Works…

February 2, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

On Sunday, I was part of a group that helped pull together an event to expose the new analytic products Bloomberg Sports and MLB.com are developing and will soon introduce to the consumer market for fantasy baseball, as well as  a more fun, indepth way at looking at the sport of baseball .  While the products, one for the fan and one for professional teams, are compelling on their own, what was even more compelling was the interest in the over 50 bloggers that attended the Sunday afternoon event, further proof that brands that find ways to work with the bloggers who have achieved success and built credibility will find a solid pipeline for legitimate, timely and in-depth coverage.

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