PGA Tour

Woods Takes The Next Step, But The Biggest Brand Question For Golf Remains Unanswered…

February 20, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Friday Tiger Woods spoke…he controlled the message, he got his points out, he was serious and he addressed all the groups he needed to address in a statement. Another stage in the comeback is complete for him.  He did not have the long, drawn out presser with reporters, especially those who cover him in his sport, in the room and he avoided distractions and forced the media to cover just what he and his brand needed them to cover. he was true to what he has always done in the better of times, he controlled the message and the access.  Just as he would drive reporters to his website for comments and news, now he drove them to another ballroom in Ponte Vedra to listen while pool reporters asked a few questions to him and to his assembled group.

Sports Books Worth Reading And Giving From 2009

December 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

I will be the first to say I am not a strong critic, nor do I read every book out there. However I do read a great deal and try to figure out what are the books that teach me something, even of some of the most public of figures, that I didn’t know before and what can I take away from this that can apply to work, personal life or friends, colleagues or family. Also, what do I think are just really well written stories. So below I have highlighted a list of some of the books I have gotten to and enjoyed, and others may enjoy too. Some are on most people’s lists…some are a little more obscure, but all are well written and have great value. I also have to admit I have not read Bill Simmons’ book or Chris Ballard’s on the NBA, or the Agassi book or my friend Jon Wertheim’s book on tennis this year. That is my bad, but that’s what the holidays are for. These are also in no particular order, other than Marty Appel’s name started with A and thats the first one I thought of. Feel free to send along other suggestions to me at fatherknickerbocker1@yahoo.com

Getting Along and Working Together To Grow…South Florida Sets The Pace…

October 3, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The idea of teams in market working together has been a foreign idea for a long time. Most major market teams would rather act in a vacuum than share data, sponsors or branding opportunities, and often times attempts at shared events…especially on the community side…often ended up with arguments about top billing or conflicts of interest and ended creating more harm than good. However in recent years we have seen teams in market start to work together…the Blackhawks and the White Sox, the Indians and the Blue Jackets…to co-promote, co-market and co-brand. It is a smart thing to do…share expenses, approach brands as one, give added value to fans and partners and keep brand top of mind in the offseason. Now the South Florida sports community has taken that approach one step further, as Sarah Talalay reported in the Sun Sentinel this week. A number of teams and events are banding together to offer discounts, merchandise and special events to fans in the area, ranging from the Dolphins to golf and tennis events, a year-round, comprehensive offer for the fan. It helps move distressed inventory, creates a platform from which the teams and organizations can share data and gives each of the brands a little more shelf life when they are not in season. Could these lead to all the brands working together to find some common sponsors in categories and giving brands some added value? Could they tie in media and social networking platforms for off-season get-togethers? Could there be an outreach to travelers and other communities offering packages to multiple events for visitors to South Florida? How about even including arts programs and other areas where competition for the dollar is at a premium? Even better, maybe there could be education or community tie-ins across all the brands, or links out of market to other teams looking to run special promotions…maybe there is an Amtrak tie which connects teams in New York, Boston, Washington and Philly? It all makes great sense in these challenged times, and for even the most elite brands to worry about “damage by association” is just silly and shortsighted. Yes in good times maybe teams scale back offers, but by no means should partnerships be eliminated. This partnership and others around the country like it, is long overdue, and it is great to see the South Florida sports community leading the way with an idea that has applications in every level of sport where discretionary dollars are needed.

Loving The Comeback…Phelps, Watson, Armstrong…Even LeBron…

July 29, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

One thing the American sports public loves, especially in challenged times, is the art of the comeback. Even the biggest star, once shown with feet of clay, somehow moves up the popularity and sympathy list, when he or she starts the road back or finally gets toppled. Like the evil Mafia dons turned benevolent dictators, we seem to soften images, and often times brands are there to take advantage of the return to popularity as the once iconic become iconic again. Now does it “just happen?” No. Obviously the commitment from the athlete has to be there, and there has to be a solid marketing plan behind the brand reinvention, but with the commitment from both the athletic side and the business side, the re-image can sometimes be more popular than the original. Three cases in point from recent weeks. First Tom Watson. His unlikely run at the British Open, one where Tiger Woods again slumped, helped re-engage fans in the possibilities of what-if, even when he fell off the lead on the final day. Watson’s partners, which included Adams Golf, had a nice bump, and eventhough TV numbers were not record, his unlikely run gave the event some sustainability and probably re-energized his brand for a slightly older demo, as well as connecting him to many newer golfers for the first time. Second, Lance Armstrong. Eventhough there was the public falling out over the final days with teammate and eventual winner Alberto Contador over the timing of the team Radio Shack announcement , Armstrong again went through an amazing brand re-invention during his amazing Tour de France run. He twitters, embraced fans, softened a once hard image, avoided the pratfalls of the doping world and connected with the fickle French fans like never before, giving the sport and his brand going forward another huge boost. Third Michael Phelps. With his marijuana episode in the rear view mirror, the folks at Octagon have repositioned Phelps as the athlete America loves while most of us are jumping again into summer swimming pools. Even better for the future of swimming, Phelps actually lost a race this week, to German Paul Biedermann,a swimmer using a soon-to-be-banned swimsuit, which sets him up for even more watercooler talk going forward. Last is LeBron James...although with little damage really, James NBA playoff antics, and the mystery of the dunk film from this summer, showed some chinks in the LeBron armor, just small ones, which probably made him just that more interesting at this stage of his career to draw in even the small group of casual fans who may not have been that interested in all his positive work over the last few years. Now where can these brand re-inventions go in the future? A lot of it is up to the athlete, but with Phelps already looking ahead to 2012 and Armstrong back on the top of his racing game, the different demos that they speak to and the brands they engage should have some nice pop. For Watson, it may be more quiet endorsements and speaking around his golf, but all will be positive in the slightly older demo he speaks to, and for LeBron…how high can one go? After all, the elusive NBA title still awaits, after his upcoming Nike-sponsored world tour. We do love the comeback.

Multiple Sports, Multiple Activation Platforms Highlight A Week Of Success For Sports…

July 11, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we head into mid-July, what has normally been a slow season for sports brand activation has unveiled a host of positive programs and good signs for sports on all levels. Starting with Mixed Martial Arts and the hundreds of brands and thousands of fans that have descended on Las Vegas for UFC 100 this weekend. The LA Times had a good look at the UFC’s success and its ability to build fans around the experiential platform that they have created and can execute for their followers, both on site and on pay per view. Great weekend for the UFC, which continues to be the only true national brand in the sport. Adding in the success that the World Series of Poker has sustained in Las Vegas over the last month, the City will enjoy a stretch of “new” sport excitement this weekend that will compare to and surpass any other July time frame. Then fans can look east to St Louis, where MLB has done an outstanding job of taking their partners and finding ways to create grassroots and charity activation programs in the community and on a national and international scale leading into All-Star weekend. Whether it is Bank of America working to give people access to tickets and Fan fest through their local branches or their Hit For Hunger campaign, or MasterCard’s Stand Up To Cancer platform, each brand is being integrated into programs that have both great exposure and tremendous giveback for the community. The women’s US Open in Pennsylvania also didn’t miss an opportunity to link their brands to charity ties in the area and expose their athletes to activation platforms both on site and prior to the event’s start, and NASCAR’s Thursday night special on CNBC gave fans and brands an hour of access to show how all is working in the world’s premier motorsports circuit, leading into a weekend which gives NASCAR some of its biggest major market exposure of the year, with the Sprint Cup Series at Chicagoland Speedway. Now is all right in sports and brand activation these days? Obviously not…but as industry, from the down and dirty world of MMA to the established sports like baseball and golf, a look at the success of brands over a five day period shows that the business of sports is working hard to succeed in the slowest of times, which is a good sign for the future. While many businesses struggle to adapt, it seems like sports and the brands associated are working among the hardest to turn the corner quickly.

Are The Blackhawks The Model Franchise?

May 26, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

This week in New York The Sports Business Journal will award it’s Sports Business Awards for 2008. The nominees in 15 categories are all more than deserving, and in many ways are very reflective of the leaders who will help innovate and lead the industry thro9ugh the continued tough times and into the future. Many on the list read like the usual Who’s Who, but as with many things SBJ does, there are a few surprises. One brand on the list few could have predicted less than two years ago falls under both executive and team of the year…The Chicago Blackhawks. Under the leadership of John McDonough and Rocky Wirtz, the franchise has become a model for outreach and innovation, with one of the best stories coming in Monday’s Chicago Tribune, which pointed out how the team has not only rebuilt its core base of hockey fans, but has cultivated new fans in both the female and African American communities. In a sport that sometimes struggles to grow outside its borders for the casual fan, the Blackhawks have gone above and beyond in customer service, brand building, community relations and communication to the media and to the fans that it is OK to check out hockey. Now of course winning helps, and the team started turning the corner just as the brand builders hot their stride, but in this economy, winning and giving a fans the reason to invest in both dark and bright days have to go hand in hand, and the Blackhawks played both sides of the brand development card to make sure that a storied but sullied franchise was returned very quickly to its rightful place among elite brands. There is a simple rule of effective communication…listen twice more than you speak. The Blackhawks new leadership listened to everyone…old and new fans, returning and emerging brands, league and television partners, grassroots and professional organizations…and have created a brand that may be the sports gold standard for years to come.

LPGA Tries To Balance Its Brand On and Off The Course…

May 8, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It remains the million dollar question…can you sell women’s athletes just as athletes with good stories, or do you need the sex appeal to make them interesting to the casual sports fan. The LPGA is again trying to play that balance as it comes to the New York area next weekend, pulling in the business community, the athleticism and just enough sizzle to try and lure interest from brands looking for the best possible ROI, and priming the New York golf market before the men’s US Open rolls into Bethpage Black in a few weeks. So how do you balance both sides? Darren Rovell’s blog post on Australian golfer Anna Rawson has her manager taking the sex sells over ability approach , with the thought being her mainstream appeal will explode when she plays well enough to win, and if she doesn’t win she will still have enough casual interest to continue to draw the big dollar. On the non-golf push, a great piece the Daily Press Friday went into detail on the LPGA’s use of social media to attract fans and identify with a larger fan base. The answer is a good mix of all three, with the unknown being what that critical mass will be to a sponsor. Male or female, personality, accessability and now the ability to integrate multiple platforms with a management team are a part of the play for brand success for league or athlete. Having the charisma and the winning edge is also key, but at the end of the day to have the ultimate package you need to win. Most people in their daily lives can find friends or colleagues that have pieces of the combination, but the ability to have all is what brand marketers and fans both want. In a challenged economy that balance is critical as a sport like golf, now falls under the category of discretionary spend after being “essential” when times were better for brands. So can you sell women’s sports golf based just on athletic ability? In this economy the real answer is you can’t really sell ANY sport based just on athletic ability. You need to have almost all of the package to be a good buy, and the LPGA is trying to create the best package with all those pieces for the marketplace.

The Brand Spend: How To Justify And Invest Or Not…

March 2, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

At the end of this current economic climate, the sports brand that may be hit the hardest on the sponsorship side may be golf. Long viewed as the ultimate entertaining event, the events are not just being hit hard by companies losing sponsor dollars, but by the lack of long-term star development (the post Tiger era), the cost of play, and now by the hard core scrutiny being placed on those still looking to entertain by the media. John Paul Newport’s weekend piece in the Wall Street Journal was a good summary of the latest issue, which surrounded the lavish spend by Northern Trust at a golf event and the subsequent call by Rep. Barney Frank to have all those who received stimulus money to almost eliminate all sports and entertainment expenditures. Newport’s piece looked not just at the issue of what was spent, but brought to light how monies were spent and the even larger issue of who will actually be hurt by the cutbacks. Like in other industries, the collateral damage…the corner store and the Little League that lose business because the local car dealer goes down because GM is in trouble is really the biggest concern for the long term. As with past issues, sports marketers need to get creative again in finding ways to justify any spend, and there are ways to get return, entertain those who need to be entertained and still stay involved in sports and entertainment so you can reach the consumer and grow business back. Sports Philanthropy projects, viral campaigns, local activation, economies of scale are all smart ways to go for money already invested and for monies going forward. Taking the easy way out at the suggestion of those not in an industry…cutting all sponsorships, which in effect squanders not just jobs and effort but any forward growth of business…is short sighted grandstanding and will hurt the little guy. Darren Rovell had a great piece with Bank of America on Friday justifying their spend for future growth, and showing how it is not frivolous but investing in its local properties where its consumers do business. Is there excess in spending that needs to go? Yes. Did Northern Trust need Sheryl Crowe in this environment? Probably not. But if properly explained in the long run as the need for business to do business, the brand spend can be effective, economical and be seen as a way to get all back on track as opposed to throwing money toward elite wine and cheese. Inaction and stagnation at this point in any brand can be a killer, as much a killer as wasteful spending, and those brands who have made investments for the long term need to find effective ways, with smart spending and communications, to keep things going for the long term. Like other sports heavy on hospitality…tennis, NASCAR…golf needs to look inward to partners to sustain and then outward to the public and those at the grassroots to grow and then get the right way to re-channel funds to make sure that the why for the buy is communicated…whether it is with current partners or ones who will look to enter the sport.

Controlling The Message: Jerry Jones and Tiger Woods

February 22, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Today’s media cycle is always clamoring for more access. Fans, business partners and the media are constantly craving in both sports and entertainment to get more info., more access, more angles in the never-ending search to follow the celebrity. While that is important for brands that seek the spotlight to grow, the elite brands are put into a difficult situation. When is enough enough and more importantly, how do you control the information flow, either to make sure the information is accurate or to make sure the information put forth is done so in the manner that the newsmaker wants it to be. This past week we watched as the Yankees fed the media monster daily with key team members being available for the press around the Alex Rodriguez controversy. Each day led to a different story line, with key players speaking on different days. Orchastrated and put forth in the order that the newsmaker chose. The Yankees also did a more than credible job of speaking with one voice by the administration, and a majority of the players followed suit. So along the same line, we saw two other megabrands…Tiger Woods and the Dallas Cowboys...both take measures to control their message this week. Woods announced his comeback not with press conference or conference call or personal appearance or even a call to a key media member, but on his regular way of communicating to the media away from tournaments, on his website. The website has become Woods’ regular way of communicating with the media away from the Tour, thus (in addition to driving traffic and publicity for the site) easily getting out his message as he and his management team see fit. Now Woods is accessable during required periods at events, but by using the site as a way to break news, the media is limited in response and the idea of his team speaking with one voice holds true. Great for Woods, probably not so great for golf or the media. The Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones informed the media this week that coaches were no longer to be available to the media, including head coach Wade Phillips. The team’s view is the lack of access will control news and the subsequent leaks that come out, and have the organization functioning with one voice. Although this may not be uncommon with other organizations who limit access, the issue was that Jones was not available for the media during the early days of the NFL Combine, creating a bit of a circus for those media that were there and were seeking info about America’s team. Now again is “One Voice” a smart thing to control a message? Probably. Just so long as the message is communicated to the media, and thus to fans and business partners, effectively. Can it control “leaks” or rumor? To some extent but not as well as one would think, especially with an organization the size of an NFL team. There are ways to be consistent and control the message without setting off paranoia, and effectively communicating procedure is probably the first way. Regardless of the procedure, both Woods and the Cowboys again showed their ability to convey who the messenger will be.

Digging To Find The Spin…Some Good Examples From the Week…

February 14, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As MLB works through the messaging of Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada, there were a number of solid examples of brands and their staffs finding great opportunities for spin, especially on the human interest side. From NASCAR, which gets going with Daytona this weekend, to hoops and tennis, finding the story and then executing through the media really came through with these efforts, let’s take a look.
1- The Great Local Success Story: Let’s give some credit to NASCAR, where the Birmingham News this week told the tale of 15 year old Darrell Wallace Jr. signing with Joe Gibbs racing. Nice local placement of an athlete (the kid is a Mobile native) that seeds the future as NASCAR looks for new faces, all wrapped up in the appropriate place on one of racing’s most anticipated weeks.
2- Valentine’s Day With Anna: Tennis is the game of love, so those at the Champions Cup rolled the dice and brought in Anna Kournikova for a special February 14 Exo. during their regular Boston stop. The promotion got the senir tour a little extra ink, an added extra face, a little more buzz and will sell some additional seats for a sport which normally doesn’t do that well selling tickets for indorr events. Nice play by the promoters and good pitch with the date.
3- The Lovable Loser: We have often documented how the Harlem Globetrotters take the “road show” to new levels with promotion and will again this weekend as part of the NBA All-Star festivities in Phoenix, but the story of the leader on the other side, Washington Generals coach Red Klotz, featured in the New York Times, is a classic pitch of the story behind the story, made even better but the access granted to the writer. Great way to frame a story away from the point of attraction, and give the casual fan more reason to purchase.
4- Babe Lincoln: One of the keys in turning up the story is to listen to all those around and have them tell their stories. Sometimes the gems that surface are even better than the original idea. Take the New Jersey Nets, who were able to uncover the fact that one of their dancers is a distant relative of Abe Lincoln. While some may say it’s luck that New Jersey uncovered the fact, which not only ties with President’s Day and Honest Abe’s Bicentennial, but got New Jersey great coverage on days when they aren’t even playing, but it is good old fashioned pitching that landed the story and is a great example of what happens when you ask unique questions to staff. Rest assured there are other distant relatives of the famous working for teams and brands, but the Nets took the time to think ahead and then go searching, and uncovered a great item to grow the brand, again.

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