Taking Advantage of The Quietest Day In Sports…

July 17, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The summer is traditionally slower for the sports industry, even in an Olympic year, but the day always the quietest (especially given Tuesday’s marathon All-Star game) is the Wednesday after the All-Star game.  The day usually offers up a chance for sports in their offseason to grab some headlines or those currently competing to update current plans with the media.  Some of the groups that took advantage of the quiet day included tennis (Venus Williams on Leno), the New Jersey Nets (making GM Rod Thorn available to spell out their plan going forward), Red Bull New York (who got great space in the dailies with Claudio Reyna’s retirement announcement)  and the NFL Network (which did a conference call with Steve Bornstein and new lead announcer Bob Papa).  All got more exposure than they would have gotten on even a slightly crowded day, and were great examples of advance planning.  Good strategic moves by all. 

Vitamin Water Hits a Homer…Nets followup with the Chinese Marketplace.

July 15, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day: Often around mega-events like the All-Star Game, especially when the event is in a major market, brands struggle to find ways away from actual event sponsorship to make a dent and build brand equity.  Vitamin Water is traditionally one of the best in finding ways to cut through the clutter and deliver in unusual ways.  This week the brand went about a 1/2 mile south of the All-Star Fan Fest in Manhattan to set up “Homers In The Hudson” on the golf range at Chelsea Piers.  The contest put a huge Vitamin Water target in the Hudson River and then had a steady stream of celebrities and everyday fans coming by to hit a baseball off a tee and over the target for a chance at a million dollar prize.  The event, which was launched with radio and online activation campaigns, pulled in a host of celebrities, including VW endorsees David Wright and David Ortiz and got the brand some nice exposure via TV and stills.  Nice strategic plan with a great visual, which was another win for the progressive brand outside the norm. 

Obama Pulls Out of NASCAR oppt, while (Cindy) McCain Pulls In…and BAM Racing Wins

July 14, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Update on yesterday’s post…apparently Senator Barack Obama has pulled out of the potential NASCAR opportunity, with one report saying the campaign was worried about the issues if the car didn’t win the race or crashed…while Cindy McCain, the wife of Senator John McCain, made an IRL appearance this past weekend, grabbing a photo opp. with Danica Patrick and taking a spin in the pace car in Tennessee.  Smart move, no pain and no crash.  However the winner in all this political “racing” this past week were the smart folks at BAM Racing, who garnered some great exposure by offering the advertising spot to both  candidates and playing through a three day news cycle despite not landing either candidate.  Good forward thinking move by  the sales and PR folks at BAM.  The interesting play from the Obama camp was the riskward factor for the ad spend.  If the car did not do well, the feeling apparently was that the loss for the long term would outweigh the benefit of race day exposure.  Interesting view on public perception in an area where the Senator is trying to raise his approval rating.

College Fanz Network Creates New Avenues For PR Oppts…

July 10, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Often attempts for Sports Information Directors at non BCS schools during football season to get live scores and information out to fans, alumni and media partners in real time are impossible.  Unless a fan or partner has access to a local broadcast or waits for scrolls on a screen, the updates just don’t come as fast, and for those Division II and III schools the real time results are almost non-existent.  However the College Fanz Network, has created a downloadable and easily updatable real time feature for SID’s to push scores and information  immediately, via their website collegefanz.com.  The site is already a home for social sports networking amongst many colleges, especially those on the edge or out of the mainstream, but this new platform is a boon to schools and will hopefully give fans a new option via the web to get real time results.  Nice job by one of the brands that see a large picture play for collegiate sports.

Timing is Everything…Hunter-Reay’s first win as his billboard rises

July 8, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Izod owns a great piece of billboard real estate in New York’s Times Square, adjacent to ESPN Zone and NAsdaq and just down to the left of the Naked Cowboy.  The brand has been able to effectively leverage the space on a month by month basis to promote events at the nearby Izod Center (the Nets, the WWE, the IFL) with some unique, eye catching pop-up renditions that sets the space apart from all the other eye candy in the “Crossroads of the World.”  This past week the brand also caught some great lightning in a bottle…the day they unveiled a mega billboard for Indy Car driver Ryan Hunter-Reay the driver took his first-ever title at (relatively) nearby Watkins Glen  (as pointed out in Sarah Talay’s blog in the Florida Sun Sentinel). The smart thinking PR folks got the driver to New York to do media with the logo as the backdrop, drawing even more attention to the rising star’s first win.  Now if the race was not in Watkins Glen and the billboard was a mointh old would it have mattered?  Who cares.  The point is the decision makers stuck quickly to take advantage (with a potential victory plan mapped out) which created big ROI for the brand and media exposure for the sport and the driver.