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.

MLS Cup Sets Template For Future Soccer Success…

November 24, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

One of the most significant games in the history of professional soccer took place in the Pacific Northwest in the late summer of 1977, when the New York Cosmos, led by the legendary Pele, won their first North America Soccer league title by defeating the original Seattle Sounders 2-1 in Portland Oregon. This past weekend, perhaps the most important game since then in the evolution of professional soccer in the United States again took place in the Pacific Northwest, where a crowd of over 40,000 saw Real Salt Lake defeat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 on penalty kicks to take the 2009 Major League Soccer title?

Brand Agassi Has Tremendous Value For A Different Generation

November 9, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

He came of age with the “Image Is Everything Campaign” eventhough his best tennis was years ahead. He came back from the bottom to be a successful professional, and even without a formal education made education is legacy in his hometown. Yes now that Andre Agassi writes an honest accounting of his life and career, a life which not many people on the inside would dispute as being controversial, many tennis lifers have seen to push his accounts to the side and shame him. Shame Agassi? Shame on them. In reality, Andre Agassi’s brand should be stronger today that at almost any point in his Hall of Fame tennis career. He is a role model for the serial athlete and has emerged as being sincere and creating life changing experiences for a new generation of children, not serial athletes. What the Agassi brand stands for today is what most successful people should aspire to…admitting ones flaws and looking to make the lives of those around you better with the success you have had. Agassi admitted drug use. Given the culture of athletics in the ’80’s…a time pre WADA and all glamour? Would that be surprising, especially for a rock and roll lifestyle that individual sports like golf or tennis lead professionals to? Not at all. As a matter of fact, most who followed Agassi’s career at that stage would probably not have been surprised at that time about the usage. What the Agassi brand should be remembered for and what it could be going forward is for resilience. A resilience and rededication to a career and a spirit to sincerely give back that is not just rare in athletes, it is rare in most high net worth individuals. Now one can be assured that Andre Agassi does not need more endorsement dollars, nor would he probably court the spotlight. However if there are brands looking for a role model for where America is today…a country on the rebound and dedicated to growing a generation, one may not look farther that Andre Agassi. He reinvented a career and a life and has come out as a man that not just had a Hall of Fame athletic career, but may be in a philanthropic Hall of fame at some point as well. Not a bad role model for today’s challenged times.

PBR Grabs The Marketplace By The Horns While American Eagle Puts In Its Best Practices…

January 11, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day:  The ”traveling circus” of an event-based sport tour…be it the Crocs AVP Tour (which just launched its Hot Winter Nights Series this week), the ATP, the WTA, the PGA, the Harlem Globetrotters, even NASCAR and Champ Car…is based on reinventing the PR wheel from city to city and then keeping the stories fresh for the return the following season.  Often times, the staff can get caught up in the day-to-day and miss the advance opportunities, and the national overlays that exist, or fail to see the conflicts in a market that may diminish exposure in a given year.  Well, no group in recent years has taken on those tasks…the fresh stories, the national overlays, the unique pitches, all in the face of major competition…and thrived more than the PBR, and their internal PR team with a nice boost from Rubenstein PR.  Last week the PBR had as big a week as any tour in the New York metropolitan area…with unique story coverage on activation and personalities ranging from Multichannel News to a slide show and coverage in the New York Times and the other dailies to a favorable piece in the New York Observer and solid TV coverage, all backed up by a pullout and event coverage in USA Today…all in the face of the Giants-Bucs playoff buzz and the usual distractions of the New York media.  The coverage will continue (as will the tough coverage market) in Worcester, Mass. this weekend (nice piece in the Worcester Telegram today) as will the rough competition, with the Patriots starting their Super Bowl push.  However the examples of very tailored pitches, tremendous access, and covering all the event angles shows that with the right work the breakthrough can occur, and its a great reason why many marketers think the PBR is just beginning to thrive on the national and international stage.