A Cause Worthwhile…Athletes, Pols Step Up To Battle Childhood Obesity

February 16, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Big time sports and entertainment events draw big time advertising dollars. We all are more than familiar with the amount of sponsorship spent on Super Bowl, Olympic and NBA All-Star ads these past few weeks, and the payoff in exposure brands got with the largest TV audience of all-time for the Colts and the Saints last  Sunday. One of the biggest categories that support those events is snack foods.  People loved watching those Doritos commercials, and loved chowing down on bowls of the stuff as they were watching the game. The tailgate, the junk food, are all very much a rite of passage surrounding the great American sporting event.

Nets Lead The Way Into The Creative Financing Arena…While SI Takes A Great Look At The Latino Athlete…

October 2, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The New Jersey Nets are always looking for ways to engage fans and take away objections when it comes to ticket purchasing and brand building.  While rebuilding the team, New Jersey found ways to engage the Chinese and Hispanic communities in the tri-state area for the first time on any substantial level following the aquisition of Eduardo Najera and Yi Jianlian.  Now with the economic crunch being felt immediately and potential uncertainty ahead, the Nets have gone the way of many retailers with a buy now, pay later plan.  By putting in the plan, the Nets assume some risk of bad debt, but they also sell in a comfort and understanding level of the fan in these tough times, and also are able to get skeptical fans in to sample the revamped team without taking a hit in the pocketbook at the current time.  It also gives the consumer a casual reassurance that better days are ahead, especially after the holiday time, when people hope the economy will rebound.  The better days ahead line of thinking also mirrors the franchise’s mantra, coming off a non-playoff season and looking to the future.  Nice risk, nice way to get business coverage and be responsive to the fans and another great way to innovate while filling seats.

On Athletes As Role Models and Sports Potential For Leading Social Change…

June 2, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

When the cynical look at sport. they see men and women (often highly paid) playing children’s games with little regard for the greater good.  However those who work in the business of sport and entertainment are constantly looking for ways to connect brands, athletes and teams with businesses for greater branding opportunities, and as brands become more socially conscious to reflect the interests of  today’s consumer, comes the need for more opportunities to use sport as as an opportunity for social change.  A few examples popped up recently in the media, all based around the ideal of how athletes and sport can help influence generations and perhaps influence social responsibility. First, Steve Politi had a good piece in Saturday’s Newark Star Ledger on who will be the new female role models in athletics for girls, and how some of the louder examples of women in athletics today may not be the right influencers.  Then Jason Whitlock had an interesting piece on FoxSports.com from the branding side, on the ways the NBA may benefit even more from this years NBA Finals because of the lack of tattooed and edgy stars featured in Lakers vs Celtics. Lastly, we found this piece on Prince Feisal of Jordan and his role in  Peace Through Sport, using sports as a platform to address conflict across cultures.  Each piece addresses a different area, but all tie together in showing how sport…for the grassroots, for the athlete and for the brands…can find ways to work positively for more than just the dollar, and have a positive effect on social change while still continuing along as a multibillion dollar enterprise.