Warriors Give Season Subs, Fans An Immersive Experience From Nellie…

July 18, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Teams are constantly looking for new ways to engage fans, build brand and create added value and access year round. The problem is in this challenged economy, and with all the options out there to draw a fans attention, especially ones that are free, how do you find something that will work and keep someone engaged that will also have enough value to turn them into a new customer or keep them as a repeat customer with their discretionary dollar. One alternative that seems to be more cost efficient and has a bit of a wow factor is outbound personalized calls and video. One team, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors recently used the technology developed by vontoo.com to create an outbound customized message from head coach Don Nelson directly to their season subscribers, along with a digital video where the subscribers name was embedded in the video. It is a much more personal use of the reverse 911 technology that teams and marketers have been using for several years, where you would get a message, a non-personalized one, delivered to your phone from a player, or a political candidate. Now the technology allows you to be immersed in the video and the message, with the hope that is both passed along to others to sign up and that it is engaging enough to keep the subscriber entertained and interested. The immersive idea also has a big upside for colleges looking to recruit general students or season subs, check out Boston College’s play here, or even for theme park operators or tourist destinations looking to draw repeat customers…it makes you feel like you are “one of them.” Now the next generation should be the ability to have multiple customized voice messages sent to fans after they are engaged from various people, although that step may be a bit cost prohibitive at this point. However the Warriors made a smart investment to create both a wow factor and find a new way to keep their fans engaged, using their popular coach and the outbound immersive technology at a time when the team is in flux. Smart, cost effective way to stay engaged.

College Athletic Branding…Crisis or Opportunity?

June 1, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Recently there has been a great deal written on issues with regard to college athletics…a recent USA Today piece pointed to the cutbacks athletic departments, especially mid-major schools, have to make to try and get things in line, while this past week the New York Times had an extensive piece on how college graduates looking for job opportunities face very dire odds and another on how students are now balking at fees for athletics as part of actvities, and Friday the Wall Street Journal had a piece on how the Ivies could, and maybe should, retool their athletics and give rewards along the lines of what they do for successful applicants in academia or the arts. All of this seems to be adding up to a crisis in an area…academia…where many times the mainstream looks for answers and innovation in any area of business. Even more troubling is the fact that athletics could and should be generating income and potential new media revenue streams for schools at every level, if the investment is made in finding those streams. After all, aren’t many of today’s growth areas…green technology, new media, social networking…platforms created by those in or just out of school who are able to seize opportunity? So is it a case of college athletics being too unwieldy, or is it the old adage of “the cobblers feed are the worst shod” coming true? It is probably a little of both, but there remains a great untapped opportunity in college athletics for brand building and grassroots growth. Two recent examples of untapped growth are the NCAA lacrosse championships and the ongoing NCAA baseball and softball championships. In the case of lacrosse, Memorial Day weekend saw huge crowds and excitement generated by Syracuse’s overtime win over Cornell, and similar excitement at the women’s and lower level championships. Yet as the season ends, so do the stories, and any brands looking to attach themselves year round to the sport through on-campus and fan activation. Similar, this past weekend saw the longest game in NCAA baseball history between Boston College and Texas, and will lead to more excitement as the College World Series moves on to Omaha, with the next level of stars of the sport coming out. Yet college baseball remains undermarketed as a spring brand, along with softball. Is it because schools only see the money train in football and hoops? Or is it because schools fail to make the investment in athletic sales and marketing due to a rift between the academic and athletic sides of most institutions? It was interesting that some of the best college branding consultants, including award-winning IMG, were singled out at this week’s Sports Business Journal awards for their work. IMG’s biggest growth opportunity this year is creating and implementing their college consulting division, which shows the biggest schools where the branding value…and cash…is. So what are the next steps toward opportunity? First, colleges of all sizes must learn from the best practices of minor league sports, which are able to translate every opportunity into year-round community branding and brand building. Second, colleges should invest wisely in staff, especially in the communications and marketing areas. Effectively spending money on staff to make money back will go a long way, as opposed to the usual turnover that occurs in many places with inexperienced and underpaid staff. Third, having a university’s athletic group in lock step with the overall school communications and maketing group is important. In many places the two groups have no contact, and the lack of open communication makes it an us vs. them workplace which makes small problems huge. Fourth, encourage networking within the industry. Many times colleges do not consult with local professional brands or teams on best practices and resources, and by staying a part of a professional network both sides may learn and benefit from the other. Five, prove and merchandise value to the school. The cyclical nature of college athletics leads little time for effective communication and marketing reports that show true value and return on ROI. take the time to compile and show value added, and most importantly, make sure that those academic decision-makers are aware of the efforts invested in growing the school image. The individual college as a brand to be marketed remains valuable. Schools have loyal followings, a young, core audience looking for diverse interests, a deep data base of successful alumni, brands that have value, deep history and tremendous stories of current past and future success to be told. Mining all that and putting together effective packages, if not to make money then to defer some costs as opposed to cutting, can make college athletics the trend-setters in the future like many of their academic counterparts are trend-setters in the present.

Knicks Take A Bite Out Of The Bottom Line To Give Back

April 15, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day: The New York Knicks have not had an easy time of it from any angle this season, but through the on-court problems and public struggles the fans have remained loyal, and to recognize that the team will take a sizeable hit financially Monday night and offer free food to all in attendance to the sellout game with the Boston Celtics. Now while there are many that will say that this token gesture is just that, but for those in the business who realize the financial cost that the team will absorb in the name of season-ending goodwill should see this as a smart move that can bring some long term change, and help soften the non-playoff season for one of the NBA’s most valuable franchises. Finding ways to generate good will in the nation’s toughest media market is never easy, but credit has to go where credit is due, and the Knicks brand deserves credit for pushing the idea through on a night where they could make some good season-ending revenue. This is really the second long-thinking and solid move by the Garden in recent weeks…two weeks ago, the Rangers announced the righting of what many deemed a dead issue by announcing the retiring of two NHL Hall of Famers from the past, Harry Howell and Andy Bathgate. Many teams tend to focus on the current generation at the expense of a past that current fans cannot relate to, and hence may not be as big a draw. But the team here should great reverance for tradition, and will create some special memories for current fans, by making asure these two legends also get their due. Nice job also by the Rangers PR staff in finding the right way to break the story, with longtime New York Post hockey writer Larry Brooks getting first crack at it.