Lance “Lives Strong” With A Great Social Media Test

July 2, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

We all know that Shaq is the king of twitter, and that Tiger usually breaks news on his web page, and that other athletes have been using various pieces of social media to communicate in lockerooms, to fans and to assist various brand and team partners in growing market size and creating more access to fans. However this week with the start of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, through his LIVE STRONG website, will use almost all aspects of social media, live updates, real time chats, twitter and other applications, to communicate with fans while integrating all of his sponsors into the program. Brandweek had a very detailed look at the plan Wednesday, which spelled out the sponsor strategy, and other details which will include the ability to track Armstrong’s progress live online. With a mega-event and a mega-star in Armstrong firmly embracing the social media platforms all at once and in real time while going through the race, the brand value of his site, as well as the access to fans, should go up exponentially. A great experiment for an elite athlete who has embraced the technology available to provide the latest info.

William and Mary Takes The Brand Choice To The People…

June 30, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Usually with expansion teams in sports, mascot or naming contests will be held to sample the local flavor and see what ideas can arise that brand marketers hadn’t thought of. Usually the name or logo still comes from a well positioned, well thought out plan intent on making sure that the merchandising rights, colors and traditions of the area are kept in tact. The choice, especially in this era of maximum return on the investment, is never random. So the College of William and Mary took a bold step, and one that certainly got them some solid publicity, in opening up the choice of their new mascot not just to local fans or alumni but to anyone interested in providing an idea. The school had to change mascots, but not nicknames, becuase their long-standing mascot was a misrepresentation of an Indian, which the NCAA ruled in appropriate for institutes of higher learning. The choices came from all over the country, and although the University President will make the final call, the Williamsburg, Va. school will get to unveil the final choices on ESPN Tuesday, again getting some great name recognition for one of the few Division I schools never to make it to the NCAA Tournament. In this digital age, most schools are still struggling to correctly embrace new media, so William and Mary’s choice is a great one, and could open the idea of other schools/minor league teams opening up “naming rights” for teams for a day, a year or for a permanent change at the right time. Smart, calculated investment, good payoff in exposure.

Is There A Doctor In The House…Individual MD’s Step Up Branding…

January 27, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

We have all seen the doctor “tips” usually affiliated with sports medicine sponsorships with teams and leagues.  The obligatory in-arena and on-air quick factoids on injury “sponsored by” have been around for years.  However it seems like the indicidual doctors have looked to sports more as a way to more directly reach the consumer on their own.  Maybe its the affordability of space, the need for individuals to stand out more as the competition for the health dollar gets more competitive or media and brands looking to create more one on one contact between a fan base that needs to exercise and is more health conscious these days, but the doctor as brand is on the rise, especially on the recreational side.  Some examples include the Florida Panthers afternoon game sponsored by dentist Dr. Larry Kawa, a new “X-Ray Vision” column in the New York Daily News by two prominent New York sports doctors, and a new website with expert information directed to the active recreational athlete, Sportsmd.com.   In each case the doctor, not the health care group or his own group, is stepping out on his or her own as the expert, and marketing to the sports fan directly.  It is not unlike other professions which work direct to consumer through sports, and could be a new larger revenue stream for teams and brands as they look for new money away from the traditional advertiser.

Gillette, KFC Continue To Use Gaming And Star Power To Brand With Young Consumers

October 30, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Two brands that continue to find ways to activate with a young audience by combining gaming with star power are Gillette and KFC.  Media Post continues to follow Gillette’s EA Sports Champions of Gaming contest, the “largest multisport on line gaming tournament” (a great new category spin) where XBox Live players compete on a series of games online against each other to determine who is the Gillette Grand Champion of Gaming” in each of the games.  The finals in Orlando will take the online experience from virtual to real, pitting the champion against the athlete featured in the game…Tiger Woods for example…in an online head to head competition.  It is a great way to tie in Gillette celebrity endorsers with the avid gamer, two worlds which don’t normally intersect.  A similar play, although in the entertainment space, is being offered up by KFC as they look to grab that young male demo.  Their involvement involves a cash payoff with the game of Guitar Hero, looking for gamers who can match skills with professional guitarists and earning a cash payoff.  Both brands need the consumer space of gamers to grow, and by speaking to a direct activation that is both online and real, with the heros or stars of the genre or sport, is a great way to mesh both worlds and score big branding points.

Red Bulls Find Ways To Break Through The Clutter Of Baseball Opening Week…

April 1, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day:  One of the biggest challenges MLS has faced is having compelling and relevant soccer in the New York area.  The team…MetroStars or Red Bulls…has suffered from an identity crisis, both from following the legendary Cosmos and from issues with stadium, timing and solid strategic marketing against all the competition for dollar and space in the area.  Now with the MLS season opening around baseball’s openers, it would seem the challenges are even more daunting.  However the Red Bulls have been able to refocus and look off the sports page to get some solid placement with a series of great pitches and grassroots moves, leading to a solid piece in today’s New York Times  by Stuart Elliott and another solid positioning piece on Forbes.com by Tom Van Riper.  The team will also host a series of countdown events around the city during the week, with several other national and local pieces running to support the opener, build brand awareness for the future, and integrate the Red Bull brand into the New York sports culture.  Well planned and well executed with a solid chance for long term success, mirroring MLS’ continued growth around the country.

Blogging, Branding, Basketball…From High School To The Majors…

March 12, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Two stories which we feel will be pretty compelling issues over the next year came to light around the country in the last few days…the issue of what to do with bloggers, and the ever-growing issue of corporate support and commercialism with regard to high school programs.  The latter was the focal point of a piece in Sunday’s Bergen Record, which documented the success that companies were having in branding fields and programs in central New Jersey as a way to offset budget restraints and restore programs.  The philosophical issue of what is over the top – marketing directly to kids – and what is a strong grassroots support system (no one questions billboard advertising or the names on the backs of Little League teams) is the big play, as well as where the money rasied ultimately goes.  High schools in Texas, where football is king, are addressing the issue as a way to create extra funding.  Invariably this will lead to the discussions of over-emphasizing and over- publicizing and marketing the high school (and then maybe the grammar school) athlete, but if it puts much needed funds in a professional manner into academic programs, and helps inner city music and arts programs as well as sports, the professionalism that can be brought to running these school programs should be welcomed.

NASCAR Uses Two Milestones As The Perfect Preseason Platform

January 18, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day:  Having a sense of historical significance in the numbers obsessed world of sports, especially in the United States, is a very important PR and branding tool.  However what can be worse is undermerchandising or underpreparing for those milestones.  One brand that does a great job of capturing their history and then taking the time to both plan and merchandise that opportunity is NASCAR, and two anniversaries, the 60th anniversary of the circuit and the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500, both came into clear focus with a wide variety of brand exposure this week as the leadup to the milestones in February.