An Olympic Sized Communication Issue…

October 10, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

The best organizations have well thought out and effective communications plans, often times built around the most simple of ideas. Knowing how to effectively communicate messages internally, building consensus amongst key leadership, speaking with one voice, knowing your constituents and addressing their needs, or at least acknowledging their needs, and then making sure that media are communicated to in an effective and consistent manner are all hallmarks of effective internal and external communications, whether you are a large public corporation or a small business or not-for- profit. That basic checklist makes all feel at least listened to and engaged, and makes those “on the inside” feel like they are part of the process. That checklist also helps in challenging times, and usually gives senior leadership a chance to see issues coming or find ways to address upcoming issues more effectively than when operations happen in a vacuum. With those thoughts in mind, it is very troubling to see the problems that the United States Olympic Committee has gone through recently, with many of the problems stemming from a lack of effective internal and external communication. This is not about Chicago 2016’s failed Olympic bid either. The 2016 group actually had a good communications plan to get their messaging out to the people and the media, and few ever questioned who the leadership was or what they were trying to accomplish. Bid head Pat Ryan was available and presented the best possible picture the group had for the Olympics. Why Chicago wasn’t selected is another issue that has less to do with how the message was communicated than what the message was. However the USOC problems, which have now led to the potential dismissal of senior leaders Larry Probst (who received a vote of confidence from the USOC board Friday) and Stephanie Streeter, seem to be more about communication in the decision making process than anything else. The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Hersh detailed the issues the USOC has dealt with in a piece this week. In the past, the USOC had effective communicators like Daryl Seibel and Mike Moran making sure that messages were conveyed and taking the temperature of those both internally and externally to make sure that leadership could help address and make informed decisions. However recently, many media have wriitten about the inaccessability of top leadership throughout a critical period, and the lack of communication to the USOC constituents, the National Governing Bodies which run the individual sports. This lack of effective internal and external communication has brought the USOC to where it is today…with an external perception of crisis and an internal perception of chaos and call for change. Now could all of this been avoided if there was more basic contact internally, and with a regular flow of media contact externally? Unsure, but one thing is for sure. When building consensus in times of crisis, the easiest way to do it is to make sure there is always a free flow of information up and down the chain of command all the time. Without that free flow, leadership can be viewed as being out of touch with the day to day, which leads to loss of confidence and can slow down the decision process. Also without free flow, senior leadership can often miss key messages or problems amongst the rank and file, and those little problems are often the ones which can end up causing major distractions and become large scale issues for leadership, especially in challenging times. So what will happen with the USOC going forward? An organization which such a wealth of experience and positives amongst its rank and file now has the opportunity to re-trench, re-position and re-define itself with new leadership at a time when people want to see its heros Olympic-sized again. With the right leadership, people who are effective internal and external communicators as well as smart businesspeople, the USOC could end up being in a better position for the new world of sports and entertainment than it has ever been before so long as leadership learns the lessons of its recent missteps and communicates them effectively.

Mallards Make Access Something To Quack About…

August 12, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The sanctity of the lockerroom before game time is probably viewed as the last piece of quiet for coach and player. Media access ends, most staff are out and teams can focus on the task of being a professional athlete. However as teams strive to find more ways to give fans and brands more and more ROI, even that sanctity can reach a compromise. The latest move in ultimate access is being offered up by the Quad City Mallards of the International Hockey League, who will allow access certain VIP seats lockeroom access as close as 30 minutes before game time, along with other exclusives for their elite season ticketholders. The Ice Row seats, a first for hockey, is probably one that can be emulated in other sports at the minor and collegiate level, and seems like a natural for sponsorship as well. As always there must be buy-in from the coach for such close game access, and both union and media rules would probably prohibit such close in lockerroom access at the highest levels, but for a franchise looking to be innovative the 30 minute rule is an interesting one, and it will be interesting as well to see whatever prohibitions will be looped in (cell phone cameras shooting chalkboards could be a small issue or Twitter reports on injured players), but the idea gets points for innovation, access and the potential of a nice sponsor return. Nice try by the Mallards to continue to offer more, and drive relevance and interest in the offseason, a brand building exercise that is wrote in minor league baseball but is now just moving to a new level in minor league hockey.

Baseball Plays A Doubleheader As A Social Unifying Brand

June 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Many times in North America, the sport of baseball sometimes gets overlooked for its ability to aggregate people, expose brands and tell stories. because the season is so long and the game is so ingrained we sometimes forget the amount of eyeballs and dollars spent on the game, even more now on a global scale. And with the attraction, from Little league through the Majors, comes the ability to marry brands in large numbers to very worthy and promotable causes. This weekend…Father’s Day…baseball takes on a doubleheader of well, timed, well presented and well thought out activation platforms…civil rights and prostate cancer awareness, and delivers on both. On the Civil Rights front, it is sometimes forgotten that baseball broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson, for all professional sports. So when the sport started having a Civil Rights Day and game a few years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, it got some attention but not huge attention. The move to take the entire event and move it to a Major League city, Cincinnati, and involve a full few days of talks and involvement from peoples of all sports and backgrounds, was a great one, and the coverage received for both the sport and for Civil Rights issued was tremendous. For a support to promote issues in season is one thing, to take an active stance and deliver positive messages on a national stage is another, and baseball should get pig points for taking the time and the effort to build this platform for all and to work with the brands who will activate against it. The second weekend cause is Prostate Cancer Awareness, and by using their national platform of games on the Father’s Day weekend…complete with blue bats for auction, sponsor and player activation campaigns in major media and at all games, the sport again hits a homer. Baseball announcer Ed Randall’s Bat For The Cure, is also a great example of how the pooling of resources can work for the bigger cause through the sport. For whatever reason, the prostate cancer campaign is not as well covered as the all-pink breast cancer awareness work done in April and October through the various pink programs, but the yeoman work baseball does to collectively present the issue to millions on a day which is more father-focused than others, remains a great example of pooling resources the right way for all. Now could the two be split on other weekends? Maybe. But despite the timing, both garner great coverage, sponsor activation, and messaging. Great job by all.

American Youth Could Be The Winners From This Weeks Olympic “games”

June 19, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

This past week saw the seven sports vying to be brought into the Olympics in 2016 and the four cities bidding to host the Games all travel to Lausanne, Switzerland for presentations to the International Olympic Committee Executive Board as well as the the membership countries of the IOC (for the cities presentations). The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Hersch has a great summary of all the back and forth that went on throughout the week, including at least three of the cities being named by someone as a favorite, and no less than four of the seven sports projected to have the best chance, best presentation or fastest movement up (no one was acknowledged to have slid down, others just moved ahead) in a week of true gamesmanship. However one of the better moves of the week for all amateur sports in the United States took place on Monday in Washington, when President Obama named a new office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport. The timing sent a clear but subtle message to the IOC that sports, especially Olympic sports, are now a high priority for a President that helped use a sports platform to get to casual voters during his campaign. The move also gives the US a “Head of Sport” that virtually every other country has, and could potentially help create and administer a uniform vision…and potential amazing branding and marketing opportunities for someone who is able to unify groups that constantly fight for the same dollar, same branding opportunity, and same audience. The position can also help administer policy so that athletics leading to healthy lifestyles does become the priority in schools here that is used to be, all quality messages and potential for those involved in the space. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, the games for the Olympic Games continued, with countless dollars spent on presentations, lobbyists and travel by all groups…monies that probably would be best served in building the brand of sport with their constituents and participants. The Olympic games remain big bucks and mega branding opportunities and can still create tremendous good will and a legacy for all involved. The hope is that the legacy does outweigh the cost for the long term, especially for those five sports and three cities that will not be chosen in Copenhagen in October. Even with all the spending, pomp and circumstance, the biggest winner this week may already be the youth of America…and maybe even those brands which can more clearly serve them…through President Obama’s deftly timed move as the political games begen this week. A move which could have Olympic sized popularity if the office does what it could do.

Sox Take The Updates To The Commuters…

June 10, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The all access world we live in gets us scores and news updates on mobile phones, pda’s, talk and news radio, online all-sports stations and on and on and on. However even with all the access, a core audience of older, multitasking, more traditional sports fans sometimes miss what first adopters and more tech savvy fans are getting, especially for those who are casual fans and aren’t focused on the immediacy of long sports seasons. That need for mass media exposure is one of the big reasons why traditional media…print, radio and TV…still remain a part of an all-encompassing media and fan outreach, especially in ultra competitive major markets. Fish where the fish are. However the White Sox have taken that approach of immediate updates and combined it with locking in a traditional space, by creating scoreboard billboards that give fans live updates on games as they travel around the busy highways and byways of the Windy City (Ed Sherman did a nice piece on the project) The move by the White Sox makes sense for a lot of reasons…it reminds the casual fan of the relevance of the Sox in a Cubs-crazed market, it gives people a great tune-in reminder if they are heading home, especially if it is a close game on the billboards, it presents the opportunity for other immediate calls to action for the Sox in the future, even perhaps some digital promotions tied to radio tune-in (“If you are on the Dan Ryan now tell us what the message is on the billboard and win xxx…”) and can even be used as a newsbreaker to get people to tune in to radio. A great extension of the Sox brand and ballpark all over the city. Great marriage of technology and traditional.

Are The Blackhawks The Model Franchise?

May 26, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

This week in New York The Sports Business Journal will award it’s Sports Business Awards for 2008. The nominees in 15 categories are all more than deserving, and in many ways are very reflective of the leaders who will help innovate and lead the industry thro9ugh the continued tough times and into the future. Many on the list read like the usual Who’s Who, but as with many things SBJ does, there are a few surprises. One brand on the list few could have predicted less than two years ago falls under both executive and team of the year…The Chicago Blackhawks. Under the leadership of John McDonough and Rocky Wirtz, the franchise has become a model for outreach and innovation, with one of the best stories coming in Monday’s Chicago Tribune, which pointed out how the team has not only rebuilt its core base of hockey fans, but has cultivated new fans in both the female and African American communities. In a sport that sometimes struggles to grow outside its borders for the casual fan, the Blackhawks have gone above and beyond in customer service, brand building, community relations and communication to the media and to the fans that it is OK to check out hockey. Now of course winning helps, and the team started turning the corner just as the brand builders hot their stride, but in this economy, winning and giving a fans the reason to invest in both dark and bright days have to go hand in hand, and the Blackhawks played both sides of the brand development card to make sure that a storied but sullied franchise was returned very quickly to its rightful place among elite brands. There is a simple rule of effective communication…listen twice more than you speak. The Blackhawks new leadership listened to everyone…old and new fans, returning and emerging brands, league and television partners, grassroots and professional organizations…and have created a brand that may be the sports gold standard for years to come.

Can WPS Succeed In A Challenged Marketplace?

March 30, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

For those who were excited about the WUSA on its best days and all it could do to raise awareness, build brand and launch a legitimate stand-alone women’s professional sports entity comes Women’s Professional Soccer, which launched this past weekend. The good news is from a brand standpoint WPS has taken the best practices from WUSA and all the lessons learned, mixed in some WNBA smarts and a salesforce that has kept MLS growing and combined them into a neat package under Tonya Antonucci’s vision. The bad news is they are launching a national niche product in the worst economy on very limited funds, sponsor support and name recognition to the casual fan, who they intend to go after as much as the millions of young soccer playing kids across the country. Will it work? From a business standpoint for sports in general needs it work, as the more positive movement even a niche sport like women’s soccer has will help shake the tree for bigger established brands. From a casual fan standpoint? Tough to say. WPS is doing some very smart things…they have picked small venues to fill and grow, are marketing multinational players to a diverse audience, and are working with a single entity format which can combine expenses and push the brightest faces and smartest stories forward. They are attempting to use new media to push the product, although without a major brand spend and a big media partner that will be a challenge, and they are also looking to pair with the best and brightest stars from outside of women’s soccer to also push the brand off the sports page (and given the limited dollars for sports coverage these days their exposure would be small regardless). Will brand and media partners and the casual fan come? In this economy it will be wait and see for sure, and not wait and see for success, more wait and see for survival. If they can push the personalities of the players to diverse markets and tell those stories to the right media (some nice hits for the launch this past week) they have a chance. MLS continued growth will not hurt WPS success either. The question will be what deems success over time? If the answer is more young women being heathier, new role models and an exciting diverse product, then the chance is strong. If it is to make a windfall of cash, lure big brands and gain national broadcast TV exposure for the sport, then there will be some challenges, big ones. Regardless, the message that the league has sent to all by getting games started and looking globally for talent is a smart one, and one that, if there are brands ready to spend in the women’s soccer marketplace, or the women’s sports marketplace, they can take advantage of. Hopefully WPS catches a perfect storm to ride to success with some amazing play, activation and personality. The business could use more success stories.

Alive and Kicking…MLS Starts Another Season With A Boost Out West…

March 18, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Maybe it’s because they are the least mature of the larger sports in North America, maybe its because they started with the single entity model and knew how to operate and build brand more lean and mean, or maybe its because their grassroots base combined with their breakthrough is still to come, but Major League Soccer, even in this economy, appears ready for more steady growth and even expansion and new brand building. With the season beginning this Thursday, the buzz, at least locally, is already a great sound with the new Seattle franchise, and it could be a breakthrough year for the league. The announcement that VW has reupped their multi-level partnership, including their large presence with the DC United, was broken by Tripp Mickle in this week’s Sports Business Journal, which had a number of extensive pieces on the league and its leadership. Now is all roses with MLS? No. They are starting at one of the busiest times on the sports calendar, between the WBC, March Madness, NASCAR and now golf and tennis beginning heavy US play, and their preseason really takes place in virtual silence in most markets. Even with those challenges though, the brands they have come back, they are finding more ways to activate with youth in key markets, the soccer-specific stadiums are finding their niches and even the Red Bulls advancing to the finals got some much-needed buzz in New York. They have affordability and youth and a good in arena show for all, even if the TV transition has yet to get there. MLS digital play continues to improve and speak to the core, and with additional brand activation in specific markets, maybe just maybe, if they continue building stars and the off-sports buzz, they could be the first to capture additional marketshare while many other brands are struggling to hold on, or as in the case with many niche brands, just fade away.

Using Horse Sense To Drive Holiday Cheer…and Votes…

December 28, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

We have recently touched on the lack of innovative Heisman and Bowl promotions from this past year, mostly blamed on “the economy”.  However one of the world’s richest men, in the Sport of Kings, found time around the holidays to push his prized posession with a very unique, relatively inexpensive, package that combined holiday cheer with a good old fashioned awareness campaign.  The man is Jess Jackson, and the candidate is Curlin.  The package, written about in Sunday’s “Rumble” section of the New York Post, went to the voting members of the Turf Writers Association, who will vote on Horse of the Year in January.  It included a holiday note, and a bottle of Jackson’s wine (he of the Kendall Jackson winery) with Curlin’s picture on the label.  It was smart, subtle, well timed and used resources that Jackson’s team had at their disposal.  The package was well received for a well deserved candidate, and got the brands some additional exposure.  Did Jackson need to do this to push Curlin for Horse of the Year?  No.  Was it smart to thank the media with a package in a year when most extra items have disappeared (especially in a sport which continues to suffer losses in coverage).  Absolutely.  A good old fashioned promotional campaign which garnered band exposure at the right time of the year.  We need more of these pushes in the business today.  

Blackhawks just listen…

November 11, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The off-ice turnaround done by the Chicago Blackhawks since John McDonough took over the team last January has been well documented and is one of the best major market brand turnarounds in recent times.  From bringing back venerable announcers to landing the outdoor game this coming January to reconnecting with veteran players, the Blackhawk brand, its place as an institution in Chicago and its bottom line have all risen considerably.  However now that the season is well underway and the team has had some on-ice issues, would the front office continue to listen, adjust and make changes.  Judging by this wek’s Chicago papers, the team is still refining, still listening (literally) and still building towards giving the fans what they want for their experiential dollar.  This time its a return to organ music.  The story is also significant in where it ran in the papers…once again the brand is expanding continually into living and lifestyle sections, thus continuing to capture the casual fan.  It is a great example of how the team shows that they will not just be here for the short term window dressing…they get it and want to build everything as solid as possible, even if it includes a little retro music.  Nice attention to detail. 

Next Page »