Does Losing Net a Value For Butler?

April 6, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

A week or so ago Darren Rovell had a blog post on what, if any, value the New Jersey Nets had lost by “winning.” By passing the Philadephia 76ers with their tenth win, was there any actual value from going from the worst ever to just another losing team.  The answer according to the collectable market was no, but on the PR side, there is a bit of a value in being the extreme, whether that is best or worst.  Certainly the Nets have orchastrated more ccoverage through all their losing than if they were just mediocre, and ironically now that they have passed the 76ers and have reached 11 wins, all that gallows humor has disappeared.  Part of it is that baseball has arrived and the Final Four has pulled eyeballs, but part of it is definately that there is no interest in mediocrity, no matter how compelling the story.  people love the best, and they have an interest in the worst.

Sports As The Unifier…Again.

March 6, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

Maybe in another life, 40 years ago, a political pundit like James Carville and a Super Bowl winning coach like Brian Billick would not have a lot in common.  However these days, through the world of satellite radio, digital TV and social media, they now only can share ideas but can share the same stage. Carville, who engineered many a political campaign both in the U.S. and abroad, including President Clinton’s White House run of course,  and Billick, who now is doing his work behind a microphone after an uber successful NFL and college coaching career, shared some quality time and thoughts this week in Orlando, Florida as guest speakers at the Global Options Executive Forum, a two day summit for the leaders of the risk management field. And although some may have scratched their heads in seeing how these two and others could relate their experiences to those from industries ranging from the transportation to the insurances industries, there was common thread…the love of what athletics can do as a unifier for people in good times and bad.  Carville talked glowingly of what the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints meant for the downtrodden and oft-beaten people of his current home, and how the team has become the true shining symbol for what can be accomplished and overcome with hard work and attention to detail.  Billick talked endlessly and fluidly about the leadership principals and the amount of risk involved in the coaching world, and how that work can apply to top level business management. Carville equated the way political races are won and lost to the way recruiting takes place in both the business and sports world, showing time and time again how successful leadership has its clear threads that run from top to bottom regardless of the industry, and how the value of team always has to come through.  is much of it rhetoric and is it overblown a bit, these sports analogies?  Perhaps.  Howver one thing again came clear.  The ability for the brand and business of sports to unify a people, be a rallying point for a coproration, or help different and competing peoples to find a common bond is still very clear and extremely relevant, especially in the most challenging of times. It is a language that people can speak together whether that language of sport is soccer or football, baseball or curling.  It can unify and rally, inspire and heal, enrage and fuel debate.  Sport gives the common ground and marks a starting point for conversations and speeches, even in some of what may be seen as the most rudimentary or complex of industries, and that showed true again this week.   That common ground, especially played out across the vast real time media platforms that we have today, is why brands use sports as the way to help tell th story, and why billions continue to watch, play and enjoy the games from the grassroots to the professional. Was that true 100 years ago?  Maybe.  But today as the world shrinks and we all have the ability to “know” one another a little more, it is truer more than ever.

Nets Continue To Bounce The Promotional Ball During The Offseason…

August 15, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Many times we have said that minor league baseball does the best job of staying relevant with fans and finding ways to build brand even in the offseason, especially since they have such a transient problem with players. On the professional side, perhaps no team does a better job with staying relevant in a very crowded space than the New Jersey Nets, who again this week, in the dog days of August and with players scattered to all parts of the globe, not only found great exposure points but also took a potentially negative story and turned it into a very positive one. The story in point involved an innovative ticket promotion that saw fans have the opportunity to get reversable jerseys, Nets on one side, top NBA players on the other, with a partial season ticket plan. As it was posted on the teams site, Deadspin took the Nets to task for “faking” a team promotion by selling the reversable jerseies. However in the real marketing world, teams are marketing their opponents and their experience more than their players more and more, as a way to pull in casual fans in the hope that you can convert them to fulltime supporters of your brand. Not uncommon at all, only the Nets have taken it to a bit more of a “physical” play by putting opponents jerseys in the hands of casual fans. The innovation actually spurred some tremendous coverage, including CNBC, the New York Daily News and Associated Press along with some debate, which in the middle of a ticket and brand selling season with really one top marketable star right now (Devin Harris) is what a brand could want. Is there risk in driving fans away from the team with the promotion? Little. Is there upside if one of the Nets players on the reversable emerges? Yes. Will it sell tickets? Yes. Great play, great way to turn what was an initial negative into a positive and an innovative way again to keep the team brand fresh and relevant in mid-summer.

Leaving Your Core Business To Get Into Event Production Can Be A Costly Affliction…

July 27, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

There is still some debate about the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, as to whether it is “hot” and a viable business or just a niche sport whose success is solely dictated by the success or failure of the one true brand in the market on the professional side, the UFC. Those who lean toward the latter received more validation for their point this past weekend when the sport’s latest UFC challenger, the highly successful apparel brand Affliction, announced it too was getting out of the event game and was going back to doing what it does best…running a very lucrative brand for the male demo that follows the UFC and trains in MMA.

Multiple Sports, Multiple Activation Platforms Highlight A Week Of Success For Sports…

July 11, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we head into mid-July, what has normally been a slow season for sports brand activation has unveiled a host of positive programs and good signs for sports on all levels. Starting with Mixed Martial Arts and the hundreds of brands and thousands of fans that have descended on Las Vegas for UFC 100 this weekend. The LA Times had a good look at the UFC’s success and its ability to build fans around the experiential platform that they have created and can execute for their followers, both on site and on pay per view. Great weekend for the UFC, which continues to be the only true national brand in the sport. Adding in the success that the World Series of Poker has sustained in Las Vegas over the last month, the City will enjoy a stretch of “new” sport excitement this weekend that will compare to and surpass any other July time frame. Then fans can look east to St Louis, where MLB has done an outstanding job of taking their partners and finding ways to create grassroots and charity activation programs in the community and on a national and international scale leading into All-Star weekend. Whether it is Bank of America working to give people access to tickets and Fan fest through their local branches or their Hit For Hunger campaign, or MasterCard’s Stand Up To Cancer platform, each brand is being integrated into programs that have both great exposure and tremendous giveback for the community. The women’s US Open in Pennsylvania also didn’t miss an opportunity to link their brands to charity ties in the area and expose their athletes to activation platforms both on site and prior to the event’s start, and NASCAR’s Thursday night special on CNBC gave fans and brands an hour of access to show how all is working in the world’s premier motorsports circuit, leading into a weekend which gives NASCAR some of its biggest major market exposure of the year, with the Sprint Cup Series at Chicagoland Speedway. Now is all right in sports and brand activation these days? Obviously not…but as industry, from the down and dirty world of MMA to the established sports like baseball and golf, a look at the success of brands over a five day period shows that the business of sports is working hard to succeed in the slowest of times, which is a good sign for the future. While many businesses struggle to adapt, it seems like sports and the brands associated are working among the hardest to turn the corner quickly.

Getting An Added Fix Of Fall Football…The UFL Or…The Lingerie League?

May 30, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With the AFL gone and the AAFL never started, the quest for NFL alternatives to fill the void continues on. While most agree that the talent level for the secondary football gap between college and the NFL is there…and the CFL has done a good job of trying to assume that role…the model that is financially and socially viable remains a mystery that even the NFL with NFL Europe could not solve. . So now we move to the fall and the launch of the once-delayed, several times evolving four team United Football League, while the once tried, well pitched and curiously positioned Lingerie Football League has also garnered its own position. the question is…can the UFL find an audience, and would anyone really care…brands or fans…about the LFL? While many have snickered, the UFL has pushed ahead and has done a good job of stealing enough headlines, signing media deals and positioning itself as a serious alternative or addition to the college and NFL audience. The coverage it has received, from AP to the Sports Business Journal to the markets where teams will be, certainly creates the air of legitimacy, and all the executives have done a great job of looking forward and staying on message. Now whether fans will show up…the price point is right…sponsors will sign on and media will cover remains the literally million dollar question. Many “good ideas” have come and gone in the recent economy, and even mainstream well established brands have taken a hit. However one thing is for sure, the people behind the UFL are pressing on and showing the confidence in an idea that helps in an uncertain climate, and look like they will create a platform that brands and fans may lean on as a cost effective alternative once the ball goes in the air. On the other side is the Lingerie Football league, which has done a great job of marketing itself and gaining mainstream business and some sports press by pandering to male dominated media. Media outlets from si.com to cnbc have given the league concept some play, and although the numbers of 8,000 guys showing up, TV partners signing on and “celebrity owners” have yet to materialize, the credit has to go to whomever built the PR plan and catered right to the male demo with which the league is looking to go to. Whether the concept gets off the ground and actually gets brands to sign on seems like the longest of longshots, but the buzz generated is certainly worthy of any startup brand. In the end which will last longer? For those looking to grow the sports marketing space the answer is probably both, although the UFL will certainly open more doors for the long term.

Kobe vs. LeBron…or Dwight…Digital Immediacy Gives Brands Flexibility Like Never Before…

May 23, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It used to be that media plans, carefully crafted and built over time, could be gone in a heartbeat if an entertainer bombed or ran afowl of the law, or an athlete was injured or failed to live up to expectations. The classic story has always been the Dave vs. Dave decathlon battle leading to the Olympics that never materialized because of injuries and underperformance. Even three years ago, Amex’s “Andys Mojo” campaign built around Andy Roddick for the US Open, flamed out when Roddick when down too early in the tournament, and there are countless stories of teams pulling down billlboards after early season trades or problems. However today’s digitial opportunities gives media and brand at least more flexibility than before. Even the LA Dodgers “Mannywood” issues could have been much more costly in years gone by if the team did not have the ability to adjust on the fly. Was it somewhat costly? Yes. But not to the extent of other years, where billboards, ads, and other pieces could not be swapped out digitally. Even media guides, once a massive spend to store and print, are now being updated and adjusted more on CD and online, saving time and money. Latest case in point on this issue are the brands that have spent and built toward the NBA Finals and a potential Kobe vs. LeBron mega-final. Jeremy Mullman in Ad Age on Friday had a good piece pointing out potential pratfalls for brands building who have built NBA campaigns and are not part of the the matchup, especially adidas and Gatorade, while Darren Rovell had a good piece earlier in the week about Vitamin Water and their ability to adjust by also having an underused Dwight Howard in their stable of athletes. Both give great insight into the gamble of aligning with one particular athlete or entertainer vs. overall partnerships. However both also show savvy brands that can now adjust in a digital environ and deliver impactful messaging around an event like the NBA Finals by delivering right to the consumer online and with social media, and even some guerilla branding if needed. Just a few years ago, none of that would have been possible and the brand damage could have been massive. Now the ability to adjust on the fly is both creative and a time saver and provides flexibility in messaging that few could have predicted. Picking the right spokespeople is always important…being able to adjust in times of crisis is even more important, and the media environ now provides that opportunity.

When Is A Twit Legit?

May 21, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

While the pressure to find new ways to get bigger ROI and link athletes closer to fans spending their discretionary dollar grows, the legitimacy or original reasons for using social networking as a valuable tool becomes more clouded in many ways. Shaquille O’Neal’s Twitter success, with the help of Charlotte-based Sports Media Challenge, broke the ice and showed athletes and brands how that medium could work as a successful connection tool. However Shaq the brand and the personality is different than virtually anyone else (his trip to sports broadcasting boot camp this week is the latest example of how he sets himself not just apart, but as a leader in trying to redefine who he will be in the future) Just because Shaq “gets it” and can be a smart investment for partners, doesn’t mean that every athlete, no matter how much perceived value they have, can be like Shaq or that any athlete will be able to embrace new media and use it personally and effectively for all. Take Danica Patrick for example. A week ago Patrick told CNBC’s Darren Rovell she was not a person to use Twitter to communicate with fans, and then this week it is announced one of her sponsors is “urging” her to use Twitter as part of their deal. Now again she is being guided by the folks at Sports Media Challenge, but will a sponsor-induced twitter feed have any value to fans if they think it is not legit or sincere? And will it become an issue like the one that has arisen for the University of Tennessee, where head football coach Lane Kiffin had to self report a violation because an assistant, under Kiffin’s twitter and facebook pages, posted info that was a minor violation about a recruit. Now that people know it is not really Kiffin posting will they follow it? Will they care? And what does that do to the idea of access to the “real” athlete, coach or entertainer? Do brands worry about legitimacy of posts if they do decide to partner with someone who is using a third party to pump out thoughts that are not really those of the celebrity? Do the celebrities care? Also will the incorporation of sponsors remove the “cool factor,” or will it enhance the value of what is being sent? Now Danica Patrick, despite the fact that she has yet to win a race, remains a very savvy marketing machine. However could there come a time where a post goes up from “Danica” and her sponsor that is contrary to what she says in a press conference or to a fan? Then the sincerity of “Danica” on Twitter goes out the window, and the damage control, not just for her brand and her fans, but with anyone effectively using these social media platforms goes out the window. For those who are savvy enough to communicate with fans and brands…O’Neal, Pete Carroll etc…kudos. To those who are being forced to create contrived “opportunities” beware. The great thing about social media platforms is the direct access that is casual and is sometimes both insightful and a very unique look inside those who are followed by the masses. Once it all becomes “access in a can” the casual fan and the diehard will be both annoyed…brands beware of backlash…and will be off looking for the next way to be an insider, and all those dollars and effort will be lost. Twitter and other platforms are great for some, they are neither “required” or useful for all.

Sprinting Ahead For More Fan Access…

May 14, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It started with mic’ed up athletes and coaches, evolved to Helmet cam and driver cam and on and on until we get Tweets from Charlie Villanueva and others in the lockerroom all in the name of trying to give fans unprecedented access to the athlete in a time when the media are getting less and less access on a daily basis. So the ways brands have to look and think about what is still available and what is next remains a growing challenge for a demanding public, demanding brands and a shrinking traditional media field. The folks at Sprint, through their NASCAR Partnership, have come up with yet another piece of an insiders look, and found the perfect way to use their distribution methods to their subscribers to provide it. Sprint was given access to the non public driver/crew meetings before NASCAR races, and then gets that audio out to its subscribers via download. It is a simple, and very unique peek inside a sport that is all about accessability, and really gives an element of exclusivity to Sprint subscribers. Without a video component, the “fly on the wall” feel to the clear stream audio makes it feel even more inside and less contrived, and probably keeps those being recorded from being more guarded. Great access, great way to find another little “extra” by the NASCAR folks and one of their elite brands, and great example of a brand digging deep to find yet another element of access than is very intimate without being overly intrusive. Just please no NASCAR shower cam post race.

Cinco De Mayo…Lucha Libre A New Branding Opportunity On The Edge Of Sports

May 6, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It is definately more entertainment than sports, but it has athleticism and now all the flash and dash of entertainment so as Cinco de Mayo ends we decided to take a look at the Mexican wrestling niche phenomenon Lucha Libre, and its crossover into burlesque and entertainment in LA, Lucha Libre Vavavoom. NPR highlighted the new entertainment property on Tuesday morning, and pointed to its crossover from the Anglo to Hispanic audiences, its fun entertainment appeal, the showmanship and the athleticism of the performers and many of the brands that are looking to crossover, from mainstream American brands like Miller to traditional Mexican brands to grab that audience. Again, as brand marketers look to embrace the growing Hispanic demo it may not be that much of a stretch, but it also may be a good example of finding ways to access both audiences with fun and a bit of athleticism and showmanship, and learn what the elements are that have made the property work, even as a niche. Not a traditional sports play, but one that has lots of efficient and interesting elements for the right brands.

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