Financial Planning With Ticket Selling…Moncton Wildcats Show How To Serve Season Subs…

May 26, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day:  With the first game of the NHL Finals pulling record numbers for viewers on VERSUS, we found another hockey-related promotion (courtesy of a “hello” from team president Ray Delia) that the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Moncton Wildcats have come up with, one which many teams in these financially challenged times should take a look at.  The Wildcats are partnering with a Financial Services Company to assist any season subs, or potential season subs, with debt financing and other financial issues questions when they sign up or inquire about next year’s tickets.  The company staff will look to see if the potential season subscriber can afford to get tickets and how they can pay for them, as well as looking at the person’s overall financial picture and providing tips on financial literacy.  It is great added value in a category that is in high demand for teams, shows community responsibility and will probably lead to a higher degree of loyalty for the team that shows they have an interest in how their fans are handling their day to day finances.  Major move for a junior team.

MLS Kicks Off To A Good Start, While NHL Notches Up For The Playoffs

April 6, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As the seasons, both physical and sports-related, blend together in April, we wanted to point out some good work being pushed out by Major League Soccer as they begin their campaign and by the NHL as they ramp up for the playoffs. First on the soccer side, where MLS is working to increase activation and both the outreach to the casual and ardent soccer fan following last summer’s jump in interest amongst the David Beckham arrival in LA. Just this week, the league announced a new fan communications platform geared around their ESPN broadcasts, Sports Illustrated’s preview focused on the Chicago Fire’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Media Post’s feature on Blanco’s partnership with Best Buy , all great examples of the sport’s continued expansion into extended activation with personable athletes and partners looking to capture the market. Also take a look at the DC United and the great push they are making in the digital space by creating a social networking site for area youth coaches, the establishment of the widget DC Vortex to get the latest news and info., and a great blog which gets the teams messages out to the fans in a concise and orderly fashion. All speak to the fan and the participant in the right medium, and take the message to the fan wherever he or she is in the digital space. Also loved si.com’s piece on MLS alumni now in the front office, another great set of ambassadors for the business side of the sport that didn’t until recently. With the teams and the league continuing to make steady strategic branding and media inroads (and doing as good a job as any and better than most in the blog space), all indications are for a bright summer in ‘08 for soccer in the U.S., and we look forward to pointing out the unique programs many of the teams will be using to promote and grow brand during the season.

Oregon Doc Gives New Meaning To March Madness, And Some Solid Baseball Pieces…

March 9, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day: As we move through Championship Week and into the NCAA tournament,  it will be interesting to look for some of the more unique promotions tied to  some of the best weeks of the year on the sports calendar.  Thus far, the best one comes courtesy of Playbooks and Profits in The Oregonian.  A team of Springfield urologists are running a pre-tournament special on vasectomies urging male fans to “lower your seed” for the  tournament, with the idea that post operative recovery requires you to sit around anyway.  Will be interesting to see  what other promos can top this one, which by the way is being pretty well received.

Why It Matters…

February 5, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

“Does Beethoven Have a Bubble Gum Card?”- Lucy Van Pelt

Last Super Bowl items…blimps, radio calls, and a great book to re-read

February 4, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Just some quick links on Monday worth a read.  First of all, one little item to give a different perspective to a broadcast is to switch off the national audio and listen to the gifted home town radio broadcasters call those seminal moments.  For example, in 1994, while we were living in Princeton and working for the Sixers, I shut off the final ESPN call of the Rangers Stanley Cup win to hear the legendary Marv Albert call the final minute and it remains one of the greatest memories I have of that night.  Last night, I recorded and listened to both Albert’s call on Westwood One and my Fordham classmate Bob Papa’s call on WFAN in New York.  The perspective of those tied to the broadcast really gives a great window into the emotional ties we all have to sport.  The Daily News’ Bob Raissman had a nice piece Sunday on the radio broadcasters that is worth a read.  On the PR side, nice piece in Pottsville Public Opinion on Giants PR head Pat Hanlon, one of the most respected team PR guys in the business, and what his job is like.   A nice followup piece on our oddsmakers links from last week is the piece in today’s Las Vegas Review Journal on the bath the sports books took yesterday…that’s why you call it gambling!  Newsday had another of those offbeat pieces over the weekend that got a nice brand some exposure, with a ride in the Goodyear blimp (Goodyear PR head Ed Markey is one of the best in finding ways to pitch at big events), and Rich Deitsch’s Media Circus does a good balanced job of rating the broadacast yesterday.