End of the Day, Live Events Make Sports, Brands, King…

November 5, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

The debate has gone on for several years as to what the value of the live event is with regard to sports. In this age of instantaneous, multimedia applications with hundreds of applications, why do we need to watch anything live or be there in person for it? After all we can google, youtube or TiVo any event and watch it when we want to watch it, right? Yes that is true, and the options do present those challenges to event marketers, teams and brands.

The Lance Brand Lives Strong…

October 8, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

There is perhaps no other athlete who can so dictate the rise and fall of his or her sport over the long term than Lance Armstrong. Yes TV ratings rise and fall with Tiger Woods on golf, but the weekly coverage of the sport, along with events and brand activation, do continue. Michael Phelps raised swimming to a new level in Beijing, but even with Phelps in a non-Olympic year the draw to the sport for casual fans is still limited. However with Armstrong, the sport of cycling exists for the casual fan. Without him it does not. Now are there other compelling stories to be told amongst professional cyclists, ones that casual fans and those who train and cycle recreationally would care about? Yes. Are there lots of brand dollars spent on cycling abroad? Absolutely. But for the eyeballs, and probably for many brands in North America, a race without Armstrong’s presence is almost irrelevant. So for an elite athlete to carry the sport on his shoulders is both a great responsibility and a great opportunity. Many will debate the exposure role David Beckham played with MLS in this country, and whether the brands that came in and the exposure was good or bad for MLS. Our feeling is it was good and probably could have been better if he played more and included more of his teammates in the broader scope of exposure. However with Lance Armstrong, the ancillary exposure for the sport, and the ability to drive interest and perhaps create other stars that feed off the Armstrong has great potential. Some recent examples of the power of Lance. First was Live Strong Day earlier this month, a viral and grassroots campaign which was a call to action for service and activation around Armstrong’s charity work. The results are hard to measure in the short term, but the global exposure and the ability to do positive philanthropic work through the influence of Lance Armstrong is massive. The second recent piece is Armstrong’s just announced deal with Anheuser Busch, a departure from traditional fitness brand partnerships, but one that speaks volumes as to the unusual drawing power of an elite athlete (Barry Janoff took a good look at the deal on his site). So what does it all say about cycling? Simple. If Lance continues to “Live Strong” as a viable brand that can draw eyes and dollars there remains the chance that brands and fans can be drawn in and then captured by the competitive nature of the sport. After all, who can’t relate to bike riding? However the sport itself, and the teams and athletes involved, must make a concerted effort now to make that play to a larger audience and feed off the Lance wave. Like in so many sports, the assumption that a positive wave will live on the competitive nature of the sport to a mass audience is a mistake. The NFL has seen other football leagues come and go, and even in a niche sport like MMA, the UFC brand is what carries, not the sport itself. So spending the time to cultivate, nurture and convert those fans for cycling must happen now, before the Armstrong window closes. However if that doesn’t happen, there is one fact that will remain… The impact of one man to move the needle up and down from a brand perspective may never have been stronger than with Lance Armstrong and cycling, whether it is a dollar, television, brand or even philanthropic perspective.

Globies Continue To Find Ways To Refresh Their Brand…

January 16, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Like the circus, or really any “touring” sports brand from tennis to golf to the PBR…or even an annual “show” like the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, the Harlem Globetrotters must find new and innovative ways to engage fans, find new audiences and keep their brand top of mind when one of their teams makes their annual city by city stops.  Part of that is smart advertising, part smart marketing, but a big part is innovation and doing the “little” things that set them apart and get them noticed in advance of city stops or off the sports page and into the mainstream where the casual sports fan or the family member will see and remember them.  There were two good instances this week of the Globetrotters doing a little extra to grab that recognition.  First, as reported in Media Post on Friday, was the announcement that the entire team will wear 44 jerseys on Tuesday as a tribute to President-elect Obama being the 44th President.  The second, as reported in NY Sports Journalism.com, is their partnership with IHOP which will give them great promotional exposure and provide added value for all attendees.  Do either of these come across as game changers for the brand?  Well as stand-alone events, no.  However they continue to give people reasons to identify with the Globies when they are not in market, while showing business partners and all in the sports and entertainment world that even in a slow economy, they are finding ways to be progressive and keep looking forward.  In a marketplace where today many feel that cutbacks and inertia are a sign of progress, the Globetrotters are spinning forward, and thats a good thing.