The Value Of Voices…

July 12, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 3 Comments 

Sunday sports lost one of its touchstones, as legendary public address announced Bob Sheppard passed away at age 99.  Sheppard, a gentleman, was the sound of the Yankees, the Giants, St. John’s, and was an instructor at St. John’s for many years. Like the passing of the great Ernie Harwell earloer this year and the Phillies Harry Kalas last year, another connection to the traditional brand of baseball has been silenced.  Now while many may belittle the value of a PR announcer or a broadcaster to a franchise in a google-happy and always screaming world, the value of these men when the team they worked for is viewed as a public trust as much as a brand, is indisputable.

Tigers Win By Taking The High Road…

June 3, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Wednesday night’s botched call which kept Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallarraga from being the third pitcher in 30 days to throw a perfect game may be one of thebiggest viral stories related to sports since the real migration to digital media egan several years ago.   One cannot look at a blog, a trending list, a news site, a video board, a message board or any social or news media platform without seeing the Jim Joyce blown call replayed over and over again, with endless comments and opinion. The only good to come out of the newscycle for Joyce and MLB is that baseball’s constant flow gives the sport the chance to move on a bit quicker than a controversy in any other sport…the Tigers and Indians were back playing less than 12 hours later.

Why Baseball Fan Fests Work…

January 24, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we head toward pitchers and catchers reporting in less than a month, we are seeing the seeds of baseball pop up in the most remote locations, where spring seems lightyears away.  In Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee…talk of baseball, and ticket selling and autographs are all on the minds of the die hard and the casual fan these next few weeks. Why?  Yes its because baseball remains the casual summer sport that many people in North America still mark time by.  However more importantly is because teams, especially those  in cold weather climates, have launched their annual winter caravans and fan experiential events, days and sometimes weeks of activity that brings players, coaches and the brand back top of mind at a critical time of year.  The Fan Fest is not just a baseball-specific idea.  Other sports in some markets take advantage of the offseason in similar ways, but the overall “festival” plan in the dead of winter is one of the practices that baseball does best.  It is a real re-invigoration of the brand…and an opportunity to give fans affordable access to the players, the coaches and everything about the brand…regardless of where the team ended up the previous season.  It also gives the team the ability to answer questions, hype to players, and really connect with those who will buy the tickets and the merch when the season starts.  Some teams like the White Sox for example, have even implemented new and social media into the process, hosting fan fest “tweet ups” and special discounts and giveaways for those who have signed up, and can get to a particular area at a moment’s notice.  The Detroit Tigers, who have done one of the best jobs of any team with their annual Tiger Fest, use the weekend as a chance to pull in and explain the brand to potential sponsors of all sizes, and have even created blogger-specific events to gauge opinion and feedback.  In many markets the Fan Fest has become a great offseason revenue source, while in others it is a work in progress.  The Fan Fest idea is not universally in place in baseball…the Mets and Yankees for example do not do fan fests because of the crowded marketplace, the anticipated lack of a sizable venue and the fact that the sport gets mega-coverage almost every day in the media (although the Yankees did have tremendous success with events when they were re-establishing themselves in the late ’80’s and early ’90’s and needed to move tickets)…but it is a growing one.  Minor league teams in some markets do scaled down versions as well.

Tigers The Best Brand Story In Baseball?

September 19, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Many skeptics looked to the baseball season this year as a sort of sponsorship and ticketing armageddon…a sure sign that sports was losing its branding and dollars mojo. Yet as we look down the stretch and even back across the season, we see lots of good news for the sport in terms of community involvement, solid ticket sales in a tough economy, good stories and fan interest, along with different types of brand activation. Were there hiccups? Of course, with perhaps the biggest ones being the continued steroid issue (from the past less than the present) and the Yankees pricing and suite issues, although even there the team has been responsive to adjusting and making progress. Still, the ability for baseball teams…both minor and major…to adapt, be more innovative and present a fair and fun social product is still a huge plus, and maybe a good sign of times going forward. One of those brands that has tried to do all the right things, both on the field and off, in a very challenged economy is the Detroit Tigers. From community events, to job fairs to tickets for unemployed workers to forgoing sponsorship dollars on their centerpiece fountain and keeping the General Motors brand attached to it, to honoring announcer Ernie Harwell in a very dignified manner, the Tigers have done everything they can to make sure they are a part of all going on in a city hit hardest by the recession. Plus…they are winning…and winning with athletes who have great stories and are reflective of the community they play in. Now why haven’t more brands attached themselves to the team and the players? Maybe they are not sexy enough and are in a market that obviously is short on consumer spending. However for brands looking to make the consumer feel good and find a way to reach millions as they ride into the playoffs…probably against the Yankees at some point with all that New York and national exposure…the Tigers just might be the smartest, and best buy for a brand this season. Great story with the best still to come.

Spinning The Trade: Manny To LA…

August 2, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The 24/7 news cycle now, especially around major dates on the team sports calendar (the drafts, trade deadlines etc.), continues to explode the feeding frenzy for news and up to the second information, factual or not.  However even with all the access to information and creation of rumor, in team sports the simple fact remains that a trade is not a trade until both sides, the leagues and all parties involved, agree.  Rumors are great on those crucial days for brand awareness and buzz, and they build interest, but until the pros consumate the deal that is all they are.  After the deadlines pass, we move on as fans and those involved in the business, trying to put the best face on whatever side we are on, or speculate on what was best that did not happen.  However in baseball this past week, with a good core of marketable stars moving to major markets, the spin cycle on both sides of the moves has been interesting to watch.  First on the brand side, the dollar investment that goes into changing campaign and brand elements for teams like the Detroit Tigers (moving Pudge Rodriguez to the Yanks) and the Boston Red Sox (moving Manny Ramirez) is very high.  Even ESPN had to kill a series of Manny commericials that had yet to be aired, and the changing out of highlight films to community events to promotional campaigns means a great deal of extra work and clear communication to partners.  The move of Ramirez, clearly wanting out of Boston, to a major market like LA, where the team has taken some heat over ownership’s perceived lack of financial committment to go get more stars to win, is a great example of two big markets spinning against each other.  Veteran writer Charlie Pierce had a great piece on slate.com that goes into details about how the Sox uniformly explained the benefit of moving Ramirez, and how local media came out in a pack against the Red Sox star, while Saturday’s LA Times goes into great detail on all the pomp and circumstance the Dodgers rolled out for Ramirez as a conquering hero, especially in a market where the Dodgers are trying to court the Hispanic fan. Ironically the spin master for the Dodgers, Dr. Charles Sternberg, was brought in from the Red Sox to help reshape the team image, so it will be interesting to see where both sides net out.  The bottom line in cases like this is that good effective communication can make the upside a little sweeter and take a little of the sting out of a bitter side, especially in the first news cycle.  Both sides in this case appear to have done a good job…the Sox have uniformly positioned this trade as building team unity, while the Dodgers have shown they are willing to take chances to win now.  Who gets the better of this in the end is very simple…it is a results-based business.  If the Dodgers move on to success and the Red Sox falter, the spin will go one way.  If Ramirez crushes team unity in LA, the Dodgers have a mess. Either way, both sides played the spin game correctly to start.   

The Player Blog…some good ones

August 1, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

I spent the last few days in various places with my colleague Josh Rockoff of Strike Interactive and the two topics that came up frequently were the growth of online gaming and the value of athlete websites, or with the second topic, the problems therein.  While most athletes, like most brands, feel that the outreach to the fan or the building of one’s own “brand” is essential, there are few that actually do it right.  One reson is the limit of an athletes time to come up with compelling content on a regular and consitent basis.  The other is that many times the sites are manned by others “ghosting” for the players, and the sites often come across as contrived with little insight into the athlete.  That is what the fan wants…not the happy go lucky thoughts of the athlete…the insight into what makes up the person, the slice of life of training camp or behind the scenes that gives the athlete character.  Does it have to be controversial?  No.  Is it always compelling?  No.  But thoughts of what goes on inside the clubhouse or the mind of the athlete…or what the athlete does away from the field…makes him or her more marketable, more interesting and easier to like and understand during the lean times.  Some blogs…like the Washington Wizards’ Etan Thomas’ blog on Huffington Post last year…were great.  But for whatever reason they suddenly stopped.  Same with Diana Taurasi’s blog…great insight into the WNBA and the famale athlete and then nothing.  Are some athletes paid to blog?  Sometimes, especially by the more commercial sites.  However the commitment to be consistent and work with someone to give the fans insight takes time and dedication but a precious few athletes…but those athletes will reap off field dividends in the long run.  Five blogs worth checking out…in baseball, Curt Schilling’s blog, even in an injury riddled year, gives fans insight of both on and off the field…another baseball blog worth reading on espn.com is the Tigers Curtis Granderson (will be interested in seeing the take on yesterday’s trade), while Donovan McNabb’s posts from training camp are also pretty good…the best remains Gilbert Arena’s blog on nba.com…even in the offseason he keeps the fans engaged with his offcourt happenings and otjher thoughts both in and out of basketball…especially for those rising athletes or those schools or smaller market teams looking to get more digital exposure, identifying athletes and coaches and helping push their personalities through the blog or simple websites remains a great opportunity to grow marketshare and bring in some extra dollars while identifying with a very hungry fan base…a little effort can reap a lot of benefit. 

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.