The House of Mouse Raises It’s Sports Brand…

February 27, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Slowly, steadily, the good folks at Disney and ESPN have turned one of the brand’s more quizzical efforts into a mecca, not for characters, but for the character built through sport.

Globies Race To Keep Growing The Brand…

November 21, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

It is not easy trying to remain relevant with national brands for the travelling road show. There are less performances of the circus, less ice shows, less boxing matches, less LPGA events, less AVP events, less, less less. When you do not have consistent brand relevance in a market and are out of sight for all but one week a year, the ability to keep an event fresh and top of mind when discretionary income, and with that partner value, can be hard to explain is making the “tour” even more difficult to sustain. So what does a touring brand do? You try and find national platforms that give the product year-round life, so that when the event does make its annual stop into down there is something to draw the casual fan. One group that continues to do it well is the Harlem Globetrotters, and their latest attempt at large and long-term branding relevance is with their participation in CBS’ Amazing Race. The Globies, who have two players, Flight Time and Big Easy, participating in the reality show this season, have used the show to keep the brand fresh for the casual fan, and even build a little momentum for the upcoming start of their next multi-city, multi-week tour which begins during the Holidays. Are the guys playing hoops? No. But like the use of “Dancing With the Stars” for other athletes, The Amazing Race and the publicity around it gives the brand watercooler talk at a time of year when the team would not be top of mind and would be struggling to find a way to connect even with their strongest of supporters. The brand has also used various levels of social media to piggyback off the push “The Amazing race” does every week to drive viewers to the show, and has created a positive partnership that could serve as a template for getting Globetrotter branding into even more properties. There was a time during their heyday when team spokespeople were part of multifaceted marketing campaigns, cartoons and special year round, and that brand value for the Globetrotters is now returning in more creative communication and brand platforms that are looking to tie with a group that has recognition with casual sports and entertainment fans. Does it matter if the Trotters pair wins TAR this year? No. It mattered more that they stayed in the race and on the show long enough to drive interest and draw more eyeballs to the brand. By making it to this stage they have achieved their goal and have helped forge a bridge to when the season tips off, which is a win for their brand and all their partners.

Mastering The Stunt: Globies With A Hall of Fame Performance…

August 8, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Often times the lure and immediacy of social media and email, as well as budget constraints, force us to forget about the traditional ways to garner exposure. For the most part gone are the days of creative campaigns for the Heisman Trophy or for promoting players or brands via extensive mail campaigns, and good stories may often get lost in the morass of email bombardment that writers and editors now receive. However once in a while there is a reminder that the traditional visual PR stunt is a great way to cut through the clutter and deliver for a brand. Case in point this week was the Harlem Globetrotters, which had its mascot, Globie, parachute into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame to deliver a basketball that had been used around the world. The move, well timed during a slow news period with great visuals and then spread virally and through traditional video distribution channels to TV stations, turned a nothing event,,,the delivering of an artifact to the Hall…into a something event, and gained some great exposure for the Globetrotters and for the Hall, and maybe even for the brand of “Globie.” Was it cost effective for the brand? If the goal was to bring recognition, then yes. If timed right and with the right amount of buzz, the stunt can still surpass any viral campaign for quick and unique and effective exposure. Nice pop for hoops, during a time where most casual fans are thinking baseball or even golf.

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.

The NBA Continues to Brand “Basketball” Worldwide And At Home…

November 25, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Many times sports get caught up in their own branding opportunities, often at the expense of the greater good of the sport they represent.  There have been countless stories of MLB chasing down rights fees for Little League or the Cape Cod League, or Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League fighting against themselves for marketing space and fan dollars.  While in many cases the ideal is valid, the execution may not be, and the brand becomes more important than the essence of the sport.  One league which has seen the growth of the sport as the next evolution in its brand success is the NBA, and the continued recent developments with worldwide and grassroots partnerships show that David Stern’s vision, now more global and more towards all things basketball, is a smart way to marry all aspects of the game and aggregate worldwide eyes and content, which will again be best for the game.  This week’s  Sports Business Journal shows two of the most recent manifestations of that vision.  The first is with the NBA’s new partnership with the Harlem Globetrotters, one of the sports biggest ambassadors worldwide but until today a brand outside of the NBA scope of assets.  The second was the announcement of  Kevin Weiberg to oversee the NBA’s new partnership with the NCAA.  Both relationships may not be 100% favorable to dollars and NBA brand today, but they show to the world an investment in the sport amongst its partners that many other sports are not willing to make, usually for the sake of a dollar today.  That investment, along with the good will and partnership opportunities to be potentially created, will bear fruit as the investment plays out, and makes the NBA as a brand, and then the sport as a whole, more valuable for the future. 

Misty May Treanor Injury A Long Term Help For The AVP Crocs Tour?

October 8, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Monday’s Dancing with the Stars saw AVP crocs legend and Olympic Gold medlaist Misty May Treanor suffer an achilles tendon injury that forced her out of the competition and may end her long and highly successful beach volleyball career.  The interesting thing, as David Schwab points out in the First Call blog, is that the injury may be a help to her long term marketability as she transitions out of the sport and into retirement, which now may be speeded up.  Treanor, married to the Florida Marlins Matt Treanor, and partner Kerri Walsh had done it all in beach volleyball, and had little else left to challenge as another season ended…they won titles, an unprecedented 100-plus consecutive matches, Olympic gold and huge TV drawing power.  Although it won’t help the highly successful AVP with tour drawing power as they go into their Hot Winter Nights Tour and then into next season, it may speed up Treanor endorsement ability  if she takes on motherhhod and other life challenges and goes the way of successful gymnasts and skaters into the endorsement world.  It may also help the AVP develop other rising stars faster, as the reliability of Misty and Kerri to sell tickets may go away faster than expected.  Interesting point by Schwab, interesting time for the sport as they look to continue to build off a great summer of success.

Lotsa G’s…Green Globies, Getting A Job And Getting Instruction

March 14, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day:  With St. Patty’s Day almost upon us, the number of teams and leagues going “green” on or around the day (ranging from NBA teams to the Yankees) grows every year.  However another unique spin goes to our friends at the Harlem Globetrotters, who are taking a two pronged approach to the day…first the team will take on the traditionally green clad Washington Generals in Wildwood, New Jersey and will break from their usual red, white and blue ball to a green ball for the first time ever…the ball, an instant collectable, will then be signed and sent to the Hall of Fame.  Then the team will join the always creative St. Baldricks charity to shave their heads for the day, with proceeds going to charity.  Again the Globies, led by the folks at Coyne PR, break through the clutter on a “green” day with two very definable ideas, and bring along both a historic and a charity element.  Great spin.

Globetrotters Go Back To The Basics To Build Brand, While The Obama/Sports Connection Continues To Gain Steam…

March 3, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

One of the hallmark brands in sports and entertainment that had lost its way in the internet crazy, flash and dash 24/7 world was the Harlem Globetrotters.  Like the circus, the rodeo and many of the other circuits (even professional indoor tennis) that traveled on a tour to cities across America and around the world, the Globies, who once graced primetime television, cartoons and the movies, had fallen on hard times because  of the ability to keep the fan and family friendly act fresh.  However in the last year, a new rebranding campaign, combined with a great city by city PR boost (led by the folks at Coyne PR), have produced a series of business , sports  and promotional exposures for the brand to let the consumer know they have re-established themselves as fun and in many cases, hip and cool entertainment for those of all ages.  Recent exposure in their New York stop included a great all-access piece given to CNBC’s Darren Rovell, the opportunity for local TV anchors like Channel 55’s CJ Papa to practice with the team, along with the outreach to local celebrities and influencers to help make the brand relevent again.  The access, the outreach, and the re-explanation of the brand as something which adults could identify with from their past, and what young people can build memories with (much like the way baseball brands itself as a family lifetime expereince), combined with the ability to create very nice YouTube-like video packages, are all part of the Globetrotters resurgence in 2007, and should help them regain the “tour” foothold when returning to cities, in many ways like the PBR has done to reinvigorate the rodeo/cowboy experience of days gone by.

PBR Grabs The Marketplace By The Horns While American Eagle Puts In Its Best Practices…

January 11, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day:  The ”traveling circus” of an event-based sport tour…be it the Crocs AVP Tour (which just launched its Hot Winter Nights Series this week), the ATP, the WTA, the PGA, the Harlem Globetrotters, even NASCAR and Champ Car…is based on reinventing the PR wheel from city to city and then keeping the stories fresh for the return the following season.  Often times, the staff can get caught up in the day-to-day and miss the advance opportunities, and the national overlays that exist, or fail to see the conflicts in a market that may diminish exposure in a given year.  Well, no group in recent years has taken on those tasks…the fresh stories, the national overlays, the unique pitches, all in the face of major competition…and thrived more than the PBR, and their internal PR team with a nice boost from Rubenstein PR.  Last week the PBR had as big a week as any tour in the New York metropolitan area…with unique story coverage on activation and personalities ranging from Multichannel News to a slide show and coverage in the New York Times and the other dailies to a favorable piece in the New York Observer and solid TV coverage, all backed up by a pullout and event coverage in USA Today…all in the face of the Giants-Bucs playoff buzz and the usual distractions of the New York media.  The coverage will continue (as will the tough coverage market) in Worcester, Mass. this weekend (nice piece in the Worcester Telegram today) as will the rough competition, with the Patriots starting their Super Bowl push.  However the examples of very tailored pitches, tremendous access, and covering all the event angles shows that with the right work the breakthrough can occur, and its a great reason why many marketers think the PBR is just beginning to thrive on the national and international stage.