St. John’s Pulls Out Some Nostaligic Threads With “Ugly Sweater Night”

December 23, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

College hoops in New York has been dormant for too many years. The last two years, not one local college even reached the NCAA’s or the NIT, so all the good brand equity and loyal following that had been built over years of success for Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Manhattan, Hofstra, Fordham et al… has been lost. That doesn’t even begin to take in the losses from the casual sports fans who would follow and attend games, especially for SJU at MSG and Seton Hall at the Meadowlands, when the two were giant killers and at the top of the hoops hierarchy. The good news is that the potential to rebrand and grow as marketing properties still exists in the area, an area where hoops in the winter is still very very strong. The other piece of good news is that the teams in the area…Seton Hall, Rutgers, and now St. John’s…finally appear to be on an upswing on performance, which can lead to more interest. Still that casual fan to fill distressed seats, even on campus, can still be very elusive in this transitionary time. So what to do? Well St. John’s came up with a great promotion for a pre-holiday Tuesday, holding “Ugly Sweater Night” on the Jamaica campus. those showing up with the ugliest of sweaters get a discount on a ticket and a chance to win other prizes, including being part of a faux Guiness World record for the largest collection of ugly sweaters. The event pays homage to the Red Storm’s legendary coach Lou Carnessecca, who was known for his garish collection of sweaters during his time on the St. John’s bench. Will it fill the building? No. Does it get some buzz and create a fun visual at no cost? Yes. It also may move a few tickets at a tough time of year against an opponent, Bryant College, that no one would be lining up to see. On another level it sends a connection message to the current team and supporters of the glory days past, which is the team was stuggling may be troublesome, but in today’s positive times, is a good message and connection. Now ugly sweater nights are not new, but to tie to a sometimes forgotten tradition it is a smart and easy promotion for the Johnnies.

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.

Audi Steps Forward With A Super Push…

January 22, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we enter the two weeks leading up to a Super Bowl which will be less hype and more cautious with excess spending, it was good to see the New York Post report that Audi is making an aggressive push to seize market share and hype with a series of spots leading toward the Super Bowl, married with dealer and online activation.  Audi is a brand that defines luxury, and as so, will be one of those that will stick to its core audience and will look to cutting edge, elite plays to still grab those looking to spend, even if they are limited.  Also on the value side, the brand known for customer appreciation is able to take the spots and subliminally let their past buyers know that the brand is still strong and fresh…that reinforcement through a Super Bowl campaign is smart, becuase since Audi knows its buyers are investors in their product, they will bank on the campaign as a bridge to future poisitive times when the economy rebounds and the consumer needs to buy.  To get a smart effective buy for the game and the lead-up and leverage that against future purchases can work for brands, and hopefully Audi will be the first of many who will look to make a confidence buy and brand play as the game approaches and confidence is beginning to be restored.

High School Athletics…Max Preps Becomes King With CBS

September 3, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As America becomes a football nation with college, high school and the NFL all on tap this weekend, the interest in finding ways to brand and activate on the high school level has never been higher.  The latest example is the partnership between Burger King, CBS Sports and the mega-high school site Max Preps to combine forces to activate and brand high level high school football this fall, and into signing day, in the digital and television space.  The move is a great one for Burger King, as they seek to become to high school football what McDonald’s is for high school hoops, and it gives both Max Preps and CBS a bonafide mainstream marketing partner from which to both activate and build upon on a national basis (good piece by John Ourand in the Sports Business Journal announcing the partnership).  While some still debate the issue of promoting high school athletes in this country, the fact remains that the athletes with their great local stories should be told, and that their parents and the followers of “Friday Night Lights” are as passionate and devoted a consumer market as exists anywhere.  So long as the rules of engaging high school athletes are followed correctly, the program should be a great launching point for all three brands as they grow together in the space.  Great move by BK to own the space for the long term.

Obama Rides The Sports Card Again…This Time With NASCAR

July 13, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Using sports as a vehicle to reach the male demo seems to have played very well for Senator Barack Obama thus far.  His interest in hoops and playing pickup landed pieces in Sports Illustrated and HBO Real Sports, and his NCAA predictions also got some added exposure, while his lack of bowling skills even grabbed a headline or two.  Reaching the younger male demo and relating to them, while getting them to support and eventually vote, is a tricky road to navigate, but it is one that through sports the Senator seems to be doing well with.  Now as he tries to appease the Southern Christian conservative vote, the Senator’s campaign is looking to one of that group’s biggest forums through sports…NASCAR.  Tom Bowles piece in si.com this week revealed that the Senator will become the first candidate ever to sponsor a NASCAR car at Pocono in early August, a very interesting step to try and gain a consituentcy which is at best undecided and for Obama at worst will go the other way in November.  It is a very loud statement about the power of NASACAR and the power of sports marketing and if it helps and works, will once again show how the dollars spent to reach a core audience and have them activate reside very deeply in one of America’s biggest sports.

The Ties That Bind…Father’s Day And Patriotism…Maybe.

June 15, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With Sunday being Father’s Day,there were a number of great pieces that show  the passion that links families…especially Father’s with their sons and daughters…together is sports.  With the shocking passing of Tim Russert, Jim McKay, and legendary announcer Charlie Jones this past week, the nostalgic looks back by some of America’s best writers have come fast and furious, and all give us a chance to take pause to be reminded as to why sports is important to us as a cultural touchstone.  Mike Lupica’s piece on Russert in the New York Daily News is a great example, as is Bill Dwyre’s column in the LA Times on the healing of a long fractured relationship between NBA star Mike Bibby and his dad, Henry, and Jackie McMullan’s column on ESPN.com on Celtics Coach Doc Rivers and the relationship with his late dad, Grady. The best summary piece is by Ian O’Connor in today’s Bergen Record, which links Tiger and Earl Woods, Grady and Doc Rivers, and so many others together to show how sports can cross generational lines, feuds, and geographic distance as a motivational tool for success .  However the theme is the same in all these examples.  Sports, for the big business that it is, remains the emotional link for generations of fathers with their children.  Great job capturing that emotion without the commercialism by all these great writers today. 

Small Balls, Big Branding: The Golf Biz.

April 13, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As The Masters heads for the final round this Sunday, it struck us that since this blog was started in November the major sport we have probably written the least about is golf, with tennis probably a close second.  Probably one of the reasons is that the leasure activity that golf is and the passion its followers has is probably akin to NASCAR, and although some brands such as Callaway are always looking to expand marketplace and share, the governing organizations are fine with holding the image away from the over the top promotion gimmicks and huge PR pushes, simply because they don’t feel they are needed.  Golf pretty much knows its place, and although clothing companies will do their ususal plans around the majors, the events themselves never do the major mass market activations seen around other mega events such as The Super Bowl or even the US Open.  Darren Rovell’s blog on Friday went into detail on what The Masters could be if it wanted to be, and we found a good piece in The Stanford Daily recently on the social and business network that revolves around the Palo Alto-area golf courses, especially at this time of year as young MBA’s look for jobs, but both pieces speak to the same thing…business is great, so why try and remake the wheel?  Now there are some innovative deals going on to try and move things to a new generation or a larger group…Phil Mickelson’s microsite with Crowne Plaza Hotels got a great amount of buzz when launched in January  but the sport remains speaking directly to its consumer and to great success.  Lesson learned here…take care of those who follow you as the primary goal…if you go and get more fans away from your game or brand then great…but if it works, stick to it.  Golf follows that principle better than anyone.