IRL Gets A Chance To Get Back In The Branding Race…

March 15, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

February  was certainly one of the most intriguing months on the sports calendar in recent years. It began with a record Super Bowl, took us through a controversial Daytona 500, saw a very intriguing two weeks of Olympics, and a record setting NBA All-Star game.  So now as we hit the ides of March, we look to what the rest of the calendar can shape up to show us, outside of the usual hoopla of March Madness and spring training in the United States.  The month of March in past years brought us the AFL, the ideas of spring professional football, indoor soccer, and lots and lots of indoor and outdoor lacrosse, all of which have either gone the way of the Buffalo or are in some form of relaunch or reorganization.  So with those brands on hold or being re-jigged, there are two intriguing platforms which will kick it into high gear for what could be make or break years in terms of growth, IRL and soccer.

Racing Back To The Top…

February 14, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

As one looks for continued signs of resurgence in sports marketing…record viewership for the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympic Opening ceremonies, more global sponsors building activation platforms, increased and more diverse ad spending dollars being but forth from ‘09…perhaps one should look to racing as a bell weather.  Yes it is true that “The Great American Race,” the Daytona 500, will just beginning NASCAR’s season this weekend, and that the aggressive new launch of IRL is still a few weeks away, but there are continued positive signs which are showing that racing, one of the the industries hit hardest in the recession the last few years, may be returning to form in terms of viewership, attention and brand awareness. NASCAR has started awareness campaigns in theaters across the country, designed to promote the personalities of the sport, has enhanced their digital presence and begun a more intense program to get their faces out to the widest possible audience going into the season.

Racing Looks To Find New Fans…Pinewood Derby Anyone?

January 26, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

We are coming up fast on Daytona for NASCAR’s start,  the IRL is looking to rebrand and re-emerge after unification with IZOD as a title sponsor, even Forumula One is looking to find its place again. So as the economic times start to recede and sponsor dollars are becoming a tad looser again, what can racing do to find audiences to grow and keep adding fans for life.  One idea is for one of the circuits to embrace a time-honored tradition between thousands of boys and their dads with the Boy and Cub Scouts of America: brand the Pinewood Derby. For those who don’t know, Pinewood Derby is a mid-winter troop by troop competition in which dads and sons take a wooden block of five ounces and fashion it into a mini-soap box car to cpmpete against other troop members on a downhill track.  Pinewood Derby bonds fathers and sons, instills interest in science and design, gives kids an interest in racing away from a video screen and is just plain fun.  Virtually every troop in the United States has the race, and generations of scouts have enjoyed the practice over the years.  Yet, no one in racing has thought to find ways to honor design (especially now in the digital age), and add on some branding to enhance the car design. It probably is not a stretch that hosts of drivers, technicians and even sponsors who have gone through scouting can connect with Pinewood Derby as well.  To have one of the major circuits latch on and find ways to promote scouting through a Pinewood Derby promotion could be a cheap, affordable longlasting promotion at a time when racing is not top-of-mind, but could provide a great lead-in to the upcoming season.  Does it answer all the questions as to where racing can go to increase its viewership and demo?  No.  But it is a great grassroots tie to a group that has a strong  affinity for brands that support it (the scouts) and has very little downside or large cost associated with it.  Start your engines (or at least your blocks of wood).

When Is A Twit Legit?

May 21, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

While the pressure to find new ways to get bigger ROI and link athletes closer to fans spending their discretionary dollar grows, the legitimacy or original reasons for using social networking as a valuable tool becomes more clouded in many ways. Shaquille O’Neal’s Twitter success, with the help of Charlotte-based Sports Media Challenge, broke the ice and showed athletes and brands how that medium could work as a successful connection tool. However Shaq the brand and the personality is different than virtually anyone else (his trip to sports broadcasting boot camp this week is the latest example of how he sets himself not just apart, but as a leader in trying to redefine who he will be in the future) Just because Shaq “gets it” and can be a smart investment for partners, doesn’t mean that every athlete, no matter how much perceived value they have, can be like Shaq or that any athlete will be able to embrace new media and use it personally and effectively for all. Take Danica Patrick for example. A week ago Patrick told CNBC’s Darren Rovell she was not a person to use Twitter to communicate with fans, and then this week it is announced one of her sponsors is “urging” her to use Twitter as part of their deal. Now again she is being guided by the folks at Sports Media Challenge, but will a sponsor-induced twitter feed have any value to fans if they think it is not legit or sincere? And will it become an issue like the one that has arisen for the University of Tennessee, where head football coach Lane Kiffin had to self report a violation because an assistant, under Kiffin’s twitter and facebook pages, posted info that was a minor violation about a recruit. Now that people know it is not really Kiffin posting will they follow it? Will they care? And what does that do to the idea of access to the “real” athlete, coach or entertainer? Do brands worry about legitimacy of posts if they do decide to partner with someone who is using a third party to pump out thoughts that are not really those of the celebrity? Do the celebrities care? Also will the incorporation of sponsors remove the “cool factor,” or will it enhance the value of what is being sent? Now Danica Patrick, despite the fact that she has yet to win a race, remains a very savvy marketing machine. However could there come a time where a post goes up from “Danica” and her sponsor that is contrary to what she says in a press conference or to a fan? Then the sincerity of “Danica” on Twitter goes out the window, and the damage control, not just for her brand and her fans, but with anyone effectively using these social media platforms goes out the window. For those who are savvy enough to communicate with fans and brands…O’Neal, Pete Carroll etc…kudos. To those who are being forced to create contrived “opportunities” beware. The great thing about social media platforms is the direct access that is casual and is sometimes both insightful and a very unique look inside those who are followed by the masses. Once it all becomes “access in a can” the casual fan and the diehard will be both annoyed…brands beware of backlash…and will be off looking for the next way to be an insider, and all those dollars and effort will be lost. Twitter and other platforms are great for some, they are neither “required” or useful for all.

Racing To Find Answers To Economic Issues…

May 25, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As gas prices soar, business looks for ways to use economies of scale and look for even bigger bank for a more limited dollar, brands, teams and athletes have to be more conscious than ever to look ahead for the clouds on the horizon and address the very real concerns of their fans and partners BEFORE they become a major issue.  Now more than ever, being creative and proactive can be most important.  With two mega races this weekend, NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte and the IRL’s Indianapolis 500, there were a few pieces that showed that proactivty and perhaps some answers to the real concerns of fans and brands that are worth a read.  On the NASCAR front, there have been several pieces in recent days on how the gas crunch is beginning to effect fans attendance and spending patterns, and some of the measures that tracks are taking to help ease that burden, while on the Open wheel side, there was a great piece in the New York Times on Indy driver Sarah Fisher and her real issues when sponsors depart and how her team can compensate.  These pieces show both sides of the economic equation…how the athlete can be effected by the economy and what he/she has to do to address it, and what the league or brand has to do when the fan is being so adversely effected.  Both show insight, give solutions and have the opportunity to spin so that all see the brands are thinking proactively in a looming crisis situation.  Good lessons for all.  Also on the ROI front, the data company Joyce Julius released a solid piece of info this week on which sponsors are getting the most return from spending on drivers with TV exposure, with Dale Jr. leading the way.  Good read for all those who often wonder how to correctly monitize brand exposure through TV.