Winning The Marathon, Scoring In Brooklyn

November 4, 2012 by

As we head toward Election Day, few quick items from the weekend.

The Nets Build A Public Trust: Make no mistake about it, the Brooklyn Nets are a business. They are there to sell tickets and sponsorships first and foremost and make the Barclays Center a winner on the ledger sheet. They are not a charity. However the steps the team has taken to become as big a part of the community and to be innovators has been impressive. Their delayed opening night brought back a host of famous Brooklyn faces, like former Dodgers, which will help them get credibility and buzz with a community that may not love hoops, but loves their borough.  yes they had Jay-Z and Beyonce, but to fill the seats on Tuesday nights in February the team needs to be a gathering place for the community, a sense of civic pride. They need to do all the little things that will give people with limited discretionary dollars  reason to spend them on basketball when they may not yet love the team. Those little things included a well detailed email on Friday with every possible travel option  to the arena for Saturday nights game, and a detailed description of all the goings on. Contrast that with the Knicks, who opened Friday, and sent out a reminder that the game was being played. Not much detail on subway lines, buses or other facts, just a reminder…we are opening, we are sold out come follow us. That works for the Knicks, an established brand sitting atop Penn Station. It won’t work for the Nets yet.

Another great example of innovative thinking unveiled Saturday was their own Brooklyn Super Hero, “The Brooklyn Knight.” The launch came complete with a Marvel  partnership and design and a comic book to go along with the costumed character. A great brand extension for the team in a borough which loves education. The Knight can help again extend a brand into the community with a product, and a series of products, the Knicks do not have. It wasn’t hoaky, it was smart, and is the latest way the Nets are really trying to make themselves a commodity Brooklyn can be proud of vs. a team that plays there.

Not every night will have Jay Z and Beyonce sitting courtside, but cultivating a diverse list of faces from all walks of life with ties to the borough are great. Again if the team doesn’t win some of this may be for naught, but by doing all the little things, the team is finding ways to make sure that when the quiet days come, they are still in the conversation.

Don’t Shoot The Runners: While there was a ton of controversy around the ING New York City Marathon which is going to continue on for some time, the bottom line and the long-lasting positive that could come out of the race is all the volunteering and dollars that have been raised not just for Hurricane Sandy but for thousands of other charities. At this point a debate over a “damage” brand or leadership is moot. What is important is that thousands who were to run took to the streets on Sunday to do community service and aid the victims of the hurricane, and millions have been donated by the Road Runners, sponsors and the Rudin family for the cause. For the next month it does not matter how the decision was reached, what matters most is that the dollars that were raised and will continue to be raised go to places that need the help, and that those who WERE giving to hundreds of charities follow through eventhough the runners supporting causes could not complete the race. The history of the Marathon, and its future are very valuable to the City and to those who participate and it should not be lost on the issues that arose this week. Hopefully at the end of the day the real winners are the people who spoke out and the millions helped by the donations and support, many of whom could or would never run the race. That is what Fred Lebow started and that is what has made the race so amazing over the years. It has never been about the man and woman who finished first and it should never be about a CEO or a board, it has been about the human spirit.

 

Filed Under: ESPN, NBA Teams, Olympics Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

New Jersey Marathon…In The Spring…Could Be A Beacon Of Hope

November 2, 2012 by
This weekend the ING New York City Marathon was thrown into a very large quandry because of the devastation created by Hurricane Sandy. Although the race course isn’t affected specifically, those pulled from tasks in the relief efforts could be taxed as millions turn out to support those running. The city services that normally support the race have been diverted elsewhere, and perhaps the hardest hit portion of New York City…Staten Island…will be inconvenienced even more as thousands descend on the Fort Wadsworth area in the early morning. Yes it will be a spectacle and will raise millions for charity, but this weekend is it really worth it, even with a new ESPN audience on a national level? could it be diverted a week? As of Friday, Race officials and the City say no, so the race will go on.
Those choices will pale in comparison to the ones that the NYC Marathon’s “little cousin,” the New Jersey Marathon, will have to make a decision at some point. The race, which has grown to record numbers throughout Shore communities, has never been about elite runners and record times. it has been about fun, the human spirit and exposing people from around the world to the beauty of the Jersey Shore. Now due to Sandy, the Shore, and much of the race course along with those who run, volunteer and staff have been dealt a horrifying blow. The race is still scheduled to be run on May 5, with a fitness expo at Monmouth Race Track with a course that winds through communities and ends up along the beach in Long Branch.  It has local stories, great leadership in race organizer Joe Gigas and a national partner in U.S. Road Sports. But with such devastation and disruption can it even be run in May?
While for sure this is the least of the worries to all those hurting on The Shore right now, here’s hoping it does, even over an augmented course this spring. The race has sponsors, but not the mega-ones on New York. It has thousands of runners but not hundreds of thousands. What it has is a great sense of unity and community, something which is needed now than ever more. It has steadily become a shore tradition, and as the official New Jersey marathon is has the blessing of the Governor and other state officials. It brings people not just for the beach but for the event, people who will come back again and again and leave with a positive feeling of the area, perhaps for the first time. It is about healthy lifestyle, and more importantly it is a landmark fundraiser for so many who compete. Those funds raised, for schools and clinical research, for local charities and national ones, provide a sense of purpose and pride for all involved, and could create a huge void should the race leave.
Now given the devastation in some communities, along with the loss if key areas of boardwalk which will be hard-pressed to be replicated by Memorial Day let alone early May, the race will take its lumps and will have to undergo some major adjustments. However as a rallying point to get the shore back on track, as a fund raising element and as a great harbinger of better times to come, it is hoped that the New Jersey Marathon does stay on course with its date and becomes a great feel good story like never before. A little big race that could, and can now rally a community that will be hurting and rebuilding through the winter and beyond. Marathons, after all, are perhaps one of the greatest triumphs of the human spirit, and The Shore Area has always been about endless possibilities, now at its darkest time, more than ever.
 C’mon back runners, sponsors, and businesses at the right time…in the spring to raise awareness and dollars and spirits when the bright lights of the media have gone on to other things and the devastation won’t be an international story still.  At that point the race can provide a great beacon of hope and inspiration for many when they may need it just as much as they do today.

Filed Under: Crisis Management, Olympics Tagged With: , , , ,

Row. Row, Row Your Brand…

November 4, 2011 by

This coming Sunday, thousands of runners will take to the streets of New York for the ING New York City Marathon. It is a spectacle like no other, one that celebrates the triumph of the human mind and spirit as much as it sends a message to all watching that health and fitness is a key part of the American way.

That same morning, about 90 minutes southwest of the starting line on Staten Island, another group of athletes will be pushing themselves towards their own triumph of spirit, albeit in relative anonymity for now, and with a goal that is certainly marathon-like, but it still several months away. They are the steadfast, resolute, entrepreneurial and enthusiastic hopefuls for the United States Women’s Rowing Team, working in and around their federation training site and headquarters in Princeton.

Virtually every morning, the team members, supported by some funds from the USOC and the National Rowing Foundation, but largely on their own dime from around the country, hit the water at Lake Carnegie and Mercer County Lake for endless sessions of training as they prepare for their moment in the sun, next summer in London. Training requires 45+ hours per week of dedication, three times a day by rowing, erging, running, biking, yoga and weight lifting.

Most of the women on the team work part-time to try and make ends meet, but it is a struggle. Only one has a “fulltime” job other than training at this point, but that one is helping the entire team in the drive for marketing gold away from whatever may happen on the rivers of London next summer. She is Ali Cox, a former IMG marketing executive who now runs her own Princeton-based company, and the leader behind an entrepreneurial effort to help her teammates maintain a normal lifestyle outside their training, while still being able to focus on the skills needed to make the team and represent the United States.

Cox and her teammates have come up with a formula to create, market and sell a new calendar, “Power and Grace,” with the goal of raising both awareness and funds for the team, funds distributed equally to all of the female team members. While not a cheesecake calendar, the images, taken by esteemed photographers Jordan Matter and Jeremy Saladyga at no cost to the team, portray the members in poses and styles that the women say will give even the casual fan a little more insight, and certainly a more provocative look, at the women of USRowing.

The team set a goal of $100,000 as a benchmark to fundraise through the calendar, and devised the look, the printing, the design, the sales and the marketing all on their own, an entrepreneurial project straight from the grassroots. They haul the calendars around to key events, sell to friends and use social media to get the word out not just to the rowing community, but throughout the Olympic and athletic community. The results thus far? Over 3,000 sold, with the fundraising goal not just a pipedream, and although the finish line is still a bit far off, it is in sight. But why a calendar in an age when the whole world is going less to paper and more to digital?

What they are also doing well with is success in rowing. At the 2011 World Rowing Championships this past fall, the team had four medals, including a sixth consecutive world title in the women’s eight. While the overall team won’t be chosen for London until June 25, the effort, and the marketing experience, will help give all the candidates not only a chance to be successful athletically, but in the business world as well.

So while thousands this Sunday take to the streets of New York in a one day marathon, the New Jersey based women of USRowing will continue their marathon toward success, albeit with a goal of Olympic glory in the distance. Bolstering that effort is an entrepreneurial spirit, in the form of a calendar, that may, just may, help these amazing athletes cross that finish line in London next summer with gold around their necks, and a few more photos on the walls of their supporters.

For a look at the 2012 Power and Grace Calendar go to http://www.thetimefactory.com/products/us-womens-rowing-team.

Filed Under: Olympics Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Big Events, Great Apps…PBR and NYC Marathon…

October 29, 2011 by

For experience, there are few niche events that beat the PBR and the ING New York City Marathon. However both have always had trouble growing their platform outside the event and into a global experience in a crowded fall landscape. As the PBR conducts its Championship at a sold out Thomas and Mack Center this weekend, they battle the NFL, college football, end of NASCAR, MLS Playoffs and the World Series for position, not to mention high school sports and other activities. Next weekend, the Marathon, easily not just the best one day spectacle bit one of the biggest revenue generators for sport for New York, will have a similar battle to gain interest outside of the millions in the New York area and race-specific fans around the world (it is not televised live outside of New York).

So as an answer to that problem, both properties are going all in on the digital side. The Marathon has launched an app this week that will not just give people the ability to follow anyone on the course, it will also give partner brands like Dunkin Donuts the chance to activate with promotions at all their spots along the route, as well as provide fitness tips to anyone looking to improve their own health and well being. Want to follow celebrities like Christy Turlington or Apollo Ohno? Their is a place on the app for that. Brands will also be able to capture data and engage with followers not just in New York, but from wherever they are following along around the world, so the potential for ING to ping and promote to customers who they know are brand loyal and interested in healthy activities brings even more added value. It is not the same as live national TV, but it is a great next step in brand engagement for an event that grows in stature every year and can really morph into an event and experience that lives well beyond the five boroughs of New York.

The PBR is a little different. The circuit has continued to make great strides in embracing and growing its core followers, those who fill arenas year round watching the bulls and riders battle it out. They have made some strides in expanding into popular culture, but now will take the next step in lifting that experience from just the arena into the digital space like never before. PBR is a natural for casual gaming expansion, and the relative speed of the rides makes it perfect for a male audience that wants things quick and exciting. By pushing the emphasis to more of a digital play, the PBR can enhance their TV partnerships and really give their loyal partner brands the chance to engage not just at events, but in instant online contests and rewards programs like never before. Like the Marathon, millions of fans of the sport won’t be at the events in Vegas. However they now have a better, richer online experience to stay engaged and involved, and one which can compliment the live television broadcast from wherever they are as fans on a busy fall weekend. Mobile changes the perameters of that engagement for the active, and now the PBR has a better way to engage those fast-moving fans.

Neither app will ever replace the live event for the Marathon or the PBR, but growing that footprint is key, and be spending time effort and dollars to engage in the mobile space, both organizations can take a broad step forward for those who choose to follow, as well as for the brands or choose to grow with them.

Filed Under: NASCAR, NCAA, Olympics, PBR Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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