Are The Colts The Model NFL Brand?

January 23, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Jon Wertheim’s great piece on Colts owner Jim Irsay this past week in Sports Illustrated has stirred a bit of a debate as to whether the Indianapolis Colts could now be the model franchise for the NFL.   Without the flash and dash, and the oversized suites and prices, of the Dallas Cowboys, or the tradition and big market cache of the New York Giants, or even the celebrity buzz of the Miami Dolphins, the Colts have hit on a number of areas…community, tradition, consistency, even social media growth, that has somehow landed them near the best in show of the NFL. Now do they have a national footprint overall in terms of licensing and branding or even PR?  No. What they have done is an amazing job of one of the first rules (and one of the most forgotten rules) of solid brand growth: take care of your core.  They have steadily made themselves the NFL team of choice of the Midwest, through grssroots outreach, consistent branding and a proven commitment to company success.  Then they have the second piece:  The breakthrough star that transcends the sport.  Maybe when you have Peyton Manning you don’t have to seek out Good Morning America or Dancing With The Stars, his marketing team does that for you. But from Oreos to direct TV, manning is as marketable a face and personality as there is in sports today. They have consistency of brand. If you live in Indiana, you know who the owner is, the president is, and who the coach is.  If someone leaves they are replaced by a person who fits the system, and the system works.  That is a rarity in today’s system of immediate gratification.  The colors and the logo remain the same. No third uniform or color helmets.  the Colts, through Baltimore and Indy, have remained the same. They are consistent with the media. No flash, no games, no innovation.  The Colts provide what they need to, service the media and stay consistent with their policies. They speak with one voice. Whether its Irsay the owner or president Bill Polian, everyone pulls from the same script.  less drama, more progress that way. Lastly, even by being traditional, they found ways to embrace social media, connect with fans outside the stadium, and drive interest and revenue through a solid, and consistent web 2.0 campaign.  “My Colts” is not a flashy program, but it provides information, access, and special features that many teams should follow.  Not huge bells and whistles, but it is a program that gives fans what they want and in return they draw a following.

Can The Paralympics Be A Marketing Platform For Brands?

December 15, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we head toward the Vancouver Olympics and continue to immerse ourselves in the Tiger Woods train wreck, it is interesting to look for other opportunities where a brand like Accenture can potentially look to re-invest the millions just pulled away from Woods. Is the Paralympics an opportunity for Accenture or other brands looking to partner with great stories? This past week’s Sports Illustrated had an amazing dual tale of two Paralympic stories from Beijing…Marin Morrison and Nick Scandone…who not only epitomized the Olympic spirit of overcoming great odds, but were also phenomenal athletes themselves before disease (brain cancer and ALS) got the better of their bodies, but not their minds or spirit. Wertheim did a great job of capturing the spirit of the Paralympics…full crowds of everyday people who could not get into the Olympic games, athletes from all over the world overcoming great challenges to succeed, yes to win, but also to compete, all great examples of what sport is supposed to be all about. The event did receive solid media coverage but was not the media extravaganza that the regular Olympics are, and as such suffered from branding exposure that is growing but nowhere near what it could be. Could a brand or brands, with a great integrated marketing campaign, turn its focus to the Paralympics? There would be no shortage of stories…they would get great appreciation from a loyal global following, they would have a created media platform to tell their story as to “why,” and they would be a leader in the branding world as one of the first all-in sponsors of Paralympics. The athletes are solid players in social media. They are well spoken, come from varied backgrounds and are appreciative for the coverage and the ancillary dollars that could come in. The have a wow factor just for what they are able to achieve as individuals and as a group. They could also be a platform to again educate a public that is still skiddish at watching people with disabilities. Given the advanced technology that now comes along with replacement limbs and rehabilitation, could there even be an education and inspiring science component built in? Tech companies, pharma, insurance, military…all have the potential to line up, as well as rising brands looking for a non traditional splash.

The Interesting Approach of Brand Ty Lawson…

June 24, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As the NBA Draft approaches Thursday, it will be interesting to see the branding winners and missteps taken, and how quickly in this digital age teams will look to immediately activate with their picks…will guys be twittering new fans from the podium, who will be the first to stream and text messages back home and will any team look to Twitter their pick before it is announced, as happened in the NFL Draft? Speed and immediacy, whether they can be monetized or not at this point, will be interesting, as well as how well athletes today understand perceived brand value vs. real brand value. Tuesday’s Washington Post gave a great glimpse inside the workings of North Carolina’s Ty Lawson as he prepped both on and off the court for this Thursday’s coming out. The piece had great access into Lawson and the team around him that is prepped to strike once his name is called, and how they can roll out the new branded Lawson to the Carolina faithful, and to the faithful of his new team. It is a very smart message to try and show potential fans, the media, teams and brands that Lawson is ready for the marketing and playing tasks ahead. however one thing that misses from the article, and is critical to be factored in…are the plans of the team he is selected by. Are they ready to work with Team Lawson on his brand roll out…does it conflict with anything they are planning for their elite customers or partners? Are both sides ready to work together to maximize the opportunity each has created? It sounds simple, but often times it is not. The best partnerships are when teams and athletes start from day one to pull for a common goal…brandwise, community wise, activation wise, access wise and most importantly playing wise. For every LeBron James brand, there are countless others that tried to build upon failed on court or on field focus, and although some athletes can succeed as marketing brands based on just performance, the opposite, brand success with limited on field success, is the rarest of the rare. The Lawson prep story shows smarts by his team…hopefully he lands with the right team that can take advantage of his smarts both on and off the court.

Brand Baron…

December 12, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Jon Wertheim in Sports Illustrated this week has a very good look at the Clippers Baron Davis and the steps he has taken to try and expand his business interests, invoke his passions, use his position as a platform for social change and still play good basketball.  In a time where fans are always looking for reasons to root for a player and brands are looking to identify with athletes who are attempting to do more and set themselves apart as more than athletes, the Baron Davis story is a good one.  He has used his ability as an athlete to effectively help those through charity work which he genuinely is involved with and he took the chance (one that has not panned out) to go from a situation as an athlete late in his career from a thriving (and now also downtrodden) Golden State program back to his hometown of LA and sign with the Clippers.  Eventhough at the end of the day the dollars were there for the move, Davis made it clear that the change was about more than basketball and he has backed it up with his film production work and his access to  more diverse companies in a major market.  Even his deal with Jenny Craig shows his diversity of interest and appeal to brand.  Now does this all happen overnight and in a vacuum?  No.  It came through a well thought out strategic plan that involved both athlete and business team, and one that has Davis has a strong figure both on the court and off.  His role as an All-Star also helps, but he has been able to build and leverage his status as an athlete, which helps the NBA, his team and sets  good examples for players who may want to diversify and use their time as an athlete as a platform for “whats next.”  Now are there arguments that Davis has put all these things before his team, thus resulting in the Clippers disappointing season?  Yes. Have some of these things created a distraction for the team?  Perhaps.  But in this environment where fans and business partners want not just access but the ability to use their investment on many levels, the Davis brand can deliver for the long term.