The Military, Don Cherry and Ugly Jerseys Create A Hit In Kingston…

October 25, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Much has been made of the NFL’s use of anniversary AFL jerseys this season. The created buzz and although luckily most of the Denver Broncos striped throwback socks won’t be at retail, the jerseys raised some extra interest. Whether that buzz is needed for the NFL to raise awareness who knows, but it certainly created a little more water cooler talk. However many other leagues and brands do need buzz, and one, The Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League, took three big steps this past week in helping a cause, identifying with a legend and creating some great exposure for the brand and for hockey in general. The Frontenacs hosted a Military Appreciation Fundraiser and brought in hockey legend Don Cherry on the same night, using Cherry’s appearance to move tickets and raise money for Soldier On, a charity which assists injured soldiers. However the team went one step further by creating a Cherry ugly jersey, looking like one of the legends, suits, and auctioned off each one, signed by Cherry himself, as an added fundraiser both online and in arena. The result…by creating a collectable, it was a “one time game used wear,” the team created buzz, and coupled that with a strong grassroots fundraiser that the community could rally around…to make this promotion another great example of how even in the smallest of markets a great idea promoted well can get national play.

Playoff time…Dodgers Take Brand To The Streets…

October 5, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It is now playoff time in baseball, with Tuesdays Twins-Tigers winner take all game getting fans started. The Los Angeles Dodgers, however, had the luxury of something the teams that battled to the wire didn’t have…the luxury of time. Yes they struggled and almost blew the division lead to the Rockies in the last week, but Joe Torre’s team will be in the postseason, and coming down the stretch used that time to get out and find new ways to engage fans especially with the Angels also heading to the postseason. Now have the Dodgers had to struggle to sell tickets and gain brand recognition? No, they remain one of the iconic draws in MLB. However, their brand development folks, led by people like Dennis Mannion and Charles Steinberg, have found ways to make it grow, just like Steinberg did with the Red Sox before he moved west. Recent case in point, the Dodgers took the ticket and memorabilia item to the streets, by using the neighborhood ice cream truck model and turning it into a door to door ticket selling truck. It was a very smart move in a region that is spread so wide and not connected by mass transportation…a way to bring the Dodgers brand literally to the doorsteps of each community with a vehicle that people can relate to as it has been seen in their neighborhoods countless times before. It is not the “fan van” that many teams use for community and traditional field marketing. It looks different and offers a different product and leaves a solid branding impression, whether it sells tickets on the spot or not. Nice piece of innovative and simple branding that resonates with the community in a very unique way. An initiative that is surely going to be copied and expanded on.

Jonas Brothers, LG Use Sport To Connect With Fans…

August 10, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The Jonas Brothers, as anyone with a teen or tween knows, are arguably the hottest TV and music stars for that genre today. So it was interesting to see the announcement that LG Electronics, which uses their sports marketing platform to reach the male consumer in many ways, partner with the three New Jersey natives to launch a consumer contest for kickball this week. The move makes sense for many reasons. On the Jonas Brothers side, it gives them a platform on an athletic side (they had a party last year renting out Dodgers Stadium to play baseball and have been seen at numerous sports events, so the sports idea is not that much of a personal departure) with a simple game that both their current fan base and others can relate to. It provides a great interractive component for their current fans, who can submit a video or find a place to do so on green screen, with a great personal payoff by the winners who get to meet and play with the Jonas Brothers. It also gives LG a very unique opportunity to show their products and push them not just to parents but to a younger audience as well…an audience that may not think of LG when asking about what to buy next. In short, LG gets to talk to youth…and the Jonas Brothers, who wont always appeal to a young audience, get to speak to the parent consumer and use a healthy lifestyle platform to extend their base as well. Nice combination for both brands looking to grow, at a time when Americans are looking for ways to conenct more closely with stars and also find more active lifestyle platforms.

Tigers, Phils Team Up For Great Push That Landed A Star…

July 10, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

One of the big problems with the team sports environment is the reluctance to work together on joint projects that could benefit multiple markets. Because the focus is so much in-market to grow ticket sales and relevance for brand partners, rarely will teams focus on projects that could be mutually beneficial to both without being an encumbrance on anything the team is doing in their area. It is viewed as a missed opportunity of focus, because in today’s marketplace fans exist everywhere, and to find ways to cultivate out of market fans, especially when your home market is a travel destination, is a mistake. However into that fray comes the All-Star vote competition for MLB, and although several teams did work together to push their stars (one NL, one AL) the most creative and effective campaign had to go to the Phils and the Tigers, who worked together to push stars Brandon Inge and Shane Victorino in a BranTorino campaign into the All-Star game. The play on words was tremendous, coming off Clint Eastwood’s Michigan based movie, Grand Torino, and again giving America a chance to give the Motor City a little push while it recovers from its financial hardships. It was also significant in that the winners in the record voting came not from major markets or from marquee stars, but from cities where the sport is supported by the blue collar, and the players selected reflected that. Bran-Torino is a great example of what teams can do if they work together and have an effect on their own in multiple markets, a project which can have huge benefits, economies of scale and potential regional sponsor ties if played right. Nice hot for the Tigers and the Phils and their well-deserving fans.

Hispanic Marketing Crossover Starts To Go Both Ways…

April 13, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Prior to the drop in the economy, major brands were making smart spends across all platforms to find ways to activate and grow marketshare with the growing Hispanic audience in North America. Like the female decisionmakes, the Hispanic audience has become more powerful and more brand loyal in the past five years than ever before, and the rise of powerful entities like ESPN Deportes and Telemundo and Univision support that growth. However with the cutback in spending, a good deal of that activation in the Hispanic community was curtailed, with the thought that many brands had to spend where they knew they would get immediate results as opposed to where they could build from. However recently, a growing number of brands who have had success in the Hispanic marketplace have started to expand into mainstream sports and entertainment, with the reason being if their brands have reached solid marketshare in a Hispanic audience, then it is time to access the larger Anglo fan base with a solid product. The latest example is Cerveza Tecate, which is now stretching its market from beyond the ESPN Deportes spend it has had success on to a larger ESPN audience. The move makes sense for brand slooking to capitalize on a downmarketplace to grow, as efficient and creative opportunities now abound. So for brands to look to stretch their borders, especially when they have staked a claim in a tough market and communicated effectively, the opportunity is now. Will it work for every brand? Perhaps not. But for those brands that have natural crossover appeal, going from an “ethnic” spend to mainstream may just be easier than for mainstream brands looking to grow “ethnic.”

The Hamburger Chain Uses A Skating Hot Dog To Grab The Young Demo…

March 1, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Some of the biggest and best activations in sports, locally, regionally and nationally, come from fast food chains. Whether it is McDonald’s Olympic Partnerships, Free Chili for when the Dallas Mavs hit 100 points or Burger King activating in the high school market, the reach to consumer through sports by the burger and taco joints has always been successful and effective. Now chain Carl’s Jr. has taken the relationship a step further, partnering with skateboarder and TV personality Rob Dyrdek for a series of viral video’s an in-store commemorative cup and even extending into a sponsored safe skateboarding campaign in Southern California. Media Post had a good look at the overall campaign, which connects the chain solidly with a star not known amongst many casual sports fans, but one who is sure to resonate with young males who love skateboarding. Now can this deal move product and drive awareness for the chain and even raise Dyrdek’s position well above those whose only knowledge of skateboarding is the well marketed Tony Hawk? To be seen. One thing is for sure, Carl’s Jr. took a low risk to brand with a potential rising star in a cost efficient way that will have his demo thinking more about the chain when choosing which burger to grab in SoCal, and if successful it could open the door for cost-efficient and innovative multimedia campaigns for those athletes in the space, as opposed to a higher priced mainstream athlete. The social responsibility of the safety campaign is also a smart addition to the messaging, which can make skateboarding easier to swallow for those who worry of the edgy side. Smart roll of the wheel for Carls Jr.

Book Publicity: Selling The Sizzle Not The Steak…Or Say It Ain’t So Joe…

January 28, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Doubleday Publishing pulled a perfect storm of sorts with book publicity this week…they hit a quiet week (Super Bowl bye) with no  New York team in the Super Bowl to launch a baseball book about a former manager in the  hottest of hot stove time…Joe Torre and Tom Verducci’s work about Torre’s Yankees years.  And as the case with any mass media work, from print to big screen, the publicists pick the juciest pieces to feed the tabloids, which will drive the advance of the book through the  roof.  Now the question is, in a co-authored book, what is real and what is hype?  Richard Sandomir in the New York Times does a great job of breaking down the book battle and its layout and reasons, and how Doubleday played the media and the fans for some great advance success.  In this challenged economy, moving hardcover books is a huge mountain to climb, and in publishing the saying for sports books is the smaller the ball the bigger the sale.  However Doubleday picked their spot, lopped in all the buzzwords needed to spice a cold New York sports winter devoid of many compelling stories, and launched a campaign that will help drive interest in the book, baseball the Yankees, the Dodgers and all the casual interest the sport will need.  Will it help the Yanks move suites in the new stadium or will it get the Dodgers some added ink in LA?  Certainly can’t hurt.  One thing is for sure, by picking the right strategic time to release and orchastrating the quotes with the topic, Doubleday has created enough drama to get the writers to justify the advance and get the Yanks top of mind in a quiet  January.

Red Bulls Score Off The Field With High School Media Day…

October 5, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As teams below the big three (plus NASCAR) search for non-traditional ways to tell their stories, identify audience and connect with the casual fan, the digital and the high school market are becoming of more and more value.  This weekend the New York Red Bulls found a way to tie the two together by creating a high school media day and blog contest for area students, in partnership with the Newark Star Ledger. The Ledger worked with the team to identify interested students from 30 high schools and immerse the young journalists in game and event coverage and interviewing techniques, with the best blogs and stories being singled out in the coming days.  Although it may not move MLS to the forefront right now, it creates a great seeding ground for young people, has a big word of mouth play as the students become advocates of the team in their high schools, and gives those interested in journalism a chance to actually ply their craft in a professional environment.  Well hit with the Red Bulls to find a niche and develop ties, using a major media outlet, in a crowded marketplace.

‘Zo Uses A Platform For Political Change…while a columnist lays out a platform for startup sports biz success or failure…

September 27, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With the baseball playoffs getting ready, the NHL about to get started, college sports and the NFL in full swing, the Ryder Cup just finished, MLS going down the stretch, the WNBA going to its finals, NASCAR finishing its chase and the NBA ready for camp, there is probably no busier sports month than October.  Athletes from almost every sport will have some kind of forum with the media this month, and the sucesses and the failures will be very well documented in our 24/7 world.  So with the financial crisis and the election a little over a month away, we still see athletes who have a chance to use their platform to speak about social change reluctant to do so.  Many will advise athletes that their forum is not a place for personal issues.  However those who are socially conscious may get the support of their brands and their fans to speak their mind in a well informed and positive forum.  Granted, political interest among elite athletes may be lower on the interest scale than even it is amongst their peers, but one would think this election would garner more interest from elite athletes.  Maybe we will see that in the next month, and it will be interesting to see how athletes can become influencers in a very tight election.  We have seen some, like the Trail Blazers Greg Oden step up to coice support for Senator Obama, while we have also seen Senator McCain do the photo op. with many NASCAR drivers.  Where it goes this month remains to be seen.  However, one athlete who has never had a wont for a lack of an opinion did step up this week, and used his platform, promoting a new book and telling positive life stories, to chime in with college students to voice his support for Senator Obama:  Alonzo Mourning.  The former Heat star and Georgetown alum used part of his book tour on Florida campuses this week to endorse Senator Obama, and he used a well thought out and dignified public speaking platform to do.  It garnered his book tour extra publicity and could make a difference in a key state with the average sports fan and college student who may have been on the fence.  Now should every athlete take a stance?  No.  No one should ever be asked to step out of their comfort zone.  But many atheletes have a real social conscience and have views that can be well thought out and influential, and with the right guidence can influence social change. Nice move by Mourning to speak his mind in a thoughtful way and try and influence the young to get out and make a statement, regardless of which candidate they support.   

Fun and Games…LeBron Plays Touch Football, The Jonas Brothers Rent Dodgers Stadium

September 25, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Some great examples of the sports/entertainment crossover popped up again this week, albeit in different ways.  First there were the pop sensation Jonas Brothers departing from their teeny bop audience to celebrate a 16th anniversary…by renting out Dodgers Stadium for two hours. Then this week came a report from the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Branson Wright on LeBron James return to Akron to revisit his high school and take the field with some friends for a game of touch football.  Although the events are on opposite sides of the largesse scale, they both show the ability for the biggest athlete or the greatest entertainer to still find the simple act of a pickup game to serve as a common bonding ground for friends.  Now will the Jonas Brothers use the Dodgers Stadium fun as a parlay into extra bucks for rights to some video play?  Maybe.  Did James give Wright, one of the NBA’s most respected columnists, access to show is simple side to fans as the season approaches?  Maybe.  Were both stories worthy of showing that superstars can be guys guys too and address the needs of a wider audience?  Yes.  Regardless of any motives, the pieces both provided solid slice of life and gave fans of both entertainment and sport a welcome inside look into a more human side.

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