Football vs. Football…Parity Not Always Needed To Grow The Brand

August 29, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

With the Premier League now going in the UK and the NFL just a few weeks from kicking off in the United States, it is interesting to look at the two monster branding organizations and see how they run in parallel tracks in some ways and are apart in others still. Both have global aspirations, with soccer’s foothold as the world’s largest and most popular sport helping buoy the marketing, digital  and branding rights for the top EPL clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea for years.  Tours to North America for clubs like Tottenham and Manchester City this past summer also help raise awareness amongst casual fans looking for a bigger soccer jines than MLS can sometimes provide, especially in major markets, and the trical following for most EPL clubs keeps awareness attendance and local and regional value going.  The aggressive push for additional outside ownership for clubs like Liverpool has been an issue as the global economy shrunk, but overall the global awareness of the Premier League, what it stands for and for many of its clubs has never been higher.

Liverpool Again Shows Value Of Premium Real Estate….

September 17, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It is perhaps the last clean piece of real estate on the sports landscape…the jerseys of the four professional teams in North America. A practice which is well accepted globally, brand advertising on the front of jerseys, still is off limits in the States with the NHL, NFL, MLB and the NBA as well as in the college ranks. Even minor league baseball and hockey have stayed away from jersey branding to date. Yet with Liverpool’s record announcement of jersey branding this week, following Manchester United’s deal with AON earlier this year, can the pro leagues here hold off much longer? The test marketing has been there now…MLS has integrated jersey sponsorship into their branding campaigns effectively, the WNBA has taken on the issue with success, the upcoming UFL season will have helmet sponsorship, and now the NFL with practice jersey signage (the value Spongetech received for being on the front of the Bengals jersey for the HBO series “Hard Knocks” in the preseason was a good testament to tasteful and effective) and the NBA (with the Nets being first in the signage pool) has followed suit. With so many teams now effectively using alternative jerseys, throwback jerseys, commemorative patches, and other new licensed product, can jersey signage be far away in the States? One thing the leagues have done, even in these challenged times, is still build a demand for that space by not letting be sold to the first bidder. The leagues are also best at protecting marks and doing the long term planning for their on-field and on-court look, so any decision will be carefully placed and effectively marketed and messaged to the consumer. Perhaps the first move will come as part of a media package when the next major TV and digital rights deal is negotiated by one of the four leagues. Perhaps it will be a mega brand which will try a buy-in all at once for an entire league, hence keeping the uniformity (no pun intended). Maybe it will be the start of a patch program which has been done effectively in tennis and golf for years. One thing is for certain, when teams look at the amount of money Liverpool pulled in for their sponsorship, the discussion has had to have been rekindled again. As brands cut back in hospitality, they need to find creative ways to support their programs through effective exposure, and at some point the virgin jersey space will become the next big option.

Global Branding: The Sun May Never Set on The Gillett Sports Empire…

November 5, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As his Liverpool club heads toward the top of the Barclay’s Premier League standings, owner George Gillett continues to be a prime example of how sports ownership and branding will look as we move to be more global in the 21st century.  Foxsports.com ran the AP article which spells out not Gillett’s views on why or how his partnership with American owner Tom Hicks has flourished in the EPL, but why his Canadiens team has rebranded itself and is working with the people and how he is even looking to MLS for Montreal and to India for other opportunities.  The piece gives a rare look into what will become a global branding strategy for many large owners going forward…finding the plumb property in one sport and then use that brand to connect with emerging sports and  brands in other sports to create cross-exposure.  In Gillett’s case the cross exposure goes EPL-NHL-MLB-to potentially cricket and MLS, and would give him a first-ever sports branding opportunity on three continents simultaneously.  Now has this been tried with marriages between big brands like the Yankees and Manchester United before?  Yes and it hs failed.  However starting with one mega-brand and connecting to rising brands makes more sense for long-term growth, and Gillett’s model may be one to follow.

Canadiens Centennial Celebration Stretch Plays Well On All Levels…

September 26, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With the opening of the NHL season almost here, it is great to see Canada’s other hallmark franchise, the Montreal Canadiens, taking great strides and planning in stretching out their centennial celebration.  The plans, which were revealed this week, will give the fans both in Montreal and across the region a chance to participate in various activities over the course of two seasons, ranging from interactive exhibits and meet and greets to special nights that will honor various eras of the team’s  storied history.  There will also be non-hockey related events tied to lifestyle and culture and grassroots events.  Many times these programs are rushed and dictated by sponsor needs, but the Canadiens  have grasped the fact that teams are a public trust first and a commodity second and by playing the events out over the full life of the anniversary good will will be built, memories created, equity aquired and as always, sponsor and business partners will gain.  Great planning, great example of how to do things right. 

US Open Plays The Green Card Very Well

August 28, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Almost every sports organization in the United States is playing the “going green” campaign to show community awareness, but this week the USTA has taken advantage of the world’s largest stage for the sport…the US Open…to launch an immense series of iniatives within the organization and on the grounds of the world’s largest sporting event.  The results of the plan…everything from “green” t-shirts designed by Billie Jean King and Heidi Klum to free MetroCards for asking conservation questions to a big effort to recycle trash and use alternative fuels, was summed up in a press conference Wednesday and got the event coverage away from the (blue) courts, ranging from AP and USA Today to the Daily News, Newsday and  a host of enivironmental blogs which normally would not be covering the event.  Well thought out, well pitched, great tie-ins with business partners, a grand slam of a plan.

NHL Seizes The Moment While Hockey And Soccer Abroad Grab The Spotlight…

May 23, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With the NHL Finals moving this weekend, the league is continuing to ride their recent popularity by now effectively pushing all the digital and in market activation pieces that they had installed throughout the course of the last year.  A great piece in Computer World this week details all the online activation that has kicked in, and with two strong markets in Pittsburgh and Detroit going head to head, the casual fan and the ardent one both have a community to check in with as well as some good TV numbers on Versus (good piece by Wayne Friedman on media Post).  This may actually be the first time with one of the major sports where digital driven interest will fuel broadcast viewership, and it will be very interesting to see the ROI on the NHL’s heavy digital play as they go into the offseason and start next.  Nevertheless, great time to be a hockey fan and an NHL marketer.  Newsday’s Neil Best also has a solid column on the NHL’s rise.