Hall of Fame Voting: A New Brand Through The Power of the People?

January 5, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

This month two of the strongest, if not the strongest, Halls of Fame will reveal their 2010 selections, the Baseball and Football Halls.  The annual selection issue always operates under stealth and the very tight control over the voters, and usually has more than enough intrigue, suspicion, and debate.  However with an ever shrinking number of potential voters on the baseball side, and the need for more overall recognition on the football side, could changes in selection be in the offing? The baseball side, which includes only votes by those in the Baseball Writers Association of America, is suffering from the loss of so many fulltime newspaper  jobs recently and may have to add other segments, especially broadcasters, in order to keep the legitimacy of those who actually cover the sport on a fulltime basis intact.  That of course does not also reflect the ever-growing and more influential bloggers choices, or for that matter, the input on some level of the fan.  One interesting move this year was a vote by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, a group of the top bloggers in the space,  to announce their Hall of Fame choices and the reasoning, in advance of the actual Hall vote.  It wasn’t in any way disrespectful, and it showed professionalism and great forethought, and could be a foreshadowing of a group that could be influential in coming years.  The opening up of fan debate and blogger interraction also gives rise to the notion that the voting system could be tied to a partner, with a full digital integration platform.  With the right safeguards put into place, and by providing all the right information, such a system could bring added revenue, more interest, more innovation and even greater visibility to the Hall, at a time when all institutions are looking to grow fan base and visitors year-round.

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.

Spinning The Phelps Issue One More Time…

February 6, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The NBA, perhaps the most image-conscious of all the sports today, announced Friday that they have promoted Kathy Behrens to the great new title of EVP, Social Responsibility and Player Programs. It is greatly ironic that the new title comes the same week as most of the sports marketing world is discussing the “social responsibility” of Michael Phelps, the brands around him, those who sculpted his image and what lies ahead.. Thursday Christine Brennan in USA Today had a great piece on who is essentially guiding Michael Phelps with his social moves…and her answer was it appears like no one close to him is willing to publicly step up and say he was wrong. Michael Wilbon and Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post both jostled back and forth on the Phelps social responsibility side, with Wilbon coming down on the discipline side, while Jason Whitlock on Fox Sports.com had a great piece on the sports double standard, or lack thereof, with regard to Phelps in light of other athletes and people in the public eye. Some have asked where is his management company to take a stand, when they were so outfront when Phelps was signing deals after Beijing? So last night the third party who could take a public stand and is associated directly with Phelps, USA Swimming, came forth with their three month ban and clearly explained their position on why this is more a social issue than a marketing one. It was a good, safe public move for USA Swimming, considering Phelps won’t swim anyway until after the three months (akin to suspending a baseball pitcher for the three days between starts but still sending message to the general public). The other “public stance” was taken by Kellogg’s, who has already ended their USOC relationship and whose actual deal with Phelps was up at the end of this month. Again, the brand spun their stance correctly for themselves, telling the general public that they denounced the stars’ actions but never really disclosing whether or not they were going to renew their deal anyway. So who ultimately has the biggest social responsibility factor with all this? Michael Phelps himself, who appeared on TV last night and answered the questions again about his role, didn’t hide and will have to face the music himself with his own future actions. Now would his management company, Octagon, step up and take a stance? In a time when every dollar is important and the long term “cred” with athletes is probably more important than a short term slap on the wrist for a client, the answer is no way. Does that mean Octagon has not worked behind the scenes to find third parties and negotiate deals to minimize damage and get everything back in order? No it does not. So as the court of public spin plays out with Michael Phelps, what is next? Ironically as we said earlier in the week this may open him up for some additional deals with a little edgier side, and it plays already to a great comeback story for a guy who hasn’t lost anything athletically and may have his best days ahead of him in the pool if he chooses. We end up with wrist slaps, a show of solidariity by those brands like Visa who have invested heavily and a great big hold of the breath to make sure that Michael Phelps inhaling and exhaling stays in the pool and not around a bong going forward. Would some have liked to have seen others chastise Phelps publicly? Probably. But although it may make good moral sense, it certainly wouldn’t make good business sense to be so outfront. Once again it will be interesting to see the long term outplay after such a whirlwind short series of moves that got swimming more exposure in February than it has ever gotten before.

Nets Make An All-Star Push To Remain Relevant…

January 31, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

How does a brand which is not necessarily always top of mind find ways to remain relevant in a very crowded marketplace? Ask the New Jersey Nets.  In a season that has been somewhat less than expected in terms of on-court performance, and has seen questions raised about the team’s long-anticipated move to Brooklyn, the Nets continue to squeeze every possible opportunity to remain brand relevent.  This week the team put out a CEO Challenge, with companies literally competing  against each other in five on five basketball with a chance to gain a free partnership with the Nets next season.  It is the latest in a series of ways which the team has tried to connect with the casual fan and business partner who might not have a daily reason to be exposed to the value of Nets basketball.  Also on the brand relevance side was the teams’ push to assist  guard Devin Harris as  an all-star.  The task to garner All-Star selection amongst the media is not easy, especially for an underachieving team that does not gain great national TV exposure.  However by creating and then pushing a fun viral campaign and working both through the media, with fan votes and behind the scenes, Harris will be part of the East team in Phoenix in a few weeks. Now does Devin Harris as an all-star help the team in brand relevance in the marketplace?  Hard to say for sure but there is certainly no downside in the effort, and it gives the Nets, having a young, new All-Star, something else to talk about with their partners and fans.  Juxtapose the position of the Knicks, which had coach Mike D’Antoni downplaying the potential of David Lee as an All-Star across the river, and you can see how much the Nets seem to be more interested in selling the sizzle and the current brand relevance in the marketplace.  With little to no push, Lee, despite having All-Star numbers, did not make the team.  The Nets push with Harris is reflective of all they try to do to make the brand fresh, and in down times that effort becomes even more important.  Both the CEO Challenge and Harris’  selection were All-Star moves for the franchise on the brand side.

Winning Helps The Investment…The South Florida Gridiron…

January 3, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

A year ago South Florida football was in the dumper…the Dolphins, the Univ. of Miami, FIU, Florida Atlantic all were at the end of miserable seasons, and as the economy started to sag, there were lots of questions about the market as viable for tickets and branding…what a difference a year, and winning, can make for those involved in the buisness.  Sarah Talalay takes a good look at the high hopes for those involved in branding, selling and marketing events in the area, with two Bowl games and the Dolphins all within ten days this week.  Now does it all about winning?  No.  The reason for the South Florida pop this week (also throw in the potential Super Bowl and Pro Bowl) comes because of  smart planning and investing by those in the area for the long term, who are finally getting ROI on the investment they made.  There would still be bowl tourism dollars made regardless of team success, but being there to capitalize on the buzz for brands is important, and the resurgence in interest in South Florida is a good example of how brands can make a turnaround when winning kicks in…and in the cyclical world of sports, preparing for the sun is as important as preparing for the gloom.  Hopefully the success and interest can spin off into spring training and the World Baseball Classic, which the Marlins will help host in March.