Why Being A Fan Helps The President…

July 17, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

There are many cynics that may say President Obama can spend his time, and the countries’ dollars…doing better things than glad handing the MLS champion Columbus Crew at the White House before heading off to throw the first pitch and hang out in the FOX booth at the All-Star game. However, the man who the Washington Times called this week the “Sports Fan Chief” , was astute enough with his team to recognize early on in his run to the White House that sports is a common bond for those on the fence about anything political, and gave him, more than any other candidate, another link to a demo that may or may not have voted or listened to him at all. Starting with his one on one with Scott Price of SI, his pickup games, his throwing out of the first pitch at a White Sox game, his NCAA tournament brackets, played a little golf and pickup games with the North Carolina hoops team, the President took the time to show that human side of him through sports, and it resonated with the casual fan who in tough times may give his administration pause and a bit of a second chance that they may not have if they had no connection to him at all. The ceremonial aspects of the Presidency, whether it is meeting a championship team or saluting the Girl Scouts, are part of the job and rarely if ever detract from the duties that need to be performed. If those ties for President Obama to sport are more public, especially in a time where America is looking for heroes and is working to get the 2016 Olympics, then so be it. There is a need for heroes and good messaging through sport to address needs like childhood obesity, girls participation in an active lifestyle, and even the growth of brands attaching to sports and entertainment, and if the President can use the cause celebre’ through sport to raise the profile of those issues, it makes great sense. Sport is also a great tie to diplomacy and as a way to connect back to those in the military who are defending the nation, and in these times of transition for the nation on a global scale those ties no matter how subtle can also be beneficial to the overall health of the country. Yes sports is a multibillion dollar industry. No it is not insurance or health care or education, but it does touch all, and if sport provides a bridge to the everyday business of the country as well as feel good opportunities for the people, it makes great business sense to be involved.

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.

Mixing The Summer Sports To Build Brand…Bank of America, NASCAR’s Kenny Wallace and Baseball…

July 7, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we head toward the All-Star break in baseball and get past the halfway point in NASCAR, it is worthwhile to point out a nice recent mix of the two…driver Kenny Wallace’s loyalty to his hometown Cardinals tied to the All-Star game. Wallace, who has shown his loyalty to the Cards by wearing Cardinals red at races, talking about the Cards on twitter and his facebook page, and even indulging in online chats about the team when he is not racing, got to go home and meet the Cards recently, throw out a first pitch and even help promote the All-Star Fan fest with some ticket giveaways, a great crossover promotion for both sports. The tie together was Bank of America’s NASCAR and MLB promotional platform, which was able to link two key properties together for the brand, an opportunity that is often missed in today’s sponsorship world. By identifying a high profile driver with his hometown, B of A was able to deliver on multiple fronts…connecting the loyal NASCAR fan to the baseball fan and vice versa, while at the same time driving traffic (no pun intended) to the Fan Fest next week. Perhaps even more importantly, the move to link the two created great good will with the driver for the brand, and that type of “street cred” with elite athletes can pay off in many ways in the future when the brand needs a “little extra” promotional help. By using traditional media, social media platforms, an event and linking two high profile sponsorships, B of A showed how high level multi-sport branding opportunities can work together to win for all.

Fragmentation In Niche Sports Proves To Be A Killer…

July 3, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Speaking with one voice, whether it is to a business partner, the media, or to fans is always important, especially in the alphabet soup of niche or second tier sports. With the limited dollars and eyeballs available for the casual fan, splitting the marketplace with alphabet soup of organizations usually leads to confusion and can ultimately drive partners on to a platform which is much more simple to understand. The latest example of split markets being a killer is in indoor soccer, which despite the huge success the outdoor game is seeing in the US, just fell further off the roadmap this week. Last year the Indoor game split into two “leagues,” both of which struggled for any kind of existence in far-off marketplaces, and despite the local success of teams like the Milwaukee Wave and the New Jersey Ironmen (who were in two different leagues by the way) the sport is on the verge of extinction. Another sport teetering but doing better with some unity is lacrosse, where the National Lacrosse League extended commissioner George Daniel this week, sending a positive message to all involved. Still, lacrosse, indoor and outdoor, needs to be presented as one platform to be an effective tool, but at least in their case the sport has a platform of success to build on. Indoor soccer has hurt itself with divergent forces for the indoor game, forces which told the sports world they were too fragmented to present a unified front, and in the end, all suffered. Would having one unified league have worked? Perhaps. But with the alphabet soup presented last winter to fans, media partners and business partners there was no chance of survival in an already tight marketplace. Hopefully the indoor game can be resurrected and lifted by the continued success of the outdoor product, but with too many cooks it will be next to impossible to deliver.