Tigers Win By Taking The High Road…

June 3, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Wednesday night’s botched call which kept Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallarraga from being the third pitcher in 30 days to throw a perfect game may be one of thebiggest viral stories related to sports since the real migration to digital media egan several years ago.   One cannot look at a blog, a trending list, a news site, a video board, a message board or any social or news media platform without seeing the Jim Joyce blown call replayed over and over again, with endless comments and opinion. The only good to come out of the newscycle for Joyce and MLB is that baseball’s constant flow gives the sport the chance to move on a bit quicker than a controversy in any other sport…the Tigers and Indians were back playing less than 12 hours later.

Maybe Not A Homer, But McGwire Plan Hit Its Points…

January 14, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It was a long time in coming and caused many people a great deal of angst over the years, but Mark McGwire’s long-awaited and often doubted announcement that he used steroids was actually well orchastrated this week, and was effectively communicated on a number of levels.  While many will look back as to the quality of answers and what the future will be in terms of acceptance and media interraction between the press and the soon-to-be-St. Louis Cardinals coach, the fact remains that the major issue was addressed, addressed well in a strong setting, and the stage is set for McGuire not to be as major a distraction as he could have been without the admission when spring training starts.  Some of the key points in the strategy worth noting.

Baseball Plays A Doubleheader As A Social Unifying Brand

June 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Many times in North America, the sport of baseball sometimes gets overlooked for its ability to aggregate people, expose brands and tell stories. because the season is so long and the game is so ingrained we sometimes forget the amount of eyeballs and dollars spent on the game, even more now on a global scale. And with the attraction, from Little league through the Majors, comes the ability to marry brands in large numbers to very worthy and promotable causes. This weekend…Father’s Day…baseball takes on a doubleheader of well, timed, well presented and well thought out activation platforms…civil rights and prostate cancer awareness, and delivers on both. On the Civil Rights front, it is sometimes forgotten that baseball broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson, for all professional sports. So when the sport started having a Civil Rights Day and game a few years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, it got some attention but not huge attention. The move to take the entire event and move it to a Major League city, Cincinnati, and involve a full few days of talks and involvement from peoples of all sports and backgrounds, was a great one, and the coverage received for both the sport and for Civil Rights issued was tremendous. For a support to promote issues in season is one thing, to take an active stance and deliver positive messages on a national stage is another, and baseball should get pig points for taking the time and the effort to build this platform for all and to work with the brands who will activate against it. The second weekend cause is Prostate Cancer Awareness, and by using their national platform of games on the Father’s Day weekend…complete with blue bats for auction, sponsor and player activation campaigns in major media and at all games, the sport again hits a homer. Baseball announcer Ed Randall’s Bat For The Cure, is also a great example of how the pooling of resources can work for the bigger cause through the sport. For whatever reason, the prostate cancer campaign is not as well covered as the all-pink breast cancer awareness work done in April and October through the various pink programs, but the yeoman work baseball does to collectively present the issue to millions on a day which is more father-focused than others, remains a great example of pooling resources the right way for all. Now could the two be split on other weekends? Maybe. But despite the timing, both garner great coverage, sponsor activation, and messaging. Great job by all.

The Dog and Pony (or Dog and Dog) Show…A Great Example of “If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It”

February 11, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With all the ARod hype in New York this week, it would take a mega-news piece to break through the clutter. However, the event that garnered the most news…again…is the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. Why? It is an annual (one time) event that is unique and well timed, has its set traditions, appeals to its core audience and the casual “fan”, has some unique story lines and never tries to be what its not. While other shows using show animals have come and gone, and sports using animals (the PBR, horse racing etc.) have moderate success and have to try and re-invent and re-pitch every year, the Dog Show comes in, uses its great stand-alone stories and goes after the audience for the unusual like no other. A sampling as the show wraps up included a great LA Times piece on ugly dogs, a Times Herald Record piece on “Tiger Woods” , and a funny wsj.com feature on “Best In Show.” Does the show have NASCAR-like activation for sponsors? Yes. Does the PR team hired for the show go out and actively solicit unique stories and pair them to media? Absolutely. But in the current economy to find an event that combines sports a bit and entertainment and the offbeat a lot that can deliver such mass appeal remains very unique. Could the show go on the road and be successful? Or have multiple mega-events in New York? Probably not (there are many regional shows but none like Westminster). However like the US Open in tennis, the Dog Show hits the same week on the event calendar each year and never really tries to be celebrity driven, internet splashed, chasing the male demo spectacle that most events try to be after finding initial success. It sticks to its core message and brand, finds the unique stories, and delivers big time.

MLB, NHL Both Use New Year’s Day As Strategic Launch For Things Ahead…

December 31, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With the start of the New Year here, two of the biggest sports brands in the world…Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, will look to use the day as a launching point for new brand success, new partnerships and a bigger share of the casual sports landscape.  The NHL will use its second Winter Classic to see if the outdoor New Year’s Day game will continue to have the legs it has last year, and can cement itself as the must watch and particpate event for January 1 that the Bowl games used to be.  Richard Sandomir in the New York Times has a good look at the events around the game, which include new sponsors and activation, greater retail and the major market buzz of Chicago (fueled by a rebranded Blackhawks organization).  On the baseball side, the launch of the MLB Network, the largest launch in cable sports history, will look to give baseball and its core and causal fans and partners a 24/7 home.   The launch in the middle of “Hot Stove” season will show that the network and its ancillary programming can be a driver at a time when live games in the U.S. are not being played, while leading towards live play with the World Baseball Classic and weekly games in March and beyond.   It is a big committment for the sport to regain a bigger piece of the sports pie from NASCAR, the NFL, the NBA and those sports that pull a younger demo, but with the volume of library and available games worldwide, it seems like a risk that is much safer than the ones the NBA, NFL and the NHL took in launching their networks.  The first reviews of what will be seen on air at the start have been outstanding. So if all goes as planned, January 1, 2009 may just be the day that both hockey and baseball will point back to as a push forward for both legacy brands.

As AFL Shutters For ‘09, The af2 Model Continues On…

December 29, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As the AFL shut down its season in ‘09, one of the things that was missed in the reporting is that the smaller market version af2, which works with but is not the same model as the AFL, will continue on. How in this economy could that be possible, especially since the larger AFL had the equity partnership of ESPN, the larger markets, the fan friendly protocol and solid outside growth over the last few years.  The difference is really in market size and cost structure, and the fact that perhaps af2 is really the niche of niches for pro sports in select markets.  As minor league baseball flourished and even grew during the MLB shutdown, and minor league hockey did well during the NHL shutdown, it could be that af2 will serve the indoor need for the core fan without AFL being around.  While the AFL needed larger markets and the costs associated with it to deliver ROI for TV and national partners, af2 is all about the small markets and being that big fish in the small sea.  By keeping costs at a minimum and developing the local partnerships, af2 may be able to grow in ways they hadn’t before.  Now can they go back and tell the regional and local personality stories and business stories that gave AFL bigger life?  Without the strategic communications investment that the AFL made that will be difficult, but by having a good amount of core athletes with good stories, af2 could have potential at very low cost, and could even be a small market appeal that regional brands may partner with, ala minor league baseball.

Hockey’s Version of Crash Davis…Missed Opportunity or One Still Coming?

December 6, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As sports continues to look for ways to connect to the everyman and grab the casual fan with unique opportunities, hockey may be missing out on one that could be fun…his name is Don Parsons and he is about to break one of the ultimate blue collar records…the alltime minor league goal scoring record.  Parsons, who plays now for the IHL’s Bloomington (Ill.) Prairie Thunder, has all the pieces that the casual fan would love…never made it to the NHL, has played in every backwater town just miles from the big city, has crossed paths with a host of future stars, was mentored by journeymen who got to “The show” and he is an American undermarketed in a sport that lives online and is always looking for innovative ways to get casual exposure.  Plus, in the little online stuff that comes up, he seems to be well spoken, fit and good looking.  Now many will remember the Hollywood success that the fictional Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner, had in Bull Durham or the legendary status Reg Dunlap (played by Paul Newman) had in Slap Shot.  Here is the real life version, although a bit more marketable and affordable in today’s environment.  If he were chasing the baseball minor league homer record, the bet is some of the savy minor league baseball marketing people, much with the support of mlb.com, could make this into a win-win for all.  Whether it happens for Parsons and hockey will remain to be seen.  Regardless, Don Parsons pursuit of a major “minor” record, hopefully will be captured and celebrated as a solid achievement when we are looking for great stories of the everyman in sports these days.