A Cause Worthwhile…Athletes, Pols Step Up To Battle Childhood Obesity

February 16, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Big time sports and entertainment events draw big time advertising dollars. We all are more than familiar with the amount of sponsorship spent on Super Bowl, Olympic and NBA All-Star ads these past few weeks, and the payoff in exposure brands got with the largest TV audience of all-time for the Colts and the Saints last  Sunday. One of the biggest categories that support those events is snack foods.  People loved watching those Doritos commercials, and loved chowing down on bowls of the stuff as they were watching the game. The tailgate, the junk food, are all very much a rite of passage surrounding the great American sporting event.

Why Baseball Fan Fests Work…

January 24, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we head toward pitchers and catchers reporting in less than a month, we are seeing the seeds of baseball pop up in the most remote locations, where spring seems lightyears away.  In Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee…talk of baseball, and ticket selling and autographs are all on the minds of the die hard and the casual fan these next few weeks. Why?  Yes its because baseball remains the casual summer sport that many people in North America still mark time by.  However more importantly is because teams, especially those  in cold weather climates, have launched their annual winter caravans and fan experiential events, days and sometimes weeks of activity that brings players, coaches and the brand back top of mind at a critical time of year.  The Fan Fest is not just a baseball-specific idea.  Other sports in some markets take advantage of the offseason in similar ways, but the overall “festival” plan in the dead of winter is one of the practices that baseball does best.  It is a real re-invigoration of the brand…and an opportunity to give fans affordable access to the players, the coaches and everything about the brand…regardless of where the team ended up the previous season.  It also gives the team the ability to answer questions, hype to players, and really connect with those who will buy the tickets and the merch when the season starts.  Some teams like the White Sox for example, have even implemented new and social media into the process, hosting fan fest “tweet ups” and special discounts and giveaways for those who have signed up, and can get to a particular area at a moment’s notice.  The Detroit Tigers, who have done one of the best jobs of any team with their annual Tiger Fest, use the weekend as a chance to pull in and explain the brand to potential sponsors of all sizes, and have even created blogger-specific events to gauge opinion and feedback.  In many markets the Fan Fest has become a great offseason revenue source, while in others it is a work in progress.  The Fan Fest idea is not universally in place in baseball…the Mets and Yankees for example do not do fan fests because of the crowded marketplace, the anticipated lack of a sizable venue and the fact that the sport gets mega-coverage almost every day in the media (although the Yankees did have tremendous success with events when they were re-establishing themselves in the late ’80’s and early ’90’s and needed to move tickets)…but it is a growing one.  Minor league teams in some markets do scaled down versions as well.

The “Owner As Brand” Fades Into The Twilight…

November 27, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The passing this week of the beloved Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin was the latest in a series of instances recently that seem to show us that one of the great storylines of American team sports, the iconic “owner” that we loved or hated and sometimes followed with as much or more passion than the players themselves, is fading into the distance of corporate America. Yes, we still have Jerry Jones with the Cowboys and a community and business leader like Mike Ilitch with the Tigers and Red Wings, but these days a single owner as the personality of his or her franchise seems to be more a hindrance than a help when teams’ cost of doing business or connecting to a community is in play. In addition to Pollin’s passing (his legacy is well detailed in many pieces this week in the Washington Post, including Thomas Boswell’s great read), we have the fading health of the Yankees George Steinbrenner, the recently disclosed illness of the Seahawks and Tralblazers owner Paul Allen, Lakers owner Jerry Buss taking a back seat in running his franchise, and the disfunctional issues with the Raiders and owner Al Davis. Then pile on the public divorce cases of the Padres John Moores and the Dodgers Frank McCourt, both effecting those franchises bottom lines, and there is a very good case that the individual leader has gone the way of the dinosaur. Now in today’s all access media market the argument can probably be made that there is less of a need to have the owner as the organization front man or woman. Fans want access more to the players who they are spending the money on, and probably are less interested in the billionaire owners footing the bills for the talent. Still the owner as the brand and the face of a franchise, more as promoter and pillar of the community than as rich playboy, was what drew many to sport in the first place. The Maras and the Rooney’s of the NFL, a man like Sonny Werblin with the Knicks and the Rangers, Lamar Hunt taking his oil money to help start the AFL, the Yawkeys of Boston…all became touchpoints as sport became big business and their faces and reputations rose and fell in the community with the fortunes of their team or teams. Now these men certainly did not act alone, and the most successful always assembled the right business teams to run said franchises on the day to day. However the team brands and their individual personal “brands” were one in the same. Steinbrenner’s Yankees took on the personality of their owner, both good and bad. Maybe today’s high demand world of everchanging loyalties and interests may not lend itself to such individuals as much as in the past, especially as the battle for the discretionary dollar, but the personality of the owner was part of the mystique of the team brand and was part of the passion that drove the business of sport. Yes its easier to be lukewarm about corporate ownership and maybe it puts more focus on the athletes. However knowing the owner always made it more fun and a little more intriguing, and that personality involved with the imprint of the franchise got sport to be the business it is today. It is probably an era lost, but one which should be reflected on positively as another icon passed this week.

Brand Agassi Has Tremendous Value For A Different Generation

November 9, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

He came of age with the “Image Is Everything Campaign” eventhough his best tennis was years ahead. He came back from the bottom to be a successful professional, and even without a formal education made education is legacy in his hometown. Yes now that Andre Agassi writes an honest accounting of his life and career, a life which not many people on the inside would dispute as being controversial, many tennis lifers have seen to push his accounts to the side and shame him. Shame Agassi? Shame on them. In reality, Andre Agassi’s brand should be stronger today that at almost any point in his Hall of Fame tennis career. He is a role model for the serial athlete and has emerged as being sincere and creating life changing experiences for a new generation of children, not serial athletes. What the Agassi brand stands for today is what most successful people should aspire to…admitting ones flaws and looking to make the lives of those around you better with the success you have had. Agassi admitted drug use. Given the culture of athletics in the ’80’s…a time pre WADA and all glamour? Would that be surprising, especially for a rock and roll lifestyle that individual sports like golf or tennis lead professionals to? Not at all. As a matter of fact, most who followed Agassi’s career at that stage would probably not have been surprised at that time about the usage. What the Agassi brand should be remembered for and what it could be going forward is for resilience. A resilience and rededication to a career and a spirit to sincerely give back that is not just rare in athletes, it is rare in most high net worth individuals. Now one can be assured that Andre Agassi does not need more endorsement dollars, nor would he probably court the spotlight. However if there are brands looking for a role model for where America is today…a country on the rebound and dedicated to growing a generation, one may not look farther that Andre Agassi. He reinvented a career and a life and has come out as a man that not just had a Hall of Fame athletic career, but may be in a philanthropic Hall of fame at some point as well. Not a bad role model for today’s challenged times.

From the Mayors to the Players…MLB incorporates giving back and service into every message…

October 30, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Its the time old tradition…the Mayors of a city betting the obligatory food items and jersey exchanges for the big game. You see it everywhere every year and its cute, it gets coverage and its part of tradition. However not in baseball this year. The Mayors of Philadelphia and New York…Michael Nutter and Mike Bloomberg…changed a the wager from the traditional to the productive, and instead of exchanging cheese steaks and cheesecake only they will exchange working on a community service project in the other city. The idea fits perfectly in line with MLB’s continuous ties to giving back that have played out across the playoffs and the World Series in every city games have been played, from assisting with veterans to improving the lives of the impoverished. Even the on field awards ceremonies have highlighted community service, as evidenced by Derek Jeter winning the Clemente Award for his work Thursday night and the Detroit Tigers Curtis Granderson being honored with the Marvin Miller Award for his community work on Friday. Since the All-Star game, MLB has gone above and beyond to tie all their major projects at major events to bigger causes, whether that’s player programs or a partner like Bank of America rebuilding houses in St. Louis, and then using all their media…print, TV, digital, to promote the good works. In these challenged times it is a very smart play for the league to take not just a leadership approach, but a leadership approach that is properly messaged so that everyone watching is getting the positive story on all fronts (Terry Lefton’s SBJ piece this week had great insight into the ideas). Looking for negativity will take a great amount of work this time of year for baseball, as all efforts have been effectively pushed toward a positive outlook on the field and the good works off it. A very well constructed and clearly delivered and consistent message for a sport that appears to again be putting many of its larger issues behind itself and is making a strong play for its game, its partners and for its fans, to tell positive stories and merchandise those good ideas effectively.

Brand Jeter…

September 12, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

September 11, with thoughts of a day of service and reflection proposed by President Obama, may be turning the corner from negativity and grief to positive action (although we should never forget and many need to and still should morn the loss on that day). However on Friday night we were again reminded as to how sports can help be a salve on wounds, and take us to places we never thought we could get to emotionally. Case in point, Derek Jeter. MLB, through their Day of Service and Rememberence initiative, and their announcement of giving back to veterans, created a very nice platform for transition for fans on 9/11, and tied it into the red hats worn by all players. However the person who helped New York turn the corner was Jeter, who broke Lou Gehrig’s Yankee record for hits on 9/11, and gave all a reminder of what brand leadership by example is all about. Brand Jeter is not flashy…there is little digital marketing and splash to it. It has solid, longstanding promotional partners who build very effective programs around his persona…Nike, Ford and Gillette…and his “Turn Two” Foundation does more works of service quietly than publicly in many cases. Still the Jeter brand is one of control, and effective control. In a time where many athletes try to build and expand brands into something they are not, or try to attach themselves to products just for the dollar or for the buzz, the Yankee captain and his business team have remained steady, the quality which many brands in and out of sports should aspire to. Of course Jeter’s onfield longevity and consistency play a key role in that, as does his soft spoken nature. But it could be very easy for Jeter as a brand to try and grab more edgy sponsorships or lend the name to a quick payday. Thus far there has been no need, and as an athlete leadership brand, the bet is that the position will stay the same….and now he has even given us a reason to look back fondly on 9/11…for sports anyway.

Yankees Take A Leadership Position With Hope Week…

July 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Sometimes being the premier brand in a city, let alone a country, can lead to complacency. Even in a down economy, the demand as a destination and a brand to be associated with still conveys great opportunity with little effort. On another side, the relevance of brand can also lead to a guarded stance with regard to creating partner opportunities…one which does not allow the brand to do the “extras” for attention or brand growth that others need to be successful. Also, being a brand in demand can put those involved on such a high pedestal that the downside of not being all inclusive in projects, leaving out a partner or not being able to assist all involved, can bring more negative than the positive of assisting most. So with all that in mind, the Yankees deserved some credit for creating their first-ever HOPE Week. All week the team and staff will be in the city doing community service events, all tied in with various goodwill around the city. Now some may say that this is what a premier brand is supposed to do to give back to the community, and it is true that teams do community events year-round. However for the Yankees to make a concerted effort to use the power of their brand, especially without a corporate push, to touch so many charities within one week, a great followup to all the work MLB did in St. Louis around the All-Star break, is a great move. The positioning of the events, between Sunday’s Old Timers Day and this coming weekend’s Hall of Fame induction, and during a time of year when media are looking for events (no NBA, NFL, NHL or college, and minimal NASCAR and just off the British Open) also makes great sense. A solid, well positioned week-long event for a team and its players which sometimes do not get their due for all they can do off the field.

Does Yanks Move Help Or Damage An Elite Brand?

April 29, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The story of the week will be the Yankees taking an about face to lower ticket prices, and Darren Rovell in his blog on Tuesday took a detailed look at some of the reasons. On another level, the rule of thumb many times is to hold the line and never lower or discount in season, as it hurts the long time brand value where people will now look to bargain for something elite that they could never get a lower price for before. Mercedes, Nordstrom’s etc. rarely lower prices, as you know with those high quality brands you pay the price for high quality service. Even in sports for all their oncourt issues, the Knicks front row and rows behind the bench at Madison Square Garden remain the priciest seats in sports. Now although some may argue this was just a slight PR spin and that the Yanks knew all along that they had minimums to hit and just adjusted prices closer to those minimums, that may not necessarily be true. The view of empty seats around home plate in what is an endless season can damage brand and become more the longer term story than the lowering of prices. Even Tuesday night, most stories still were spinning that the prices remain too high for the average family, and more discounting is needed. Then there is the issue of all those who paid full price and how refunding or additional tickets will have to be handled with them. For those elite seatholders, the higher price was never a real issue, so now angering them with “discounts” around them will also have to be handled. Now there is some value to public perception of reacting to the economy and fan demand to lower ticket prices, and the Yanks will get some due for that. The bigger question is will this “discounting” just make the Yanks another team and less of an elite brand? In this marketplace, especially in a new facility, getting people in to sample product and determine value is tantamount. The Yanks tried to hold the line and did the research to see what the public will bear, so hopefully the brand will hold, team performance will rise, and the lower ticket for the elite seats fills those voids. Short term damage slightly abated, and longterm if any to be determined.

Controlling The Message: Jerry Jones and Tiger Woods

February 22, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Today’s media cycle is always clamoring for more access. Fans, business partners and the media are constantly craving in both sports and entertainment to get more info., more access, more angles in the never-ending search to follow the celebrity. While that is important for brands that seek the spotlight to grow, the elite brands are put into a difficult situation. When is enough enough and more importantly, how do you control the information flow, either to make sure the information is accurate or to make sure the information put forth is done so in the manner that the newsmaker wants it to be. This past week we watched as the Yankees fed the media monster daily with key team members being available for the press around the Alex Rodriguez controversy. Each day led to a different story line, with key players speaking on different days. Orchastrated and put forth in the order that the newsmaker chose. The Yankees also did a more than credible job of speaking with one voice by the administration, and a majority of the players followed suit. So along the same line, we saw two other megabrands…Tiger Woods and the Dallas Cowboys...both take measures to control their message this week. Woods announced his comeback not with press conference or conference call or personal appearance or even a call to a key media member, but on his regular way of communicating to the media away from tournaments, on his website. The website has become Woods’ regular way of communicating with the media away from the Tour, thus (in addition to driving traffic and publicity for the site) easily getting out his message as he and his management team see fit. Now Woods is accessable during required periods at events, but by using the site as a way to break news, the media is limited in response and the idea of his team speaking with one voice holds true. Great for Woods, probably not so great for golf or the media. The Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones informed the media this week that coaches were no longer to be available to the media, including head coach Wade Phillips. The team’s view is the lack of access will control news and the subsequent leaks that come out, and have the organization functioning with one voice. Although this may not be uncommon with other organizations who limit access, the issue was that Jones was not available for the media during the early days of the NFL Combine, creating a bit of a circus for those media that were there and were seeking info about America’s team. Now again is “One Voice” a smart thing to control a message? Probably. Just so long as the message is communicated to the media, and thus to fans and business partners, effectively. Can it control “leaks” or rumor? To some extent but not as well as one would think, especially with an organization the size of an NFL team. There are ways to be consistent and control the message without setting off paranoia, and effectively communicating procedure is probably the first way. Regardless of the procedure, both Woods and the Cowboys again showed their ability to convey who the messenger will be.

Life’s A Beach…AVP Maximizes East Coast Opportunity

July 21, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The success of the AVP Crocs Tour in Southern California is well documented…a year round lifestyle sport with some of the greatest athletes on the planet.  However taking that brand and making it a national one is always a challenge, but the beach volleyballers took the past few weeks to build brand equity and market share in a very crowded weekend by maximizing every opportunity while making a rare Northeast Stop…on the sands of Coney Island in Brooklyn.  The tour used their athletes, their brand partnerships and CEO Leonard Armato in a multi-week strategy leading up to the event, garnering features on the sport’s business in Brandweek, wsj.com, the New York Post, Forbes.com and Bloomberg TV and radio, while also using their partnerships with brands like Cuervo and Banana Boat to expose the athletes to some key television time away from the event.  Pull in some lifestyle pieces with the New York Times, the New York Daily News and others, and the result was a well run experiental bonanza for the brand and the sport, at a criticial time leading into the Olympics with partner NBC.  Well hit, great placements.

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