“Lombardi Mania” Coming To A Theater, A Screen or a TV Near You Soon…Not Soon Enough

March 12, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

For a while I have been involved with the upcoming dramatic play Lombardi, which producers Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser will bring to Broadway in November.  The play is based on the best-selling book “When Pride Still Mattered” by Pultizer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, and is going to be a very intriguing mix of dramatic theater and the story of an amazing and engaging personality.  However Lombardi the play will not be alone.  HBO is working on a documentary on the career of the legendary coach and leader, and this week, a movie project was revived, now with ESPN involved, that will debut in 2012 starring Robert De Niro as Lombardi.  All three projects will have a different take…the film will concentrate more on the players and the glory fo the game, the documentary will recount the facts of his life through the eyes of those who knew him and the play will really tell a larger story about the ups and downs of a mercurial figure who overcame some early setbacks to be a success.

The House of Mouse Raises It’s Sports Brand…

February 27, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Slowly, steadily, the good folks at Disney and ESPN have turned one of the brand’s more quizzical efforts into a mecca, not for characters, but for the character built through sport.

The Mascot Fills A Bigger Branding Role…

February 17, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

So it’s the middle of winter and you have no idea who your players are…or you are having a terrible season and the trade deadline looms and you need to keep your brand fresh and identifiable.  What to do?  The mascot. Now more than ever, with brands looking for more ROI, fans looking for personal engagement and athletes time limited, the value of having a fun, interesting and marketable mascot is higher than ever.  Ben Hill’s blog on milb.com points out dozens of minor league teams that trotted out nascot’s for Valentine’s Promotions or other teams that have unveiled new or updated mascots during the last few weeks to keep their brand top of mind with consumers.  The New Jersey Nets worked not a player, but their mascot, into a Super Bowl commercial, while NHL teams are trotting out mascots while their players are away or off during the Olympic break.  Now that it is so important to engage the entire family, older alumni may not always work as a compelling interraction, and the ability to have mascots in multiple places works as a fund rasier and a brand awareness tool.  It is true that many major market or more established brands (the Knicks, the Rangers, the Cowboys, the Dodgers) have never embraced the mascot theme, instead relying on the power of their brand and all the pieces around it to drive interest.  However for those really needing relevance, the investment in picking the right looking mascot and then marketing him, her or it appropriately, has become as valuable as any other brand campaign and one that is not taken lightly.

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.

Are The Colts The Model NFL Brand?

January 23, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Jon Wertheim’s great piece on Colts owner Jim Irsay this past week in Sports Illustrated has stirred a bit of a debate as to whether the Indianapolis Colts could now be the model franchise for the NFL.   Without the flash and dash, and the oversized suites and prices, of the Dallas Cowboys, or the tradition and big market cache of the New York Giants, or even the celebrity buzz of the Miami Dolphins, the Colts have hit on a number of areas…community, tradition, consistency, even social media growth, that has somehow landed them near the best in show of the NFL. Now do they have a national footprint overall in terms of licensing and branding or even PR?  No. What they have done is an amazing job of one of the first rules (and one of the most forgotten rules) of solid brand growth: take care of your core.  They have steadily made themselves the NFL team of choice of the Midwest, through grssroots outreach, consistent branding and a proven commitment to company success.  Then they have the second piece:  The breakthrough star that transcends the sport.  Maybe when you have Peyton Manning you don’t have to seek out Good Morning America or Dancing With The Stars, his marketing team does that for you. But from Oreos to direct TV, manning is as marketable a face and personality as there is in sports today. They have consistency of brand. If you live in Indiana, you know who the owner is, the president is, and who the coach is.  If someone leaves they are replaced by a person who fits the system, and the system works.  That is a rarity in today’s system of immediate gratification.  The colors and the logo remain the same. No third uniform or color helmets.  the Colts, through Baltimore and Indy, have remained the same. They are consistent with the media. No flash, no games, no innovation.  The Colts provide what they need to, service the media and stay consistent with their policies. They speak with one voice. Whether its Irsay the owner or president Bill Polian, everyone pulls from the same script.  less drama, more progress that way. Lastly, even by being traditional, they found ways to embrace social media, connect with fans outside the stadium, and drive interest and revenue through a solid, and consistent web 2.0 campaign.  “My Colts” is not a flashy program, but it provides information, access, and special features that many teams should follow.  Not huge bells and whistles, but it is a program that gives fans what they want and in return they draw a following.

MLK Day A Missed Branding Oppt. For Sports?

January 18, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Monday is a National Holiday honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  It would seem a perfect time…NFL in full postseason, NBA and NHL gearing up for All-Star, college sports pushing ahead, the Olympics on the horizon, the holidays in the distance…for a brand or an organization to take ownership of the weekend, especially in the area of community service and philanthropy. Yes, the NBA does do a good job of playing during the day and looking at projects that serve the spirit of Dr. King well.  Yes, some NFL teams like the 48ers are doing community service events Monday.  However, as brands look to be more community oriented and find opportunities to partner on community programs that give back, there remains no national push.  Maybe it should not be the professional teams or leagues, who would find it hard to muster full support on a Monday in January.  Maybe it should be the NCAA or High Schools that should find a brand to turn the day into one where young athletes and coaches each give back in their community. Maybe it should be the announcement of a mentoring program by each or any of the leagues, with some kind of tie to Dr. King’s spirit. Maybe it should be MLS, coming off their draft and meetings last week, or the PBR, who just started, or tennis or golf, both looking for more diversity. It just seems like with the issues of elite athletes today, and the obvious need for brands to connect to the community, that this mid-January weekend would be a prime spot to reflect, connect and reenergize the spirit and influence that athletes can have, especially young people looking for role models on any level.

Colleges To Take A Shot At Message Control? Be Careful What You Ask For…

January 10, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Several years ago the Toronto Maple Leafs took what was then considered a very bold step by breaking a coaching hiring first on ther website, which at the time was unheard of.  Since then, the Washington Redskins have used their Daniel Snyder-owned sites, and radio stations to break and try and control news, a host of athletes, including Tiger Woods and Roger Clemens, have broken news with their own sites and have directed reporters there and only there for information, and many teams and  brands have gone about the business of hiring small but dedicated in-house staffs tp help tell the tale of their news from time to time.  It’s all about message control. Some teams…the Cincinnati Bengals,  Chicago Bulls, and Indiana Pacers to name a few of the first, went to the road of hiring former beat writers and columnists looking for new challenges or work to cover the team, and did not ask them to hold back during controversial times, with the thought being that it would add to the credibility and traffic for the site.  It has made for an interesting and compelling balance, with those looking to control and own media messaging (the haves) and those looking to drive interest across all media (the have nots).  Then you have colleges and even high schools.  In places where coverage and access is in great demand…major universities with large programs and large, professional-like followings…there may be value in message control, while at the Mid-Major and below, the need to drive coverage and find ways to get the information out is becoming more challenging.  Even at large Universities, the struggle to get stories told away from big time football and basketball can be tough in many instances.  So what is the solution?

St. John’s Pulls Out Some Nostaligic Threads With “Ugly Sweater Night”

December 23, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

College hoops in New York has been dormant for too many years. The last two years, not one local college even reached the NCAA’s or the NIT, so all the good brand equity and loyal following that had been built over years of success for Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Manhattan, Hofstra, Fordham et al… has been lost. That doesn’t even begin to take in the losses from the casual sports fans who would follow and attend games, especially for SJU at MSG and Seton Hall at the Meadowlands, when the two were giant killers and at the top of the hoops hierarchy. The good news is that the potential to rebrand and grow as marketing properties still exists in the area, an area where hoops in the winter is still very very strong. The other piece of good news is that the teams in the area…Seton Hall, Rutgers, and now St. John’s…finally appear to be on an upswing on performance, which can lead to more interest. Still that casual fan to fill distressed seats, even on campus, can still be very elusive in this transitionary time. So what to do? Well St. John’s came up with a great promotion for a pre-holiday Tuesday, holding “Ugly Sweater Night” on the Jamaica campus. those showing up with the ugliest of sweaters get a discount on a ticket and a chance to win other prizes, including being part of a faux Guiness World record for the largest collection of ugly sweaters. The event pays homage to the Red Storm’s legendary coach Lou Carnessecca, who was known for his garish collection of sweaters during his time on the St. John’s bench. Will it fill the building? No. Does it get some buzz and create a fun visual at no cost? Yes. It also may move a few tickets at a tough time of year against an opponent, Bryant College, that no one would be lining up to see. On another level it sends a connection message to the current team and supporters of the glory days past, which is the team was stuggling may be troublesome, but in today’s positive times, is a good message and connection. Now ugly sweater nights are not new, but to tie to a sometimes forgotten tradition it is a smart and easy promotion for the Johnnies.

Sports Books Worth Reading And Giving From 2009

December 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

I will be the first to say I am not a strong critic, nor do I read every book out there. However I do read a great deal and try to figure out what are the books that teach me something, even of some of the most public of figures, that I didn’t know before and what can I take away from this that can apply to work, personal life or friends, colleagues or family. Also, what do I think are just really well written stories. So below I have highlighted a list of some of the books I have gotten to and enjoyed, and others may enjoy too. Some are on most people’s lists…some are a little more obscure, but all are well written and have great value. I also have to admit I have not read Bill Simmons’ book or Chris Ballard’s on the NBA, or the Agassi book or my friend Jon Wertheim’s book on tennis this year. That is my bad, but that’s what the holidays are for. These are also in no particular order, other than Marty Appel’s name started with A and thats the first one I thought of. Feel free to send along other suggestions to me at fatherknickerbocker1@yahoo.com

Is President Obama Losing His Sports Jones?

December 18, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 3 Comments 

One of the smarter moves President Barack Obama used during his campaign to lure the interest of the casual voter was to introduce his athletic side and interests into his platform discussions. It started with shooting baskets with Sports Illustrated’s Scott Price, while discussing his background in and affinity for basketball. He threw out a first pitch and donned his beloved White Sox cap; he played more hoops with the University of North Carolina on another primary stop, analyzed NCAA brackets, talked BCS and hit some golf balls for fun. Meanwhile Senator Hillary Clinton looked uncomfortable talking baseball, Senator McCain, despite being an avid outdoorsman, stopped in at a NASCAR event but took his private time hunting away from the cameras, and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin regaled us as a hockey mom. None were as effective with the casual male sports fan as President Obama, and that feeling resonated with a male audience who may not have followed his campaign closely before. It made him much more “one of the guys.” He shoots hoops and likes baseball and talks about it all very comfortably. Did it lure some votes? Probably. Did it detract at any point? No way.

Next Page »