L.A. Doesn’t Dodge The Chance To Build It’s Global Brand

March 14, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The Los Angeles Dodgers, despite the messy divorce and internal politics going on with the McCourt breakup, remain one of the world’s premier sports brands.  The front office, led by Dennis Mannion on the business side, continues to cultivate new avenues to grow the brand of the team, not just its players, into a community that is tremendously diverse and is extremely fickle in it’s dpending of dicretionary income.  In addition, the Dodgers have a World Champion to compete with in hoops (the Lakers), and a highly competitive and success neighbor in the American League (the Angels), with one of the most forward thinking owners in baseball (Arthuro Moreno).  So what is a team to do?  Go East.  Below is our recent Huffington Post piece on the Dodgers trip to Taiwan, and its reasons, especially in a croweded marketplace. ..

Hockey Gets Another Shot…

March 2, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Thirty years ago we had the Miracle on Ice, and the sports world waited as Jim Craig, the triumphant U.S. goaltender, prepped for his NHL debut with the Atlanta Flames a week later. Coke made Craig the branding darling of the Olympics, and thousands of kids rushed out to buy hockey sticks across the country to try and relive the win of the Russians.  However at that time the NHL was suffering from a lack of aggressive leadership and branding at the top…coverage was not great outside of home markets, there was no social or online experience to expand the moment, and only a percentage of the great young Americans went on to have productive NHL careers, many of whom didn’t gel for a few years and were not ready for the bright lights of the top level of professional hockey at that point.  It was a great moment which has lived on, but a moment in the history of the star-crossed sport of hockey in the U.S.

Woods Takes The Next Step, But The Biggest Brand Question For Golf Remains Unanswered…

February 20, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Friday Tiger Woods spoke…he controlled the message, he got his points out, he was serious and he addressed all the groups he needed to address in a statement. Another stage in the comeback is complete for him.  He did not have the long, drawn out presser with reporters, especially those who cover him in his sport, in the room and he avoided distractions and forced the media to cover just what he and his brand needed them to cover. he was true to what he has always done in the better of times, he controlled the message and the access.  Just as he would drive reporters to his website for comments and news, now he drove them to another ballroom in Ponte Vedra to listen while pool reporters asked a few questions to him and to his assembled group.

Who Will Win The Battle of The Busiest Weekend On The Sports Calendar?

February 11, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It is a good thing the NFL moved the Pro Bowl to the week prior to the Super Bowl this year.  The game got much-needed attention and a record crowd, and won’t have to deal with being an after-thought on perhaps the busiest big event weekend on the sports calendar.  Yes a week after the Super Bowl became the most watched television event of all-time, three major events…the opening of the Winter Olympics, the Daytona 500 and the NBA All-Star Game, will all battle for eyeballs, sponsor return and casual sports fans within 72 hours. Who will win?  The battle has already begun.

Beach Volleyball Gets A Collegiate Push Toward Building It’s Brand…

January 16, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Beach volleyball is unquestionably the darling sport of the Olympic Games. Every four years the men’s, and especially the women’s competition, draws one of the largest windows for NBC and has helped make pop culture stars of athletes like Misty May Treanor, Holly McPeak, Karch Kiraly, Kerri Walsh, and many others.  More importantly, the AVP has used the Olympic platform to effectively build a North American tour that even in a slow economy has one of the best examples of sponsor activation and integration of any sport, from Barefoot wines and former title sponsor Crocs to Paul Mitchell hair products and KFC . One could spend a full day at any AVP event and literally move from sponsor to sponsor and never run out of activity until sundown.  Still, even with that platform every four years and a lifestyle sport that thrives in warm weather, the Tour, like any sport,  goes through cycles of high and low activity, and is currently looking to develop the next wave of crossover stars to keep sponsors happy, ticketsellers coing, and TV partners interested.  Also like most sports, the AVP needs a healthy developmental program to fuel that growth and interest, and last year got a much-needed boost when the NCAA approved sand volleyball as a sport starting in 2011.

Charity Trailblazer? Bloom Forgoes Gold For A Wish of a Lifetime…

November 12, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The last year has seen more athletes embrace issues for social change and cause marketing as part of their platform than perhaps any other period. Is it because smart business minded athletes and the representatives see what is going on at the fan level with the economy and have more of a sense to give back? Maybe. Is it because there are causes that athletes have always felt compelled to embrace because of a personal connection and now have more vehicles to do so? Could be. Is it because brands and leagues have made a much bigger outward push to tie to social responsibility that hospitality and other areas for ROI? Also possible. In the end, it doesn’t really matter which is the cause…the effect is a positive impact directly on the lives of millions in a time where that impact needs to be felt most. The impressive thing about the public outreach by those of influence in sports is the breadth and depth of the programs, from cancer awareness to childhood obesity and single parenting issues.

However even with all the engagement, every once in a while a new imitative jumps forward. Case in point was Wednesday’s announcement that winter Olympian Jeremy Bloom was retiring. Bloom, who created a bit of a controversy during a two sport career when he petitioned the NCAA for football eligibility after being ruled ineligible because of monies received from skiing endorsements, announced that he would not look to qualify for the Vancouver Games at a point when he was skiing and training the hardest in his life. Instead he has chosen to devote more time to the philanthropic passion he has developed in Denver. Working with kids or education? Not exactly. The charity Bloom has developed and will implement is Wish of a Lifetime, a group which works with the elderly to improve the quality of their lives and grant wishes, Make a Wish Style, to seniors. It is a clear departure from the way many athletes have looked at philanthropy. Yes, many devote time and effort to causes that effect adults, especially with poverty or health-related issues. However few have embraced the passionate support of seniors, a group which is growing both in need and numbers as the American population matures at the fastest rate ever. Is it a version of “The Bucket List” as one person pointed out? Perhaps. However what it really is is the attempt by a world class athlete to identify with a cause that he or she sees as maybe not the trendiest but as the place or the niche where he can make the most difference since that area is underserved. In many ways it is not much different that the efforts someone like former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo started with Malaria awareness in Africa. At the time little was known or addressed amongst the population in the Western World about Malaria, but today, largely through Mutombo’s work, the issue of Malaria awareness is a very high priority.

Making Olympic Size Adjustments…Worth The Battle?

October 1, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

This Friday three cities will have spent millions of dollars in travel, staff and preparations for…nothing. On Friday, IOC President Jacques Rogge will announce which of the four cities for 2016, Tokyo, Rio Madrid and Chicago, will get the bid for the Summer Games, which will set off a feeding frenzy of activity, good will and brand building for the next seven years. But for the losers goes…well goes nothing really. True, the bid cities to this point have generated activity, buzz and good will, and maybe have sewn the seeds for future bids (Madrid and Rio have bid before and were able to resurrect many of their plans from 2012) but could the millions spent on prep be spent better elsewhere? The race for the Olympics and the exposure and potential dollars for a host city is still very very worthwhile. In many cases now the venues are built to be converted or used in perpetuity and those host city usually drives a great deal of revenue from the lead-in with other events, and lead-out afterwards. On the branding side, the Olympic limitations on sponsorships and “clean looks” slows potential for host cities, but the revenue brought in around the Games still is a huge plus…and in all likelihood the host Olympic Committee….the USOC in the US…stands to benefit from a boost in potential year-round partners, all good news for those who get the Games. The biggest issue again lies for the losers and the unchecked spending that goes into the prep work. With no limits set by the IOC, the bid cities run large off budgets, and the sense of impression and “one-upsmanship” even in the slowest of economies leads to mountains of wasted presentations, lavish spending and huge travel. Another example was this past summer, when seven sports, many with very meager budgets, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to vie for the chance at being two of seven sports for instatement to the 2016 Olympic programme. The two sports selected, rugby and golf, can easily justify their spend, while baseball probably spent the least, using its large platform to drive interest. But sports like softball and roller sports spent more than their entire yearly budget to stage events and produce useless, flashy videos all in the name of making an impression. Can the IOC set spending limits, like the NCAA has done for years with recruiting and media guides? Yes. Should the IOC require that for every dollar spent on presentation an equal dollar goes back into development? Why not. The Olympic brand remains the world’s premier sports brand, something that almost every athlete strives for. With the brand comes great responsibility, and limiting the spending on the recruitment process is something that should be implemented in these challenged times. Much like drug testing and rules set for entertaining officials, the IOC needs to set spending linits and guidelines for those trying to gain entrance to the program, be it city or sport. Otherwise, like a sport without testing left to police itself, even the best intentioned plans get lost in the competitive spirit, and with that loss comes the loss of valuable dollars which should go to the grassroots, not to extra videos. By following those rules, everyone wins.

How To Deliver The Message…

August 14, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Two week’s ago Sports Illustrated’s George Dohrmann had a great piece on the amount of useless recruiting mail top hoops recruit Roberto Nelson received during his high school days, and it brought to light one of the biggest problems that marketers, salespeople, and communications folks deal with every day. How to cut through the junk, decide whats the most effective way to deliver a message and who is the best person to deliver it to. In the easy world today of spamming emails and press releases or sales pitches, or in this case, volumes of recruiting mail, the personal touch is lost, and with it goes the relevance. Many times people get caught up in trying to do things because “thats the way its always been done” instead of trying to be more innovative and effective with a personal touch. The digital world today has made it easy to hit send and hope to deliver a message, many times without knowing if the recipient ever reads, is interested or even knows the sender, or even worse, if the info is relevant to the recipient at all. In the “old days” editors and reporters would get deluged with faxes of press releases or volume of mail, but today’s world makes the deluge even bigger because there is no real cost to blast or spamming email. The cost lies in reputation of the sender. Many times the inexperienced will not personalize letters or note, send to people no longer employed in a position or with a company or outlet or even worse, pretend to know someone when they really don’t. So what’s the answer? Simple. Personal touch matters. Take the time to know who is on the beat, covering the story, selling or marketing the product or making the decisions. Are there points for mass distribution? Of course. Are there times when you send info to try and remain relevant or top of mind? Yes so long as the info is useful. Is snail mail…a personalized hand written, note or item sometimes still the most cost-effective way to set yourself, your brand or your sales pitch apart? You betcha. The worst thing you can waste is your reputation for doing well and knowing your business and someone’s precious time. Even asking periodically if someone wants to stay on a list, or if information that is being sent is appreciated or useful, is also a good idea. In these days of not just cost efficiency, but time efficiency, personal contact goes a long way in delivering the right message, and quality usually wins over quantity.

Gettin Figge With It…Spinning A Great Story…

February 9, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As last week began with Michael Phelps and ended with Alex Rodriguez, a great human interest story played out in the waters off Trinidad, and some smart spinning and careful wording turned this niche story into some solid worldwide press. The story was about 56 year old Jennifer Figge and her goal to swim across the Atlantic. Figge’s story was aptly captured and told around the world, as befitting a great athletic accomplishment. However what made the story from a branding and media standpoint was the way it was crafted and then played out with Figge’s media team. With AP there in both print and video from the start, the play got worldwide attention and the proper spin. Then as Figge made her voyage complete, the piece didn’t just end with a Hurculean feat. There were never talks of “World Records” or records of any kind, because in fact swimming the entire Atlantic may actually be impossible, as pointed out in the Guardian. However what was highlighted and pushed was the story and the endurance, and the fact it was a “first” for a solo swim. So by spinning correctly and highlighting the core of the story…no hyperbole…not overblown…the endurance story told itself accruately. Even when the “shortcomings” were brought to play, the Figge team explained carefully the feat, which in no way was diminished. Great example of finding the right mass connection, carefully playing the story with the facts, and then capitalizing on the moment of triumph.

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.

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