Blazers, NBA Still Show Promotion Is Worth Effort…

January 17, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Even in a challenged economy, the ability to find creative ways to grow and enhance your brand exists, and recent proof is again provided by the NBA and its teams.  This week, Henry Abbott on ESPN.com gave the Trailblazers props for their annual fun all-star pitch for their guys (this time LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy) with a package of “stuff” sent to key media. While many teams and some select athletes have taken to the digital play to garner votes (here is the YouTube piece with the Nets’ Devin Harris playing off the shoe throwing incident with President Bush) the combination of digital and a good old- fashioned props pack to media is still a great play.  Now in the digital world how many votes will Portland’s pack bring in?  The answer is who knows?  What the package does is simple…it gives added fodder for beat writers to think about writing about these guys and the team when they may not remember to, it shows the athletes that the team is making the effort to support them in many ways, it gives the fans water cooler talk and it helps show business partners that the team is just not sitting still to promote even in a chellenged economy.  As colleges and other leagues cut back on promotion, once again the NBA shows that the little investment in the “little things” goes a long way to build brand and confidence.  Great example that others on all levels should emulate, as creativity doesn’t usually need a big dollar spend to be effective.

Blazers Grow With Hanukah Promo…

December 26, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Appealing to the core fan is always important and pretty simple for brand and fan development.  Yet at this time of year it always seems that most teams will do Christmas or overall holiday promotions and will overlook those of the Jewish faith celebrating Hanukah.  Now it wouldn’t make sense to do Hanukah promotions in arears where there is not a group that would be able to appreciate or support the effort, but in most major cities Hanukah promotions would seem to be a natural, especially since the celebration takes place of a series of days and nights.  Last year the Portland Trailblazers, as they rebuilt their relationships in their community, introduced Hanukah night to moderate success.  This year they expanded the event eventhough the team is doing considerable better, and the result was more coverage and good will created for the team and the brand.  It was a very smart way to connect with core supporters of the sport, have some fun, sell some tickets and even introduce many not familiar with the celebration to a great tradition.  Good move by Portland, and a celebration which can be copied and expanded by most looking to connect with a core fan base and reach out to diverse communities.