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.

Taking Advantage of The Quietest Day In Sports…

July 17, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The summer is traditionally slower for the sports industry, even in an Olympic year, but the day always the quietest (especially given Tuesday’s marathon All-Star game) is the Wednesday after the All-Star game.  The day usually offers up a chance for sports in their offseason to grab some headlines or those currently competing to update current plans with the media.  Some of the groups that took advantage of the quiet day included tennis (Venus Williams on Leno), the New Jersey Nets (making GM Rod Thorn available to spell out their plan going forward), Red Bull New York (who got great space in the dailies with Claudio Reyna’s retirement announcement)  and the NFL Network (which did a conference call with Steve Bornstein and new lead announcer Bob Papa).  All got more exposure than they would have gotten on even a slightly crowded day, and were great examples of advance planning.  Good strategic moves by all.