The Coaching Network An Untapped Activation Model For Brands?

December 8, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

They have always been the iconic role models that have shaped thousands of lives, from little league to the highest level of competition. They are dedicated and driven, mercurial and emotional, volunteers and mercenaries, teachers and mentors. They are coaches. Yet for all the time, effort and value they put in, these men and women usually never get the recognition or capitalize on their success as much as the athlete. Sure there are the superstars…Lombardi, Parcells, Torre, Bryant, Jackson…that have crossed over into the mainstream, as much as for their personality as for their onfield success. However as a group, probably because the very nature of coaching is selflessness and the field is so transient, coaches have rarely united as a brand to drive revenue and interest in the profession.

Tough Choices But Clear Messages For Northeastern, Hofstra football programs…

December 4, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The late fall has brought yet more cold reality to mid-level college football in the Northeast with two longtime programs, both in the same league but both private schools in very crowded markets lacking a huge rush of on-campus support. Those programs, Northeastern and Hofstra, were both wiped from the slate of the Colonial Athletic Association in the past three weeks. It is another reflection of tough economic times for sports that need to show ROI for colleges…Northeastern cited more of a lack of additional funding as opposed to support, while Hofstra went more of the road of lack of funding, interest and return for the Long Island school. End of the day the fact remained for both…and could be true for several other schools in the Northeast…football at the former 1-AA level does not increase revenue and in many cases with exposure is limited does not effect enrollment so in tough times the focus can now go elsewhere. While disappointing for supporters and more importantly for athletes and support staff, both schools took similar and somewhat effective tactics in breaking the news. They waited until the season was over, thereby avoiding the potential for sentimental groundswell and negative media coverage. They both provided ample amounts of data on cost benefit for the program, along with a longtime study on feasibility and where those dollars could go. They spoke as one voice…president and athletic director…and both spoke with remorse and understanding for the student-athletes. They did not hide in a statement, but faced the media and anyone who had questions when the decision was made. They also worked to pick the right time and date so as to minimize the news cycle and get the University focused on the business at hand. Now did the cloak and dagger plan by both Universities cause “shock” amongst athletes and coaches and alumni not involved in the day to day? Yes as expected. Was there the understandable emotional heat leveled at the decisionmakers and did they take such heat well? Yes they did. Were their answers well thought out and conveyed effectively? Yes they were. ironically, the loss of mid level football in the Northeast is not the tragedy it would be in markets where college football is king. ironically in many of those markets…especially in the south…Universities are adding football program to move to 1-A and find new revenue sources. However in the Northeast, college football is very much an afterthought in a crowded marketplace at a time when most private schools have solid enrollments…enrollment numbers which in other years may have been boosted by the value of an additional 100 male students coming to play football. End of the day, both schools made a tough choice but spoke effectively with one voice, minimized the newscycle and set the stage to move on as positive as possible. At a difficult juncture, both Universities should earn points for their effective communication of a tough message.

CRONS, Big South Makes Good Sense For Brands…

November 1, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Many times we all get caught up in the hype…the necessity to make sure our athletes. schools and teams are associated with the big names to gives us “street cred.” However in these challenged times, the mainstream names and providers…from the drink category to media companies to apparel…are struggling to make ends meet even with the most mainstream of partners, so expecting the dollars and promotional pop for second tier partners is even more of a struggle than it has been before. More importantly, add-ons to gain marketshare that major brands interested in athletics needed in the past, second tier or mid-major conferences, niche sports, rising athletes, are not as viewed as important on ROI anymore because of the economy, because the time invested in building or capturing success just takes too long. So what can mid-major schools or niche sports do? Look to build business relationships with new brands looking for the same type of exposure, and finding creative ways to build economies of scale and creative programs that may not put dollars in the coffers up front, bit will generate interest and buzz and help reduce existing costs for the bottom line. One recent example of was highlighted in this week’s Sports Business Journal, a just announced partnership between the apparel brand CRONS and the Big South Conference. CRONS, which stand for “Come Ready or Never Start” is as much a lifestyle credo as it is an apparel brand, since the company does not yet have a retail presence. What it does have is the ability to address a conference like the Big South as a partner and work with those schools to supply product which they may have been buying for athletes and build out affiliate and community based marketing programs that can help the schools with fundraising, brand awareness and social responsibility, all important messages for today’s challenged times in athletics. Even more important, CRONS gets to treat the Big South as a test case for other potential mid-major partnerships, and the Bog South gets some great exposure with little downside in being a test case for a rising brand. Would it be better for a Mid-Major to have cash flow from a large apparel brand? Of course. However in today’s marketplace having brands that work as partners on many levels and can provide best in class service may be better than taking a small check for a big name and not seeing a longer term, across the board return. Interesting move by both and worth following going forward.

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.

Garden Growing New Partners, Ideas Again…

October 27, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It has been tough times in recent years for patrons of “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” The lack of on court success, a slowing economy, an aging building and a weak public perception had caused a good deal of the shine to come off of Madison Square Garden and perhaps lower the perceived standard of excellence the building and the organizations housed in the building had long held. However, steadily it appears that perception, consumer confidence and new and innovative promotional partnerships may be returning the business of MSG back to where it had resided for so long, in the upper echelon of sports and entertainment marketing and branding in the world. The announcement of a long rumored renovation, the ever improving on-ice play of the New York Rangers, an enhanced outreach through digital media and an ever-growing unified community presence for all the Garden brands have led the uptick in interest and buzz as the NBA season approaches this week. On the business side, a just-announced landmark airline deal with Delta Airlines, complete with Garden icons Mark Messier and Willis Reed filling the captains outfits, new entertainment sponsorship plans, and brand extensions to other Garden-related properties are all contributing to an uptick in interest, new best practices for partners and a more entreprenurial overall atmosphere than has been seen in some time above Penn Station. Now can all go sour with bad teams on the court and on the ice? It certainly won’t be a positive. However what is being seen is the aggressive ability to effectively tell good business and branding stories to all constituents, much like the cross river rival Nets have been doing so well, and that sort of business buzz can help insulate partners if the athletic performance falters. Even with problems on the athletic side, all the moves are smart and solid and send great messages to partners that the Garden is more than willing and ready to solidify and create new business than ever before.

In Search Of The Ultimate Fan Experience…

October 23, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The ying and yang that goes on between discretionary dollars fans can spend and getting premium access for those dollars is a battle that is only increasing in intensity for teams, brands and partners. With access to social media, much of which is free, teams have to continuously justify prices, knowing that the revenue stream for those dollars to the bottom line is more important now than ever as the larger pool of advertising spending goes south. So how does one create an effective, attractive and unique fan experience with limited resources and in the face of stiff competition…something which is truly unique for a fan, not cookie cutter…but still justifies both what the fan can spend and what the team, or even the partner brand, can justify as worth the investment.

Fantasy Is The Reality Of Good Brand Activation…

September 3, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The question often asked with social media these days is a simple one…how does it make money? With all the work being done to give fans more insight and access to athletes and properties, very few if any can prove that the efforts on their own can translate into hard sponsorship dollars. Increased visibility? Yes. Buzz factor? Absolutely. ROI for the spend. Still very questionable, especially for big brands and mainstream properties. It is good to see the NFL setting their social media policy this week, and it remains frustrating that colleges and other properties still fail to see social media as part of a bigger picture media strategy in many cases…just like sports radio was in its infancy…but the answer to how it all justifies time spent and dollars allocated remains a mystery that is slow to unravel.

The Twitter Distraction…

August 6, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The folks at Twitter should all be sending flowers and thank you’s to everyone at sports leagues and media companies today, as no one did more to grow the Twitter brand and create watercooler talk this side of Ashton Kutcher than the media yesterday. First it was the NFL teams and their great debate over where and how blogging and twitter postings can be done by players and the media…good piece by Bob Kravitz in USA Today on the issue…and then the day long debate over ESPN’s new policy (great summary by SBJ’s John Ourand) and the responses by Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports etc… What it comes down to is the same issue that has been debated in various forms for years…message control. If you are an NFL team you want to be able to have as much control over the message being given to the public as possible…if you are a brand or a media company you want to make sure that those on your payroll are being able to grow your brand by using the best means possible to the company. At the end of the day those are where the money is made for the brand and that’s where you want fans to go for credible information. The 24/7 world we live in today creates many more distractions than ever before, deciding what is a credible source with the right information is the challenge whether it is politics, civil defense, healthcare or sports and entertainment media. What is even more interesting with regard to social media is the Wired Magazine piece on the Marines banning social media platforms, showing that the space can effectively create confusion and the spread of misinformation in life and death situations. Now is the Twitter in sports debate any different from when the crisis for teams was sports radio, or college newspapers, or tabloids? No. In the end policies for credible coverage using these media will be set, and we will move on to the next issue. It remains more concerning that journalistic standards,,,and jobs…continue to disappear as media entities struggle to find profit centers that mix social media with the traditional. End of the day social media alone still does not generate a business…but it does create buzz and lots of distractions, both good and bad.

Media Guides Go The Way Of The Dinosaur…

July 30, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we see the printed word fade into the distance in favor of digital space, we now see another “staple” of the media business, the media guide for professional teams, heading in the same direction. John Lombardo in this week’s Sports Business Journal pointed out that the NBA has dropped the requirement for teams to print guides for the first time, instead deferring to the team’s discretion to use one on a memory stick instead. In addition to being a cost savings and green move by the league, the move to digital books gives the teams the ability to update information, and even insert business partners and promotions, into the books as the season goes on. The elimination of the printed books totally at this stage is probably a mistake, as there will be media, a dwindling few, who will come in to get information without the use of a laptop, and news rooms will still have to have hard copies available for non-game coverage, but an idea which seemed out of touch for the NBA as little as three years ago now seems more realistic, and can have not just a cost reduction, but an upside in profit and brand integration as well. The coverage by mainstream media actually is a plus in the effort to remove hard copies of media guides…as there is a major market familiarity with teams, staff and players through the course of the season. Ironically it is in college and the smaller markets where hard copies, perhaps not glossy full blown books, but information guides, still will have a need for media that are not readily familiar with the team. Still even in those markets and at the college level, the ease of upgrading and adapting to technology can give team communications staff s greater opportunity to be more cost efficient and creative by using the digital space.

Being The Big Tweet In A Small Pond: The Griz Break A Record…

July 22, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Earlier this year the Lakewood Blue Claws became one of the first teams to effectively use Twitter to move tickets and then unite their loyal Twitter followers with face to face meetings during a Twitter night. Now the Fresno Grizzlies, with a media partner (beehive..com), will not just do a little tweeting to build brand but also have “Fresno’s largest tweetup” at the end of the month for a July 30 game against Colorado Springs. The Grizzlies, who are one of baseball’s great innovators in fan activation and unique year-round events to keep fans engaged, will use the night to reward followers with instant twitter discounts, a special meeting area, twitter-only discounts and other text-related contests. Putting a “Fresno’s largest” bill to it and then bringing in a media partner is also a great move to expand their twitter base, build email lists and even engage more casual fans. There is one big irony in the whole announcement however, and it speaks perhaps more to the fact that minor league sports promotions, combined with social networking, has become more of a draw then the game itself…nowhere in the Griz announcement does it mention anything about baseball...not a player, not the opponent, not the Grizzlies standing in the Pacific Coast League…not a thing. Even with the omission, the Grizzlies tweetup event is great…great promotion, great way to show how to effectively use Twitter to drive brand awareness and ROI, great way to bring in a media partner and another great step up the innovation ladder for minor league ball promotion.

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