End of the Day, Live Events Make Sports, Brands, King…

November 5, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

The debate has gone on for several years as to what the value of the live event is with regard to sports. In this age of instantaneous, multimedia applications with hundreds of applications, why do we need to watch anything live or be there in person for it? After all we can google, youtube or TiVo any event and watch it when we want to watch it, right? Yes that is true, and the options do present those challenges to event marketers, teams and brands.

Military Speaks Right To The Sports Core And Get Results…

October 15, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The ability of brands to show ROI is sometimes very tricky, as so many different aspects go into monitoring consumer trends and buying habits. Yes it is a very intricate science and buying habits can be tracked, but the actual last second decision as to whether to choose product A or product B that can be driven by just one ad, or one activation program or even one key spend is still very hard to justify. Unless you are the military in the United States. There are very few brands that spend more on activation in sport outside of the United States Armed Forces, with the goal being both public awareness…hearts and minds…and recruitment. From boxing to college football, NASCAR to the NFL, the call to action and awareness for the military is pervasive and very detailed. Its messaging is clear and its goal is simple. So when it was announced this week the every branch of the military exceeded their recruitment goals for the year for the first time in decades, it should come as no surprise that there was a strong tie to their detailed marketing plan on how to reach that core young audience…advertising and activation around sports. Did the unemployment rate and the economy have something to do with it? Of course. But there is no doubt that the military knows its market, was able to concentrate their messaging to that market, and was able to show a direct ROI on their spend. A success all around. Now what will be the result of this sports branding success? In all likelihood budgets will be cut, as there is less of a need over a cycle to keep hitting those high numbers of recruits, since the military cycle for a new recruit is more than one year and the churn from year to year with today’s active military is lower than in peace time. Now that is obviously not good for properties who welcomed those spending dollars, but it does speak well to the premise that if you know your want to reach a young acticve crowd and spend efficiently, there are few activation platforms better than sports. If you want to know for sure, just ask the men and women in uniform.

Sharing Content…Why It Works, Why It May Not…

August 26, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Recently there has been more and more talk amongst media outlets of sharing content, especially for sports. Media Post laid out an extensive plan with many of the top newspapers looking to share editorial over the next few months , which will certainly give outlets that have already cut back on travel the advantage of having some fresh, albeit less local, content. It fills pages, and probably exposes some writers and columnists to a larger audience than before, and may actually create some double duty for beat writers who may have to file one story for the local team and one with additional quotes for the road team. From the aspect of saving additional jobs and keeping content fresh for those papers, it works. Where it doesn’t work will again be in the loss of point of view or quality writing, or additional access for writers who may get to know an athlete, a coach or a team just that much more when he or she is with those athletes every day. Although in this time many professional teams have a skeleton crew traveling with them for long trips anyway it may not make that much of a difference, but for times when there is extra access needed…or blog notes or a breaking story…the lack of a road presence may not play well with a shared content idea. Still it is a calculated risk papers will take. However into that void comes opportunity. Locally, any number of sites are popping up to fill the gap in local coverage. In the Hudson Valley Region of New York, writer Rich Thomaselli has launched the Hudson Valley Sports Report to give more coverage to local sports now not being covered by newspapers that had cut back. Enterprising publicists will also be able to track which stories and which writers are getting more play on a regional level, and can increase the breath and scope of their clients’ coverage by pitching a columnist who can potentially have a piece syndicated to many markets as opposed to just one. The gap will also create opportunities for enterprising bloggers who get access to expand their following as well. Now will any of this make money or drive traffic? Unknown. It will cut costs and use economies of scale for newspapers who continue to go through lean times as they adapt to a new business model, but whether the shared sites, or even these low cost alternatives can become a profit center remains to be seen. The fact is that media coverge of the past is fading into memory and the current day coverage remains in flux in an economy that remains sketchy. Figuring out which media outlets will grow, and then merchandising that coverage, will be the biggest challenge.

New Ownership Looks To Keep The Fins Fizzing…

June 29, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Because the NFL is so much the American spectacle and a weekly destination watch for much of American, we often forget that several franchises still need to work in case of those rainy days to build brand value year-round, keep fans and business partners interested and engaged, and find new ways to generate revenue despite lofty ticket prices, PSL’s and TV money. For every sold out stadium there are a few still figuring ways to make sure market value grows. Perhaps the best example of that this offseason is the Miami Dolphins, under new owner Steve Ross. The fins have seemingly made a move every week, whether it is in fan access programs, new seating plans, altered colors, different naming rights deals and most recently, celebrity owners. Even with a much improved playoff team last year, the Dolphins ownership change, not to mention the sluggish South Florida economy, kept the teams brand building in flux, and with his hefty investment to buy, Ross and his management team have looked to every possible avenue, assuming nothing and taking no one for granted, to make sure that the Dolphins brand value ascends not just in South Florida, but in a national buzz and relevance quotient that is reflects in increased merch and ticket sales and a grander place in the NFL hierarchy. All the offseason buzz generation is a very smart move for the first year owner, and they have played to every segment of a potential audience to grow marketshare. While some may say, “Its the NFL, what do they need to sell themselves for?” the answer is simple….as an owner trying to invoke change you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and in this economy taking anything for granted, especially in a market where discretionary dollars can go elsewhere, could be a very fatal flaw, even for the most solid of brands, sports or not.

Fins To The Left, Fins To The Right…Dolphins Hit It With Short Deal…

May 15, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Steve Ross is a billionaire or has made the Related Companies into one of the most successful commercial real estate companies in the world. He has purchased the Miami Dolphins, has shown savvy to find a way to keep Bill Parcells around, has let the team continue to grow after a surprising playoff season a year ago, and has a host of minority partners who he will tap into, including the legendary Jimmy Buffett. So this week the team announced a short-term deal to rename Dolphins Stadium after A-B’s Land Shark Beer, a Buffet brand. Eventhough, as Terry Lefton pointed out in the Sports Business Daily this week, the NFL will have the team remove the name for the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, the short term benefit to the small brand plus the good will and fun that will be built up through the summer of Marlins baseball and into the fall with the Dolphins will get the team and the area some much needed traction, spin and maybe a little bit of controversy in a down economy. This is not rent a stadium for the day, as some minor league teams have done. This is a smart, calculated move by some very savvy branding folks who probably have a bigger picture play involving the Buffett brand in mind, not to mention a great test market for Anheuser Busch. Will it “devalue” future naming rights deals? In this economy few are actually happening and none at premiums, and today when brands are looking to extract every ounce of added value into any deal, this one may be a bit cash poor but brand profitable. The biggest challenge will be to match branding and goodwill and fun for the new naming rights deal if Land Shark does go away. The images of The Coral Reefer Band may resonate deeper than a bank or other institution who may be willing to pony up after the season. Could it have been done earlier to give the Marlins more chance to adjust? Maybe. But there would have never been an optimal time and if played right, everyone will know where the action is for both teams. Fun, smart branding move for the Fins.

The Price of Branding In College Athletics…

October 20, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

With the downturn in the economy comes the anticipated downturn in philanthropic giving, but along with that downturn will come more pressure from administrators at the collegiate level to show an ROI just as any sponsor or business partner on the professional side would see with an investment.  The days of big checks without analyized return, as well as the days of the “impulse donation” may be long gone.  With that. many large schools have looked to ways to enhance the corporate branding and media return, with consulting groups like IMG now assisting Universities to build out their most effective portfolio around athletic events.   Into that fray comes colleges whose success in athletics has been less than stellar, or who may have limited but not consistent success, especially in the high cost world of BCS football.  This weekend the New York Times took a very detailed look at the situation at Rutgers, where recent success has led to a very quick and much needed boom in infrastructire development.   Unfortunately the very public spend on football coincided with a sup-par season, a down economy and cutbacks in academic spending which, although not tied directly to the athletic spend, can still be correlated. So the question becomes at what price successful athletics?  Billionaire T. Boone Pickens investment in Oklahoma State athletics earlier this year was met with skepticism and support, but that was private funding in a public university and certainly was his choice. Iowa State’s acceptance of a $5 million dollar gift from supporter Dick Jacobson earlier this year (which would go towards a stadium upgrade) was similar…private money raised and cultivated through athletics, eventhough both were public universities with big budgets.  So will Universities of all levels now turn to consulting groups to have them identify who they really are in their market, and build out that market strategy as would any other major brand?  Will Universities now cash strapped in athletics step backward and re-evaluate the cost-benefit of major athletics?  It remains to be seen.  The guess is that only the major universities will go the consulting route while the mid-majors struggle to find ways to do things with young and releatively underpaid staffs, which ironically is probably the opposite of what most business schools at the same universities would tell brands.  If colleges can find ways to make the athletic experience just that, “experiential” to the average fan at the mid-major level, then the door to consulting groups and entrepreneurs will open wider.  However that door in this economy, will be very tough to push for the near future, especially when it is contingent not as much on education as it is on winning.