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.

Global Brands Continuing To Look Toward American Sports Leadership…

July 15, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The announcement in this week’s Sports Business Journal that Tom Fox will join Arsenal to run their startegic marketing is the latest in a series of moves by elite clubs and sports around the world to try and not only capture ways to engage their own fans, but to try and begin carving niches to make their brands interesting and meaningful to fans in North America, whether those fans are expats now living in the States, new fans or sport like cricket and rugby, and more importantly, brands that may be looking to activate more on a global level. As the digital world blurs traditional boundries and is able to unite fans of a sport or a sports brand more and more in real time, sports like Indian cricket have looked to the west to adapt their game to a more global and less traditional audience. Even rugby has looked to changes, using Rugby 7’s as opposed to the full sided game to get into the Olympics and draw fans who are more interested in a fast-paced game. Now does this mean that we will be seeing Thundersticks and cheerleaders in the Premier League? No. It means that there are many smart brands who realize there are global opportunities to expand and draw more fans, bodies and brands to them and that the economy today has created a need to bring in savvy folks to show clubs and sports how to be successful and use their connections to build brand like they have with American sport. We have seen traditional American brands like the NBA and MLB continue to make strides in establishing their global footprint for several years, so it now makes sense that the established hierarchy of sport outside the States now also take advantage of that know-how by bringing those who have been successful building brands with fans into their offices to show them how they too can be more cost-effective and forward-looking.

Cinco De Mayo…Lucha Libre A New Branding Opportunity On The Edge Of Sports

May 6, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It is definately more entertainment than sports, but it has athleticism and now all the flash and dash of entertainment so as Cinco de Mayo ends we decided to take a look at the Mexican wrestling niche phenomenon Lucha Libre, and its crossover into burlesque and entertainment in LA, Lucha Libre Vavavoom. NPR highlighted the new entertainment property on Tuesday morning, and pointed to its crossover from the Anglo to Hispanic audiences, its fun entertainment appeal, the showmanship and the athleticism of the performers and many of the brands that are looking to crossover, from mainstream American brands like Miller to traditional Mexican brands to grab that audience. Again, as brand marketers look to embrace the growing Hispanic demo it may not be that much of a stretch, but it also may be a good example of finding ways to access both audiences with fun and a bit of athleticism and showmanship, and learn what the elements are that have made the property work, even as a niche. Not a traditional sports play, but one that has lots of efficient and interesting elements for the right brands.

March Madness of A Different Kind: Baseball Maximizes WBC Opportunities…

March 8, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Any sports fan in North America looks excitedly to the NCAA Tournament in March, as there are few, if any, annual events which gives us more of a true sense of endless possibilities that can occur than March Madness. Partners, even in a slow economy, looking to capture that key demo will line up for collegiate activation programs and work through CBS to get their brands exposed to the mass audience, even if they “underdog” lasts only the 48 hours from first to second round. But we all love our brackets. In light of that, Major League Baseball, and now baseball on a more global scale, has sought to create its own version of March Madness with the World Baseball Classic. Now as cynical sports fans and media, it is very easy to shoot holes in the WBC…not all the stars, is it meaningful etc etc…however as John Rowe wrote in Sunday’s Bergen Record, the Classic is becoming a celebration of global baseball, with some powerful dollars and now even more regional branding and activation than in the first go-round. Terry Lefton in the Sports Business Journal summed up all the regional activity, which gives brands who like the baseball mix…consistent gameday experiences, a worldwide base of over 30 million fans, access to the Latin and Asian markets plus a strong North American presence…a headstart and even more ROI on their local, regional and national buys. Now is baseball effected by the economy? Of course. But the WBC as a global platform every four years presents itself as a unique brand opportunity, and even in its first few days with some major upsets, has provided lots to build on from both the practical and the emotional side with brands. Another version of March Madness, and a good compliment to hoops.

Ironmen Make An Extreme Effort In A Tough Environment…

March 5, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Newark isn’t nicknamed “Brick City” because of its soft and cuddly reputation. However it is hard by one of the most fertile areas for youth and high school soccer in North America, and its Prudential Center is one of the Northeast’s best kept secrets in terms of arenas. So into the fold comes the New Jersey Ironment, who with a limited budget made a go of it for the last year of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The team never went to the extreme to capture buzz in the marketplace, and there were not many who thought that when the MISL disbanded that indoor soccer was dead. However two groups emerged and one the Xtreme Soccer League, pulled together some decent markets, including New Jersey, to make a go of it. The problem of course is confusion in a limited niche marketplace, and with precious few dates for the season, the Ironmen have struggled at the gate and to build mainstream brand in the crowded marketplace. However they are trying to do all the right things to identify with the core and casual soccer fan in the area, and if they can build any financial and strategic marketing base, the team may be able to compliment in the winter what the Red Bulls and MLS may be able to do in the outdoor season. Big Apple Soccer had a look at the Ironmen and their community outreach , which along with tieing to former Cosmos legends, theme nights, a growing offseason camp business, and an affordable ticket price all give the team hope to build brand. Using this minor league success approach, along with some nice digital work to give fans a destination in lieu of any television exposure this season, is all a good first step. Next comes the hard part…establishing stars, finding excitement amongst mainstream media and getting on TV and radio somewhere, which is really the only way to get partners ROI they will need for a marketing spend. However in the NY marketplace, the Ironmen are trying on a very limited budget, and in a time when niche sports are quickly falling by the wayside, they may be able to find some ways to stay alive, grow their base at the grassroots, and be an affordable alternative the way minor league baseball is in the summer.

Taking The Mountain To Mohammad: Ravens Host Business Summitt In New York…

November 16, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Most pro sports teams will take advantage of the road trip to host fans and business partners from their region with the team as a reward for customer or brand loyalty, and to give those involved with the team the much-wanted “insiders” perspective.  That access is becoming more and more valuable as brands look at their sponsorships.  However this week, as Terry Lefton reported in the Sports Business Daily, the Baltimore Ravens made a very smart play to go the experience one better…they hosted a Friday media summitt for New York media buyers and potential partners as part of their advance trip for their game with the Giants.  The move is even better for a smaller market team like Baltimore, especially with the Redskins media machine right in their backyard.  It gave them a well-produced presence in the biggest media market to tell their story and give those who may not know enough about the brand the chance to learn from those on the inside about the team partnership opportunties and personalities that make up the Ravens.  Now instead of buyers looking just nationally or to the low hanging fruit of the Giants or the jets, the Ravens may present a very smart opportunity that the buyers may not have know about before.  Very aggressive, well thought out and tactical branding plan by the team, taking great advantage of their one shot in New York during the fall. 

Handling A Difficult Situation Well: Bob Costas

September 17, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

One of the smaller and seemingly missed controversies in Beijing was NBC’s handling of openly gay diver Matthew Mitcham of Australia, whose gold medal in platform diving prevent a sweep of the event by the host country.  It is either a sign of more accepting times, a sign that the Olympics is more accepting as a world platform than American team sports are of such issues, a great credit to NBC for deflecting a non-issue or all of the above.  Our vote is for all of the above.  The story went largely unreported by the mainstream press and never touched off any firestorms by groups when it wasn’t singled out (nor was it significant or even possibly newsworthy) but NBC’s Bob Costas went all out to diffuse the story by doing an extensive interview with the website AfterElton.com   to discuss his thoughts on the issue, why it was omitted and what he felt was the role of the broadcaster in such situations.  It is a great example of Costas and NBC taking on a potentially inflamatory issue head on and answering questions, even to a website which may have a bias, head on and honestly and effectively putting a potential issue effectively to bed by not hiding.  Great job by the thoughtful announcer and by NBC.