The Professionalism of The Business of Colleges…Latest Example

February 23, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

In the movie “The American President,” Andrew Sheppard (played by Michael Douglas) is approached by a chubby young man with a tartan vest and a bow tie at a state dinner trying to pester the President for a minute to lobby for college football.  Sheppard brushes him off since he has to go on to meet the Prime Minister of France in another part of the room, and the movie continues on.  The snippet of the “football lobbyist,” chubby, folksy, is what many people think of what college athletics is…but it is much more of what college athletics maybe was and is no longer.  It is now big business on every level, with great branding and marketing opportunities from small town Division III schools to the largest Universities and schools are now bringing in leaders in business to show the way to profitability.

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.

Charity Trailblazer? Bloom Forgoes Gold For A Wish of a Lifetime…

November 12, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The last year has seen more athletes embrace issues for social change and cause marketing as part of their platform than perhaps any other period. Is it because smart business minded athletes and the representatives see what is going on at the fan level with the economy and have more of a sense to give back? Maybe. Is it because there are causes that athletes have always felt compelled to embrace because of a personal connection and now have more vehicles to do so? Could be. Is it because brands and leagues have made a much bigger outward push to tie to social responsibility that hospitality and other areas for ROI? Also possible. In the end, it doesn’t really matter which is the cause…the effect is a positive impact directly on the lives of millions in a time where that impact needs to be felt most. The impressive thing about the public outreach by those of influence in sports is the breadth and depth of the programs, from cancer awareness to childhood obesity and single parenting issues.

However even with all the engagement, every once in a while a new imitative jumps forward. Case in point was Wednesday’s announcement that winter Olympian Jeremy Bloom was retiring. Bloom, who created a bit of a controversy during a two sport career when he petitioned the NCAA for football eligibility after being ruled ineligible because of monies received from skiing endorsements, announced that he would not look to qualify for the Vancouver Games at a point when he was skiing and training the hardest in his life. Instead he has chosen to devote more time to the philanthropic passion he has developed in Denver. Working with kids or education? Not exactly. The charity Bloom has developed and will implement is Wish of a Lifetime, a group which works with the elderly to improve the quality of their lives and grant wishes, Make a Wish Style, to seniors. It is a clear departure from the way many athletes have looked at philanthropy. Yes, many devote time and effort to causes that effect adults, especially with poverty or health-related issues. However few have embraced the passionate support of seniors, a group which is growing both in need and numbers as the American population matures at the fastest rate ever. Is it a version of “The Bucket List” as one person pointed out? Perhaps. However what it really is is the attempt by a world class athlete to identify with a cause that he or she sees as maybe not the trendiest but as the place or the niche where he can make the most difference since that area is underserved. In many ways it is not much different that the efforts someone like former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo started with Malaria awareness in Africa. At the time little was known or addressed amongst the population in the Western World about Malaria, but today, largely through Mutombo’s work, the issue of Malaria awareness is a very high priority.

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.

Six Months Into A “Crisis” Year and NASCAR Continues Its Strong Refinement…

July 1, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

If any sport could be hurt by the global economic problems it should be NASCAR. The essence of the “traveling circus” of a circuit, especially one built around the auto industry and legions of fans that have to travel to see their stars, makes survival problematic and growth questionable. Outside the US, racing in the form of Formula One has been devastated, with more bad news that good. Yet NASCAR, although taking a hit, has continued to build its brand, redefine itself and find ways to satisfy its core audience and find new, casual fans in these crazy times. How? By staying on message, looking for new avenues, listening to their fans and doing everything possible to keep their TV, digital and brand partners happy in these tough times. A look around this week sees the NASCAR story told point by point in USA Today , and in an indepth all access show on CNBC . Prior to that, away from the sports and business pages, the New York Times spent A Night Out with driver Jimmie Johnson recently in Manhattan, while SUNOCO re-launched their campaign for Free Fuel for NASCAR fans and loyal customers in early June. Are things all rosy? No. The discretionary dollar for many fans has dried up, which will hopefully lead them to TV or more digital coverage, but NASCAR has done a great job of showing all partners that they are remaining strong in these tough times and will do whatever it takes to reward all involved with their brand. Great mid-year push by a sport fueled by loyalty.

William and Mary Takes The Brand Choice To The People…

June 30, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Usually with expansion teams in sports, mascot or naming contests will be held to sample the local flavor and see what ideas can arise that brand marketers hadn’t thought of. Usually the name or logo still comes from a well positioned, well thought out plan intent on making sure that the merchandising rights, colors and traditions of the area are kept in tact. The choice, especially in this era of maximum return on the investment, is never random. So the College of William and Mary took a bold step, and one that certainly got them some solid publicity, in opening up the choice of their new mascot not just to local fans or alumni but to anyone interested in providing an idea. The school had to change mascots, but not nicknames, becuase their long-standing mascot was a misrepresentation of an Indian, which the NCAA ruled in appropriate for institutes of higher learning. The choices came from all over the country, and although the University President will make the final call, the Williamsburg, Va. school will get to unveil the final choices on ESPN Tuesday, again getting some great name recognition for one of the few Division I schools never to make it to the NCAA Tournament. In this digital age, most schools are still struggling to correctly embrace new media, so William and Mary’s choice is a great one, and could open the idea of other schools/minor league teams opening up “naming rights” for teams for a day, a year or for a permanent change at the right time. Smart, calculated investment, good payoff in exposure.

Baseball Plays A Doubleheader As A Social Unifying Brand

June 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Many times in North America, the sport of baseball sometimes gets overlooked for its ability to aggregate people, expose brands and tell stories. because the season is so long and the game is so ingrained we sometimes forget the amount of eyeballs and dollars spent on the game, even more now on a global scale. And with the attraction, from Little league through the Majors, comes the ability to marry brands in large numbers to very worthy and promotable causes. This weekend…Father’s Day…baseball takes on a doubleheader of well, timed, well presented and well thought out activation platforms…civil rights and prostate cancer awareness, and delivers on both. On the Civil Rights front, it is sometimes forgotten that baseball broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson, for all professional sports. So when the sport started having a Civil Rights Day and game a few years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, it got some attention but not huge attention. The move to take the entire event and move it to a Major League city, Cincinnati, and involve a full few days of talks and involvement from peoples of all sports and backgrounds, was a great one, and the coverage received for both the sport and for Civil Rights issued was tremendous. For a support to promote issues in season is one thing, to take an active stance and deliver positive messages on a national stage is another, and baseball should get pig points for taking the time and the effort to build this platform for all and to work with the brands who will activate against it. The second weekend cause is Prostate Cancer Awareness, and by using their national platform of games on the Father’s Day weekend…complete with blue bats for auction, sponsor and player activation campaigns in major media and at all games, the sport again hits a homer. Baseball announcer Ed Randall’s Bat For The Cure, is also a great example of how the pooling of resources can work for the bigger cause through the sport. For whatever reason, the prostate cancer campaign is not as well covered as the all-pink breast cancer awareness work done in April and October through the various pink programs, but the yeoman work baseball does to collectively present the issue to millions on a day which is more father-focused than others, remains a great example of pooling resources the right way for all. Now could the two be split on other weekends? Maybe. But despite the timing, both garner great coverage, sponsor activation, and messaging. Great job by all.

Will College Athletics Lead Or Follow? Depends On The Leader

June 17, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

A few weeks ago we touched upon the great opportunity that college athletic departments of all sizes have in these troubled financial times to learn, become more business-like and show true value as community leaders to the students and the institutions they represent. Still the troubles continue ahead, as instead of investing and learning the business of sports, more colleges are looking to cut around the edges and find ways to slow the process of media relations and athletic branding down, rather than taking steps to grow through investment, a practice which certainly is taught in the classrooms of any basic history or economics class. The blog “Eye On Sports Media” recently had a great piece on the NCAA ruling to basically ban media guides as both a cost savings and a way to eliminate the evils of recruiting violations, thus giving casual media covering colleges the risk of getting information only through a higher tech application, like a CD-rom. Now is it smart to cut back on wasteful printing? Absolutely, and printing should be a Title IX must for schools, it should be a necessity for sports that get adequate media coverage. The frills are also not needed in making media guides vanity projects either…they should be what they were created for…to service the media. But the reckless elimination of such guides will probably hurt coverage in the long run at the risk of saving a few short term bucks. Stupid. Now let’s take a look at the positive side, which is contained in the announcement of new University of Houston athletic director Mack Rhodes. Rhodes, going to the Cougars from the University of Akron, made a strong positive impression in his introductory presser, setting a tone not as a budget slasher but as a revenue generator, looking at the U of H as a part of the community that needs to embrace and be more business-like in the way it can grow and identify with the community around it. It not just sends the right message to the staff and partners in Houston, but it conveys a message as a leader for all of college athletics no matter what the size. You have a brand, invest and treat it like the commodity it is, go find the projects that can bring in a quality experience for new partners who can appreciate college athletes and show value, and your brand will grow. The smartest brands find cost-efficient ways to invest in the leanest of times, and colleges should be no different.

Sprinting Ahead For More Fan Access…

May 14, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It started with mic’ed up athletes and coaches, evolved to Helmet cam and driver cam and on and on until we get Tweets from Charlie Villanueva and others in the lockerroom all in the name of trying to give fans unprecedented access to the athlete in a time when the media are getting less and less access on a daily basis. So the ways brands have to look and think about what is still available and what is next remains a growing challenge for a demanding public, demanding brands and a shrinking traditional media field. The folks at Sprint, through their NASCAR Partnership, have come up with yet another piece of an insiders look, and found the perfect way to use their distribution methods to their subscribers to provide it. Sprint was given access to the non public driver/crew meetings before NASCAR races, and then gets that audio out to its subscribers via download. It is a simple, and very unique peek inside a sport that is all about accessability, and really gives an element of exclusivity to Sprint subscribers. Without a video component, the “fly on the wall” feel to the clear stream audio makes it feel even more inside and less contrived, and probably keeps those being recorded from being more guarded. Great access, great way to find another little “extra” by the NASCAR folks and one of their elite brands, and great example of a brand digging deep to find yet another element of access than is very intimate without being overly intrusive. Just please no NASCAR shower cam post race.

Spinning The Phelps Issue One More Time…

February 6, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The NBA, perhaps the most image-conscious of all the sports today, announced Friday that they have promoted Kathy Behrens to the great new title of EVP, Social Responsibility and Player Programs. It is greatly ironic that the new title comes the same week as most of the sports marketing world is discussing the “social responsibility” of Michael Phelps, the brands around him, those who sculpted his image and what lies ahead.. Thursday Christine Brennan in USA Today had a great piece on who is essentially guiding Michael Phelps with his social moves…and her answer was it appears like no one close to him is willing to publicly step up and say he was wrong. Michael Wilbon and Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post both jostled back and forth on the Phelps social responsibility side, with Wilbon coming down on the discipline side, while Jason Whitlock on Fox Sports.com had a great piece on the sports double standard, or lack thereof, with regard to Phelps in light of other athletes and people in the public eye. Some have asked where is his management company to take a stand, when they were so outfront when Phelps was signing deals after Beijing? So last night the third party who could take a public stand and is associated directly with Phelps, USA Swimming, came forth with their three month ban and clearly explained their position on why this is more a social issue than a marketing one. It was a good, safe public move for USA Swimming, considering Phelps won’t swim anyway until after the three months (akin to suspending a baseball pitcher for the three days between starts but still sending message to the general public). The other “public stance” was taken by Kellogg’s, who has already ended their USOC relationship and whose actual deal with Phelps was up at the end of this month. Again, the brand spun their stance correctly for themselves, telling the general public that they denounced the stars’ actions but never really disclosing whether or not they were going to renew their deal anyway. So who ultimately has the biggest social responsibility factor with all this? Michael Phelps himself, who appeared on TV last night and answered the questions again about his role, didn’t hide and will have to face the music himself with his own future actions. Now would his management company, Octagon, step up and take a stance? In a time when every dollar is important and the long term “cred” with athletes is probably more important than a short term slap on the wrist for a client, the answer is no way. Does that mean Octagon has not worked behind the scenes to find third parties and negotiate deals to minimize damage and get everything back in order? No it does not. So as the court of public spin plays out with Michael Phelps, what is next? Ironically as we said earlier in the week this may open him up for some additional deals with a little edgier side, and it plays already to a great comeback story for a guy who hasn’t lost anything athletically and may have his best days ahead of him in the pool if he chooses. We end up with wrist slaps, a show of solidariity by those brands like Visa who have invested heavily and a great big hold of the breath to make sure that Michael Phelps inhaling and exhaling stays in the pool and not around a bong going forward. Would some have liked to have seen others chastise Phelps publicly? Probably. But although it may make good moral sense, it certainly wouldn’t make good business sense to be so outfront. Once again it will be interesting to see the long term outplay after such a whirlwind short series of moves that got swimming more exposure in February than it has ever gotten before.

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