The Open Scores Again…

August 25, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

It remains the only major sporting event that brands can point to every year, at the same time, in the same location in New York. And when it starts the main draw next Monday (free qualifying goes on this week for those who can’t afford or locate a ticket) the US Open will again begin the brand activation bonanza that takes place in and around New York every year as summer moves towards fall.

Getting Past Tiger…Finding Athletes Who Get It…

December 7, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Tiger’s infidelity…Serena Williams nails a record fine for threatening to nail a US Open lineswoman…the Florida Panthers’ Keith Ballard takes out his teammate, goalie Tomas Vokoun, with a tomahawk chop to the head…so this is what we watch and who we want our athletes to be?

Open Season Begins Even As The Olympics Roll On…

August 21, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Although the distraction and attention is still largely on the Olympics, the US Open, which begins Monday and remains the world’s largest sporting event, still has found ways to grow brand, pitch high level placements with partners and continue to build more buzz in new areas that the event did not touch on in previous years.  Examples from today of the groundswell taking place for Open recognition include Marketing Daily’s piece detailing partner American Express’ ad campaign, as well as an extensive must-read series of piece in New York Magazine on how the USTA is cultivating new levels of stars, which will grow the sport of tennis in the US.  The USTA got out in front with a series of announcements about the event and its partnerships well in advance of the Olympic window, which actally grew attention for the event well in advance of when it is normally top of mind, captured some Olympic attention with the play of Venus and Serena Williams and a big James Blake upset, and will now be able to grab a steady flow of positive sports and entertainment news as it pushes the international coverage for its two week run.  Although there may not be the huge amount of sponsor pieces the week before becuase of the Olympic focus, the media coverage should be more than made up for during the event, as there are no better sports event marketers than those who run the USTA.

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.