PR Move of the Day: It used to be all about convergence, as properties looked to combine common assets for cross promotion across entertainment and sports properties. Disney's acquisition of the LA Ducks and Angels and the formation of YankeeNets to run the Yanks, Nets and Devils were seen as the way economies of scal. could mel. properties into one efficient merged unit.ports Business Daily, comes word from Chicago of a new kind of convergence between teams not co-owned but teams that have used savvy marketing and PR platforms to grow their businesses even in lean years. The Chicago Blackhawks and White Sox announced a platform today to cross market assets to grow awareness. It is a role that makes great sense and unfortunately is not done enough amongst teams that even have singular ownership. Now are the fan bases simila.? Maybe. Do the Blackhawks, who have emerged swinging under the leadership of John McDonough, have more to benefit than the Sox…maybe. But combining assets can possibly lead to better community involvement year round and potentially joint sales and ticketing partnerships in a market where the Cubs and Bulls are top dog is a very smart idea. both minor and major league baseball teams continue for new and innovative ways to entice fans, enhance the fan experience and give a great ROI to business partners, we wanted to take a look at some of the more unique promotions for 2008. Courtesy of mlb.com, the list on the Major League side includes the Cleveland Indians Free Money Night, the Florida Marlins Air Freshner and Air Guitar Night (although Manatee Night can’t be far off), and the Milwaukee Brewers Polish Sausage Racing Night. On the Minor League side (care of Ben's Minor League Business Blog), there are a host of new ideas, but the best ones to start the season comes from the Wilmington Blue Rocks, who opened the season with Star Trek Night, complete with Mister Spock ears to all in attendance, while the Altoona Curve opened with “Kitchen Sink” weekend, offering free kitchen appliances and an appearance by former Chicago Bears great William “The Refrigerator” Perry. We will look at more of the innovations as the season rolls along.
Some other good reads…the Newark Star Ledger's Steve Politi had a great column recently on Billy Werber, the oldest living Major Leaguer at 99…Business Week's Doug Robson has a piece on the amount of Middle Eastern money now being invested in sports, while on the same lines, the New York Post had a note on the Nets Brett Yormark heading abroad to attract non-American companies into more sports sponsorship, like the Nets have already done with Barclays Bank. The ability for the strong foreign dollar to become more influential in American sports is an industry on the rise, and these are two of the latest examples worth watching.
