PR Move of the Day:credi.to UPS for seizing the opportunity to both activate and grow their brand in so many ways through their sponsorship with Big Brown, especially in this two week period leading up to the Belmont Stakes. Obviously the move right at Derby time made great sense for the brand and seemed to be a natural fit (although many times those “natural” fits fall by the wayside when the partner does not activate properly), an.perhaps it was out of the norm for UPS’ sports activation (in many ways it is similar to the Postal Service's timely sponsorship of Lance Armstrong…big money spent on a sports property outside of the normal sports genre that paid dividends for a very traditional and conservative brand). UPS is capitalizing in many ways…by granting unique access to loyal workers, and this week by giving $10,000 to a fund for horses in the name of Eight Belles.No way. Did it get UPS some solid points and gratitude in the horseracing communit.? Probably. Did it get the brand some great publicity in a time when maybe the focus would be on horse and not sponso.? Absolutely. Smart move, right messaging for the brand, relatively small amount of dollars that had direct return on the investment. Perfect activation, with more to come by one of America's most underrated activation brands.
On to some other good topics and reads…we linked earlier this week to the great New York Times piece on how soccer helped the NBA…now here is the role in reverse…the German national soccer team, in a piece on Yahoo, using hoops to improve their skills...interesting mix and definately another synergy between the world's two mos. popular sports, with maybe a brand looking to jump in…on to the NBA, where the Dallas Morning News had a solid feature this past week on the Mavs new coach Rick Carlisle, including some insight into his music interests which will soften his hard line exterior and probably make him that much more interesting in a market where they love to knbow about their coaches and athletes…great job by the Mavs to get the access and the insight…NASCAR continues their stromng mainstream and business PR push this week, having CNBC personality Jim Cramer do both live and taped shows from Lowe's Motor Speedway…in this day of the expensive remote, there REALLY needs to be reasons for shows to venture outside of their cost efficient studio…getting the CNBC crew to Charlotte speaks loudly to the PR dedication of the sport, as well as the savvy marketing and branding access that NASCAR has provided to CNBC over the years…. another good “insider” piece was the cover story of Wednesday's USA Today, looking at the unique relationship of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching staff, and how their unique personalities have knit together to get them to the early season success they are having…again great access leads to a solid piece….lastly, we have seen first hand the passion and success that eastern collegiate baseball can have on the national scale, but for a number of reasons the sport is usually shortchanged by the media and the personalities underpromoted by the schools…two recent pieces showed how success and good personalities can get mainstream coverage…the first was the New York Times piece on Columbia's Ivy League championship team, and the second was in today's Newark Star Ledger on Division III powerhouse Kean College and their quest for a D III World Series title…both go beyond the scores and tell the quirks of the athletes, the coaches and the players to a mainstream audience…well done by both.?
