PR Move of the Day:Many sports, teams, leagues and brands have gone in search of the “ultimate fan” in the last few years. Many times the contests are sponsor driven, with brands looking for ways to connect and activate with the core enthusiast and identify some unique stories that are promotable. Usually the payoff for fans to enter and be involved involves high end tickets, TV exposure and in thi.realty-driven environment sometimes a TV show of their own, as the YES Network did two seasons in a row with the winners of the Yankees Ultimate Road Trip (which was discontinued after last season). Some other recent “fan bests” include Canadian brand Henkel's Ultimate Sports Fan contest (paying cash and travel), the Charlotte Bobcats’ Kia Motors’ Ultimate fan contestgambling site Bodog, which has run a contest the last few years with its gamblers and a payoff of a Super Bowl trip.However the challenge with all these is to find the true fans as opposed to the thrill seekers, and then find ways to merchandise them through the media.A great example of that “true fan” experience was in Sunday's New York Times, with Vinny Mallozzi's piece on AVP Crocs Tour super fan Ray D’Errico, and his story of devotion to beach volleyball and the stars of the game. Malozzi's weekend column often highlights such super fans outside of the usual commerical ploys that go with such searches, and the AVP did a great job of telling the story between their New York area events (Belmar and Coney Island) to deliver a great slice of life and a great fan story, sans commercial push that can also be merchandised with TV and in other markets. Well served.
Some other good reads…for those looking into the finance area of sports, a must rea.is the profile of Medallion Group's “blank check” venture that raised $216 million dollars to go and identify and then purchase a sports property…they are still looking, and have som.high visibility folks involved…Newsday's Neil Best has a great piece today on FOX sports anchor Duke Castiglione and his dad, Red Sox announcer Joe…AP has a good piece that explains all of NBC's digital efforts…and a good mix up from the links comes via CBS News, with a story on a party mixup that had strippers venturing out on to a golf course at the wrong party, and running into a local kids golf instruction…a but of mixed messages there as well.
