My friend and colleague David Schwab came up with a great example of product placement and a home run for both an endorser and an edosee on his stellar First Call blog recently. The story shows the true value of messaging clients, providing a compelling visual for a product and just plain old luck that a newsperson or emcee just happens to follow through on helping get the “plug” in.the Rosetta Stone translation metho.with endorser and Olympian Michael Phelps and his appearance on “The View” with Whoopi Goldberg.?Phelps found a way to work in the product at the right time, and it went so well as the two chatted that Goldberg gave the product not just an endorsement but encouraged the audience to purchase and use the product.?For a promotion that was questioned coming out of the box as to what the fit was, the Rosetta Stone/Phelps relationship seems to be one of the better angled and better pitched ones for an Olympian coming out of Beijing, and for an untraditional partnership it appears to have delivered some of the most tangible results to date.
Some other good reads…with Darren Rovell on his honeymoon, Brian Gainor is pinchhitting on CNBC and started off the week's worth of columns with a good one, telling the story of the Carnegie Sports Group and their sports philanthropy model…a good read for tough times…good Miami Herald piece on Brightstar Communications’ Marcelo Claure and his feelings on MLS bright future in Miami…Florida Sun Sentinel has a good piece on the Heat's new marketing plans, while si.com's Bryan Graham has a good look at the underappreciated Joe Calzaghe.
