As MLB works through the messaging of Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada, there were a number of solid examples of brands and their staffs finding great opportunities for spin, especially on the human interest side. From NASCAR, which gets going with Daytona this weekend, to hoops and tennis, finding the story and then executing through the media really came through with these efforts, let's take a look.
1- The Great Local Success Story: Let's give some credit to NASCAR, where the Birmingham News this week told the tale of 15 year old Darrell Wallace Jr. signing with Joe Gibbs racing. Nice local placement of an athlete (the kid is a Mobile native) that seeds the future as NASCAR looks for new faces, all wrapped up in the appropriate place on one of racing's most anticipated weeks.
2- Valentine's Day With Anna: Tennis is the game of love, so those at the Champions Cup rolled the dice and brought in Anna Kournikova for a special February 14 Exo. during their regular Boston stop. The promotion got the senir tour a little extra ink, an added extra face, a little more buzz and will sell some additional seats for a sport which normally doesn’t do that well selling tickets for indorr events. Nice play by the promoters and good pitch with the date.
3- The Lovable Loser: We have often documented how the Harlem Globetrotters take the “road show” to new levels with promotion and will again this weekend as part of the NBA All-Star festivities in Phoenix, but the story of the leader on the other side, Washington Generals coach Red Klotz, featured in the New York Times, is a classic pitch of the story behind the story, made even better but the access granted to the writer. Great way to frame a story away from the point of attraction, and give the casual fan more reason to purchase.
4- Babe Lincoln: One of the keys in turning up the story is to listen to all those around and have them tell their stories. Sometimes the gems that surface are even better than the original idea. Take the New Jersey Nets, who were able to uncover the fact that one of their dancers is a distant relative of Abe Lincoln. While some may say it's luck that New Jersey uncovered the fact, which not only ties with President's Day and Honest Abe's Bicentennial, but got New Jersey great coverage on days when they aren’t even playing, but it is good old fashioned pitching that landed the story and is a great example of what happens when you ask unique questions to staff. Rest assured there are other distant relatives of the famous working for teams and brands, but the Nets took the time to think ahead and then go searching, and uncovered a great item to grow the brand, again.
In every example someone was looking to find that little extra to grow brand exposure, and took the time to craft and then place the story. From Valentine's Day to Lincoln's Birthday and beyond, each helped get a little more ink, buzz, and casual sports fan notice for the brand. Nice job by all.
Some other good reads…Partnership Activation had a good piece on the Suns “Tweet Up” activation in arena, piggybacking off Shaquille O’Neal's twitter success…Art Spander has a great piece on PGA Comish Tim Finchem…and Roy Johnson has his thoughts on what's next for Alex Rodriguez on his blog.
