When summer rolls around I usually take a brief reprieve from adding any posts to the post but the Beijing Games are nearly upon us and I thought I’d be remiss not to add some quick commentary.  Traditionally, this blog has been dedicated to educators around the country.  Now that we’ve developed an avid readership from a myriad of professional backgrounds, I suppose we should step up our efforts to contribute more regularly…

So, without further delay, here are a few items in the news as it relates to the Olympic Games that have caught my attention over the past few weeks.

Sponsorship

Top sponsors Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa are leading total media coverage with ad campaigns focused on goodwill for the Olympic Games. All three, which cumulatively garnered 59 percent of traditional media mentions and 67 percent of social media mentions during the period of July 15-28, have introduced ads centered on themes of global unity, working together and achieving dreams (from Dow Jones Insight).

In the staggering figures department, the Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung Electronics Co. is spending more than $100 million on its sponsorship of the Beijing Olympics.  Let me repeat that.  One hundred million dollars!  Doesn’t that conjure up images of that classic line from Austin Powers?  It should be noted that, as the WSJ suggests, the Olympic sponsorship has greatly enhanced Samsung’s presence in Asian markets, particularly in China where the company is headquartered. Read the rest of this entry »

I received an email from Dan Migala (a highly respected sports business author, practitioner and educator) letting me know the highly anticipated book Dugout Wisdom: Life Lessons From Baseball is now available for purchase through amazon.com.  You don’t have to be a baseball lover to enjoy the book; the underlying theme connects life lessons through the concept of sport.  The book is sure to be a GREAT summer read and will make an excellent collection to your library of resources at school. 

Here is a quick summary of the book:  Dugout Wisdom: Life Lessons From Baseball and the secrets it contains are sure to make your work and life more successful! Most of us will never know what it feels like to face a big-league curveball or hear the roar of the crowd while circling the bases, but the lessons taught in this book will give you a newfound understanding of the passion, courage and determination it takes to be successful in every aspect of your life. Imagine sitting down with some of the greats of the game as they open up about success off and on the field.

The book is available at www.dugoutwisdom.com/amazon.  Pick up your copy today!

Here’s a great book idea for all the teachers out there for next Fall (is it too early to be thinking about next year already?).  A great new industry book on PR entitled “Sports Publicity” was written by a highly respected industry exec (Joe Favorito) and was published last August by Reed Elsevier. 

I have shared a number of conversations and email exchanges with Joe and think his book would be a tremendous addition to your class library.  Joe has over 22 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business!

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So this week’s post has a little different, well, flavor than our typical post.  A story I heard on ESPN Radio driving to work a few days ago on Colin Cowherd’s radio show caught my attention.  Apparently, there are a number of Major League Baseball stadiums around the country that aren’t exactly up to par with health codes.  The story, published in Conde Naste magazine, leads with the following sub-title:  “In some stadiums, the rats and flies have pretty good seats”…probably not what baseball’s ticket buying consumers were hoping to hear.  

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It’s early May and the season is already in full swing.  Not baseball, mind you, but marketing.  Well, maybe a little of both.  The season for marketing baseball is in full swing.  As such, it is never too early to look back at a few of the season’s wildest and wackiest promotions. 

Last delivered a number of real gems, including the likes of Back Hair night, Britney Spears Shaved Head night, Salute to Indoor Plumbing night, “Price is Right” Night featuring Bob “Parker” Bobblehead, World’s Largest Tighty-Whitey Race and Ugly Sweater Night to name a few.

I’m always amazed by the creative (and often odd) promotion ideas that are hatched in minor league front offices each year.  Minor league baseball franchises most often seem to be the group that won’t hesitate to push the envelope.  There are already a few promotions worth highlighting from this year’s crop.

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Readers of this blog probably know I often listen to Colin Cowherd’s show on ESPN radio during my a.m. commute.  Earlier this week I was tuned in when he reeled off some pretty intriguing numbers, courtesy of a survey the fine folks at ESPN take each year to gauge levels of “fandom” in an attempt to capture some valuable consumer information.  In the sports and entertainment business world, we call this market research.

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I realize this post is a little overdue, but while Semi-Pro is dying a slow death at the cinema, Jackie Moon is still pitching Old Spice and Bud Light every hour on ESPN.  I have had this post on my “to do” list for over a month and figured now might be the time to dust it off and get it online.  Somehow seeing Ferrell in those ridiculous shorts in an Old Spice commercial last night while watching Sports Center provided the inspiration to wrap this up.  So, here goes nothing…

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Okay, okay.  I admit it.  I am an absolute sucker for statistics and numbers.  But, as they say in American business, knowledge is power…and power is money.  If those worn out cliches are tried AND true, the NCAA is likely rolling in the dough right about now. 

I have spent the last two weeks or so absorbing every possible commentary relating to the business of March Madness.  There have been numerous reports estimating the number of viewers watching the tourney, the cost to American businesses and economic impact in various markets.  I’ve seen numbers identifying the amount of time consumers devote to following the tourney and more numbers illustrating the amount of money advertisers are willing to spend to reach those consumers.

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As a lifelong Packer fan growing up in the great state of Wisconsin, I’d be remiss to avoid commentary on today’s news regarding Brett Favre’s retirement. Yet, because this is a BUSINESS blog, it would be pointless to ramble on about Favre’s many great accomplishments. You know, like holding the NFL records for most consecutive starts (253…275 including postseason), most wins for a QB, most TD passes, most completions, most yards…Favre pretty much owns the NFL’s passing record book. Oh, and let’s not forget that Favre is the leagues ONLY three time winner of the league MVP award. Only Johnny Unitas had more Pro Bowl appearances (Favre is tied with other football legends like Marino, Elway and Tarkenton). And don’t forget about the prowess he displayed on the big screen in There’s Something About Mary. Favre is truly one of America’s true sports icons.

What does that have to do with business you ask? Well, it has everything to do with business…the business of product endorsements.

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All-Star games.  What are they?  What do they mean?  Do fans care about these events that pit the best of the best in each respective sport against one another?  By taking a closer look at the marketing and hype that surrounds the events, I think one could draw the conclusion that fans do indeed care.  The ratings, although in some cases quite modest, would support that notion:  Major League Baseball’s 2007 All-Star Game drew a 16.1 rating, the NFL’s Pro-Bowl a 10.7 and the NBA All-Star a 4.5.  Broadcastingcable.com reported that “TNT’s All-Star Saturday — featuring the Orlando Magic’s Howard strapping on a Superman cape en route to winning the Slam Dunk Contest — was the most-watched Saturday night in the event’s 23-year history and saw double-digit-growth (13%) in the 18-49 demo.  For the three days of coverage (Friday-Sunday), TNT said it averaged 3.27 million homes according to Nielsen Media Research fast nationals. The network added that 3.2 million people went online for extra coverage via Turner’s TNT NBA Overtime broadband channel.”

Some all-star games have morphed into events that have earned their own moniker over time.  For example, many refer to Major League Baseball’s all-star game as the “midsummer classic.”  Typically all-star games follow a similar format.  The game most often takes place in the middle of each league’s respective season.  Fans will vote for their favorite players from each respective conference.  Top vote-getters usually earn the right to participate in the game as starters.  The remaining players are often voted in by league executives, rewarding those players who have competed at a high level throughout the season but were not recognized by fans.  So where does the marketing come into play?

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