The 5th annual Sports Business Journal reader survey was published in a recent issue of the publication.  The results were recorded from a pool over over 2,300 participants (comprised primarily of sports business executives).  As always, the study was intriguing and produced some interesting results, ultimately providing some great potential for sparking a lively classroom discussion.  Today’s post will feature a brief recap of some of the results, along with some ideas for introducing some of the material in class.

A SAMPLING OF SURVEY RESULTS

* 37% of readers felt the economy’s impact on corporate spending on sports was the biggest sports…

In the days (sometimes hours) immediately following the Super Bowl, a host of experts from throughout business and marketing world will attempt to assess the effectiveness of commercials aired during the telecast of the big game.  After all, that’s a large part of the fun and hype that surrounds the Super Bowl.  If you think about it, that buzz generated after the game is one of the factors that helped drive the price for a thirty second commercial upwards of $3 million for Super Bowl XLIII.  This year, we decided to jump into the fray and partake in the evaluation process and opted…

It is that time of year again…Super Bowl season!  For educators who teach business and marketing, this is a time of year where you can have a lot of fun in the classroom, all while conveying some powerful messages that support valuable business/marketing lessons.  After all, what better way to validate all your time teaching students about advertising than to point out that companies like Pepsi, CareerBuilder.com, Audi and Bridgestone just invested $3 million each for a 30 second spot during this year’s big game.

Among the topic areas that are relevant in the classroom (many relating specifically to our non-traditional…

In our last post, we examined Virginia football’s marketing campaign and effort to build tradition which got me to thinking, what are some traditions that are already ingrained in the fan culture on campuses across the country?  And what, if any, impact does tradition have on the loyalty of each respective fan base?  In reality, this is more of a “fun” post than educational, but there are some relevant lessons.  So, without further ado, here are my top five notable college football traditions:

5) Penn State’s “White Out”

This is as simple a tradition as it gets, but the tradition’s rich history and…

In the last blog post, we discussed the marketing efforts of Stanford football to expand their fan base.  Today’s post reviews another collegiate football program and their marketing strategies.  The Virginia Cavaliers campaign for this football season is the “Power of Orange” and provides an excellent case study in the efforts to build tradition.  Obviously, building tradition is often influenced by success on the playing field, and Virginia has certainly elevated the program’s status with the hiring of former NFL coach Al Groh back in 2001.  Heading in to this season, Groh’s record at Virginia was 51-37 and the Cavaliers had been…

Like so many American football fans around the country, I was excited last night when the college football season officially kicked off.  I settled in to watch the Oregon State Beavers take on the Stanford Cardinal on ESPN2 in HD on my DVR late last night.  Inevitably, I ended up taking something from the game that could translate to a discussion topic for the classroom. 

Apparently Stanford, whose football team has won just two home games in the last two years, has extended an offer to fans that can hardly be refused.  If Stanford fans purchase a season ticket package and…

He’s done it.  The man with a target on his back and a chip on his shoulder has won an Olympic record eight gold medals…but my guess is that you already know that.  Let’s face it.  You can’t turn on the TV without seeing some montage commemorating the achievements of Michael Phelps in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.  In an Olympics where the NBA’s elite re-claimed the basketball throne and a Jamaican sprinter bolted into the record books, Phelps remains the story of these Games.  So what now?  Well, I think we can all say with a certain amount…

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…

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…

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.