Competitive Edge is a weekly sports and entertainment marketing news service that highlights unique and relevant news throughout the school year. The questions provided for student discussion will help to create a bridge between industry strategies/trends and the topics you are covering in class.
Following a landmark Supreme Court decision last year that opened the door for college athletes to make money, sponsors have scrambled to nab the highest-profile NCAA players. But Adidas is playing the game differently. Click here to read the story at vanityfair.com. Discussion Questions: Why do you think this news story is Read more…
Pickleball is not only your parents’ sport anymore. The game, a paddle sport similar to tennis, is often associated with retirement homes or country clubs. After a spike in popularity during the pandemic, however, pickleball has gone mainstream. Click here to read the story at morningbrew.com. Discussion Questions: What is Read more…
ESPN had 17.3 million brackets completed for their Men’s NCAA Tournament Challenge. Despite the NCAA’s efforts to raise the visibility of the women’s tournament and even the playing field between the two tournaments, a mere 1.5 million brackets were completed for ESPN’s Women’s NCAA Tournament Challenge. Click here to read Read more…
This isn’t Coca-Cola’s first partnership with Riot Games. The beverage brand sponsored various competitive League of Legends events, including the annual League of Legends World Championship, from 2013 to 2016. Click here to read the story at digiday.com. Discussion Questions: What is sponsorship? Why do brands sponsor sports and entertainment Read more…
Following a landmark Supreme Court decision last year that opened the door for college athletes to make money, sponsors have scrambled to nab the highest-profile NCAA players. But Adidas is playing the game differently. Click here to read the story at wsiltv.com. Discussion Questions: What is product endorsement? Why is endorsement important Read more…
Last June the National Collegiate Athletic Association issued a press release with the headline “NCAA Adopts Interim Name, Image, and Likeness Policy.” It read like an anodyne memo about a change in bylaws. In fact, it was a watershed moment in the history of college sports. Click here to read Read more…
Technology continues to revolutionize sports, whether experienced on the field or viewed from the couch, and innovations from these 10 companies are altering playing fields from little leagues to the majors. Fanatics entered the trading card business with a deal that for the first time offers a piece of the Read more…
Product placements are all around you, even if you don’t notice them. While many people subscribe to premium streaming services in order to avoid ads, product placements are built into lots of movies and TV shows, from Emily on Emily in Paris wearing Zeus + Dione to The Home Edit using products from The Container Store. Click here Read more…
A Super Nintendo World is coming to Universal Studios Hollywood in 2023, the theme park shared with Travel + Leisure. The park will be the first of its kind in the United States. Click here to read the story at travelandleisure.com. Discussion Questions: What is a brand? Is Nintendo a brand? Read more…
For decades, the world’s biggest professional wrestling organization had sold its premium live events like Wrestlemania and SummerSlam on a pay-per-view (PPV) basis via cable and satellite television providers. Click here to read the story at sportspromedia.com. Discussion Questions: What is an industry pioneer? What is technology? According to this Read more…