The Sports Executives Association

by Lewis Howes | February 8th, 2010 | No Comments »

The Sports Executives Association is coming soon. Many of you have asked for more information, and emailing me about the release date. It’s coming soon, and I wanted to thank you for your patience.

I don’t want to spoil all of the goods by sharing with you every last detail, but I wanted to share with you this brief video to prepare you for the launch.

If you have not already signed up on the list to hear about the official launch date, make sure you sign up here and I will be sending out information over the next few weeks.

Sign up to receive more info for the Sports Executives Association here.

Interview with Paul Tonelli

by Matt Crevin | February 8th, 2010 | No Comments »

This week on Voice of the Box, Matt interviews one of the most recognized radio personalities in California. Paul Tonelli from the famous Lamont and Tonelli Show is also the stadium PA announcer at Candlestick Park. Paul shares how he got his start in radio and what key factors led to his success.

Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner | February 7th, 2010 | No Comments »

EA Teams Up With Doritos For Bowl Promo

By Aaron Baar

Super Bowl Sunday means two things for most Americans: Snacks and Football. EA Sports is hoping to capitalize on the conversation by partnering with Doritos to give fans the chance to choose the cover athlete for the upcoming version of its popular gaming franchise, “Madden NFL 11.”
“To associate our brand with Doritos is an honor, and it’s a great opportunity to talk about our brand on the product,” Chris Erb, senior director of marketing partnerships for EA Sports, tells Marketing Daily. “They’re going to sell a lot of chips, and we’re going to be a part of that. The timing is perfect.”

(www.mediapost.com)

Super Bowl Commercials Play Role in Branding

by Gail Sideman | February 5th, 2010 | No Comments »

ramseymohsen A few days ago a reporter called and asked how I would advise a professional athlete if he wanted to endorse a hot-button topic in a forum as big as a Super Bowl audience.

My answer was not textbook public relations.

(I will reveal the outlet and topic upon its publication).

The reasons that athletes and coaches endorse products and services are as varied as the people themselves. Some do it because they patronize and truly believe in said organizations. Others pitch products because it fattens their bank accounts; some make themselves available for endorsements to keep their face in front of possible post-sports employers.

It’s a Numbers Game – Sports Vanity Toll Free Numbers

by Tim Evans | February 4th, 2010 | No Comments »

Travis Nicholson! We all know there are numerous ways to brand your sports business. From a professionally designed and well optimized website, to having consistent social networking usernames across a variety of social media platforms, you are well on your way to promoting your brand.

With a passion for domain names over the years, I have been able to appreciate what it means to have a unique vanity toll-free number. With domain names, you can have a maximum of 64-characters (numbers and letter combinations) to create a domain name, but with a toll free number, you only have seven digits to work with. Because of this length limitation, at least at the level of a true 800#, there are no numbers left in the 800# database left that have been unused.

So how do you find an 800# to market your business? I’ve been using TollFreeNumbers.com over the years because it allows you to search for that perfect number and it lets you know if it is available.

Social Media as Sponsorship Street Cred

by Kris Mathis | February 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »

Fact: blue chip brands receive thousands of sponsorship proposals every year. Estimate: there are some 300,000 properties seeking sponsorship (depending on the way you define it).

How do you break through the relentless clutter to get the ear and sincere consideration of a sponsorship decision maker? A well researched and tailored proposal may increase your chances, but these days there are a lot of other properties spending a lot of time doing the exact same thing on the sponsor you’re targeting.

Fact is, when you’re submitting a proposal to a blue chip brand that gets flooded by proposals (especially when you’re submitting through a proposal management system), it’s a stretch to think that every proposal will get an in depth review on the merit of its own ideas. Actually some systems rate your proposal against a scorecard for the sponsor so that they don’t even have to read the proposal or see your “vision,” only the nuts and bolts. This may be deflating considering many properties spend 1-2+ hours on each tailored proposal. Keep reading to find out how you may be able to make it out of the pile.

Freestyle Soccer: Leveraging a New Platform

by Lewis Howes | February 3rd, 2010 | 2 Comments »

(This is a guest article by Ryan Knapp)

On Tuesday January 26th, Dan Magness set the world record for juggling a soccer ball for just about 36 miles, visiting five different English Premier League club stadia in the process.

Yes, 36 miles, that is not a typo.

This is not Magness’s first time in the spotlight for an act of soccer jugging mastery. In May 2009 he beat the world record for juggling a soccer ball for 24 hours without letting it touch the ground.

If you are able to watch video of Magness’ travel around London’s soccer stadiums, you can see that he is not simply juggling the ball from point A to B. At every turn, he is interacting with fans and strangers along the route, performing tricks that go beyond a simple keep-up. I hope a film crew or at least someone with a flip-cam was following him getting fans reaction on tape.

While sponsors are busy looking at numbers and ROI to justify sponsorship dollars, they are simultaneously searching out the next viral marketing idea or creative sponsorship activation. A freestyle soccer event such as this could generate quite the buzz surrounding your club and your sponsors.

Networking at the Ballpark

by Lewis Howes | February 1st, 2010 | No Comments »

Werner Kunz (This is a guest article by Chris Rufle)

Putting on a networking event at your venue can be beneficial for you in a few different ways. It can give you the opportunity to sell a weak night, draw in new quality leads, and help other business executives further their businesses all at the same time. As long as you follow a few steps to make sure you plan your event properly it can be a success.

First, pick a night. Since people are primarily coming for the networking event instead of the game, you have the opportunity to pick the date you prefer. This gives you the ability to take one of your weaker nights and sell it while hosting a successful group outing with great potential for future leads.

Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner | January 29th, 2010 | No Comments »

Jobs Unveils ‘iPad,’ Fate of Universe Still In Doubt

By Gavin O’Malley

As scheduled, Apple debuted its highly anticipated tablet device on Wednesday — for many, representing the dawn of a new age in media consumption.
Christened the “iPad,” the device is expected to be available in March for a (surprisingly low) minimum price of $499 (Wi-Fi enabled, with a 3G version to follow a month later). With it, users can browse the Web, read and send email, view photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, and read e-books.
“iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices,” said Apple head Steve Jobs, who unveiled the product at a private event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The iPad will come in two versions: one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G.

(www.mediapost.com)

Pay Attention to the Little Things (and People)

by Sam Taggart | January 29th, 2010 | 5 Comments »

An amazing aspect of social media, for brands, is the ability to listen to your fans and customers. They will tell you when you do something great, but more importantly, they will tell you when you fail. The real-time web has given brands an opportunity like never before, the chance to listen and respond to actual people making legitimate claims about your product or service. The information is there, it’s the brand’s job to pay attention.

If you don’t already know, I work for VaynerMedia, doing online and social media consulting for brands, with a focus in the sports industry. Two of my clients include the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association, and the New York Jets, of the National Football League. I find it important to check out the competition. Sometimes, it’s from a competitor’s weaknesses or mistakes, that you find the keys to success. Yesterday, while I was running through the social media outlets of teams in both the NBA and the NFL, trying to find things they were doing right and wrong, I found this:

http://www.facebook.com/memhisgrizzlies