July 2010

Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner|July 30th, 2010

Euroleague Basketball signs first-ever title sponsor

Europe’s main club basketball competition is going to be renamed Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball after a ground-breaking sponsorship agreement signed by the airline and the league.

Tim Tebow Gets Chance To Take On Michael Jordan

Jockey announced the signing of Tim Tebow to a multi-year endorsement deal to endorse its line of products, including what it calls its new “Staycool” collection, which will hit stores in the spring of next year.

It’s the brand’s biggest sports endorser since the company signed Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer to start posing in briefs exactly 30 years ago.

TaylorMade-Adidas Pits Two to Twitter Way Into a Job

How far would you go for a job? Would you eat a bug or wash an elephant? Both those challenges were presented to two contenders for the title of social-media catalyst at golf juggernaut TaylorMade-Adidas. To test the social-media mettle of its two finalists, the company dispensed with round-robin interviews and luncheons and dispatched them on the ultimate job tryout: a 50-day, nine-country golfing trip chronicled on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Along the way, the contenders must respond to interactive challenges that include everything from creating a viral commercial to participating in user-generated contests — such as eating a bug or washing an elephant on their most recent stop in Thailand.

Want to Score in Sports? Create a Connection

And few people are more qualified to make sense of this turbulent and fascinating year than Michael Levine, co-head of CAA Sports since 2007. Mr. Levine leads a unit that not only represents more than 500 of the world’s most famous athletes, but is also active in the areas of corporate marketing, broadcast rights and sports-property sponsorship sales. Ad Age recently caught up with Mr. Levine for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the sports world.

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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Baseball Fans Sidetracked

by Gail Sideman|July 29th, 2010

While Major League Baseball diehards were tuned into each of their favorite teams’ games during everything from LeBron-athon to World Cup soccer, and especially their all-star game, it wasn’t easy for it to hold the attention of the masses according to W. Scott Bailey in the San Antonio Business Journal.

It was reported that Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, broadcast by FOX, received a 7.5 Nielsen rating which makes it as the least watched Midsummer Classic in history.
My initial thought as we head toward the start of National Football League training camps: is there any sport or off-season activity that would distract NFL fans from their season?

Is baseball officially not America’s Pastime anymore? We’ve long heard that professional baseball television ratings pale compared to the NFL and even the NBA, much of the latter which is broadcast on cable outlets. But a scripted special about where an NBA free agent is going to play next and – soccer? [click to continue…]

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

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How Mental Imagery Helps Athletes Succeed

by Michelle Hill|July 28th, 2010

What is Mental Imagery?

Classically, mental imagery has been defined as:

The ability to form mental images of things or events

By repeatedly calling up images in your mind and rewiring the circuits of your mind toward a realization of those images. The remarkable feature of imagery work is that it can be accompanied by physiological changes.

Experience that resembles perceptual experience, but which occurs in the absence of the appropriate stimuli for the relevant perception.

Involves focusing your mind to visualize yourself in a certain situation and doing well in that situation.

A cognitive psychological skill in which the athlete uses all the senses to create a mental experience of an athletic performance

There’s nothing mystical about mental imagery. Simply put, it’s a visualization exercise that helps not only athletes but anyone who desires increased success and performance. There’s multiple ways to practice it and it can be done in short spurts or for a long duration. [click to continue…]

About Michelle Hill

Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com

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Pro-Athlete Bloggers

by Sam Taggart|July 27th, 2010

One of the first posts I ever wrote here was about Gilbert Arenas, the true pioneer of the social media space for professional athletes. Shaq gets the credit for being the one who led the way, because of his use of Twitter, but Gilbert was in the space first. And Gilbert was a blogger! Forget Shaq writing 140-character tweets in 2008, Gilbert was writing blog posts that consisted of hundreds if not thousands of words… two years earlier!

Anyway, this post is not about Shaq or Gilbert Arenas or anyone you’ve likely heard of before. This post is about Swedish professional golfer Alex Noren and minor league baseball player Matt Antonelli. Why? They’re both professional athletes and outstanding bloggers. We focus so much on Facebook & Twitter as the tools athletes should be utilizing, but let’s not forget the power of the blog.

Alex Noren (AlexNoren.com)

Alex uses his blog very much like how I would recommend a professional athlete to use his or her blog; frequent updates with lots of pictures and behind-the-scenes looks that tell the story of who Alex Noren is. He posts pictures from the course, as well as from workouts, and the clubhouse lounge, and he’s always sure to add a caption or a bit of commentary. All the posts seem to come directly from Alex. [click to continue…]

About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

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London Sports Networker Event

by Lewis Howes|July 26th, 2010

Back by popular request, Sports Networker returns to the international stage one again this fall as it teams up with the UK Sports Network for an exciting sports professionals networking event at the Sports Bar & Grill in London.

When: August 10th from 6pm-9pm

Where: Marylebone Station, Melcombe Place, London NW1 6JJ, United Kingdom

The UK Sports Network is a group founded by Daniel McClaren that strives to share its expertise on sports social media and the industry’s latest trends with sports professionals. Since its inception in November 2009, nearly 1,000 sports professionals now seek the insight and creativity that the UK Sports Network offers.

All sports professionals are welcome to attend this event and learn from the experts on social media and the latest developments in the sports industry. Admission is £10 GBP if you sign up now, and £15 GBP at the door. Stay posted for updates about the event by registering for the event on LinkedIn HERE.

To receive early bird pricing and ensure your spot at this event (as there is limited spacing) register below and we look forward to seeing you at the event! Make sure to add your company name when you check out as this will be included on your name tag.

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Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner|July 26th, 2010

The Elliptical For The Rich, Tai Chi For The Poor

* Every year, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association releases its state of sports participation in America study. The 64-page document is filled with interesting tidbits that will make you smarter at the office water cooler.

* Of all the fitness machines, the elliptical motion trainer has the highest percentage of participants whose annual household income exceeds $100,000 a year. Forty percent of those who use the elliptical make over $100,000.

Internal Watchdog Criticizes ESPN for Ethical Missteps on LeBron James Coverage

* ESPN’s internal journalism watchdog sharply criticized the cable-sports network for what he said were ethical missteps in its recent broadcast of a TV program devoted to basketball star LeBron James.

* The Walt Disney Co. network two weeks ago aired a one-hour special about James, who used the program to announce that he signed with a new team, the Miami Heat. In an unusual arrangement, James’s sports-marketing company suggested the program to ESPN and brokered an arrangement whereby the show’s advertisers donated money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a charity James supports.

EA Sports Campaign Taps Football Stars, Fans

To launch the 11th iteration of its NCAA Football game, EA Sports is taking both a national and regional approach with its advertising campaign. A national television commercial features fans and football luminaries (such as Ronnie Lott, Tim Tebow, John Elway and Desmond Howard) talking about their college football fanaticism by completing the phrase “Where I come from …” with a team-specific comment. [click to continue…]

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Bubba Watson Tops List of Rising Sports Stars to Watch in July

by Lewis Howes|July 23rd, 2010

(This is a guest post by Allie Savarino Kline)

PGA Tour Travelers Cup champion, Bubba Watson, topped a debut list of Rising Sports Stars to watch in July. Watson survived a six shot deficit and a nail biting three-way playoff to emerge the victor of the June 27 tournament and recorded his first ever win in a PGA Tour event.

Other notable athletes who made July’s Rising Sports Stars list include USA Soccer Team midfielders Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey; John Isner, who won the longest match in tennis history; and NHL’s #1 overall draft-pick Taylor Hall.

Rising Sports Stars is a new monthly list distributed by Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT) and ranks the top ten U.S. professional athletes from all major sports who experienced the greatest relative growth in popularity during the prior thirty days.

While most lists only track a single data source once or twice a year, Rising Sports Stars takes a unique approach in gauging a particular athlete’s popularity, measuring multiple data points for more than 27,000 athletes that are tracked on a daily basis.

The complete Rising Sports Stars list can be found here and people can learn when new lists go live at the start of each month by subscribing to BAT’s Twitter feed at @BATimpact.
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Twitter Sports Marketing Guide

by Lewis Howes|July 23rd, 2010

We are excited to introduce the Sports Networker’s exclusive Twitter sports marketing guide. We have analyzed the top twitter users in sports and formulated some key steps on how teams are marketing their brand to interact and build a relationship with their fans, helping create some of the highest follower counts on Twitter.

Maintaining a strong relationship with your fans is probably one of the most important aspects of a sports team off the ice/field/court. Social networks are effective tools to improve those relationships with die hard supporters while also finding new fans. From the Lakers to Real Madrid, we have broken down their best techniques into five steps:

When in Doubt, Tweet
Respect the Fan
Use the Resources You Have
Follow Back and Listen
If it isn’t Broken, Don’t Fix it

While every sport and team appeals to different fan bases, utilizing social media is something that every sports organization can capitalize on. No matter if you’re involved with an amateur basketball team or in charge of a pro football team, you’re going to want to take a look to see the top ways to improve your brand. Remember, all support and encouragement counts when you’re chasing for the championship. Download the free guide by filling in your name and email below to see exactly how the top sports teams put out their ‘A game’ and learn ways to grow your own following.

Download your free copy of the Twitter Sports Marketing Guide by entering your name and email below and you will receive an email with the link for the PDF shortly.

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Tourism Pitches Sports Visitors

by Lewis Howes|July 22nd, 2010

(This is a guest article by Sheila Scarborough)

If you are part of the tourist board for Paris or Tokyo or New York, you have visitors coming in all the time, for millions of different reasons.

If you are a smaller town or less urban region, you have to look around and ask some hard questions…what do we have that can draw visitors and tourism dollars since we appear to have misplaced our Eiffel Tower?

One answer is sports tourism.

Several towns and cities in Texas, for example, emphasize their sports facilities in tourism marketing materials. Arlington (between Dallas and Fort Worth) has the Texas Rangers ballpark, the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame and of course, the schmancy new Dallas Cowboys stadium. The west Texas town of Midland touts its family-friendly Rockhounds minor league baseball team, the Scharbauer Sports Complex for hosting a variety of tournaments and the Odessa Jackalopes Hockey team. [click to continue…]

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Landing a Job in Sports: Job Application Advice

by Lewis Howes|July 21st, 2010

Last week we posted a job description looking for a new community manager for our sites. The response was overwhelming and we received many amazing resumes and applications. The top 10 were invited to participate in the next stage of the search by submitting video posts explaining why they wanted the job. The videos showed clearly why these candidates made the top 10 cut to begin with. They are dedicated and passionate, something we value a lot for our company.

Some candidates really stood out and impressed us. They did crazy things like submit their application an hour after we requested it, created a website, sent multiple video posts and recorded themselves from a Sonic Drive-Through to illustrate their 24/7 hustle.

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