There is a common problem I see brewing in sports ticket sales organizations across the nation. It started about 18 months ago, and has been spreading like a virus, bleeding organizations dry. I’m not sure where it started, but I know how it can be stopped. Here’s the problem: We’re allowing the economy to lull…
Popular Brands Pay a Price
This week, Tiger Woods’ college girlfriend defended her Stanford sweetheart by talking to Sports Illustrated and golf.com reporter, Alan Shipnuck. As I read Irene Folstrom’s take on Tiger during their time as motivated college students with many of the same dreams that others enjoy, I was reminded of the huge public and private responsibility that athletes…
From the Seat of the Scorekeeper
(This is a guest article by Cheryl Robinson) Shoot, pass it, red zone, see the ball, defense, you have to line your bananas up. After a decade of sports management, aka scorekeeper, I’ve heard practically every phrase in sports terminology used to motivate a team or individual, inspire them to do their best and win….
Sell Your Ideas, Not Tickets
(This is a guest article by Josh Feinberg) Raise your hand if you are a salesman (you all should have your hands up). We are all in sales, whether you are selling yourself, selling your product or service. Are you in the business of selling ideas, passion, or events? I am…it’s called Minor League Baseball. …
Sports Executives Association and Your Sports Career
The best way to take your game to the next level in sports is to train and compete with the top athletes in the world. The best way to advance your sports career is to work with and be mentored by the top sports executives in the world. Simple as that. Watch below to hear…
Should teams look beyond Facebook & Twitter?
We’re now starting to see more and more teams getting involved with social media. This is great, but I think it’s time they start to look beyond only utilizing the major platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) and really start to embrace more emerging and niche platforms (Ustream, Tumblr, Flickr). Every platform offers something different and therefore…
Life After Football: What comes next?
Super Bowl XLIV is a mere memory now. Faint echoes of “Who Dat” ring in our ears. We’ve seen a Brees blow through and we’ve seen the burning Bush. For fans, the season is over and we’re wondering what to do on Sunday afternoons. We could relive the season by watching games of our favorite…
Reputation Management: Athletes Facing Controversy
(This is a guest article by Wesley Mallette) Athletes in trouble. We see it every day in the news and find ourselves wondering aloud, “Wow. Did they really just say/do that?” The vast majority of athletes will face a crisis of some proportion during their career or post-career. How they handle it is everything, and…
Tips on Apologizing for Salespeople
Tiger Woods delivering his 13-minute speech was finally what hundreds of millions of people were waiting to hear. “I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you,” said Woods. “I have made you question who I am and how I could have done all the things I did. I am embarrassed I have put you…
Tiger Woods Press Conference: Do You Believe Him?
Over the past 48 hours, the Internet has been buzzing because of the announcement of Tiger Woods’ first public appearance since his infamous November 27th accident. All of the major sports, news, and entertainment publications have written about it. Yesterday #tigershouldsay was trending on Twitter (e.g. #tigershouldsay blame it on Nike, they told me to…
Sports Business Weekly Buzz
Time buy would move AVP to ESPN and ABC By Terry Lefton & John Ourand The AVP is close to finalizing a deal with ESPN, ending an association with NBC that dates to 1990. As part of the time-buy agreement, ABC would carry four events, while ESPN2 will carry the rest of the AVP’s schedule,…
Interview with Joe Fonzi, Sports Broadcaster
This week Matt Crevin from Voice of the Box interviews Joe Fonzi. Joe is one of the top sports broadcasters in the state of California. He shares how he broke into sports and broadcasting as well as provides details on his tips to success.
Bad Timing in the PR World
<VIA LOUDSPEAKER> International Olympic Committee, Vancouver Organizing Olympic Committee and Tiger Woods, please report to the first-floor classroom for PR 101… I really wish I could say that people who work in my industry do it right because we had the best and the brightest teachers. Somewhere along the way, however, some didn’t learn basic…
How Athletes Can Build Their Personal Brand
It’s no surprise professional athletes are using social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and even Ustream everyday. Being an ex pro athlete myself (even on a smaller scale than the NFL) I loved connecting with my fans before and after games. I had my regular group of fans that would come down by the field…
Sports Marketing + Charity + Brands = Community ROI
(This is a guest article by Cord Pereira) “On behalf of the Atlanta Hawks, I’d like to thank our ownership group for recognizing that for every dollar we give away, we get three in return!”‘ These were the honest words of an Atlanta Hawks spokesperson during an acceptance speech when the organization received the “Pro Team Community…
LeBron is Missing a Massive Opportunity
Let me start by saying that LeBron James is doing just fine for himself. LeBron can pretty much do whatever he wants (e.g. get dunked on at his own camp and confiscate the video, walk off the court without shaking hands after losing the Eastern conference finals, back out of the Slam Dunk Competition) and…