Sports Marketing + Charity + Brands = Community ROI

by Lewis Howes | February 17th, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Lorianne DiSabato(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 Award” from the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, back in the mid 90’s.  The Hawks, like all pro teams, work closely with their community charities in a multitude of ways.  After all, professional sports franchises are really quasi-public utilities that are emotionally owned by their communities, and therefore an organic platform to all kinds of community programs.

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Are Super Bowl Ads Still Worth It?

by Sam Taggart | January 25th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

logo_2010-Super-BowlSuper Bowl advertisements have long been one of the best ways to get your brand exposure and eyeballs. Take Go Daddy for example. The company, known for its racy advertising, began airing 30-second commercial spots during the Super Bowl in 2005. Since then, Go Daddy has become the largest certified domain registrar in the world, with more than 36 million domains under its management.

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched television events on a yearly basis, with somewhere between 40 – 43% of households watching (98 million viewers in 2009). Two days ago, Nielsen released survey results that stated just over half of the audience that tunes into the Super Bowl enjoys the commercials more than the actual game. “This survey reinforces the value of the Super Bowl as a marketing bonanza, featuring one of the most receptive TV audiences in the world,” said Randall Beard, executive vice president of Nielsen IAG. “With so many viewers waiting for the pitch, the pressure is on advertisers to create and place ads that will have a lasting impact.”

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Will Social Media Become Ambush Marketing’s Favorite New Ammo?

by Kris Mathis | December 29th, 2009 | 3 Comments »

riacaleAs we turn the page and look ahead to 2010, let us address a topic most marketers have a strong opinion on: ambush.  Whether you believe ambush marketing of official events is creative and cost-efficient or an unethical and illegal mortal marketing sin, the fact is 2010 will see more of it than many marketers care to envision.  Global events such as the Olympics and World Cup will fuel the fire, as they have in the past, but this time the battleground may be waged on a relatively new frontier: social media.

Sure, some will attempt to solve ambush with legal claims such as trademark infringement and unfair competition. Last week Major League Soccer filed a lawsuit against Black and Decker for their Dewalt promotion around exhibition matches (competitor, Makita, is the official sponsor of MLS). However, ambush marketers – and their legal teams – will likely find new ways to skirt IP issues with the Olympics, especially in an environment without precedent like social media. When you’re spending 100 million for an official deal, both property and sponsor should probably be proactively identifying ways to mitigate ambush rather than (or at least as well as) relying on reactive legal remedies. Consider this, Coke spent an estimated $70 million to be one of the top 12 Olympic sponsors — and $5 million to $15 million more on the torch relay, but according to at least one study, up to 60% of consumers believed Pepsi was the official sponsor in Beijing. Scary stuff for CMO’s and properties.

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2 Ways to Enhance Marketing for Unpopular Sports

by Ryan Stephens | October 7th, 2009 | 9 Comments »

soccerThere’s two co-workers in my office who love soccer. “That’s cute,” I like to tell them and accuse them of being unpatriotic for not liking football or America’s pastime more. But that poses the question. What if you’re trying to market soccer in America? Hockey in Texas? The WBNA anywhere?

1.  Educate People About the Game

Fans often don’t appreciate what they don’t understand, and while most of us play soccer when we’re younger (Our Dad’s just sign us up so they can stare at the soccer mom’s when our mom’s aren’t looking?) we often quit before high school and play the sports all our friends are playing.

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3 Reasons Athletes Should Use Social Media

by Ryan Stephens | September 2nd, 2009 | 4 Comments »

mexicoLast week Antonio Ramirez wrote in from Mexico to ask what the best arguments were for convincing players to participate in a social program.

It’s a great question, and in Antonio’s case, for a great cause. Childhood obesity is quickly becoming an epidemic in Mexico, particularly surrounding low income areas and schools. And he’s looking to get a few futbol (soccer) players to be ambassadors for a program to inspire/lead these kids.

Certainly the kids would love if athletes would take time out of their day to visit a couple of times during the semester, but I’m certain there are people with more experience in philanthropic endeavors far more qualified to answer that question than me.
So, I’ll take a different approach and give Antonio (and all of you) my best advice on how to get athletes to participate in social media, which can still empower and inspire not only local kids, but anyone who wants to follow them. Ah, the power of social media.

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Relinquish Control, Empower the Passionate Fans!

by Ryan Stephens | August 24th, 2009 | 5 Comments »

Sports FanSports marketing thought leader, Jason Peck, said something two weeks ago that really resonated with me. After hearing a company say they controlled their brand in social media he said this, “The words influence, facilitate and protect your brand should replace control.”

Frankly, I couldn’t agree more…

… Provided it’s your fans who pay money to come see your games/events and who are already having the conversations you’re trying to control, and will have them regardless. Seriously, get over it. Better yet embrace it!

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How can social media tools drive your sports marketing success?

by Ryan Stephens | August 11th, 2009 | 11 Comments »

Sports Jobs

What brands have succeeded in using social tools to increase their engagement with their fans? Enhance their brand affinity? Drive their bottom line?

These are all questions WE’RE going to explore today, together.  That’s right, I’ll get us started, but then let’s use the comments section to build out both lists until we have a pretty extensive resource sports professionals can refer back to in the future.

So, how can social tools drive your sports marketing success?

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