(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.
Super 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.
As 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.
Last week Antonio Ramirez wrote in from Mexico to ask what the best arguments were for convincing players to participate in a social program.
Sports marketing thought leader, 
