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Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by |July 9th, 2010

LeBron Can Make More With Heat Than Cavs

  • But if you match up what James’ salary would be for the first five years in Cleveland and the five years in Miami, you find that the Cavaliers are only offering him $4 million more.

Tebow Leading League In Jersey Sales

  • It has been three months, and Tim Tebow still hasn’t taken a single (real) snap under center for the Denver Broncos, yet he’s leading the league in jersey sales.

Gillette, Not the Best Ads a Man Can Get

  • Cynicism runs amok among our hallowed list this week. And the biggest culprit of that kind of audience distrust is none other than Gillette. The razor maker owns the top spot with last week’s debut video, “Perfect Length,” as well as this week’s No. 5 slot, newcomer “Young Guns,” which drew over 3.7 million views combined.

Petal Advertising

  • To create a sense of unique opulence, flower designers Blue and Blooms were bought in. This company was the first in the U.K. to use organic media in the form of flowers to promote brands. The innovative approach to printing on fresh flowers creates a creative marketing tool for companies looking to use branded flowers that turn heads and create attention.

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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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My Top 10 Mobile Sports Apps

by |June 1st, 2010

It’s an exciting time to be a sports fan. The NHL and NBA Playoffs are approaching their climax, the World Cup starting, and the MLB season in full bloom, it’s hard to keep on top of it all.  I have composed a list of my personal favorite mobile applications so that you can be up to date on the road. Please feel free to let me know any great apps I may have missed out on.

1. NHL Ice Time
Platforms: BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

NHL Ice Time is the official app from the National Hockey League and it is absolutely gorgeous, especially on the iPad. In addition to live scores standings, and the most extensive stat profiles of any hockey app I’ve used, it also has game photos, video highlights, and a ice tracker to show shots, goals, penalties, hits and saves on a virtual hockey rink, so for hockey geeks, this is your chance to show Don Cherry up. There is also an option for a premium version which includes my favourite feature: live radio feeds for both the home and away feeds. [click to continue…]

About Sam Chan

Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.

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Build a Brand Like Apple in Sports

by |May 27th, 2010

When you think of brand positioning for Apple Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:AAPL) a few words come to mind: creative, quality, dynamic design and secretive.

In light of the last definition, most all information that has any hint of a new product, design or circuitry hits every mode of media within minutes.  Apple’s PR department has one of the easiest, most rewarding jobs in the industry because the brand has evangelists that hang on the company’s every word, official or otherwise. Media of every kind look for an edge when it comes to reporting about the company’s latest product. It’s also been rumored that Apple leaks information to the media in an effort to set off the buzz meter about a product. It works every time.

There is a brand parallel to Apple in professional sports. His name is Brett Favre.

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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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CrowdZone Helps Fans Connect From Anywhere

by |May 21st, 2010

From the App Store: CrowdZone is the best way to cheer for your favorite teams, win points, trophies & prizes while connecting with friends and other fans in stadiums or watching at home from all around the world. 3 out of 5 Stars (592 Ratings) as of May 13.

CrowdZone is a sports-themed social platform that allows fans to check in to, and talk with other fans about, games they care about (from anywhere they have cell phone service). In return, users receive points, trophies, and sometimes real-life prizes! There is a location-based feel to this platform (think Hot Potato but exclusively for sports), even though you don’t have to be in any particular location in order to “check-in.”

It’s not easy to write a review for CrowdZone. Keep in mind, the app just launched about two months ago and is only in version 1.5.1. There are a lot of great aspects to the app, as well as some clear issues. I just don’t know what CrowdZone’s developers are focusing on in terms of improvements. That being said, I hope this review will help.

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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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