The New MLS Partner is on The Fast Track to Becoming The Go-to Site for Sponsorship Professionals Looking for New Connections.
There’s a new kid on the sponsorship block, and all the other kids better take notice. At a time when brand marketers are always asking for more from their sponsorship opportunities, SponsorPitch.com is working to deliver the relationships and research every marketer needs.
“At a time when brands are scrutinizing every sponsorship dollar spent, it is critical to have the right conversations as soon as possible,” says Michael Munson, SponsorPitch CMO. “This is the true power of social media for business.”
SponsorPitch is a business intelligence network for the $50 billion global marketplace. It is powered by over 5,000 people who allow sponsorship professionals to share their stories while getting research on real-time activity of brands, properties and people in the industry. The company currently offers real-time insight into 1,400 of the most active global sponsors, which allows members to qualify leads, research qualified prospects and connect with their decision makers in a time-efficient and targeted way.
The latest organization to hop on board with SponsorPitch is the MLS and their 19 teams in the United States and Canada.
“SponsorPitch is at the heart of a transformative shift that empowers people in our industry to unleash an unprecedented new level of professional efficiency,” says Kris Mathis, SponsorPitch CEO. “The SponsorPitch platform was built from the ground up for global organizations just like Major League Soccer and I am pleased that they will benefit from our vision about what it takes to source successful partnerships in this day and age.” [click to continue…]
Steve is a recent graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Sports Journalism from the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. He is currently working as a marketing and PR intern for Sports Networker.
A brand is so much more than a logo and name and this applies to all organizations, sports or otherwise. One good definition of brand is by best-selling American author and marketer Seth Godin who states:
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another”.
Putting a dollar value on your brand is not an entirely easy exercise (and probably worthy of a separate post). In 2010, Forbes ranked Manchester United the most valuable team brand, with a brand value of $270 million, ahead of the New York Yankees, Real Madrid, Dallas Cowboys and Bayern Munich.
A brand encompasses all aspects of the sports team, both on and off the field, in season and out of season. Brand can mean many things to many people but will inevitably incorporate some, if not all, of the following factors. [click to continue…]
Chris is a strategic programs analyst at the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) focusing on, amongst other things, sponsorship research, analytics and acquisition. He holds a MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Business (AGSM). Chris took part in the school’s exchange program by completing a semester at Stern business school, NYU where he studied sports marketing and sports economics. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
One of the biggest problems I faced when working with corporate clients in media was convincing them of the importance of using only quality photographs to help convey their brand correctly.
I can never understand why businesses and sports persons will spend thousands on ‘flash websites’ but never invest a few hundred dollars in a quality media portfolio that can be used time and time again. Professional athletes often use amateur photos in social media. This is also the case for those who are not yet earning money in their sport but seeking to become professional.
So this article is for all of you sports execs or athletes who need to upgrade! Your brand and business have to be in alignment and this includes everything in your media portfolio, in particular social media photographs which are becoming more and more important also. Everything should be considered part of your overall brand alignment even if you don’t consider your social media accounts to be as ‘official’ as your website. [click to continue…]
Claire Kelly is a freelance writer, communications consultant and Australian beach volleyball player based on the Gold Coast, Australia.
Experienced in social media marketing, conducting interviews, ghostwriting, editing, generating publicity and photography, Claire is passionate about about helping athletes and businesses grow through the power of the media and the internet. Follow Claire on Twitter @clairelkelly
A while back I talked about how using social networks focused on exclusivity like Path and Facebook Groups can give less social media savvy athletes an outlet in case they want to blow off some steam or share things with their intimate family and friends. This week, I want to talk about how exclusivity can help elevate the brand of athletes who are already doing a good job with social media and want to take it to the next level.
Before I begin, I want to make something clear. I am in no way suggesting that athletes ought to focus on using exclusive networks in lieu of mainstream public social networks, but rather as a complement networks like Twitter and Facebook in order to grow their brand in more creative ways. [click to continue…]
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.
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 and say hi after every game. If I would have had Twitter back then, it would have given me a great opportunity to thank them online, and get them excited about the next game.
Although I didn’t know how important building a personal brand online was during my playing days, I definitely see the value of it now for helping me achieve a number of my professional goals.
Want to know why pro athletes should be building their personal brand online and how they should be doing it? Then make sure you check out this video where I interview Dan Schawbel of Personal Branding Blog to learn more.
What ways do you see pro athletes using social media the right way? How are some using it the wrong way? More importantly, how does it make you feel when you see a high profile athlete doing things “right” or “wrong” online?
Ah, baseball. America’s past time. The game has been around, and flourished, for a long, long time. In recent years (since the mid 90′s), baseball has hit a rough patch, with the Steroids Era. However, baseball is trying to change its image, and social media is part of that effort. Social media makes sense for a game that is inherently social for its audience. Going to the ballpark is as much about the hot dogs, peanuts, beer, and conversation with friends, as it is about the action on the field. Let’s see how the MLB does in my final edition of “Social Media Report Card.”
Visibility: B
As expected, the MLB is taking advantage of the Internet’s two biggest social media platforms, and has just about 750,000 followers on Twitter and 45,000 fans on Facebook. The league has also integrated Twitter chat into its MLB.tv streams. Even Minor League Baseball has an account on Twitter, with several hundred followers. However, the MLB does not have an account on YouTube and they are aggressive about removing any of their content that is posted by fans. The MLB has also failed to utilize emerging platforms (e.g. DailyBooth, Ustream). So far, none of the four leagues have taken advantage of those platforms. The first to do so will not regret it.
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.
There is no better way to learn how to excel in business than to learn from those that have been there and done that. Here's what you get inside the FREE Sports Job Guide:
** Get Access To The Top Sports Job Boards **
** Advice From Successful Sports Business Pros **
** Learn How To Land Your Dream Job In Sports! **
BONUS - Download The Sports Job Guide To Get An Exclusive Offer To Join Sports Executives Association For Only $4.95 For The First 30 Days (Save 80%)
Ah, baseball. America’s past time. The game has been around, and flourished, for a long, long time. In recent years (since the mid 90′s), baseball has hit a rough patch, with the Steroids Era. However, baseball is trying to change its image, and social media is part of that effort. Social media makes sense for a game that is inherently social for its audience. Going to the ballpark is as much about the hot dogs, peanuts, beer, and conversation with friends, as it is about the action on the field. Let’s see how the MLB does in my final edition of “Social Media Report Card.”
FOLLOW US