The American consumer “consumes” food, electronics, clothes, collectibles, and sports marketing through Monday Night football. A smart sports marketer will understand that the consumables each American purchases can be emblazoned with the name and franchise image of a certain sports team or player. Sports marketing is one of the hottest careers, but because of its…
Tag Archives | Sports Business
Who Ya NOT Gonna Call?
Pro football offensive line players know which opposing team defensive guard will clobber them with a vengeance on every play. They know the dirty players with intentions of delivering late hits or even career-ending blows.
Pro players also know who their ‘go-to’ people are – the ones who have their back. The teammate who will defend them with everything they’ve got. The coach who guides, instructs, and corrects. The family member who is at every game, cheering them on.
Entrepreneurs, much like pro players, know who their “go-to” people are; the friends who will give us a verbal shot-in-the arm. We gravitate to people who share our extreme need for continual motivation. It’s important to know who to call for guidance, instruction, and correction along our path to success.
What’s even more important is who we DON’T call in times of discouragement, distress, or failure.
We’re all familiar with the famous question in the Ghostbusters movie…”Who Ya Gonna Call?” I propose to ask the question differently…Who Ya NOT Gonna Call?
Top 5 ‘Back to Business’ Basics
Remember the Rocky III movie in 1982 when Rocky goes back to Apollo Creed’s “old” gym to train for the big fight with Clubber Lang? Of course you do. Apollo takes Rocky back to basics to polish his fighting style and prepare him for the “big” match in which he knocks Clubber out in the third round.
The same thing happens in the NFL. The hours of mindless, but necessary, stretching, drills, and weight training. The team meetings pouring over playbooks. Sports massages and physical therapy. These are the basics that teams and their players positively need to do regularly to prepare for the “big” game. It’s in the crucible of basics that we poise ourselves for victory.
If the fictitious Rocky Balboa, and the NFL, benefit from the basics, then as business owners and entrepreneurs, we absolutely need to do the same.
Here are my top 5 ‘Back to Business’ tips that will take you back to basics and will set the tone for future success:
Run Your Business Using Referee Signals
They are referred to as zebras but their ‘real’ title is official or referee. They stand right in the middle of the chaos and decide when someone breaks the rules, goes out of bounds, or catches the ball.
Referees all follow the same basic signals which tell us what went wrong or right. As entrepreneurs, we can learn how referee’s signals can help us in our businesses. The various signals let us know when something has gone wrong, when we’re making progress, and when we’ve made a touchdown.
Crowd Noise Signal
Are you spending too much time on non-business related conversations or out on errands when you should be working? Do you spend half your day opening, reading, and responding to emails? Excessive crowd noise in a game creates a virtually impossible situation for the visiting offense to communicate. It may be time to hush the crowd noise in your home office by focusing on tasks at hand first. This same signal can also mean dead ball. When you foolishly waste your most productive time doing non-productive tasks, it can mean a dead ball as far as your time. Quiet crowd noise and focus on your priority list.
Matthew Higgins On The New York Jets, Social Media and Sports Business
Gary Vaynerchuk and his team at VaynerMedia help manage the social media efforts of the New York Jets, where Matt is the Executive Vice President.
Matt goes into detail about a number of things the Jets are doing in regards to maximizing social media as an organization, but also how they are integrating it with the players as well. He talks about measuring social media ROI, how to get a job and work in sports, and a number of other nuggets you will want to know about. Make sure to watch this interview below, and follow him on Twitter @MHigginsJets.
The Ultimate Sports Business Resources
At Sports Networker, we pride ourselves on being one of the leading resources for covering the latest cutting edge topics in sports business, sponsorship, PR, and social media.
However, this post is not about us, but rather other resources that we have personally found to be useful and informational, in hopes of creating a great list of the ultimate sports business resources. We’re bound to have missed a few, so please let us know your favourites if they aren’t on the list!
Loyalty in the National Basketball Association
NBA All-Star Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat recently made headlines being quoted for saying that loyalty has no place in free agency. Bosh mentions that at a store, you’d go to a store that has the cheaper price for your item, so how is basketball any different? You go where it makes sense for you.
I admit I was a bit shocked by Bosh’s comments because I am a fan of Chris Bosh and I respect everything he does on and off the court. While his new teammate LeBron James was busy rubbing it in Cleveland’s face, Bosh chose the high road and thanked all his Toronto fans for his time there. However, in this case – I have to disagree with Bosh. Just because sports are a business does not mean loyalty should be “an added bonus” as he puts it.
Sports Business Weekly Buzz
Euroleague Basketball signs first-ever title sponsor
Europe’s main club basketball competition is going to be renamed Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball after a ground-breaking sponsorship agreement signed by the airline and the league.
Tim Tebow Gets Chance To Take On Michael Jordan
Jockey announced the signing of Tim Tebow to a multi-year endorsement deal to endorse its line of products, including what it calls its new “Staycool” collection, which will hit stores in the spring of next year.
It’s the brand’s biggest sports endorser since the company signed Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer to start posing in briefs exactly 30 years ago.
TaylorMade-Adidas Pits Two to Twitter Way Into a Job
How far would you go for a job? Would you eat a bug or wash an elephant? Both those challenges were presented to two contenders for the title of social-media catalyst at golf juggernaut TaylorMade-Adidas. To test the social-media mettle of its two finalists, the company dispensed with round-robin interviews and luncheons and dispatched them on the ultimate job tryout: a 50-day, nine-country golfing trip chronicled on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Along the way, the contenders must respond to interactive challenges that include everything from creating a viral commercial to participating in user-generated contests — such as eating a bug or washing an elephant on their most recent stop in Thailand.
Want to Score in Sports? Create a Connection
And few people are more qualified to make sense of this turbulent and fascinating year than Michael Levine, co-head of CAA Sports since 2007. Mr. Levine leads a unit that not only represents more than 500 of the world’s most famous athletes, but is also active in the areas of corporate marketing, broadcast rights and sports-property sponsorship sales. Ad Age recently caught up with Mr. Levine for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the sports world.
Sports Business Weekly Buzz
The Elliptical For The Rich, Tai Chi For The Poor
* Every year, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association releases its state of sports participation in America study. The 64-page document is filled with interesting tidbits that will make you smarter at the office water cooler.
* Of all the fitness machines, the elliptical motion trainer has the highest percentage of participants whose annual household income exceeds $100,000 a year. Forty percent of those who use the elliptical make over $100,000.
Internal Watchdog Criticizes ESPN for Ethical Missteps on LeBron James Coverage
* ESPN’s internal journalism watchdog sharply criticized the cable-sports network for what he said were ethical missteps in its recent broadcast of a TV program devoted to basketball star LeBron James.
* The Walt Disney Co. network two weeks ago aired a one-hour special about James, who used the program to announce that he signed with a new team, the Miami Heat. In an unusual arrangement, James’s sports-marketing company suggested the program to ESPN and brokered an arrangement whereby the show’s advertisers donated money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a charity James supports.
Sports Business Weekly Buzz
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.
Deceptions about Working in the Sports Industry
The sports industry is not nearly as glamorous as many outsiders may perceive. Some of the things that you should really expect as an employee in this industry.
Mental And Physical Training – The Keys of a Champion
In order to be an elite athlete and win championships, you need to be strong both physical and mentally. Having pure athleticism isn’t enough, as the visual and mental side of sports is the difference between sinking the last second shot to win the game, or chocking at the line and falling short of success….