Top Brands Dive into Sports Sponsorships

by Ben Sturner | August 13th, 2010 | View Comments

We have teamed up with Ben Sturner and his extraordinary crew at Leverage Agency to bring you the top five movers and shakers each week in the world of sports sponsorships and marketing.

American Eagle’s Sponsorship Program Takes Flight
Joining the growing number of apparel brands sponsoring to build visibility, gain differentiation and drive retail traffic, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is expanding its use of the medium. Looking to make a stronger connection with its 15-to-25-year-old target, AEO recently announced a three-year partnership with collegiate athletics’ Big East Conference, around which it will present the men’s and women’s basketball championships.

Munich 2018 bid announces Allianz as new partner
Global financial services provider Allianz was yesterday unveiled as the latest partner to support Munich’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner | July 30th, 2010 | View Comments

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.

Twitter Sports Marketing Guide

by Lewis Howes | July 23rd, 2010 | View Comments

We are excited to introduce the Sports Networker’s exclusive Twitter sports marketing guide. We have analyzed the top twitter users in sports and formulated some key steps on how teams are marketing their brand to interact and build a relationship with their fans, helping create some of the highest follower counts on Twitter.

Maintaining a strong relationship with your fans is probably one of the most important aspects of a sports team off the ice/field/court. Social networks are effective tools to improve those relationships with die hard supporters while also finding new fans. From the Lakers to Real Madrid, we have broken down their best techniques into five steps:

When in Doubt, Tweet
Respect the Fan
Use the Resources You Have
Follow Back and Listen
If it isn’t Broken, Don’t Fix it

While every sport and team appeals to different fan bases, utilizing social media is something that every sports organization can capitalize on. No matter if you’re involved with an amateur basketball team or in charge of a pro football team, you’re going to want to take a look to see the top ways to improve your brand. Remember, all support and encouragement counts when you’re chasing for the championship. Download the free guide by filling in your name and email below to see exactly how the top sports teams put out their ‘A game’ and learn ways to grow your own following.

Download your free copy of the Twitter Sports Marketing Guide by entering your name and email below and you will receive an email with the link for the PDF shortly.

Why Sports Professionals Must Attend Conferences

by Lewis Howes | March 16th, 2010 | View Comments

Have you ever attended a sports conference?

Most sports professionals who have know how valuable they are.

Things change when you meet people face to face. I don’t know how the chemicals in our bodies transform when we actually see how someone looks, listen to the sound of their voice, touch their hand when we greet, and observe how they interact with others… but somehow you just know when you meet with someone if it will be a mutually beneficial business relationship.

These new connections can help you get to where you want to be in life, and throughout your sports career.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Attending sports conferences is the best way to connect with many of the top sports executives in the industry. However, it can be time consuming, and cost a lot of money along the way.

This is just one of the reasons to join the Sports Executives Association. This will allow you to still meet and stay connected to those top sports professionals, but from the comfort of your home or office and at the time which is most convenient for you.

Watch below to learn more about the pros and cons of attending conferences and write in the comment section below some of the benefits your have seen from attending conferences and meeting sports professionals face to face.

Work in Sports: 6 Tips to Get Ahead

by Darren Heitner | March 10th, 2010 | View Comments

Canadian Veggie Graduating from your undergraduate institution in April or May and want to break into the business of sports (particularly in the representation of athletes) but have no idea where to start? Here’s a list of options. There is no “right” path to success, but the following list provides some insight into ways that you can better prepare yourself for the life as a sports agent and possibly get your first foot through the door.

1. Don’t stop learning. Have you taken the LSAT or GRE? If not, it may be too late to take either standardized test in order to be admitted into a law school or masters program this Fall. If you have taken one of the 2 tests, you may want to consider getting a graduate/law degree. For one, the NFL requires that you have one if you wish to be certified by the players’ association. But even if you just want to focus your practice on basketball, baseball, or some other sport, the knowledge, tools, and connections you will gain from a masters program or law school are very valuable in this field. My own two cents – Go to law school and see if the school allows you to take some out-of-law classes like Sport Marketing.

Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner | February 19th, 2010 | View Comments

Time buy would move AVP to ESPN and ABC

By Terry Lefton & John Ourand

The AVP is close to finalizing a deal with ESPN, ending an association with NBC that dates to 1990.
As part of the time-buy agreement, ABC would carry four events, while ESPN2 will carry the rest of the AVP’s schedule, which has yet to be released.

(www.sportsbusinessjournal.com)

Sports Marketing + Charity + Brands = Community ROI

by Lewis Howes | February 17th, 2010 | View Comments

(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.

How to Fix the NBA’s All-Star Dilemma

by Lewis Howes | February 16th, 2010 | View Comments

(This is a guest article by Stephen Lombardo)

For what seems like an eternity, the NBA has lost some of its appeal to its fans when it comes to All-Star weekend. The game is the most entertaining part. However, they don’t actually play basketball until the final five minutes of the game. All-Star Saturday feels like it doesn’t even exist. HORSE, the newest event of the weekend, showed its crucial flaw this week when they turned it into a three-point shoot out until someone was declared the winner. The point guard time trials feel a bit lame, the shoot out is ok, but the slam dunk contest (the NBA’s marquis event) feels like less than a shell of its former self. How do you save this event, and bring back the excitement there was in the 80’s and 90’s?

Super Bowl Commercials & Domain Names

by Tim Evans | February 10th, 2010 | View Comments

Jessep242 Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with the art of making a good commercial. Those who are marketers, I’m sure can appreciate this too, especially when a commercial makes an audience remember the brand and remember the product or service.

But with a record breaking audience of 106 million people, I was blown away at the lack of importance to the companies who spent $2.5-$2.8 million (not including the cost of production or compensation for the actors) for 30-seconds of airtime and either did not display their company website address or displayed it at the very end of the commercial in small font with only a few seconds left to display the domain name.

The Sports Executives Association

by Lewis Howes | February 8th, 2010 | View Comments

The Sports Executives Association is coming soon. Many of you have asked for more information, and emailing me about the release date. It’s coming soon, and I wanted to thank you for your patience.

I don’t want to spoil all of the goods by sharing with you every last detail, but I wanted to share with you this brief video to prepare you for the launch.

If you have not already signed up on the list to hear about the official launch date, make sure you sign up here and I will be sending out information over the next few weeks.