Three official college bowl game Twitter accounts (plus the Pac-12) got into some friendly social banter on Friday afternoon. I love seeing tweets like this – letting some personality come through with these big brands is the best way to engage fans. You have a little trash talk (“#EightViewBump”), some pop culture (a Game of Thrones reference, which I unfortunately don’t get since I don’t watch the show), and of course some humor (the 2-gallon jug of white-out – someone on the White-Out social media team needs to jump on this!). I especially like the last tweet reply to Christian Bruey of WFTV – “It’s football, not brain surgery. Have fun!” He’s absolutely right!

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Bill Peck.

A creative brief is a document that outlines the conversation between an agency or marketing group and the team or client around a strategic marketing and communications effort to accomplish an end goal –more revenue. A creative brief is usually the least you can expect from a creative agency when putting together a communications and marketing plan for a certain team or season. I’ve worked with at least one organization that did this every off-season in preparation for the next season of competition. At that particular organization, there was a complete renovation of marks, logos and brand identity during my tenure in addition to a long term plan of tactics set forth for at least a few years into the future. Building on that and other experiences, an effective creative brief does several things for your brand strategy…here are a few examples:

• It defines who you think your fans are
• It outlines what you do for your fans and customers
• It gives the complete outline of what your team is trying to accomplish, from the 50,000 foot view down to ground level

Essentially a creative brief gets the conversation started about the “5 W’s” – who, what, when, where, why. It incorporates everything from where are we now to where do we want to be and gets a dialogue going between the people who know strategic marketing and communications along with the people who know the game, the team and the fans. In more detail and taken from a class project I did as a graduate student at Seattle University, an effective creative brief asks the following questions:

• Who is our target?
• What do they think, feel or do right now?
• After this touch or this campaign, what do we want them to think, feel or do?
• What is the main thought of this campaign?
• Why should the target care about this?
• What else do we need to know to get started?
• Any thought starters?
• Anything we should avoid?

These questions are the framework from which to build your creative brief, but to be effective, a creative brief is just that, brief. It is a one to two page maximum length document that gives you a starting point from which to work toward final goals.

Here is an example of a creative brief one might put together for a college basketball program:

• Who is our Target?
  • Current students are our first priority because this is an audience that is already involved in campus life and are peers to the athletes on the court.  The student connection must be developed if we are to create a premier college basketball game environment.
  • Seattle University alumni are another critical primary target because these are people who already have a strong connection to our institution, especially senior alumni who were students at a time of great athletic success for SeattleU and remember SU as a perennial contender for the national title.
  • Young alumni are a target audience who likely have disposable income and looking for a way to support their institution.
  • Alumni and people with families who are looking for affordable entertainment options are another target audience of importance.
  • Basketball fans who are looking for affordable tickets to see high-quality, local teams at a highly visible community arena.  SeattleU will work to market every aspect of the team, including the regional opponents as a potential lead to draw fans into the building.
  • High school students and families.  SeattleU prides itself on being a community partner that connects with people on a personal level.  Use these connections to build on the fun aspect of sports and the connections that come from the shared experience of live presence at sporting events.  As an affordable entertainment option, SU encourages high school students and families to be a part of a great game experience that is easy to find.
  • What do they think, feel, or do right now?
    • Many students are currently unaware that Seattle University has a basketball team – we must develop awareness.
    • Of the students who are aware of the team, many of them are not aware of the free benefits available to them, including:
      • Free transportation to/from KeyArena
      • Free admission with SU ID
      • Free $5 concession vouchers for first 50 students
      • Student entertainment on the concourse during pre-game
      • Tons of free giveaways during the season
• In a close-knit campus community, word travels fast; many do not feel a connection with the team or its players
• After this touch or this campaign, what do we want them to think, feel, or do?
  • Personal connection to Seattle University basketball players and deeper connection to University
  • “This is Seattle Basketball.”
  • Engage with team players and coaches and with other fans
  • What is the main thought of this campaign? (or campaign elements)
    • “ON A MISSION”
    • Why should the target care about this?
      • We are at the heart of Seattle and the only collegiate sports team that bears that name.
      • We are downtown and at the heart of the city, both on and off campus.
      • We are a university community that supports SeattleU’s Jesuit mission and vision.  We are about students, alumni, and family.
      • We have a history of outstanding athletics success and seek to build upon that tradition of excellence.
      • We are an entertaining collegiate atmosphere that thrives on the energy and passion of its student body, THE RED ZONE.
      • What else do we need to know to get started?
        • Seattle University marketing brand strategy and licensing protocol.
        • Include traditional media such as TV, radio, and billboards.
          • Use TV games as an avenue to reach a broad audience and emphasize the “have to be here” experience
          • Drive attendance to TV games and emphasize all games on same radio dial
          • Place billboards strategically in areas with high alumni concentrations or near social centers
• Include social media and engage fans in conversation
  • Standard: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, team blog
  • Other: Gowalla, Tumblr, Flickr, etc.
• Promote pricing discounts on group purchases through Groupon or LivingSocial
• Develop a piece of fan gear that can be used in PR stunts, displayed in-game, and used year-round
  • Especially around holiday shopping season
• Develop a fan guide, print and online
  • Include fight song lyrics and audio, cheers, RedZone facts and questions, links to social media and team/University websites, Q&A about the team and coaches, University athletics history and timeline
• Develop personal connections with players through online videos and team blog
• Integrate in-game messaging read by student athletes
• Anything we should avoid?
  • We are not the University of Washington and don’t associate or compare ourselves with them.
  • Focus on the positive and encourage feedback
    • Avoid being a victim plagued by low attendance and lack of student presence

What do we want our fans to do after we start talking to them? This is a great question – begin with the end in mind.

Something else worth noting is that last question – “anything we should avoid?” When working with an outside organization this is an especially important question and one you might not consider until it is too late or until the brief has already been assembled. If you know of something that didn’t work last year or the year before, get that out into the open. If you got zero clicks on a few ads you put online, let your creative team know this. The more you can collaborate and work together, the more likely the final plan of where to begin will succeed.

I hope this post has helped you and I’d love to hear what you think about how your marketing team is doing with their own creative brief. Please leave your comments below. Go Forth!

Bill Peck is a sports business professional whose experience is in both internal and external operations. Bill’s Sports Business Blog can be found at williamtpeckii.com.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Jake Cohen.

When entering the University of Georgia bookstore, #11 jerseys line the walls in celebration of the Dawgs’ 12-2 record and SEC East Championship.  At $60 apiece, these jerseys fly off the racks as the Georgia faithful purchase any type of apparel adorned with their favorite collegiate athletes’ numbers in order to support the student-athletes who dedicate their lives to representing the university.  The NCAA would argue that these jerseys are just as much Connor Norman’s (UGA former walk-on and special teams ace) as they are Aaron Murray’s (All-SEC Quarterback), but common sense dictates otherwise.  Due in large part to the sale of this apparel, ticket sales and TV rights, the University of Georgia Athletic Department brought in revenue of $92,341,067 in the last fiscal year. This is an astonishing number in comparison to the value of an annual athletic scholarship, which USA Today estimates to be around $120,000.  Is this value of a scholarship a fair trade off for the typical student athlete? Absolutely.  Is this a fair trade-off for all student athletes? Absolutely Not.

In the capitalist world that Americans live in, the idea of a free market economy in which citizens should be able to profit from their skills and services is the backbone behind the ideals in which the system lies.  To the average scholarship athlete, $120,000 is more than a sufficient amount of value given the services that they provide to the university.  This does not include the value that the Johnny Manziels, Marcus Lattimores and Aaron Murrays of the world bring to their respective colleges and athletic departments, while being prohibited by the NCAA to benefit from their successes themselves.  According to ESPN’s Michelle Steele, Baylor estimated that the Heisman win was worth $250 million in extra donations, increased ticket sales, licensing fees, sponsorship deals, and an expanded deal with Fox Sports Southwest following Robert Griffin III’s Heisman Trophy Season in 2011.  The contrast in value of these athletes is astonishing and needs to be rectified.

With the difficulty in finding an equitable way to pay collegiate athletes and not ruin the amateur experience that being a student athlete is supposed to bring to these individuals, a different approach is needed to compensate the upper echelon student athletes who stand above the pack.  Despite the revenue provided by most universities’ football and basketball teams, very few athletic departments actually turn a profit.  These athletic departments utilized the funds provided by the football and basketball teams to support the remaining sports on campus that usually operate in the red during a fiscal year.  This would thus make it almost impossible for some athletic departments to come up with the funds to pay each student athlete.  It is for this reason that I believe it is necessary to separate a student athlete’s marketing endeavors from his or her on-field performance.

If these two money making sources are differentiated, each athlete remains on a level playing field by receiving the same athletic scholarship for their participation in their on-field activities, while the top tier athletes would be able to profit from their successes through endorsement deals, apparel royalties and appearance fees.  No money is taken out of the athletic departments’ budgets and student athletes are free to benefit from their hard earned success.  These endorsement deals and appearance fees are somewhat of a compromise, being that no value is taken from the schools, but these athletes would be able to receive compensation for their services.  Each athlete wouldn’t receive the same amount of marketing dollars, but that is the capitalist world that we live in.  Employees at almost any job aren’t equivalent in skill level and thus are compensated differently.  This rationale should be followed when it comes to collegiate athletics for many of the same reasons.  Anyone who tries to preach amateurism and the value of education is kidding themselves when referring to big time college athletics.  All they have to do is refer to the $610 million that ESPN pays out to the NCAA annually to televise the BCS football bowl games.  The business of collegiate athletics is just that, a business and should be treated like one.  Collegiate athletes should not be punished on the notion that representing their school and the value of an education is equitable to the services they provide, because it is not.  Waiting for their professional career is not always an option for collegiate athletes, because for many, that day may never come.

If one thing is certain about the transition from collegiate sports to professional sports, it is that it is unpredictable.  For every success story of Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck who have transitioned flawlessly into the NFL, there is a story about Eric Crouch or Jason White, both of whom won the Heisman Trophy for being the NCAA’s most outstanding football player, but had little more than a cup of coffee with NFL teams.  It is for this reason, that these athletes should be able to profit from their accomplishments while they are at school and while their accomplishments are relevant and at peak value.  For elite collegiate athletes, they could receive more than $100 a signature and hundreds of thousands of dollars in endorsement deals.  This money could be used to start up a business or provide for their families after their athletic career is complete.  If these off the field endeavors affect their school work or athletic participation, they are only hurting themselves and their own future.  With the right guidance and advice, these students should be able to find the right balance of providing for themselves and their families, while living the life of a dedicated student-athlete at which ever university they choose to attend.

There are definitely athletes who succeed in high school, then live a comfortable life while continuing their success in college and eventually having a prosperous career in professional athletics.  This career path is definitely not the typical route, and there are many factors that can affect these athletes during this time.  The uncertainty and the large discrepancy between the value provided and the value received by some premier student athletes, is the reason that the NCAA’s current policy on student-athletes benefiting from their on-field success and popularity is unfair and needs to be changed.  Under the proposed system, student -athletes would be able to receive the appropriate market compensation in terms of their marketing value, while not affecting the typical student-athlete or the universities that they attend.  These student athletes will no longer be exploited for economic gain, and big time collegiate athletics will finally compensate those who are at the forefront to their respective universities’ athletic successes.

Jake Cohen’s passion for the sports industry has taken him to the Queen City (Charlotte), where he works for Octagon, an industry leader in the sports marketing world.  By ways of Pittsburgh, PA and the University of Georgia, Jake has been able to cultivate his expertise in the area and share his experiences through his writing.

Today, the Rutgers men’s basketball program fired their head coach, Mike Rice, after a video was released publicly showing him verbally and physically abusing his players (click here for the full story on ESPN.com). It seems that Tim Pernetti, the Rutgers Athletic Director, knew about the content of this video at least to some extent back in December, and rather than firing him at the time, he suspended him and required him to participate in an anger management program.

Robert Barchi, President of the university, released the following statement today:

“Rutgers University has a long and proud history as one of the nation’s most diverse and welcoming academic institutions. Coach Rice’s abusive language and actions are deeply offensive and egregiously violate the university’s core values.

When video excerpts of basketball practices were reviewed last fall by Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, he immediately notified me and sought the advice of internal and outside counsel. The university hired an independent investigator to look into this matter thoroughly. Based on the external investigator’s findings and recommendations, Tim and I agreed that Coach Rice should be suspended, penalized $75,000 in fines and lost salary, ordered to undergo anger management counseling, and put on notice that his behavior would be closely monitored. Tim Pernetti also made it clear to Coach Rice that there would be zero tolerance for additional infractions. Tim kept me fully apprised and I supported his actions.

Yesterday, I personally reviewed the video evidence, which shows a chronic and pervasive pattern of disturbing behavior. I have now reached the conclusion that Coach Rice cannot continue to serve effectively in a position that demands the highest levels of leadership, responsibility and public accountability. He cannot continue to coach at Rutgers University. Therefore, Tim Pernetti and I have jointly decided to terminate Mike Rice’s employment at Rutgers.”

In addition, Athletic Director Tim Pernetti issued this statement:

“I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice. Dismissal and corrective action were debated in December and I thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate, but I was wrong. Moving forward, I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community.”

So my questions are:

• How should we view the AD’s original decision not to fire him in December, when he first learned of the coach’s behavior?
• Is the coach really being fired because of his behavior, or just because the public found out about it?

A good friend of mine who works in the industry and knows that I’m a Rutgers alumnus emailed me his opinion:

Didn’t the Rutgers administration learn anything from the Penn State fiasco? I don’t understand why people with 6- and 7-figure incomes and good reputations would fall on a sword for such low-lifes. I know Pernetti has done a lot of good there, but if I’m the president, he’d be fired today. And if I’m the school board, I do an investigation to see if the president knew about this, and if he knew, he’d be gone too. Don’t these people realize that in 2013, you ALWAYS get exposed eventually?

He has a good point. If this is a firable offense now because the public found out, wasn’t he obligated to make the same decision back in December? In the current landscape of college sports with scandals and abuse of power, shouldn’t all administrators have a zero-tolerance policy for situations like this? If he truly felt that Rice deserved an opportunity to “rehabilitate,” then the public’s awareness of the original behavior shouldn’t sway that decision. I guess he never thought the video would be publicly released.

There’s an old saying that before you do or say something, imagine that it ends up on the front page of the New York Times and ask yourself, would you be ok with that. If not, then don’t do or say it. Clearly, the coach’s behavior didn’t pass the front page test, but I think that the AD should have run his own actions or lack thereof through that test back in December and he would have saved himself and the University a lot of headaches.

UPDATE: Tim Pernetti resigned today. My friend had one more opinion to contribute:

I like how Pernetti’s resignation letter referred to “human resources professionals, lawyers and outside counsel.” YOU are the athletic director. You are paid a lot of money to lead. LEAD. L-E-A-D. It’s your job to lead, it’s not about HR professionals or lawyers or outside counsel. You are paid a high salary to be the person the buck stops with. Just. Do. What’s. Right. Why is it so hard?!?!

That’s a great question – it seems to be too hard for a lot of smart people.

Thanks to the MBA@UNC program for putting together this great infographic reviewing the business of March Madness. They did a great job covering a variety of topics, including TV ad revenue, mobile consumption, ticket sales and social media. Enjoy!

MBA@UNC

By now, you’ve probably seen hundreds of tweets, Facebook posts and other stories about the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax, as originally reported by Deadspin. There have been official statements release by both Te’o and Notre Dame taking the position that Te’o was the victim of this hoax. And of course, there are people insinuating (or even directly accusing) that Te’o was in on the hoax the entire time. To say this is an odd story would quite an understatement!

So, I want to know what the sports business community really thinks. Please answer the poll below, and if you have any particularly strong reasons for your opinion, feel free to share in the comments.

Results: Seems like a majority of people feel that Te’o was in on this hoax to some degree, but it’s not enough of a negative to knock him out of the first round or have a long-term impact on his marketability.

Prior to this year’s Russell Athletic Bowl (which my Scarlet Knights unfortunately lost), I had the chance to interview Gary Barfield, Executive VP of Russell Brands, LLC. I asked him several questions about how the title sponsorship of this bowl game fits into Russell Athletic’s overall marketing strategy.

How did you decide that a bowl sponsorship was a good strategic decision for Russell Athletic?

Gary: When the opportunity presented itself to us, it was an obvious decision. Given our long history, Russell Athletic has been a part of college football practically since the game began and a premier college football bowl game is a great marketing platform for us.

What was it about this specific bowl game that was most attractive to you?

Gary: The Russell Athletic Bowl will feature two leading college football teams in a packed stadium in front of a national television audience on ESPN and we are excited to add our name to such a premier bowl. Also, Orlando is a great host city and has fantastic people and have been nothing but first-class to us since the beginning.

Is there something about the current business climate that made it the right time for this move?

Gary: We thought it was the right time and opportunity. For us, this event will reinforce, to consumers, athletic directors, coaches and players of all levels, that Russell Athletic performs on the field of play and our quality and performance are second to none.

What metrics or objectives will you measure to help determine if this sponsorship is successful?

Gary: We will obviously be taking everything into account, with an obvious focus on it being the first year and setting benchmarks for future years. Russell Athletic will receive national exposure through television, radio and online media, and will be recognized in broadcast, outdoor and print advertising throughout Central Florida. Russell Athletic will also enjoy a presence on in-stadium signage and at the entire week’s schedule of Russell Athletic Bowl-related events, as well as a significant hospitality program for clients and customers.

How valuable is the hospitality that comes with being a title sponsor, and how will you use it?

Gary: We are taking full advantage of all that the event has to offer and have a multitude of guests, business partners, customers and dealers partaking in the various great activities over the couple days in Orlando.

How does this fit into the overall marketing strategy for Russell Athletic?

Gary: The exposure from the Russell Athletic Bowl will allow the brand to be seen by millions of consumers and provide us the opportunity to put our iconic logo in front of countless athletic directors, coaches and players of all levels. The Russell Athletic Bowl also allows us to further extend our “Together We R” brand campaign in new ways, while reinforcing that Russell Athletic performs on the field of play and our quality and performance are second to none.

Is there extra value for the brand in this type of deal in that Nike and Reebok are not bowl sponsors?

Gary: I can’t speak for the business strategies of our competitors, however as a brand whose heritage is deeply-rooted in college football, it is a natural fit for Russell Athletic to join the Florida Citrus Sports family as title sponsor of this premier bowl game. Additionally and again, sponsorship of the game and the associated media assets allows the Russell Athletic brand to be seen by millions of consumers as well as athletic directors, coaches and players of all levels.

How do the actual bowl participants potentially impact the value of this sponsorship?

Gary: We are extremely excited to have two great programs like Virginia Tech and Rutgers playing in the game. You know going with the tie-in with the ACC and Big East you will be drawing from a great group of teams.

What types of activation do you have planned around the bowl game?

Gary: We have several television spots that will run during the game, and on-site we will be taking full advantage of all the exposure opportunities the event provides. We will also be doing Russell Athletic gear drops via social media, and some other unique and fun activations.

For those that don’t know him, Kurt Esser has a wealth of college athletics experience, starting back at Host Communications in 1996 up through today where he is a Senior Associate Athletic Director for the University of New Mexico. While at New Mexico, he’s also been actively involved with the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee and NACMA (National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrator), including time as President from 2009-2011.

So, when Kurt decided to start a video blog called “Over the  Hump”, I decided I should watch and listen to what he has to say, and I think all of you should too. Kurt has great perspective when it comes to the different elements of a successful college athletics department, including department values, the student-athlete experience, managing relationships and building a career. And while most videos are specific to college programs, there are many takeaways that apply to all sections of the sports industry.

Here are a couple of recent video posts from Kurt. You can find the rest on his YouTube page, and you can follow him on Twitter at @kesser. Enjoy!

The Pac-12 has an opportunity to become the first property to deliver a true vertical channel of distribution to its audience.  Through ownership of its online and broadcast media channels with Pac-12 Enterprises and conjunctive on-site activations, the Pac-12 can control all facets of interactions with its consumers.

Pac- 12 Enterprises directive is to “control the distribution of the Pac-12 intellectual property rights in sports, and other Conference initiatives” via the Pac-12 Networks and Pac-12 Digital Network.  This directive guided the conference through their contract negotiations with Fox and ESPN.   The conference maintained that the Pac-12 deserved the highest rights fees in college sports, and the right to quality Football and Men’s Basketball games to bolster the programming for Pac-12 Networks.  The subsequent $250 million-a-year deal negotiated with Fox and ESPN has allowed the conference to invest resources into the development of the Pac-12 Networks.  The content produced on the Pac-12 Networks can then be disseminated through the Pac-12 Digital Network to the consumer via their preferred method of consumption.

The Pac-12 Digital Network is “the first sports entertainment network built from the ground up for integrated broadcast and broadband entertainment.”  The ambition to create “personalized, interactive and customizable video experiences for the web, tablets, smartphones, and connected TVs” demonstrates a vision in which the property empowers personalized consumption of Pac-12 original programming.  The Pac-12 Digital Network will not be a supplemental consumption channel to Pac-12 Networks but an additional dissemination vehicle of its content, inclusive of more than 850 live events a year.

The Pac-12 Digital Network’s approach towards the development of material specific to onsite consumers will define its impact across the sports industry.  It should be the network’s ambition to marry the vertical channels of digital and broadcast dissemination with the horizontal channel of on-site activation.  The inclusion of the on-site horizontal channel into its vertical distribution pattern will multiply the value of the consumer to Pac-12 Enterprises by extending the monetization strategy beyond advertising revenue into increasing per-caps and on-site tickets sales.  This could be achieved through the delivery of broadcast quality content from the stadium to fans onsite via a HTML5 strategy or campus specific apps.

A vertical channel of distribution enables properties to monetize their audience through the delivery of sponsored content and IP specific opportunities.  Digital and broadcast channels will increase per-caps through increased knowledge and enjoyment of the in-venue experience, and the dissemination of IP rights through integrated digital and broadcast channels will expand the presence of a property.  I look forward to seeing if the Pac-12 becomes the first true vertical property in sports.

Peter Amador is a Digital Sports Professional.  The views here are his, and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer.             

Over the past week, there have been several news stories discussing the Big East Conference’s attempt to add additional football programs in order to maintain their automatic qualifying status with the Bowl Championship Series. While the conference’s current structure had been dictated primarily by geography (the “East” coast), their current efforts are focused more on the caliber of program than a program’s physical location. Their current targets would lead them to Idaho (Boise State), Colorado (Air Force) and Texas (SMU and Houston).

If these programs decide to accept their current/eventual invitations to the join the conference, it only seems logical that the conference should change it’s name to reflect their new geographic expansion. Some suggest simply creating western and eastern divisions, but even with that structure, it still seems a tad silly for the conference to use the term East when playing in Idaho and Colorado.

So, I’d like to come up with some suggestions for the Big East, “crowdsourcing” some naming options if you will. I posted the question on Twitter yesterday and got the following suggestions:

• From @TamaraJoleeTV - America Football Conference: AFC East / AFC West…
• From @SportsLoop - STSS Conference–Sea to Shining Sea
• From @NateThompson_ - Conference USA (Editor’s Note: taken for now, but it could open up if C-USA and the MWC merge)
• From @tonymagnelli - How about “The Empire” because the sun never sets on The Empire Conference.
• From @mBLASzKa - Big Country
• From @PioneerPlanner - The Big Best of the Rest (EN: I somehow think they might not like this one)