Fantasy Football is here, hallelujah! I’m playing in two leagues this year (both all females) and the first of my two fantasy league drafts took place this past Sunday. Before we were accepted into the league, we had to agree to post at least three times a week on the message board, talk trash, and not be offended by anything anyone else might write. Um, ok! Sign me up!

Last year my team was pitiful… 3-10-0 and 11th out of 12 teams to be exact. I’m feeling a lot more confident this year, especially with Peyton Manning as my quarterback, Randy Moss at wide receiver, and the Ravens defense/special teams.  It’s estimated over $435 million is lost by businesses whose employees play fantasy football. I’ll do my best not to take time out of work to set my team, do research, or trash-talk.

Fantasy football is an amazing boon to both the NFL and the media outlets that cover the league. Countless hours are spent on web sites (with appropriate ads across the top, sides and bottom of pages), and reading sports magazines, trying to figure out who to draft and start for your team. Also, I’d guess that with each fantasy league team ‘owned,’ a person’s overall viewership of NFL games increases. Fantasy football has a way of making games that your favorite team isn’t playing in more interesting. Also, if your favorite team is having a down year (like my Buffalo Bills are almost assured of), there is still a reason to pay attention to the NFL.

All that means increased interest in the NFL, which means more television ads can be sold during their games, more people buy the ‘Sunday Ticket,’ and more channels can be created to exploit that interest (NFL Red Zone anyone?). That revenue flows straight into the NFL coffers and simultaneously creates more avid, engaged fans. Us marketers know that having avid, engaged fans makes you a more attractive target for potential sponsors.

What other ways do you think fantasy leagues have affected sports business? What is the best ‘real-world’ promotion you’ve seen that incorporates fantasy football? Who’s the best player on your fantasy team?

Last week, Pro Football Talk reported that the Buffalo Bills were taking some heat from fans for a season ticket renewal flyer that featured their punter Brian Moorman kicking from his own endzone (you can see the picture here on Deadspin). Well since that story, I’ve seen two excellent marketing and community relations campaigns that the Bills have come out with, so let’s take a moment to highlight the good stuff.

First is the Jim Kelly Football Camp Scholarship Sweepstakes. I love to see items like this where organizations provide an opportunity for people to take part in unique experiences, especially for younger fans. This is one of the reasons I really love what the Arizona Diamondbacks do every year with their season ticket scholarship program. It doesn’t take much effort on the organization’s part to extend these types of offers, and the value they provide those who participate is immeasurable.

The other campaign currently running is their “Bills All-Time Draft Picks and Draft Day Challenge” contest and micro-site. You can check out the site at http://www.channel1media.com/billsdraft/. This is a great way to build excitement about the team in the month leading up to the  NFL draft. There is a nice montage video of past draft picks that does a good job building on the nostalgia of past Bills superstars, and the site lets fans rank the team’s 10 best draft picks. This look back then transitions nicely to the question of what future Bills star they will select with their first pick this year, which fans are encouraged to try and predict. Both elements of the site offer prizes tied to the team’s past and future draft picks. In addition the site also offers valuable sponsorship inventory, with the All-Time Picks presented by Bud Light and the Draft Day Challenge presented by M&T Bank.

Nice work by the Buffalo Bills on both campaigns.

Time to recap the Super Bowl with a special Sports Business Winners and Losers breakdown. I’ll also try to capture most of the questions I posed in my “Pre-Super Bowl Thoughts” post from Friday:

Winner – Drew Brees – An easy selection for the player that should make the greatest marketing leap because of the Super Bowl. He already got to give the trademark “I’m going to Disney World” line, and there should be many endorsements to follow (hopefully something a little more glamorous than Pampers).

Loser – Peyton Manning – Not that I expect his endorsements to drop off, but as one of the most marketable players in the league before the game, I don’t expect Peyton Manning ads to get a lot of extra airtime this week.

Winner and Loser – Twitter and #SB44 – The Super Bowl completely dominated the Twitter-scape last night, showing its power to unite sports fans into one giant conversation. However, right after the play of the game (Porter’s INT return), Twitter crashed, probably due to everyone wanting to comment on that play. That was bad timing for Twitter.

Winner – Bridgestone – Of all the big time presenting sponsorships that connect to the NFL, Bridgestone really seems to capitalize on their halftime deal. The Who also came through with a solid performance (although not on the level of Bruce Springsteen’s from last year, in my opinion).

Loser – GMC – For a company that was supposedly the presenting sponsor of the biggest sporting event of the year, I still had no idea that they were involved except for the mentions on the NFL website.

Winners – CBS and the NFL – The game had a 46.4 rating and a 68 share, up 10% over last year’s game and the highest ratings since Super Bowl XXI in 1987 (USA Today). In total, this represents almost 100 million viewers.

Winner and Loser – Bourbon Street – The drinks were flowing and the celebrations ran through the night, leading to a good time…for most. However, one individual ruined the night by firing shots from his gun that injured three others. This is not the type of celebrating that New Orleans needs.

Winner – Las Vegas – Based on how the line move throughout the two weeks, it seemed like most of the Las Vegas betting action was on Indianapolis. With the Saints’ win, the casinos may have taken in quite a score.

Advertising Winners:  (Note: this is purely my opinion – I’m sure others will disagree, and that’s fine. Leave your opinions in the comments!)

• Google – A simple, effective and heart-warming ad that should have lasting brand value.
• Doritos – Pretty funny across all their ads, and they did a great job building interest leading up to the game since the commercials are all based on fan ideas that were submitted and voted on through their website.
• Denny’s – Their two ads will have more impact on a company’s bottom line than any other from this year.
• Boost Mobile – A little anti-climactic after the recent build-up, but still a fun parody and something that should drive a steady stream of visitors to their site that they can convert to sales.
• Budweiser – Pretty much the same staple of humorous ads like any year. I enjoyed the Voice Box ad the most, but the human bridge and house made of bud light cans were also strong entrants.
• CBS – Normally I’m not impressed by a station advertising its own shows, but I thought their ads stood out this year and they made the most out of their spots.

Advertising Losers:

• All movie trailers – I still do not understand how this is a profitable marketing approach, unless you are debuting a new trailer and want to make a splash (at least this was the case for Prince of Persia). I doubt that a 0:15 second spot for Wolfman will have any noticeable effect since this ad has been in heavy circulation for weeks now.
• Teleflora – Is it me, or did they run a nearly identical ad in a recent Super Bowl as well? Although, considering how close the Super Bowl is to Valentine’s Day this year, maybe it was a smart move.
• truTV – I just think that this ad was a little creepy, and even if they are launching a new football show, I think its a stretch to say that they’ve added 6 more weeks of football. After all, we have the NFL Network for 52 weeks.
• GoDaddy – These ads were controversial at the time, but now the schtick is getting a little old. Of course, I say that and I’m sure they get more hits to GoDaddy.com this week than any other time of year.
• Dr. Pepper – For all intent purposes, this is the same ad they’ve run with Kiss as part of their “Trust me, I’m a doctor” series of ads. I know they wanted to take advantage of Pepsi’s decision to not advertise this year, but was this the best they could do?
• E*TRADE – I might be in the minority here, but just like my complaint about the GoDaddy ads, I think this joke has run its course – using a new baby doesn’t change anything.

Super Bowl Sunday is just two days away, so I want to get some of your thoughts before the big game. Here are 10 questions to think about. Leave your answers in the comments below before the game starts, and then we’ll do a recap on Monday!

1. What company do you expect to produce the best commercial? How about the worst? The most controversial (besides Tebow’s)?
2. Will Tim Tebow’s commercial be aired?
3. How will the actual halftime performance by the Who impact the value that Bridgestone gets out of their sponsorship?
4. Which presenting sponsor from the past two weeks got the greatest impact from their deal (McDonald’s for the Pro Bowl, Bridgestone for the halftime show, or GMC Sierra for the Super Bowl)?
5. What player has the most to gain in terms of marketability and potential endorsement deals?
6. Will the NFL’s #SB44 hash tag be the top trending topic on Twitter on Sunday?
7. How will the ratings compare to last year? Could we have a record viewership?
8. Which team winning would lead to the most merchandise sales?
9. How successful of a year has this been for the NFL as a whole?
10. Finally, who do you think will win the game?

Enjoy the game!

Yesterday I found out that Under Armour was renewing their deal with the NFL to be the presenting sponsor of the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine. This is one partnership that really offers an excellent and natural fit between the property and the sponsor.

From the very beginning, Under Armour has built their brand around the idea of high-quality apparel for peak athletic performance. This concept has been consistent throughout all of their various marketing platforms. In fact, Under Armour has rarely endorsed specific athletes, instead opting to focus on the imagery of intense workouts and competition. What event offers more coverage of talented athlete workouts than the NFL Scouting Combine? Their brand and apparel will be featured on every potential draft pick that participates in combine drills, and with the increased coverage of the event on NFL Network and NFL.com, the exposure level and overall media value should be even greater than last year (they already have a significant presence on the NFL’s combine website).

A nice addition to this partnership is an increased level of activation leading up to the combine itself. Rather than being content with just media coverage, Under Armour is running a “Countdown to Combine” grassroots campaign in the Miami area. They’re kicking off this campaign by creating a “combine-like” event for local high school and youth football players right after Super Bowl weekend. Local events like this will continue right up to the combine itself at the end of February.

It’s good to see a deal like this between UA and the NFL. With such a strong fit between sponsor and property, both sides should see more benefit. If the deal was with a food chain, financial firm or some other disconnected industry segment, it would be more challenging to build a successful campaign around the event. That’s not to say those deals wouldn’t have been effective, but they would definitely require some creative approaches and extra effort to generate the same type of impact.

As time goes on, there is more and more content buried deep in the archives of this blog, so every now and then, I like to reach into “the vault” and revisit an old post. This article was originally published on February 11, 2009, right after last year’s NFL Pro Bowl took place. I discussed the pros and cons of moving the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl, which is this Sunday.

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Did you catch the big football game on Sunday?  There were some amazing plays and even a great 4th quarter comeback.  In case you’re confused, I’m referring to the NFL Pro Bowl, which due to the timing of the event and the lack of participation by many players, is generally the least-relevant all-star game of the four major U.S. leagues (yes, I’d even put the NHL All-Star Game ahead of it).  Because of the the NFL’s schedule structure and the risk of injury, the league cannot have a mid-season exhibition like the other sports.  However, the NFL did decide to make some changes for next year, moving the game up to the off-week before the Super Bowl and playing the game at the same location as the Super Bowl.

I’ve heard many mixed opinions about this change.  The biggest downside is that any Pro Bowl players from two Super Bowl teams (and theoretically there should be several) would not be able to participate.  But considering how many players voluntarily decide not to play in this game anyway, I don’t see this as a big loss.  Its clearly a negative for Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, but the contract with the NFL had expired, and the league is still going to give them a chance to get the game back in the future. (Editor’s Note: The game will be back in Hawaii in 2011 and 2012, but it may occur the week before or after the Super Bowl, still to be determined.) Finally, the players (and the wealthier fans) tend to enjoy a trip to Hawaii.  While next year’s Super Bowl is in Miami, future games will not be in such a tropical location, which could actually hurt game attendance by players and fans.

On the positive side, making the game an official part of Super Bowl Week will create more public interest and media exposure, which in turn will boost the ratings.  The Super Bowl is such an exciting climax to the season, that anything occurring after it does not get any attention.  This change also creates another exciting event for people in town that week, which is more important now considering the number of events that did not happen this year because of the down economy.  Finally, the Pro Bowl will be able to connect with the NFL Experience, which is one of the biggest attractions of Super Bowl week.  One of the reasons that the NBA All-Star Game is such a successful event is the All-Star Jam Session that takes place leading up to the game.  The Pro Bowl does not have that same type of fanfare in Hawaii, but in conjunction with the Super Bowl, there will be plenty of hoopla to help create a more exciting environment.

I think this decision will prove to be a good one by the NFL, and even if its not, I give them a lot of credit for acknowledging the current problems and trying something different.

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So last year, I thought this was a good idea for the NFL, but now that we’ve reached the week of the actual game, it seems like there has been some more backlash than I expected about an increased number of players opting not to play. Clearly this includes all members of the Colts and Saints, but there also seems to be more injury-related dropouts than normal.  Maybe the two week difference in game date is enough to influence these player decisions as well. I’m sure we’ll have a more final verdict on this decision after Sunday’s television ratings come out, but in the meantime, what do you think of the timing of this year’s Pro Bowl?

In case you didn’t see the announcement, the football stadium that the Miami Dolphins play in is now called Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Land Shark Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Sun Life Stadium! (Miami Herald, 1/18)  The previous naming rights deal with Land Shark Lager was a short-term deal (less than a year in total) and expired a couple of weeks ago, which almost left the facility without a top-level deal in place before this year’s Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.

The timing of the deal ends up being unfortunate for Land Shark Lager, since they just miss out on being tied to the biggest U.S. sporting event of the year (although I’m sure they had plenty of opportunity to renew the deal, but decided it wasn’t worth the cost). On the positive side, Sun Life has definitely increased their marketing spend over the past few months, and now topping it all off with “hosting” the Super Bowl is quite an accomplishment. There is also an interesting parallel with their recent television campaign where they want to change Florida’s nickname to the “Sun Life State.” In a way, they’re actually doing that!

The Dolphins should also get some credit for being able to turn around a full, five-year deal in such a small time. However, the contract is only worth $7.5 million for an average of $1.5 million per year, which is well below the revenue generated by most other NFL naming rights contracts. UPDATE: I’ve seen conflicting information on the annual cost of the deal. The Miami Herald article now says the deal is worth $7.5M per year (it’s possible I misread this the first time), while the New York Times is reporting an annual net fee of $4M per year.

I have a few questions on this topic:

• Has the frequent turnover in their stadium name had a permanent impact in the value that the stadium name offers to a potential partner? Along the same lines, can the naming rights partner generate as much brand equity being the 7th name on the building?
• Could they have generated more revenue by going with an even shorter-term deal for the upcoming Pro Bowl/Super Bowl events, and then exploring a longer-term agreement with a different partner?
• Does the fact that the Pro Bowl now has its own title sponsor (McDonald’s) diminish the value associated with the name of the facility where the event is occurring? Did that have an effect on the total dollar value of the contract?
• There seems to be a trade-off between pursuing long-term naming rights deals vs. exploring shorter-term deals. Which method do we think will be the trend moving forward. I would still think long-term deals are better for both parties in terms of potential value generated, but there is a definite loss of flexibility.

What are your thoughts on the situation? Do you like the partnership for the Dolphins and Sun Life? Who got the better end of the deal?

It’s one of the most frustrating things about sports… highly-paid players who don’t get the job done. Who hasn’t thought after a loss ‘I think our team could have played harder’ or ‘if only that player hadn’t given up in the 4th quarter.’ Well, a group of fans in England are going to be reimbursed after having that experience.

Last weekend, Wigan Athletic suffered a horrifying 9 – 1 loss at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. Hundreds of Wigan fans had made the trip to see their team play, only to watch them concede eight second-half goals. In an almost unprecedented move, the Wigan players have offered to reimburse any Wigan fans who purchased a ticket at the stadium that day.

With player salaries in the English Premier League being well above those in Major League Soccer, no one should worry about the Wigan players going hungry. The gesture, however, is one to take note of. These are professional players who realize that they did not do their job, and that their ‘bad day at the office’ cost hard-working people money that in this recession, isn’t easily parted with. It is refreshing to see a group of professional athlete take their responsibility seriously.

Their captain Mario Melchiot was quoted as saying “We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday (Sunday), and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty.” Now, no one gets to choose whether they see Kobe’s 81-point game or Kevin Garnett’s 14-point one (I personally attended the latter), but the recognition by these players that the fans loyalty should not be taken lightly is a lesson that should be learned by all sports business professionals, especially in this economic climate.

We saw a whiff of this last month when wide receiver Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals teamed up with Motorola to purchase the remaining 1,200 tickets to his teams’ home game against the Houston Texans. If those tickets hadn’t been sold, the game would have been blacked out in the Cincinnati area  and many die-hard Bengals fans wouldn’t have been able to see their team play. In these especially hard times, it seems especially important to find a way to make sure fans stay connected to their favorite teams, even if they can’t afford to go to the games. Black-outs are just about the exact opposite of that philosophy, as it removes an important touch-point between fans and their team.

So, what can teams do? Well, here’s an example of what NOT to do. Don’t sue your season ticket holders who have legitimate hardships. The Washington Redskins opened up a huge flap by suing season ticket holders who asked to get out of their contracts. Instead of working out a payment plan, offering to try to re-sell the tickets, or just excusing the fans from their contracts, the Redskins filed lawsuits. Lifelong fans not only lost their coveted tickets, but lost faith in their team.

In these tough times, teams need to continually be on the lookout as to how they can provide better service to their fans. Refunding them after a particularly brutal loss might not be the way to go, but there are certainly opportunities for teams to make their fans feel appreciated. Preventing black-outs, making affordable tickets available, and offering free access to select team events are just a few ways to keep fans connected and ultimately generate greater lifetime value and fan loyalty.

One of the things I love most about sports is how athletes, teams and leagues can use the power of their fan affinity for a good cause. This weekend, the NFL did a tremendous job with their “A Crucial Catch” campaign.

If you watched even two minutes of football this weekend, you saw pink everywhere on the screen: jersey patches, helmet stickers, cleats, towels, gloves, wristbands, cheerleader uniforms and more (check out this photo gallery for some great pictures). The announcers constantly mentioned the league’s pink initiative and the link to www.nfl.com/pink was shown regularly throughout every game. In fact, right now the entire NFL.com website has a pink background. I like this integrated, multi-channel approach to maximize the impact of this campaign.

The pure value of the media exposure generated by this campaign has to be tremendous, in the hundreds of thousands if not more. All of this exposure goes a long way towards generating breast cancer awareness and encouraging annual screenings.

Major League Baseball also deserves a lot of credit for their own breast cancer awareness programs, which is highlighted every year by the use of pink bats by many high-profile players on Mothers Day. I would love to see similar league-wide campaigns from the NBA and NHL this year.

Update: If you are interested in supporting the NFL’s breast cancer awareness program, you can contribute by bidding on any of the authentic pink items from Sunday’s games that are being auctioned here. All profits will go to benefit the American Cancer Society.

An interesting story has developed over the past two days. It seems that at yesterday’s Sports Sponsorship Symposium in New York, Mike Principe, the director for BEST (the agency that represents Michael Vick), announced that Vick had a deal in place with Nike. This was big news, since Nike was fairly vocal in their decision to drop Vick when the dogfighting charges were filed in 2006.

I wasn’t at the event when this announcement happened, but I have to believe the response was quite mixed. There would be a tremendous amount of risk for Nike to sign Michael Vick so early in his return to the NFL. At the same time, it seems like the response in Philadelphia for Vick has been mostly supportive and without backlash against the Eagles’ existing sponsors.

Fast-forward to today, and we have an official response from Nike (as reported by Darren Rovell of CNBC here): “Nike does not have a contractual relationship with Michael Vick. We have agreed to supply product to Michael Vick as we do a number of athletes who are not under contract with Nike.”

This probably makes a lot more sense from Nike. Every athlete needs equipment, and I see nothing wrong with Nike providing their products to a former client that is making a comeback. The relationship is very minimal, without Vick representing Nike in any formal or public manner (and yes, even if he’s wearing Nike products, that’s not indicative of representing Nike – he could have bought Nike product on his own to wear).

So why did Principe make such a public statement yesterday about this relationship? I wish I knew the exact wording, which would help determine if he over-exaggerated the agreement or if the audience jumped to their own conclusion. Either way, the story is now damaging to all parties involved: Nike for the “potential relationship,” Vick for the deal that wasn’t, and Principe for possibly misrepresenting his client.

By now, everyone knows about how the Dallas Cowboys sold about 30,000 “Party Pass” tickets for their new stadium home opener against the Giants this past Sunday night.  Combining the party pass tickets with the rest of the seats sold for that game led to an all-time NFL regular season attendance record of just over 105,000.

However, you’ve probably also seen some of the fallout from this strategy, which got some extra exposure via Deadspin yesterday.  To quickly summarize, the standing-room party pass tickets (sold for $29 each) were very popular but did not guarantee access inside the stadium, something that was not very clear at the time of purchase. A large majority of these fans were forced to stay outside the stadium and watch the game on large screens from the plaza area.

In addition, those customers that did get into the stadium found the standing rooms areas to be overcrowded and filled with pushy fans trying to shove their way to a good view. Finally, the overcrowding also made the experience around the stadium less pleasant for the regular ticket buying customers, many of which paid a high price for their seats.  Take a look at this video to get some idea of the crowding:

Since then, the Cowboys have announce that they may limit the number of party pass tickets sold, probably to about 10,000 per game, in an attempt to avoid this situation at their future games. However, I want to look at this a little differently. Clearly there was a nice demand for these tickets, even if that demand drops after opening night, and the Cowboys want to find a way to monetize this demand.  Also, having almost 1/3 of your game-day inventory at a single price point is probably not the best way to reach customers with varying price sensitivities.  So why don’t they create two versions of this ticket?  One version would be for $25-35 and guarantees actual access to the standing room concourses inside the stadium.  There would be a capacity limit on these tickets that makes sense based on the physical space being used, which will ensure a better experience for “seated” ticket buyers.  The other version would be for $10-15 and provides access to the outside plazas that show the game on the big screens and offer other on-site entertainment. The Cowboys have such a large, passionate fan base that there may be a market for these “tickets” even without being in the stadium.  What do you think?

With last night’s start of the 2009 NFL season, a noticed a few new sports-related commercials for the first time. So instead of the typical Friday news links, I wanted to share a couple of these ads and learn what you thought of them.

1.  Sears – “Brett Favre Cold Feet” – By far, the funniest commercial of the night (watch it for yourself). Seats gets a lot of credit for capitalizing on the Favre retirement/unretirement story, which dominated the NFL preseason. However, in a weird way, the commercial goes against the rest of their Blue Crew ads, where they’re trying to show how easy it is to purchase an expensive item at Sears. A little bit of a disconnect on the message here.

2.  Head & Shoulders – “Troy Polamalu Interview” – Another strong humor-driven commercial. Considering how Polamalu is know for his long hair (along with his football talent), I’m surprised it took so long for an ad to be built around his hair. Head & Shoulders is a great fit for this type of ad.

3. Budweiser – “Tailgate Approved” – This is another ad in Budweiser’s “Tailgate Approved” campaign. The pitchman approach is a funny, but a little over the top (nothing new for Budweiser about that). The problem to me is that there is little attention focused on the Fan Cans in this ad, which is the basis of their tailgate-focused campaign.

So what did you think of these ads in terms of their effectiveness and connection back to their brand and product?

Forbes recently released their annual list of NFL franchise valuations. Here is the list in order from most (Dallas at $1.7B) to least (Oakland at $797M) valuable:

Not too much of a surprise to see the Cowboys, Redskins, Patriots and the New York teams in the top five. Here are a few other interesting observations from the Forbes report:

• Houston Texans:  The youngest team in the league is all the way up at #6. They do have the most valuable naming rights deal in sports and the Houston economy is holding pretty strong, allowing the team to raise ticket prices without losing fans.
• Losing Value: The Raiders and Lions experience the two largest dropoffs in value relative to last year, which is consistent with the turmoil those franchises have gone through in the past 12 months. However, the 3rd biggest dropoff was the Colts! (5% drop in value). The reason behind this isn’t very clear.
• Minnesota Vikings:  The Vikings have tremendous brand value within the NFL, but the Metrodome is one of the oldest stadiums and really hurts the team’s ability to drive new revenue streams.
• Debt:  The bottom three teams in terms of debt/value ratio are the Jets, Giants and Lions, which makes sense because of the new stadiums (and in the case of the Lions, the lower team value). Surprisingly, the Dolphins are next on the list, maybe because of lower operating revenue in two of the past three years.

The Forbes article offers more detailed looks at each team, discussion on the impact of the recession and previous years valuations. This is great information and I’d recommend digging through all of it!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been running a poll to gather your opinion on whether or not you think an NFL team should sign Michael Vick.  Being that the Philadelphia Eagles went ahead and signed Vick last week, now is a good time to look at the results!

Just over 2/3 of the participants felt that an NFL team should sign Vick.  This seems pretty consistent with other articles I’ve read and discussions I’ve had with peers.  For the most part, a majority of people believe that he served his punishment for his crime, and as such, now deserves an opportunity to continue his life and his livelihood, which happens to be professional football. Multiple animal rights groups have even agreed with this sentiment, accepting Vick’s remorse and new efforts to prevent animal cruelty.

However, this also seems to be a case when the minority is very vocal, and often times, a vocal minority can have just as much impact as a majority.  People in and out of Philadelphia who disagree with the Eagles’ decision have found many outlets to voice their displeasure, including using different social media platforms to reach a larger audience. Many have also proactively contacted team sponsors to question their relationship with the team, threatening boycotts of the team and the sponsors’ products.

The first Eagles home preseason game that Vick could play in will be on Thursday, August 27. I think on that day we’ll be able to truly gauge the reaction of the fans and the community.

If you have an idea for a new poll, please use the Contact Us link at the top of the page to send me your suggestion!

In the same 48 hour period, we’ve had two major NFL quarterback announcements. On one hand, you have the conditional reinstatement of Michael Vick, a fallen icon who has spent the better part of the past two years in jail on dogfighting charges.  On the other hand, you have the decision to stay retired by Brett Favre, generally considered to be one of the most accomplished and admired quarterbacks in NFL history.  In addition to the timing of these events, they are also indirectly connected through the Minnesota Vikings.  Favre was only interested in coming back with the Vikings, but now that he’s decided to stay retired (at least for now), there is a rumor that Minnesota may be interested in Vick.

So what areas of the business are affected by these two events?  Let’s go through some quick examples (and yes, I realize that

• PR:  Both Favre and Vick come with some PR baggage, granted that there is a big difference in terms of degree. Because Favre has gone back and forth about his retirement so much (even expressing some immediate doubt about this most recent decision), he has lost some support from the fans and media.  However, it is nothing compared to the storm of negative PR associated with Vick.  While he may have “served his debt to society,” many people will never forgive Vick for his actions, and he (and any team that signs him) faces a long future of protests and unhappy fans.
• Marketing:  The presence (or lack thereof) of either QB has a major impact on their team’s marketing approach. The Vikings would have definitely found good ways to incorporate Favre into their marketing message, but now they must move in another direction.  Meanwhile, any team that signs Vick will probably need to market “around” his presence, taking a very delicate approach to any mention or inclusion of Vick.
• Merchandise:  The Jets had a large spike in merchandise sales when they traded for Favre last year, particularly in jersey sales.  The Vikings would have probably experienced the same spike this year if Favre returned.  It’s unlikely that Vick will have any positive impact on merchandise sales, and there’s a chance that the negative response from fans could hurt sales for that team and maybe even the league as a whole (although that is much less likely).
• Sponsors:  Favre is a very sponsor-friendly figure, and could have helped generate additional local sponsor interest in Minnesota if he returned.  Just the idea of having access to Favre through exclusive hospitality events could have closed some new sponsorship deals for the Vikings.  Meanwhile, any teams that thinks about signing Vick need to be concerned that sponsors could back out, fearing that their brand would take a hit from the connection to Vick.  This would need to be handled proactively and delicately through open communication with major sponsors before any signing occurs.  In addition, the NFL may need to be concerned about league-level sponsors (see Darren Rovell’s thoughts on this topic).
• Ticket Sales:  Ticket sales among most NFL teams are pretty steady, with many teams having limited inventory to sell as single game tickets.  Because of this,  I don’t think the Favre decision will have much impact if any on the Vikings’ ticket sales.  The impact for a team signing Vick will depend greatly on the specific market and the availability of tickets for that team.  There would probably be some short-term negative impact, but if Vick turns into a contributing member of the team, any negative effect could turn around pretty quickly.

Now I know that the situations with Favre and Vick are very different, so I’m not trying to directly compare the two inidividuals. I just thought the timing of both news items was interesting, since each one has its own unique impact to consider.  What are your thoughts on either of these stories?  Share your comments here!

No league has done a better job at marketing their sport in the off-season than the NFL, and one of the centerpieces of their off-season is the NFL Draft.  It has turned into such a successful event that the draft has better television ratings than the NBA playoffs!  Personally, I really enjoy ESPN’s draft coverage, so I watched most of Day 1 and pieces of Day 2.  Here are some business-related thoughts I had in looking back at this weekend’s event:

• Having the #1 pick requires such a financial committment that it’s no longer beneficial for the team.  One of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement is a rookie salary scale.  The Lions have guaranteed over $40 million to Stafford.  If he is a busts and the team fails, their reward is paying him, getting another top-5 pick, and then having to commit to another huge guaranteed contract. These teams simply will not be able to sustain these types of rookie contracts.
• Marc Sanchez was taken by the Jets at #5, but what type of salary demands will he have?  Contracts for rookies are generally based off the contract of the equivalent pick from the previous year; however, quarterbacks in the past have demanded a premium above their pick number. Will Sanchez have similar demands?  On the opposite note, the Raiders select Darrius Heyward-Bay with the 7th pick, much earlier than anyone projected and passing over top WR prospect Michael Crabtree in the process.  Will the Raiders use this fact to try and drive down his rookie contract?
• The Cleveland Browns traded down three times in the first round.  There are probably two reasons for this.  One – their team has so many needs that it was more important to collect additional picks. Two – the salary associated with picks high in the first round was more than what the Browns wanted to commit to.  The television coverage focused on the first reason, but the second cannot be ignored.
• Clay Matthews was selected late in the first round.  When ESPN cut to the video feed from him home, he and his family were all prominently wearing Muscle Milk shirts.  Could this be the start of a trend of draft picks using their television time to help pitch a sponsor’s product?
• How much did “personal” issues impact the draft?  Andre Smith was still a top-10 pick after his combine disappearing act and other questionable decisions.  However, Percy Harvin slipped a few spots to #22.  Did his positive marijuana test contribute to this?
• The Jets traded up to select running back Shonn Greene with the first pick in the third round. Thomas Jones, the current Jets running back, is threatening to hold out for a bigger contract, so is this a sign that the Jets are willing to move on without Jones?

What are your favorite stories from this year’s draft?

Even during the times when your team or league is in the offseason, you should continue to find ways to grow your team databases, both email and text messaging.  Here is a good example of a Seattle Seahawks email promotion that is using this weekend’s NFL Draft as a way to increase membership in their text messaging club:

The only thing this promotion is missing is a direct call-to-action in the email itself.  I know they want the person reading the email to use their cell phone to enter, but they should still give me a way to click now and get more information about the contest (beyond just the rules), show me some of the potential draft pick names (so I spell them correctly) and see pictures of the exciting prizes.  If I click on the email to learn more about the contest, I’m more likely to actually participate.  Still, the important thing is that they are using a valuable off-season event to continue to grow their fan database.

Darren Rovell from CNBC recently reported that Red Bull signed Devin Hester from the Chicago Bears to a sponsorship deal.  In addition, Red Bull also signed a deal with Reggie Bush earlier this year.  Normally, a major brand signing an athlete to endorse their products is fairly standard, but these deals are actually unique because of the fact that Red Bull is involved.  These deals represent a new direction for Red Bull’s sports marketing strategy.

Historically, any time that Red Bull has gotten involved in the sports world, they’ve taken complete ownership of whatever entity they decide to pursue.  This goes back to their original acquisition of an F1 racing team up through their more recent purchase of the New York Red Bulls of the MLS.  They also own a wide variety of action sports competitions and other unique sporting events.  What they generally don’t do is just sponsor something.  Red Bull is so focused on brand management that it’s more valuable for them to take complete ownership of a sports property than to sponsor it.  This provides complete control over how their brand is connected to the sport.

So, now Red Bull has two NFL athletes on their roster.  While their great speed and energy as athletes does fit with Red Bull conceptually, the company has no “control” over them.  These two deals might be completely isolated cases, where Red Bull decided their value was worth the risk of varying from their normal strategy.  Or this could be the first step in opening up their strategy to include new sports marketing approaches.  This is one brand that is definitely worth following over the next year to see what they do (or don’t do) next.

There was an excellent article in the Dallas Morning News yesterday discussing the naming rights prospects for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium.  To give a quick summary, the timing of the new stadium opening with the current recession will either force the Cowboys to take much less money than they originally planned, or they may go with a temporary name and wait for the economy to improve before signing a naming rights deal.  Dallas had been hoping for a New York-caliber deal in the $20+ million per year range over a 20+ year period, but no one is willing to commit to that type of deal right now.

I have to agree with the author that the Cowboys’ best bet is to take the wait-and-see approach, but only because they are the Cowboys.  If anyone still has a chance to land that type of deal, its is a global brand like theirs.  Also, because of their top-tier revenue streams (not to mention the wealth of Jerry Jones), they don’t have the pressure of needing naming rights revenue that some smaller market teams have.  Finally, they also hold an incredible bargaining chip in their pocket – the 2011 Super Bowl.  According to the article, the value of TV exposure alone for Raymond James, the naming sponsor of the Tampa Bay stadium, was over $37 million.  Combine this with their powerful brand, and within the year, someone will come around to their price tag…or at least close enough.

Did you catch the big football game on Sunday?  There were some amazing plays and even a great 4th quarter comeback.  In case you’re confused, I’m referring to the NFL Pro Bowl, which due to the timing of the event and the lack of participation by many players, is generally the least-relevant all-star game of the four major U.S. leagues (yes, I’d even put the NHL All-Star Game ahead of it).  Because of the the NFL’s schedule structure and the risk of injury, the league cannot have a mid-season exhibition like the other sports.  However, the NFL did decide to make some changes for next year, moving the game up to the off-week before the Super Bowl and playing the game at the same location as the Super Bowl.

I’ve heard many mixed opinions about this change.  The biggest downside is that any Pro Bowl players from two Super Bowl teams (and theoretically there should be several) would not be able to participate.  But considering how many players voluntarily decide not to play in this game anyway, I don’t see this as a big loss.  Its clearly a negative for Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, but the contract with the NFL had expired, and the league is still going to give them a chance to get the game back in the future.  Finally, the players (and the wealthier fans) tend to enjoy a trip to Hawaii.  While next year’s Super Bowl is in Miami, future games will not be in such a tropical location, which could actually hurt game attendance by players and fans.

On the positive side, making the game an officialpart of Super Bowl Week will create more public interest and media exposure, which in turn will boost the ratings.  The Super Bowl is such an exciting climax to the season, that anything occurring after it does not get any attention.  This change also creates another exciting event for people in town that week, which is more important now considering the number of events that did not happen this year because of the down economy.  Finally, the Pro Bowl will be able to connect with the NFL Experience, which is one of the biggest attractions of Super Bowl week.  One of the reasons that the NBA All-Star Game is such a successful event is the All-Star Jam Session that takes place leading up to the game.  The Pro Bowl does not have that same type of fanfare in Hawaii, but in conjunction with the Super Bowl, there will be plenty of hoopla to help create a more exciting environment. 

I think this decision will prove to be a good one by the NFL, and even if its not, I give them a lot of credit for acknowledging the current problems and trying something different.

Over the years, the commercials on Super Bowl Sunday have become almost as big a story as the game itself.  After the game ends, people love to write and argue about which ones were the best and which were the worst.  So, I figured that I should get in on the conversation too!  Here are my picks for “Winners” and “Losers” in the Super Bowl advertising game, and I’m basing my decisions on more than just which were the funniest.

Winners:

• Coke Zero and Troy Polamalu:  The idea of modernizing an old favorite with a new twist is a perfect fit with Coke Zero’s value proposition compared to classic Coca-Cola.
• Doritos Crystal Ball: This was a fan created spot, and it was definitely one of the funnier commercials.  It also had good focus on the product with the vending machine.
• GoDaddy.com:  Their ads aren’t anything special anymore, but they do have a gift for driving millions of visitors back to their website, which in their business will directly lead to revenue.
• Denny’s Thugs: The ad wasn’t that funny, but they decided to make their ad part of a bigger campaign by using the spot to promote a free breakfast for everyone on Tuesday. This ad will drive consumers into restaurants, and that make its successful.
• Hyundai “Bosses”: Hyundai knows that many other car companies are struggling, so why not take the opportunity to show off the success of your product in direct comparison to the competition.  This ad isn’t funny at all, but I think the angle and message are effective.

Losers:

• eTrade Baby: The cute, clever baby was a great idea last year, but its getting old and repetitive. I don’t see them generating new interest my just changing up the punchline this year.
• GE Scarecrow: What exactly was GE’s goal with this ad?  I guess they just wanted to improve their brand image, but I didn’t see any clear benefit to be gained from their ad.
• Pepsi and PepSuber (MacGruber): This spot was played the night before as a skit on Saturday Night Live, so it just seems like a waste of money to rerun it the next night.  It wasn’t very funny either, and it’s a little too self-mocking by Pepsi.
• Coca-Cola Avatars: This commercial does not seem to connect with the brand. Its just a guy walking around past a bunch of cartoon/video-game characters, with a pleasant soundtrack. How does this sell Coke?
• Castrol Grease Monkeys: This is a pun gone bad.  Very cheesy, not funny, and does little for the brand.

Please leave your comments and let me know which commercials you liked the best or hated the most.  You can view all of the commercials on YouTube’s AdBlitz page.

Now that the Super Bowl has come and gone, here are a few more business-related thoughts from the event:

• Glued to their TVs: Approximately 95.4 million homes watched this year’s big game, second only to last year’s Giants/Patriots game.  I was curious to see what type of impact both the economy and the Cardinals would have on ratings, and neither seems to have had a major impact.  Advertisers seem to have gotten their money’s worth.
• Player Stock Rising: Santonio Holmes – Holmes went from a “fantasy sports fan” type of player to a household name after his MVP performance.  He’s now in line to reap the benefits in endorsement opportunities. (I’d include Fitzgerald too, but his stock was already soaring because of the Cardinals’ playoff run)
• Players Stock Falling: Willie Parker and Adrian Wilson - This game was played through the air, leaving little opportunity for the Steelers’ #1 running back to excel on the big stage.  Meanwhile Adrian Wilson, a terrific player who gets little attention, finally has a chance for prime-time exposure and does nothing of note.
• Player Stock Rising AND Falling: James Harrison – One minute, he’s running back an interception for 100 yards, the longest play in Super Bowl history.  The next, he’s seen repeatedly punching an opposing player in the back when that player in on the ground, a clearly dirty play.  It’s tough for defensive players to really claim the spotlight, and Harrison might have ruined a great opportunity.
• Um, what was that? Apparently, viewers in Tucson, AZ did not see the typical post-TD celebration after Larry Fitzgerald’s scored. The local NBC affiliate somehow accidentally broadcast about 30 seconds of adult content, including male nudity (thank you to SportsMediaWatch.com). NBC is blaming Comcast, and neither entity knows exactly what the cause was.

I’ll share my thoughts and the best and worst of the Super Bowl ads later today or tomorrow.

Super Bowl XLIII is almost upon us, and with the big game comes many interesting business trends to keep an eye on.  Here are some that I think are most interesting:

• There is always an increase in the sale of high-definition television sets in the two weeks leading up to the game.  That trend will continue, but will there be a drop-off because of the economy?
• What will this year’s ratings be like?  On one hand, I’d expect them to be up because of fewer people hosting Super Bowl parties (meaning more homes watching the game by themselves).  However, the Cardinals also have a smaller fan base, which could cause the ratings to dip.
• How will the ratings be during Bruce Springsteen’s halftime show, and will Bridgestone get results from being the presenting sponsor of the halftime show?  (You can click here to try and predict his playlist)
• Who will have the best advertisements?  And by best, I mean both the most creative and the most effective. 
• Will there actually be more companies buying television spots, with larger companies not buying as many as they did in previous years?
• What will the total economic impact be on Tampa?  Last year, the Super Bowl generated over $500M in economic benefit for Arizona, but we’ve already seen reports of fewer parties and sponsor events taking place, so spending will be down compared to last year. 

What other “super” business stories are you following this weekend?  Leave your comments!

Today’s post is courtesy of Gail Sideman (www.publiside.com)

“Sports sponsorship is an emotional topic prior to Super activities”

“Now in for General Motors Corporation…Audi and Hyundai… Replacing FedEx in the lineup, and just in time for Valentine’s Day, Teleflora!”

While this reads like fantasy sports corporate style, these companies represent some of the roster changes in the Super Bowl ad lineup. As we approach the National Football League’s title contest February 1, an estimated 100 million NBC Sports viewers will watch more than the game that will pit the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers. They may also pay closer attention to the commercials than usual. Super Bowl XLII in Tampa, Fla., will be the first played since the U.S. government announced what many thought for months – that we’re in a recession.

NBC’s Super Bowl advertising rate card for 30 seconds of airtime was listed at $3 million, headed into this year’s game, although industry experts suspect that returning customers and the faltering economy have forced that number closer to $2.8 or $2.9 million.  It’s still no bargain for the average business that’s looking to get itself recognized by the masses.

What remains as the Super Bowl begins its countdown to kickoff is a debate about finances that began with the 2008 college bowl season. While corporations stand on proverbial boulevards asking for handouts and are laying off personnel, are they justified in spending millions of dollars for sports sponsorships?

According to most people informally polled for this post, the answer is yes. The consensus is that these companies still have to reach out to consumers and work to attract business and dollar for dollar, sports sponsorships are the most effective ways to do that.

However, the queries and emotions grow from there. Financial management companies and automakers, just to name two frequent big event sponsors, are asking for money from the U.S. Treasury’s Asset Relief Program (TARP). The 2008 college bowl season featured 34 games, many which boasted top billing as a result of big bucks sponsorships. Among them, Citigroup which presented the Rose Bowl; Capital One Financial Corporation whose company name replaced the former Citrus Bowl; Bank of America Corporation, which requested $15 billion from TARP and sponsored the 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl and Eagle Bancorp, Inc., which asked for $38.2 billion in TARP funds yet saw itself sound enough several months ago to make its resources available for a first-time bowl game in Washington, D.C.

College bowl games are evaluated annually so the 2009 lineup is yet to be announced.

Patrick Ryan Lewis of Winchester, Va., said that allocation of sports sponsorship dollars is not an easy debate. A dissenter of the government’s bailout program, he said one has to look at the intent of the money provided. In hopes that it’s to help companies improve and sustain their businesses, he said that enterprises have to advertise to maintain current clientele and attract new customers. On the other hand, Rep. Scott Garret (R., N.J.) said in The Wall Street Journal that he questions why banks – which reportedly aren’t using federal funds as intended – need to sponsor nationally televised sporting events.

Sports sponsorships have not been immune to the economic slowdown. While it’s far from creating a hardship on network partners – NBC’s “lower” fees are still 5-7 percent higher than FOX Sports’ 2008 numbers – sales have slowed from flood levels to trickles. For the 2008 Super Bowl, FOX sold its entire inventory by Thanksgiving 2007. Approximately 10 percent of NBC’s spots for this year’s game remained vacant as of this writing.

The bottom line is not always the bottom line. In events such as the Super Bowl or college bowl games, companies can reach more eyes at one time than other means of traditional advertising. Throw in a tie-in to a website promotion or produce a spot that creates word-of-mouth buzz, and the publicity alone will double or triple the investment as people talk about the spot(s) and hopefully react at the cash register for weeks to come.

As with any promotional tools, quality production typically reflects value received. If businesses that have suffered during the last year create targeted, meaningful, creative and emotionally charged spots, chances are that its consumers will react in kind.

I recently went on a small rant regarding a partner email sent by a MLB team.  My argument has always been that any partner-related email efforts need to tie directly back to the sports brand and connect with the fan’s affinity for that team or league.  Along those lines, I’ve received two emails this week from the NFL that I felt did an excellent job in this area:

Vote for the Motorola Coach of the Year:

Vote for the FedEx Air and Ground Players of the Year:

Motorola has a clear connection to NFL coaches through their visible presence on the headsets used during the games.  Now they can take that connection online via a league email campaign to vote for the top coach.  It’s a consistent platform across different channels with a great connection to the NFL brand.  FedEx doesn’t have the same connection to the actual game as Motorola, but they found a creative way to associate their brand and two of their products (Express and Ground) with two key elements of the game (passing and running).  As a fan of the game, I am much more likely to engage with Motorola and FedEx via these types of email campaigns.

A friend of mine passed along an interesting article from AZCentral.com titled “Tickets to NFC title game pouring into resale sites.”  The article talks about how this year’s NFC title game between the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles is setting records for most ticket resales on the secondary market.  Also, because of the large supply of tickets being resold, the average price is just $320 for the NFC game and $380 for the AFC game.  This is less than half of the $710 average price from last year’s Giants/Packers NFC title game.

On a positive note, at least people are buying the tickets.  The Cardinals had a difficult time selling out their inventory for their first round playoff game, while this game sold out almost immediately.  From the team’s perspective, this is a positive economic indicator.  However, the fact that such a large percentage of local fans have no intent on actually attending the games shows problems with fan loyalty and a lack of perceived value (Note: according to the article, only Arizona residents were able to purchase tickets). The next thing to monitor is how long the ticket stay available on the secondary market, and if prices climb or fall as we approach this weekend’s game.  That will be the strongest indicator of what the actual market demand is.

Today’s post is an email interview I did with Christian Busch, Vice President of Marketing for Takkle.com, a social networking site geared around high-school football.

Christian, tell us a bit about yourself.

My background is actually quite far away from American High School Sports. I grew up in Germany and lived in London and Barcelona before moving to New York in 2002. Since then, I’ve really gotten into the American way of life and the Internet and decided to join Takkle after working in the Internet and mobile space at Bertelsmann and Lagardere for about 6 years. Takkle is at the forefront of social media and catering to the high school athlete community combines my passion for the Internet with my passion for sports.

It seems like all different teams, leagues, and sports companies are rushing to get their own social networking sites up and running.  Why do you think everyone is jumping into this arena now?

Social media is one of the biggest trends of this decade and everyone now wants to be a part of it. I believe that there’s a right way for every company/team/league to participate in the social media revolution but the approaches really have to take into account the individual situation of the company. There’s no “one size fits all” in social media.

One of the issues I have is that, just because you offer a social networking service that’s tied to sports doesn’t mean you are providing enough value to pull users away from traditional social networking sites.  If you do enter the social networking world, what can a company do to create a real value proposition?

You’re bringing up a great point. The time when you were able to just launch a plain-vanilla social network and hope for millions of users is definitely over. There are very few primary (Facebook and Myspace and to a lesser extent Hi5, Bebo, Tagged, Sonico et al.) social networks that have achieved critical mass. But there are plenty of opportunities for niche social media sites that can provide a combination of content and utility to audiences. That’s why we at Takkle launched Takkle Recruiting last month and will continue to provide value to our users by helping them reach their goals and entertain and educate them with relevant content.

OK, once you get users to believe in your service and commit to it, how can you monetize it, and does the strategy change if you are a team vs. a league vs. a company like Takkle?

The monetization strategy for us consists of several revenue streams such as advertising, lead generation, market research and down the line also charging users for certain services we are going to provide. The approach for a team or league might be much more based on expanding sponsorship opportunities, increasing sales of tickets and merchandise and promoting the team/league to new audiences.

What do you see as the next “big thing” for sports on the web?

To me, the next big thing (besides of course Takkle Recruiting for high school athletes) is going to be to take the interactive conversation about sports online and mobile to the next level. Imagine live-sharing of clips in a stadium during a game and discussing the replay with tens of thousands of fans while sitting in front of your HDTV.  For sports fans, mobile holds tremendous promise.

One last question – in two to three sentences, what is the purpose and mission of Takkle Recruiting?

The purpose of Takkle Recruiting is to help qualified high school athletes get discoveredby college coaches and help them to really make the most out of their athletic potential. We launched the first phase of Takkle Recruiting in December and very thrilled with the results: more than 5,000 RecruitMe sheets were created by athletes within the first few weeks! We’re already offering athletes the ability to create their free RecruitMe sheet and get into the Recruit-Match database of high school athletes maintained by our partner, the National Collegiate Scouting Association, that is accessed by more than 30,000 college coaches in the country on a regular basis.

Thanks again to Christian for taking the time to do this interview. Social networking is an important topic in sports marketing today, but just building a social networking platform and expecting people to join is not viable. Any site geared around social functions needs to have a well-defined strategy and a unique advantage that is unavailable through traditional social networking sites. Takkle may have found that unique advantage in combining their recruiting functions with a passionate, young customer base.

With 2008 winding to a close, I want to countdown the top sports business stories of the year.

#4 – Off-the-Field Distractions

2008 was filled with an abundance of off-the-field player issues across several sports, most notably in football.  Here is the list of events that I was able to compile (if I missed any, please leave a comment!)

• February:  Roger Clemens goes before a Congressional committee regarding allegations of steroid and HGH use by former trainer Brian McNamee. Larry Johnson is arrested for assaulting a woman at a Kansas City nightclub.
• March:  Chris Henry is arrested for assault and is waived by the Bengals the next day.
• April:  News is released that shows Miguel Tejada lied about his actual age and last name.
• May:  Cedric Benson is arrested for operating a boat while intoxicated and resisting arrest.
• June:  Cedric Benson is arrested again, this time for a DWI, and is released by the Bears.
• July:  Matt Jones is arrested for cocaine possession and is eventually suspended for three games by the NFL.
• September:  Richard Collier is shot 14 times outside an apartment building in Jacksonville, FL and is paralyzed as a result.
• October:  Monta Ellis is suspended by the Warriors for lying about getting hurt riding a moped, which is prohibited in his contract.  Pacman Jones gets into a hotel fight with his own bodyguard and is suspended for four games.  John Daly is arrested for public drunkennessand eventually suspended from PGA play.  Larry Johnson is arrested again for spitting on a woman at a nightclub.  Joba Chamberlain is arrested for a DUI.
• November:  Plaxico Burress shoots himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub, capping a season of off-field distractions
• December:  Six NFL players are suspended for use of a banned diuretic substance (the players are appealing).  Sean Avery is suspended for making vulgar comments to the media, and the Stars eventually decide that he will not return to the team.  Mississippi men’s basketball coach Andy Kennedy is arrested for verbally and physically assaulting a cab driver.

Each of these events had an impact on their respective teams and leagues.  MLB had the linger of the Mitchell Report and Clemens vs. McNamee early in the year.  Drugs and alcohol use is an unfortunate trend.  However, the most issues have come from football, where the NFL has battled player image issues throughout much of the season.  All of these events make selling sports (tickets, sponsorships, etc.) more difficult.  Teams and leagues will need to be much more proactive about preventing these types of situations in 2009.

I will admit right up front that I am biased, since I was part of the marching and pep bands while in college, but having a live marching band and pep band at college sporting events is a valuable part of the gameday experience.  This includes pregame shows (think of the tuba player dotting the “i” in the Ohio State pregame), halftime shows (some southern schools have very elaborate and impressive performances), and timeout performances during both football and basketball games.  I am a firm believer that a live band can generate as much if not more enthusiasm from the fans than any canned music can.

On that note, I wanted to mention two professional teams that make use of a live band, the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Ravens.  Here are a couple of clips (note – the audio quality is not that great, since these are fan recordings):

The band is part of a long-standing tradition for both of these teams, but I think that other teams in both football (marching bands) and basketball (pep bands) could benefit from adding a live band to their game experience.  The only downside would be a small drop in ticket inventory for the band’s seating area, but this should not be a very significant issue for most teams.  What do you think?

Update:  TheTicketSalesCoach just told me that the Orlando Magic use both a pep band and a drum line as part of their game experience.  If you know of other examples (good or bad), please leave a comment!

Football Hits the Economic Wall – The NFL announced a 10-15% reduction in their staffing earlier this week, showing that even the most powerful league in sports is vulnerable to the economy.  They’ve also implemented salary/hiring freezes and are trying to slash expenses. Meanwhile, the AFL announced they may suspend operations for the 2009 season, although now it looks like they may be able to avoid this.

I’ve written several times about how the economy is hurting sports, but most of the time, I’ve referred to specific events or smaller organizations.  While the AFL is still a smaller league, the NFL seemed to be the league most likely to stave off these types of cuts.  Ultimately, it comes back to the drop in corporate dollars.  The automotive and financial industries have always been two of the biggest players in the sponsorship arena, and they are all making significant cuts, which is finally trickling back to the NFL.  But the NFL is still arguably the number one sports brand in the U.S., so they should have the ability to identify new categories that can benefit from aligning themselves with the league, even if they’re not as high-value as cars and banks.

Building off my previous post on using the holidays to drive sales, the Oakland Raiders have put together a unique program called “The 12 Days of Holiday Savings.”  Here is the email that I received today for the first day of this ongoing promotion:

I also received a “sneak preview” email to hype the promotion a few days earlier.  The majority of the holiday promotion is geared towards driving merchandise sales, and when you visit the site, they show you the next two days of sales, but keep the remaining offers secret to drive future website visits.  They also have partnered with the Golden State Warriors for a unique ticket offer called the Lucky Fan Package.  The Raiders may be having some trouble moving ticket inventory because of the team performance, so working with another local team and also building it into a contest (fans have a chance to win a $500 shopping spree at Lucky Supermarket) is a great approach, especially during the holiday season.

There are nineteen starting spots on each NFL Pro Bowl team.  If you had to guess how many of those spots would go to players on the Washington Redskins, you might guess anywhere from two to six, depending on your assessment of the players.  Well as of right now, sixteen of the nineteen positions would be filled by Redskins if the vote ended today!  That’s right – almost every starter should be a Redskin according to the fan vote (which in the NFL does only count for 1/3 of the Pro Bowl process).

How did this happen?  The team is only 6-4, so its not because of overwhleming talent.  Instead, its because of the aggressive and effective marketing campaign launched by the team.  The slogan for this campaign “Vote the Redskins Ticket” and fans are being encouraged to vote for every Redskin on the ballot.  The campaign started well over a month ago, and is supported with a dedicated “Vote the Redskins Ticket” webpage, complete with unique video segments and campaign news.  The campaign was has a strong presence at the stadium, and even has a viral component with bumper stickers and campaign signs being distributed all over the place.

In situations like this, you can almost argue the team is doing too much, skewing the results of an event that is supposed to showcase the best players of the season.  It even has an impact on the players financially through Pro Bowl bonuses.  The NFL is trying to encourage other teams to follow the Redskins’ lead, even suggesting that they get ideas from the Redskins if they’re having trouble.  So kudos to the ‘Skins for a great marketing campaign, and I hope the other teams in the NFL and other leagues follow suit!

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Yesterday the Seattle Mariners named Don Wakamatsu as their new manager, the first Asian-American manager in MLB history.  This is a great story for MLB, as the league has really tried to enhance their international presence over the past few years.  The number of foreign-born players continues to increase, including from outside of North and Central America.  The World Baseball Classic was viewed as a big success and the next WBC is coming up in March.  The league also ran the China Series in Beijing this preseason and actually started the regular season in Japan.

MLB is not the only league making large strides in reaching an international audience.  The NHL started their regular season in Prague and Stockholm this year.  The NFL has had a regular season game in England each of the last two seasons.  The NBA had preseason games in China and Europe this year, and has an international department dedicated to developing the game and leagues in Europe and Asia.  I’m not even going to talk about soccer, which is the most international game of all (although I do believe that there were more international exhibitions with MLS teams this year than ever before).  Clearly the U.S. sports leagues have a global focus.  My question is, for which sport(s) does it make the most sense, and are the leagues doing it the right way?

I think that the NBA has the best international plans of four major leagues, at least at this point in time.  Their dedicated global offices have done a great job in promoting and developing the game internationally, and the increase in popularity has been tremendous.  We are not too far away from seeing NBA-managed leagues in other countries.   The NHL has more work to do, but they took a good first step this year with the Prague and Stockholm games.  The U.S. audience has not embraced hockey as much the last couple of seasons, but the game is very popular in Europe and Russia, so tapping into this audience is very important.  MLB has done a pretty good job with the first WBC, but there are still some kinks to work out logistically.  They also haven’t been able to really spread the game much beyond Asia and Central America. 

The NFL has probably done the worst job of the four, and the game just might not translate well internationally.  After all, every other country has their own game of “football.”  The regular season game in London is just a novelty at this point, and the NFL Europe was a complete failure.  The more interesting markets for the NFL to look at might be Mexico and Canada.  They had a great audience with their preseason game in Mexico City, and Canada has a long track record in football with the CFL. 

What do you think of the various international efforts the leagues have made recently?  Which sport has done the best/worst job?  What sport has the biggest needs internationally?  Let me know what you think in the comments, and please answer the poll question on the right.  Thanks!

Earlier today, news came out that the NFL was close to borrowing almost $2 billion to help support the operating expenses for all 32 teams (Kansas City Star, 11/1/08).  There are two ways of looking at this loan – one on hand, the league has to be doing well to secure such a large loan on behalf of the teams.  On the other hand, the economic downturn must really be hurting (or at least scaring) some of the teams, so the league felt that they needed to take action right away.  Of all the four major sports, I have to believe that the NFL would be in the least trouble with their massive media deals and (mostly) sold-out stadiums.  Hopefully this is just a precautionary measure.

First, let me start by saying that my former classmate Brian came up with the idea I’m about to share (he said I could post it), and I think it’s brilliant.  The NFL is working on plans to extend the regular season by 1-2 games.  If they do add one game, Brian’s idea is for it to be a cross-conference regional rivalry game, with the two opponents playing and alternating home and away each year.  Here is his list of matchups:

This list of pairs leaves Minnesota, New Orleans, Cincinnati and New England, so the system is not perfect, but maybe some adjustments could be made (leave your own ideas in the comments…hint, hint).  You have to believe that this “rivalry” game would generate a lot of fan and media interest, the NFL’s version of interleague play if you will.  They could even play each other every year on a designated “AFC/NFC Rivalry Week” to really capitalize on it…the ratings would be huge!

I’m going to ask Brian to leave some more comments on the idea.  It really has a lot of potential, so hopefully the NFL will read this and use his idea!

Buried in today’s news story about whether or not Brett Favre helped the Lions was a little tidbit that I have to comment on.  This quote is pulled from an article on ESPN.com (10/22/08):

“After the FoxSports.com report surfaced, Favre issued a denial via text message on Sunday, which was reported by Peter King on NBC.” 

Apparently, Brett Favre is a big fan of text messaging!  If I remember back to his preseason issues with the Packers, he was also sending text messages then to update members of the media.  I think this is quite a statement on both the adoption and power of text messaging as a communications platform.

Tying this back into the business side, a friend of mine just send me a report from eMarketer (10/20/08) that shows how mobile users spend their time, and as you could guess, text messaging (specifically SMS) is the most popular activity at 53% of all mobile content users.  Clearly this is a communication medium that your fans (and apparently your players) are now very comfortable with.  Teams need to make sure they are collecting mobile alert opt-ins just as they would email opt-ins and start offering valuable text messaging based services such as score updates, last minute ticket deals, and news alerts.  It is critical that you use the right channels to reach your customers, and text messaging should now be considered a required channel!

Here are my recommendations and quick picks for this week:

Book: License to Deal by Jerry Crasnick - This book is more of a fun read than anything else, but it does give the reader a unique look at the world of being a sports agent.  Crasnick follows around Matt Sosnick, who runs a small agency with one marquis client (Dontrelle Willis).  I can’t believe that all agents are as genuine and interesting as Sosnick, but Crasnick does write about other notable agents in the business as well.

Website: BNET – The Great American Business Model – BNET is a business and management resource site, and they put together a special feature on the business of baseball.  The site includes some good content on baseball’s monopoly status, stadium and media revenue, and player salaries.

Team: Oklahoma City Thunder - We are just a couple of weeks away from the start on the NBA season, and with it, the official first games of the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Following the creation/transition of a new team or a team relocation is very interesting.  How does the team build its brand?  How do they build a relationship with a new fan base (which is particularly unique in this case, with the Hornets having played their temporarily)?  What is the relationship like with the new city and arena?  Combine this with the backdrop of how the team left Seattle, and you have a great story to follow this season.

Other: The New York Jets Coaches Club - The Jets have rolled out a huge campaign to auction off what they’re calling the best 2,000 seats in the stadium.  They are using the web, television, and direct mail to promote this seat auction, which is being run through StubHub.  You can see their commercial with Donald Trump on YouTube, and just today I received a beautiful direct mail piece (it looks almost like a wedding invitation).  I like their initiative, but the timing is unfortunate considering the current market conditions.  I doubt they’ll generate the revenue they were hoping for.

Do you have a good “pick of the week?” Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page and send me your picks!

This year, the Oakland Raiders created a site called The Raider Creator (www.raidercreator.com), which lets users take one of their own pictures, add the Raiders eye-patch, and create their own Raiders banner image.  Here is one that I put together pretty quickly:

I really liked this program for several reasons: 

• This is a great way to build a deeper brand connection with your fans, literally making their own image a part of the brand itself.
• The Raiders collect each participant’s email address, and then have an additional data collection opportunity by letting fans enter their image into a contest to be on a Raiders billboard.
• They give an easy way to share the image with others, and in turn, collecting the names and email address of the user’s friends.
• They’ve created a unique merchandising opportunity, by letting users purchase a mug, hat, or bumper sticker with their image.
• Finally, when you’re done with your image, you can “See Where You Can Sit” and buy tickets for an upcoming game.

The only thing this site is missing is the ability to share your Raider image via social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, etc.) which could make a service like this generate a more viral impact.  Regardless, it was a great idea and well executed.

On October 2nd, Business Week will release their “Power 100″ rankings of the top 100 influential people in sports.  This is always a good read – you can click here to see their 2007 list.  The list contains players, owners, executives, and more.  Last year’s #1 selection was Roger Goodell, which I think was a pretty good decision considering all the attention on the NFL after his transition to the Commissioner’s office (Pacman Jones and other off-field incidents, the Patriots, NFL Network problems) and how he quickly became more publicly visible compared to his predecessor. 

This year, I think the favorites would have to be David Stern (esp. after the Donaghy issues), George Bodenheimer, or possibly LeBron James (I would think he’d be the top player on the list, only because Tiger has been out of the spotlight lately).  In the meantime, BusinessWeek has a nice profile of Stan Kroenke, owner of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and the Pepsi Center (9/20/08).  There’s no doubt that marrying into the Walton (Walmart) family helped his pre-sports career, but since then, he has quietly turned into one of the most successful sports owners in the business.

C.W. Griffin/Miami Herald via MCT and NJ.com

The Brett Favre era in New York has officially begun on a positive note, at least in games that count in the standings.  There is no doubt that Favre should lead to a better product on the field for the Jets this season, but what type of impact is Favre going to have on the bottom line for the Jets, for the Packers, for the NFL, and for himself?  Here are my basic projections:

For the Jets:

• Significant increase in merchandise revenue (jerseys, shirts, etc.).
• Minimal regular season ticket revenue impact (Jets games sell out anyway).  Potential significant playoff ticket revenue, and a positive long-term ticket sales increase.  It’s great timing as they move into the new stadium next year.
• Significant increase in short-term sponsorship. What company wouldn’t want to associate with Favre, especially in the Big Apple?

For the Packers:

• Slight dropoff in merchandise revenue.  Favre jersey sales will drop off somewhat, but Rodgers sales will increase and Favre jersey will probably continue to sell on some level.
• No change in regular-season ticket revenue, short or long-term.  Possible impact on playoffs tickets revenue, pending the results of the Aaron Rodgers project.
• Minimal dropoff in sponsorship revenue.  Some will back away with the loss of their QB icon, but the Packers remain a powerful brand without Favre.

For the NFL:

• Large increase in media exposure for short-term media rights deals (I don’t know if they have any of these).  There should be no long-term change, as Favre will most likely retire before their current contract ends, one would think.
• Small increase in sponsorship revenue at a league level because of the increased media exposure of the NY market.

For Favre:

• LARGE increase in personal appearance and marketing revenue.  Being in NY should open the flood gates for corporate offers.
• No change in long-term NFL revenue.  Favre was going to get a nice post-retirement contract from the Packers regardless of his NY stint.

Overall, the biggest impact will be on the merchandise side, considering that 20,000 new jerseys were sold in the first 48 hours after he was traded (via NJ.com, 8/9/08).  All parties should end up winning financially from this trade, with Packers playoff revenue as the only potential loss (and that might work out well anyway).

The NFL kicks off their 2008-09 season tonight when the Giants host the Redskins.  The NFL has done an impressive job over the past couple of years making the season kickoff into quite the event, with a large marketing blitz, concerts, lots of TV coverage, and then finally the game itself.  This year, the NFL has added a new twist – the game will also be streamed live on NFL.com.  Now live streaming is nothing new in sports – MLB has been at the forefront with MLB.tv, NASCAR has done it, and ESPN 360 has done a great job with it.

The difference to me with this decision (and the subsequent decision to stream other NFL Sunday Night games) is the power that the NFL holds with their media rights deals.  They make over $3.7 billion with their Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN television contracts, and that doesn’t include their DirecTV deal.  So, why would they risk devaluing their television-based broadcast to stream these games online for free?  This isn’t like MLB, which provides streaming only to those that cannot view the games via a local station, or ESPN 360, which collects revenue from cable providers.  This is a completely free offering to fans, that could potentially pull them away from the TV. 

I’m sure the fans will appreciate the new viewing option – it will make it even easier to go back and forth from the game to their fantasy team.  There may be other ways to generate revenue from the free stream (sponsorships, fantasy games, etc.) that I do not know about yet.  It will be interesting to see if this has any unforeseen impact on their traditional television revenue.

Just a quick list of interesting links today:

• The Partnership Activation Newsletter – This is a great blog for anyone on the sponsorship side, and he just started putting out a monthly newsletter, so I suggest signing up.
• Getting Engagement out of Sports- From Pat Coyle’s blog (Pat runs www.SportsMarketing20.com).  Most organizations are looking for ways to generate revenue, but too often skip over the idea of engagement.  Without first engaging a fans interest and attention, they could easily block out attempts to drive purchasing behavior, and there is higher potential for engagement in sports compared to almost any other industry.
• A Longer Season for the NFL? – The NFL already has the largest television contract in sports and sell out almost every game across the country.  How much more revenue will they generate by adding a 17th or 18th game?  Is there any downside to this idea?  How will the players and league negotiate this change in the next CBA?
• Fantasy Football at the NCAA Level – The business potential is HUGE to expand the fantasy realm into collegiate sports, but where is the line?  How can you use the names and statistics of amateur athletes when their own colleges can’t use that information in a similar way?

The sports industry was hit with terrible news this morning, with the passing of NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw from pancreatic cancer at age 63.  Gene spent his entire life with the NFL, starting as a Hall-of-Fame caliber guard with the Raiders, up through his senior leadership roles with the players’ association.  You can read more about his career here.

Even though there was some recent doubt about his role and the upcoming CBA negotiations, there is little doubt that he has been one of the most influential people in modern football.  He has been involved in every significant negotiation between the league and players in the past 30 years.  He brought free agency and financial success to the players, while also agreeing to terms that ensured the long-term success of professional football.  His shoes will be difficult to fill, but I hope that as the league and players association begin their next round of negotiations, they have as much success as they have had under Gene’s guidance.

The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee recently released the results of their Super Bowl Economic Impact Study, and the numbers are, well, super.  Having the Super Bowl in Arizona generated a record $500.6 million in spending by both visiting fans and companies.  You can read many of the details about the study and the results through the Knowledge@WPCarey blog, since the host committee worked with the W.P. Carey Sports Business MBA program to conduct the study.

Since the study was released, there has been a lot of negative reaction, claiming that the number were artificially inflated for various reasons.  As someone that did a lot of the on-site surveying and who knows the people that did the calculations, I can confidently say that these results are completely accurate and justifiable.  I’d like to address some of the questions that have been raised:

“That figure includes the regular amount of spending that would have occurred anyway.”

Not true – the survey participants were only out-of-state residents.  In addition, one of the first questions was whether or not the Super Bowl was a primary or secondary reason for their visit, so that the numbers would include only spending that occurred because of the Super Bowl.

“They only asked people that they know were spending a lot of money.”

Not true- I can say first hand that this is not the case.  The surveyors attended different types of events all over the Valley during Super Bowl week, as well as a large effort at the Super Bowl Experience, which is attended by fans of all income levels.  No one was filtered out for low spending, and no one was targeted for high spending.

“If a company spent money to send someone, and that person was surveyed, then they counted that spending twice.”

Not true - the survey also made sure to ask about who was footing the bill for different types of spending (hotel, airfare, entertainment), so that the individual spending could be calculated separately from the corporate spending.

“It probably cost so much to host it, that we didn’t make that much.”

Not true – It cost about $17 million to host the Super Bowl, and only 20% of that number came out of public funds.  The rest came from private donations, thanks to the great work of the host committee.

Personally, it was a great experience to help collect the data for this type of study.  I got to interact with a lot of great fans and get a very unique Super Bowl experience.  I am confident that the results of this study are accurate, and I hope others will view them as such.