Posts Tagged ‘sports marketing’
Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
In the broadest of contexts, the slate of Super Bowl XLVII ads was an impressive collection of strategic, fun, and in several cases, memorable marketing communication. I felt even stronger about the efforts after taking a second look at each ad that appeared during the game. By and large, the advertising seemed a bit smarter overall;
fewer sophomoric spots, fewer animal gags, and more ties to an actual brand position. That’s progress in my book even if I wasn’t constantly bowled over during the game itself.
As we’ve done the past three years, we like to analyze the spots that do a particularly great job of connecting a brand its audience, whether that audience is extremely broad or more targeted. And, for fun, we like to call out a few that we think just missed the mark. (more…)
Tags: AdBowl, advertising, branding, Commercials, sports marketing, Super Bowl XLVII
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Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
There will be much to remember from this year’s Daytona 500, but from a brand marketing perspective, the most indelible is unquestionably the use of Tide detergent to help clean up the jet fuel that poured onto the track after Juan Pablo Montoya’s Target car careened into a jet dryer during a caution igniting an explosion and causing a several hour red flag race delay.
Proctor & Gamble’s Tide brand, of course, was one of the sponsors that helped open the floodgates of NASCAR sponsorship beyond automotive-endemic sponsors, beer and tobacco. The Tide Ride holds a place in NASCAR marketing lore, helping carry Darrell Waltrip and Ricky Rudd to tremendously successful careers.
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Tags: Daytona 500, NASCAR, sponsorship, sports marketing, Tide
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Sunday, December 4th, 2011
As a die-hard Chicago Bears fan, this pains me to say, but I think the State Farm ad featuring Green
Bay Packers tremendous quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, might just be the best use of a celebrity in a single commercial that I’ve ever seen. A bold claim, I know. Endorsement legend, Michael Jordan has appeared in countless memorable ads for Nike (“It’s Gotta Be the Shoes”), Gatorade (“Be Like Mike”) and McDonald’s (“Nothing But Net”). Before the downfall, Tiger Woods was an endorsement juggernaut. Personally, I believe the best work he was involved with was the Accenture print campaign. (more…)
Tags: Aaron Rodgers, advertising, NFL, sports marketing, State Farm
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Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
I get it. Eat or be eaten, or worse yet, left for dead. That doesn’t mean I have to like it, nor does it mean that what is going on in the world of college athletic conferences is a good thing.
My beloved ACC has just added Syracuse and Pittsburgh to its roster pulling two Big East stalwarts from that now reeling conference. Expectations are that the ACC is still on a buying binge with lots of potential interest. The Pac-12’s Larry Scott, who along with Jim Delaney of the Big 10-and-then-some conference, have to date been the agenda setters. And, they’ve had the muscle to be those guys. The University of Texas flexed its muscles with its own network and has basically sent the future of the Big 12 into a tailspin. (more…)
Tags: ACC, college athletics, NCAA, sports marketing
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Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
I am not a runner. But I do like the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Wait, that wasn’t strong enough. I HATE running. But I LOVE the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. In my view, there is no better locally driven event-marketing play anywhere. When Bank of America acquired the venerable LaSalle Bank in 2007 there was speculation that BofA would drop the marathon program. Bank of America, while heavily involved in sponsorship, had not been active in running events. And, let’s face it, mergers and acquisitions often mean cut backs in staff and expenses, usually under the header of redundancy reduction. Marketing expenditures are often targeted.
A little history…the first modern Chicago Marathon was run in 1977. The event emerged quickly as one of America’s premier marathons and Chicago-based food marketer Beatrice Foods jumped on board as a sponsor. In 1987, G. Heileman Brewing Company took over the event and renamed it the Old Style Chicago Marathon. While Heileman was a Wisconsin-based brewery, Old Style had a strong reputation in Chicago. (more…)
Tags: Bank of America, Chicago Marathon, sponsorship, sports marketing
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Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Last week, DEEP ALLIANCE MARKETING executed a media tour with Bears veteran linebacker, Hunter Hillenmeyer. Hillenmeyer, who plays back up to two of the NFL’s top linebackers – Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs – was brought on as a spokesperson for the Staples Small Business Hall of Fame promotion being conducted by the office supply retailer in the Chicago market (more…)
Tags: Chicago Bears, endorsement, Hunter Hillenmeyer, sports marketing, Staples
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Sunday, August 15th, 2010
One of my sponsorship pet peeves (and there are a legion of them) is when a marketer does not think through what activation strategies will best work with a given property in connecting with a target audience. One specific mistake I believe is made too often is that national or global properties are acquired without giving consideration to whether or not they can be effectively activated in key markets/regions.
The simple key in our mind is to make sure your organizational structure and how your product/service goes to market are factored heavily into the pre-decision criteria screen. If you are organized by region or market, a strong national property platform doesn’t guarantee strong activation on a local level. (more…)
Tags: F.I.T. Analysis, sponsorship, sports marketing
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Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
The FIFA World Cup came to a close on Sunday, July 11, with a deserving win by Spain over The Netherlands. The match was far from pretty, but people watched in large numbers, including here in the US. According to reports (http://bit.ly/aCZQvB), over 15.5 million people watched the final match on ABC, setting a record for US viewership, while another 8.8 million watched Spanish-language coverage on Univision. There is no doubt the numbers are impressive and had the US team not lost in its first elimination match against Ghana, who knows if that number could have gone even higher.
On the heels of World Cup came news of Thierry Henry, the French soccer superstar, signing with MLS’s New York Red Bulls. Without question, the news for soccer in the US has been pretty decent of late. So, it’s probably a good time to once again ask the question (paraphrased for timeliness) I posed several posts ago. What will the interest in World Cup and the signing of Henry mean to soccer in the US at the professional level? (more…)
Tags: Adidas, David Beckham, FIFA, LA Galaxy, Major League Soccer, New York Red Bulls, Nike, Ronaldinho, sponsorship, sports marketing, The Netherlands, Thierry Henry, Victory Sports Marketing, World Cup
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Friday, June 18th, 2010
FIFA World Cup is now underway…I begin this post as I’m watching the opening match between Mexico and the Republic of South Africa. The scene is as electric as the hype has suggested it would be. Soccer is a unique sport, one that still doesn’t register completely with the rank-and-file American sports fan.
The question that is always asked leading up to the quadrennial competition – followed passionately the world over – is, “What will World Cup mean for soccer in the United States?” It’s a fair and logical question. But we feel the answer is not so simple. To be sure, there are plenty of Americans who really enjoy the world’s most popular sport. But, that hasn’t necessarily translated to love for the North American professional league, Major League Soccer (MLS). TV ratings compared to those of other “major” professional sports leagues remain inconsequential and attendance in many league markets is substandard. (more…)
Tags: Adidas, advertising, Budweiser United, ESPN, FIFA, Major League Soccer, McDonald's, Nike, Player Escort, soccer, sponsorship, sports marketing, US Soccer, World Cup
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Sunday, June 13th, 2010
With the streets (and buildings) of Chicago lined with fans, the Chicago Blackhawks paraded east on Washington, north on Michigan and came to a halt at Michigan & Wacker where a rally of an estimated 2 million people were waiting for them; a number that Chicago officials say is the largest celebration the city has ever hosted. But this celebration was not just for the first Stanley Cup Championship in 49 years. It was far more. It was the culmination of the resurgence that started three years ago. Friday was just as much a “welcome back” party as it was a championship celebration. It was the fans showing their appreciation to the entire organization for “committing to the Indian”* and making hockey relevant again in Chicago; something that just five short years ago seemed impossible.
Looking back at the 2005-2006 season, the Blackhawks were a lousy 26-43-13 with 65 total points. Good enough for fourth place in the Central division, ahead of only the perennial basement dwelling St. Louis Blues. The team was being run by Bill Wirtz, zero games were televised, and the average attendance was 5,000. That was all about to change.
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Tags: Blackhawks, Harris Bank, sponsorship, sports marketing, Stanley Cup
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