Merchandising is a triple winner!

September 5, 2012 Leave a comment

Merchandising is a strategy for creating alternate revenue, making performance more tangible and creating walk around visibility.     Sports marketing does this extremely well.  Arts – not so much.  It’s time for arts organizations to consider a stronger merchandising strategy.Performance experiences need to feed fans who love to shop

When did you last attend any kind of major league event that you didn’t have a chance to express your fanship with the purchase of a cap or shirt? Check out any league team website and you’ll see a “SHOP” button clearly visible above the fold.  What these franchises have learned is that their logo translates into a walking billboard and a welcome expression of their fan’s devotion.

Merchandise sales are not just breaking records for the big leagues like the MLB or the NBA.   Minor league teams in the US report over 52 million in merchandising sales.

Merchandising is an option that is open to any performance experience with a fan base.  In the arts, there is a unique opportunity to express a creative flair in the product design – after all, it’s ART!

Millennial and boomer cultural consumers both are 67% and 38% more likely than the average population* to purchase tickets online.  Why not give them more than tickets to buy?  A clever merchandising option offers up a revenue stream and walking endorsement of your performance.  Now is a great time to add a revenue stream by exploring the creation of   merchandising that allows your fans show their love!

*USA Plus-Mosaic Au10-Se11, Scarborough Adults 18+. Millennial and boomer cultural are A18-34 and A45-59 respectively that report attending a museum, dance/ballet, live theater or symphony in the past year.

Filed under Marketing, Sports, Ticketed Events Tagged with , , , ,

Virtual to augmented reality eye openers

August 14, 2012 Leave a comment

Eye opening augmented reality - the future of ad inventory?The quickening speed of technology development adoption breeds constant speculation about the future of media.  Virtual to augmented reality is a likely trend given that the advertising business model reigns supreme.

First, consider virtual reality.  It’s a great match with our need to create more inventory to support the advertising revenue stream.  Most commonly connected with the creation of ad modules in mediated sports ( like billboards that appear on TV but not on the football field in reality), virtual reality ads can significantly multiply screen exposures.  Here’s a short example of virtual ads from ADvision – ranging from the subtle billboard style to the more ostentatious and invasive example of a beverage bottle erupting from center field.

Now fast forward to an anticipation of augmented reality that has gained momentum from Google’s Project Glass.  The development of these glasses brings into focus a world that increasingly could be augmented.   There are obviously vast implications of a world where people walk around in their own virtual shell.  One of them is  the use of this augmented reality as ad inventory.  Quoted in this NYT article William Brinker,  graduate director of computer science and software engineering department at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio notes  “…it’s also going to change real-world advertising, where companies can virtually place ads over other people’s ads…”  Or place ads and content where there is none in the real world.

This Fast Company article features a film that is as startling in its depiction of augmentation as it is illuminating regarding visual augmentation’s impact.

From virtual advertising to augmented advertising – technology and the permanence of the advertising business model mean we need to keep our eyes open!

Room for discussion:

Virtual reality is primarily being used in the world of sports.  What are some other entertainment applications?

Filed under Digital, Marketing, Sports, TV Tagged with , , , ,

Cultural confluence of sport

July 31, 2012 Leave a comment

Cultural attendees of both generations attend sports eventsResearch continues to reinforce the reality that audiences of all types are shared… not owned.  Millennial and boomer cultural attendees in the U.S show similarity in types of cultural events they attend and more importantly underscores a strong attendance at popular sports events.

There aren’t very many behaviors that these two generations share, let alone at a rate of 50% .  The propensity for cultural attendees of both generations to attend sports events is a clear stand out.   If almost 50% of your audience is going to sporting events – maybe you should (gasp!) explore collaboration with these teams? Even more shocking… but what about sports entities targeting the affluent cultural enthusiast?

People who do things, do things.  It’s a startlingly logical conclusion that is often ignored by an egocentric view of our own product. Exploring the connection of cultural to more popular culture has potential to grow audience and exposure.

Room for discussion

Sports events are a shared interest – so maybe sports advertising tactics can be shared?  What are some sports marketing/advertising tactics that translate well into the arts?

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Ejected NFL fans required to pass re-entry test

April 17, 2012 Leave a comment

Capturing fan emotion is critical for sports entertainment advertising campaigns

According to the NFL an ejected fan will now have to pass with 70% correctly answered questions from the code of conduct test to be able to return to the venue.

The NFL announced this past week their endorsement of a program that requires fans ejected from games for unruly behavior to pass a $75 test before being allowed back into future games.

Inappropriate fan behavior is an understatement in characterizing the fan violence in NFL venues and parking lots.  From highly publicized shootings and beatings to the overt intoxication and threatening behavior –all culturally known and experienced by anyone attending a game, all largely ignored by any universal edict of intolerance from the NFL.     Although each market has varying degrees of fan challenges, the league in general suffers from the unsafe perception created by each incident.  That perception has a direct negative effect on ticket sales.

In a league constantly battling a culture of licensed violence on the field, it’s amazing that the NFL doesn’t at least attempt to stop the fan behavior challenge in the stands.  It’s safety and good business. Even if the game violence attracts the core NFL fan, the ability to market thousands of seats to an expanded core is hampered by the lid put on ticket appeal by the unbridled passion of drunken “guests”.    The experience in these venues is being allowed to degrade to the point that more and more potential “guests” will opt out for the living room experience. Lack of NFL meaningful response is not good for fan safety and not good for the NFL wallet.

So we have a testing procedure.  It’s small, but a first step.   The test, available at  http://www.fanconductclass.com/  is designed by Dr. Ari Novick, a licensed psychotherapist.  Although there is no uniform usage throughout the league venues, it marks a long awaited response by the NFL to stem fan actions that threaten the safety of all fans.

Room for discussion:

Fan behavior is a safety issue and a marketing challenge.  As a marketer, what are some tactics that you would recommend to support fan passion but prevent inappropriate behavior?

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Yes, sports fans – sponsorships do indeed influence your brand perceptions!

February 21, 2012 Leave a comment

Measurement of sponsorships shows definitive and positive brand effects.Entertainment sponsorships have long been suspect as providing measurable results.  Much has been published in text books on the advantages of pairing products with the positive attributes of teams, shows, etc.  Reysen/Brascomb did work identifying fanship (self identity connection) and fandom (sense of belonging to a group that shares the same passion) as ways of explaining the power of this subjective attachment of fans to their teams.  But the actual measurement of sponsorship effects is rare.

Kirk Wakefield and Anne Rivers recently published  “The Effect of Fan Passion and Official League Sponsorship on Brand Metric: A Longitudinal Study of Official NFL Sponsors and ROO”. This is a much needed measurement of the actual effects of the connection made with the brands and fans through sponsorship. Their analysis points to significant brand gains in NFL sponsors.  In particular, the study concludes the more passionate the fan, the more impactful the sponsorship.

This work has implications for non sport entertainment and a very positive reinforcement of the role of sponsorship.  The effects of affinity as measured through brand knowledge, esteem, relevance and differentiation create a standard that can be mirrored by other content.

Room for discussion

Read through the Wakefield study.  What elements would need to be adjusted to create a similar measurement in arts sponsorships such as the symphony or a Broadway series?  Why or why not?

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17 years, 400 spots: “This is Sportcenter”

February 14, 2012 Leave a comment

Integrated marketing communications has at it’s corethe requirement that all representations of a brand are consistent and, uh, integrated.  AdWeek recently published an edition devoted entirely to sports marketing. Their feature, “ESPN’s Perfect Game”,  explored the 17 years of consistency in ESPN’s branding phenom, ; the “This is SportsCenter” ad campaign.

The entire campaign was built around a brand positioning that connected fans to their super celeb athletes in very down to earth scenarios.  The article notes that;  “ While Nike and every other sports marketer portrayed athletes as superhuman, ESPN presented them as absurdly yet relatably human—doing menial tasks, chatting with co-workers, enduring office life’s endless small humiliations.”

The results of W+K’s campaign is an unparalleled consistency of the same tone of irreverent and office humor undimmed by the over 400 spots.  Consistency goes beyond the tone- the dictate includes the athletes always being in uniform (mascots included), the humor is self deprecating, and the setting is always the office building.   See for yourself:

:15 Georges St-Pierre in the Octagon

:15 Arnold Palmer prepares his famous drink

:30 Landon Donovan copy machine

:30 Alexander Overchkin The Spy

Great proof that consistency can still be creative and successful!

Room for discussion

What other campaigns can you think of that have the same consistency?  What type of brands are connected to those campaigns?

Filed under Branding, Marketing, Sports Tagged with , , ,

For the love of money – be good to your fans!

January 17, 2012 Leave a comment

“In planning a new picture, we don’t think of grownups and we don’t think of children, but just of that fine, clean, unspoiled spot down deep in every one of us that maybe the world has made us forget and that maybe our picture can help recall.” - Walt Disney

Valuing fan love is a sustainable revenue strategy - and the right thing to do.

Valuing fan love is a sustainable revenue strategy - and the right thing to do.

Disney’s perspective of product development and fan respect offers great clarity to the commitment Disney (and Pixar) makes to its fans.  It’s a commitment that continues resounds in a entertainment business where the power of fanship and fandom (the emotional connection consumers make in defining their self concept and in socially connecting around any given entertainment) is often manhandled.

Celebrity and sports marketing is an easy area to illustrate fan manhandling. Be it the bad boy behavior of the overt addict in Charlie Sheen, or the illegal behavior of athletes like Michael Vick or the cheating done by Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick.   Still, those very celebrities thrive and the legalized monopoly of our major league teams continues to flourish and raise prices even in a recessionary period.

Contrast this to the positive effect of an athlete like Tim Tebow and an organization like Disney. They demonstrate just how eager fans are to connect to people and companies that respect the adoration of their fans and show it by how they act in a social responsible fashion.

Entertainment marketers make daily ethical choices that play on the “love” of their core fans who demonstrate their affection with hard-earned dollars.  Just like in a relationship between two people, that love needs to be treated respectfully.  Sure monetization has to happen to sustain sport, music, movies, art and all entertainment.  But ethical consideration and social responsibility in marketing decisions and behavior can go a long way to creating value and insuring sustainable revenue from your fans.  Disney and Tim Tebow  are great examples of the of creating value by valuing fanship and fandom.

Room for discussion:

The CBS Evening News reported in this video on the results of a probe that found 1 in 14 college football players had a criminal record.  If you were the marketing director for the University of Pittsburgh Panther football team under the conditions in the video, what affect would the high presence of criminal records have on your marketing of the team?  How would it affect your position as marketing director? What would you do about it?

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Making Losers Winners

December 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Capturing fan emotion is critical for sports entertainment advertising campaignsAt the core of entertainment marketing is passion.  Passion that connects pride and communities and supersedes the machine of business at the core of all entertainment.  It’s this passionate emotion that marketers connect to make losers winners.   The Effie award winning campaigns by the  Minnesota Wild and Atlanta Falcons are textbook examples of successful results in marketing fandom.

Minnesota Wild’s multiyear campaign is a celebration of the fan – a true homage to the 18 thousand ticket buyers at each game.  The Effies Minnesota Wilds showcase includes a video and case study that underscores the numbers that prove effectiveness;  90% season ticket renewal, record attendance and merchandise sales. A visit to the current Wild’s website Fan Zone shows continued use of their integrated “State of Hockey” campaign.

The Falcons were awarded a bronze Effie in 2011 for their “Rise Up” campaign.  The three-minute Effie video includes radio and TV spots that rock with the inspiration that combined with a good season record to record a 200% increase in ticket sales. The Falcon’s Facebook page continues to reinforce the “Rise Up” tagline.

It’s always assumed by sports entertainment marketing newcomers that the best place to be is on the winning sports teams.  That’s a tough assumption when you consider that 99% of all teams are losers!   And there is no better rush than riding a losing team to success. The Effie awards celebrate and feature proven successful marketing campaigns that capture this ride up; the Minnesota Wilds NHL campaign and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.  Great inspiration!

Filed under Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Sports Tagged with , ,

Penn State; It’s all about the money

November 14, 2011 Leave a comment

The Penn State scandal has riveted the nation and the waves of impact are being felt from Happy Valley on out through the various channels of their prodigious football media network.  Discussing the revenue impact feels a bit disrespectful of the children involved, yet the money is likely what prompted the coverup to begin with. It's the money, dummy.

The most immediate revenue impact came in the form of several advertisers/sponsors withdrawing from the ESPN broadcast of the Nebraska matchup and or on the gopsusports.com website.    For some advertisers that game was positioned as an opportunity to connect with a stronger than normal rating.   Indeed the game delivered with the noon 3.8 being the highest since 2001 for ESPN college football and the game averaging over 120% of comparable games previous year  as reported by USA Today.

CNN reports that Penn State’s $72.7 million placed them 5th of any college program in the county.  Marc Ganic, Head of Sports Corp., LTD estimates there is an additional $24.1 in merchandise/sponsorship to the university.   2011 football revenue seems safe given the end of the season timing of the scandal.

Penn State’s situation aside, dollars attached to college sports will likely continue to grow.  College sports, specifically basketball and football, l enjoy enthusiastic advertising support.  It’s not just that the college fan base is large (over 172 million) it’s also an educated and affluent audience – just what advertisers are looking for.

As for Penn State’s future, the monetary impact of the scandal remains to be seen.  In what appears to be a heinous attempt to protect the value of the Penn State brand at the expense of the lives of boys -  it’s a fair guess that value will decline.

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9/11 – NFL Opening Day or Thoughtful Remembrance?

September 12, 2011 Leave a comment

9/11 Recognition by Sports Marketers?9/11/11 was an odd mix of somber circumspect of the 2001 horror and the excitement and anticipation of the NFL season openers and other sporting fare including US Open and regular MLB schedule.  How did sports marketing connect with the nations’ mood?  It was a mixed bag with the emphasis on brevity.  Another missed opportunity to really make a thoughtful impact.  The Huffington Post did a great job of compiling most of the sporting event recognition in an article/video roundup.

Kudos to the opening session of many of the games – traditional taps from Shanksville, integration of the logos, unfurling of the flag the size of the field, moments of silence and patriotic aura of the first ten minutes or so.

But seriously – is that it?  I am not talking about wallowing in it for four hours.  I am talking about applying some creativity and thought on how to connect to the national day of remembrance.  Thoughtfulness that would include the most basic level of teaching the players respectful body language and how to mouth the national anthem.  To make them look connected to the recognition rather than just anxious to get it over.

The MLB really should be chastised for refusing the Mets request to don the caps of the NYPD and FDNY. What kind of stupid move was that?  The notoriety received by refusing the request was sure to create a PR negative.

Major league sports continue to ignore the opportunity to take energize their fan base in a way that elevates the emotion beyond the owner’s pocketbook to giving back to the community.  9/11 offered that opportunity and the league disappointed.

Filed under Branding, Marketing, Sports, Ticketed Events, TV Tagged with , , , ,

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