The Sports Info Business

See his video below

Hi all.  Please wait one second for me as I get on this soap box and try not to fall off.

Ok.  There.

I have made it a point to try and never preach here, but after watching a recent episode  The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, I thought it was time we spoke about sponsorship.  During Stewart’s 30 minute nightly broadcast, the comedian and his talented team of writers, comics and  crew went after Bank of America during one of the show segments.  Before we get to the video, I wanted touch on a few things.

1) I am not a customer of Bank of America

2) I have nothing against Bank of America

3) I am only using them as an example for this blog since Stewart skewered them on National TV

That said, let’s take the old 20,000 foot view of sponsors and sports sponsorship.  Anyone involved in sports knows corporate partnerships help both team/organization and potentially the sponsor itself.  Some obvious benefits:

1) Off-sets expenses for the team

2) Tying the sponsor close to the team potentially improves how fans see the sponsor

3) Delivers a new venue for the sponsor to deliver their message

4) Provides the sponsor a new venue to sell their product.

Bank of America is no exception.  They spend a considerable amount of money on sports sponsorships.  Taking a look at their sponsorship website revealed the following:

* The compamy is a Major League Baseball Sponsor

* They also sponsor NASCAR

* They began a sponsorship agreement with the National Football League in 2007.  It appears they are still a sp0nsor.

The web page showcase a few major sponsorship, but I am sure they do much more to generate goodwill as well as some of the points mentioned above.

Now take those thoughts and watch this BBQ.

Part of that comic bit was taken from this video, which Jackie Ramos, a former Bank of America employee, made and posted to YouTube.

Okay, if you have watched either or both of those two videos, you now know that Bank of America took a serious hit to this November, 2009 video .

As a company, you can invest all you want in sponsorships to make you look better and sell more, but if you are not operating in a way that consumers or employees expect, then these videos will become more and more common.

It makes a significant impact on all of the company’s other efforts while still making money.

I do not know Jackie and I do not know if all her claims are true.  However, the damage can be significant (see Dominos scandal which made it to The Today Show).

So, here are a few general thoughts.

1) Always operate in an ethical manner

2) Treat employees like you would like to be treated

3) Always associate with quality people and other quality companies.

2. The Best and Worst Super Bowl Commercials

This is certainly a game day topic and water cooler fodder for all Monday morning fans.  Which was the best, worst, and/or funniest commercials seen during the Super Bowl.  There have been some classics over time including this one I really liked when Michael Jordan and Larry Bird played an outrageous game of h-o-r-s-e in a McDonald’s commercials from a past Super Bowl

3. First For New Orleans or Peyton’s Legacy?

Sentimental favorite is on the Saints side for obvious reasons.  As for Manning, the guy who could not win the big one might own two championship rings within the next five days.  Let the debate begin.

4. The score by quarters

This week, bosses may or may not know that productivity is going down, or, maybe they are part of it.  Fans across the nation and around the world are filling in blank squares as Super Bowl football pools his their stride.  True confessions.  I have never won a dime in a Super Bowl pool, but usually play them every year.  Why?  We all want to have a vested interest in rooting for SOMETHING even if our favorite childhood team is not playing in the big game.  What numbers do you own and how many squares did you initial?

5. Who is Playing at Halftime?!

The legendary rock and roll band, The Who, is scheduled to perform during halftime of Super Bowl XLIV.  The talk is starting this week, will pick up into game time and be reviewed by anyone who saw the performance starting on Monday/

6. Classic Super Bowl Foods

I was visiting the farmer’s market in my neighborhood over the weekend and stopped at a particular farmer who sells avocados (que Pavlov’s dog cause my mouth is watering).  I asked him how business would be this week, leading up to the Super Bowl  His eyes got wide and said this is his biggest week of the year.  No surprise.  Need some off the wall Super Bowl trivia to throw at friends. try these food based facts I wrote about last year at this time.

7. Living Up to Expectations

Reggie Bush has proven, at times to be a dynamic, all-star caliber NFL player.  Bush, the number two pick in the 2006 National Football League Draft, though has also vanished from other football games and has been called Mr. Kardashian by skeptics.  It is certainly a below the belt shot and reference to girlfriend Kim Kardashian.  Bush has three touchdowns during the playoffs  and has the greatest chance to quiet the critics, once and for all with a big game.

8. Media Day

It has been called a circus-like atmosphere, which is disguised as Super Bowl Media Day.  Hundreds of media descend on players, coaches, trainers and even fans looking for a unique angle or story to tell as reporters look to fill time on TV, radio, print and blogs until Sunday.  I always enjoy the story about the idiot questions a few knucklehead reporters wind up asking.  That said, there is no shortage of topics or story lines this week.  The Colts are return to Miami where they defeated the Chicago Bears three years ago during a rain soaked Super Bowl.  You have a few stories lines about Peyton Manning, the son of legendary Saints QB Archie who grew up in New Orleans.  You have the city’s recovery from the Hurricane, the Saints First Ever Super Bowl appearance and on and on it will go…..

9. The Sentimental Favorites

The average fan is going to want the Saints to win.  As mentioned above, having never won the big prize, plus the post-Hurricane impact favors the Saints.  However, the Las Vegas odds-makers for the Super Bowl Think Otherwise.  I heard on the radio, Los Angeles DJ’s mentioning the odds had started at 5 points in favor of the Colts and since have moved to six points.  Are they right?  We will have to see….

10. Oh Yeah, the Game

After all is said and done, it is about 60 minutes in the biggest game, on the largest stage for people in the United States and around the world to watch.  Four hours of an actual game-day football presentation and even more hours of analyzing the pre- and post game make it a day that keeps millions of Americans glued to the TV. (Hint) If you enjoy shopping with no traffic, today is your day.

Yesterday, we tackled the NFL and today we feature the National Basketball Association and how its teams use social media.

Let me just begin by saying, if you did not see yesterday’s article on the NFL, you can easily click on it here. Overall, I applaud teams for entering into the next stage of sports marketing and that is using social media to listen, brand and communicate with fans via different platforms.  However, just because they develop a site does not mean the team is using best practices.

Today, we begin with Twitter.  I put together a brief chart on the top five teams using Twitter. based on the number of followers each organization has listed over the weekend.

Okay, it has been a while between normal posts.

It is not that I have been ignoring my blog.  Rather, my business Coast 2 Coast Experts, has kept me very busy of late.  We have been assisting companies launch email marketing programs, develop company-wide social media guidelines, pitching and placing clients on the front pages of magazine as well as other strategic marketing initiatives.

Currently, I am preparing to assist a professional sports team and began doing research in how the top four sports organizations (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL) are using Facebook and Twitter.  I know that there are dozens of social media tools, but based on current understanding, critical mass and immediate impact, I chose these two platforms for today’s discussion.

On January 23, 2010, I surveyed each individual team in the National Football League as well as the National Basketball Association for their activities in Twitter and Facebook.  I started by looking on the league sites and then, I went to each individual team to see the following:

1) Were the actively participating?

2) Were they/How were they marketing the tools?

3) What were they saying?

THE NFL

For all but two teams, the 2009 NFL season is over.  The upstart Jets’ season came to a premature conclusion last night when the Peyton Manning and the Colts figured out New York’s defense and is returning to the Super Bowl.  The second game between the Saints and Vikings proved to be a thriller and the Saints are now scheduling their first visit to the Super Bowl in franchise history.

Before the games were played however, I wanted to see  how every team in the league was tackling these two social media platforms.  First, some stats to digest.

Team                             Facebook Fans

1. Pittsburgh Steelers 458,252

2. Minnesota Vikings 323,197

3. Indianapolis Colts 242,032

4. Green Bay Packers 218, 232

5. Washington Redskins 210,037

Now, if you click on any of the teams listed above in red, you will find that the numbers of fans do not match the numbers I am reporting.  Why?  Because I did a survey over the weekend of every team around the same time.  As with any social media tool, the numbers will fluctuate n a real time manner.

I know what you are saying as you read this, of course the Colts and the Vikings are on the list, they were playing for the Super Bowl.  If that is so, then why are the Redskins, Green Bay Packers and Steelters on the list then?  Some of it is winning no doubt, but some of it is applying the social media tools and marketing them tot he fans correctly.  Why weren’t the aints or the Jets there?  The Saints have one of the lowest facebook fan followings with a but more than 42,000 folks adding them to their accounts.  And the Jets?  They were ranked 13th with nearly 87,000 fans.

On to Twitter….

The Micro-blogging tool turned up these top teams in the number of followers.

1. New England Patriots 33,401 followers

2, San Diego Chargers 31,857 followers

3, New York Jets 20,971 followers

4 Oakland Raiders 20,687 followers

5, San Francisco 49ers 20,535 followers

All of these numbers are fine and dandy if we were doing a straight popularity contest, but here is the thing.  Just about every sports team is getting it wrong, including some of the teams listed in these two charts.  First of all, they are not taking a strategic approach, second of all they are not marketing and reaching fans in the correct manner, yet most of them know they need a presence.

I would be willing to bet dollars to donuts that fewer than 10% have an actual social media policy.  Even fewer still have had key executives trained on these communication tools.

I would call it opportunity missed.

Giving current employees additional duties or putting an intern in charge of communication is not the right business decision.  There are a few leading companies that do get it and they have developed or appointed someone or a team devoted to digital strategy.  The world is changing and sports teams need to change with it.  Now.

Tomorrow, I tackle what the NBA’s teams and numbers look like from the weekend.

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Notes:  I could not locate official Facebook fan sites for the following teams:  Dallas Cowboys, NY Giants, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams.  As for Twitter, the following teams, according to my research, are not using the tool:  New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers.  If they are and I have missed something, please help me locate their sites.  Not only are they missing an important communications strategy, they are letting others control their name and message.

The numbers are from my own research.  One of the issues sports teams as well s businesses have is sites like Twitter have not created a tool to verify business sites.  So, there is a chance that some of these sites might not be the “official site of” — Another job for someone at the league offices.

Pete Carroll (then) USC head football coach with Charles Harris (me) before a fundraising event in Orange County

It has been a few days here on the West Coast since USC football coach Pete Carroll announced he is leaving the Southern California college coaching scene and heading to Seattle to coach the Seattle Seahawks.

Carroll, ressurected the USC football program and in nine years took it from oblivon to center stage.

National Champions, Heisman Trophy winners some of the best recruits in the nation, the Trojans had it all.

What I didn’t know until reading Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke’s story this morning on Carroll was that he was USC’s fourth choice to coach the football team.

The first three had turned down the position and luckily for Carroll, the others didn’t see what Pete did.  He didn’t exactly start off in the best of times at USC.  Plaschke, who was the Dodgers beat writer while I was with the team in the ’90’s and one of the best sports writers today, pointed out “But none of it mattered because USC was in relative tatters, without a bowl win in five years, without a 10-win season in more than a decade, without a national title in 22 years.”

Nine years later, the story has changed and someone will inherit a program in much better shape, NCAA investigation and all.

Carroll arrived at USC after a less than stellar NFL coaching career where he was booted from the NY Jets after a 6-10 record and a three year mark at New England (27-22).

Four is certainly the new number one.  He is not alone, however.

I tend to stay away from tell all sports books.  After having been around the business for so long, my reading interests have become pretty diverse.  These days, I am more likely to read Devil in the White City or The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind than read the latest tell-all sports book.

That said, I did pick up Joe Torre’s book, published last year and called The Yankee Years yesterday and plowed through the first 100 pages late into the night. I mention it only because of the way the first chapter and the first page began.

“Joe Torre was the fourth choice.”

Not a bad fourth choice if you are a New York Yankees fan — Or a USC fan.

It is an important life lesson where we can all learn.  In accepting a job or a challenge, it is not important how you receive an opportunity, the important part of any journey is that YOU RECEIVE the opportunity.  What you do with that opportunity is what defines you.

It reminds me of a short story that I used to hear during my time with the Dodgers.  Tommy Lasorda, the Hall of Fame Manager and official bleeder of Dodger Blue was asked how it felt to be replacing a legend like Walter Alston.  Alston had coached the Dodgers from 1954 to 1976.  Lasorda was filling pretty big shoes in Alston.  Lasorda, reportedly answered, “I want you to ask the next guy how it will feel to be replacing Tommy Lasorda.”

I have had the privilege of meeting both Peter Carroll and Joe Torre.  I am picture with Carroll in the photo above (not my best side) and have heard him speak at other fundraising events.  Torre, I met while he was a broadcaster with the Angels.  Both are amazing men.  Four is indeed the new number one.

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Scroll down and watch Pete Carroll addressing media at USC about his departure to Seattle to coach the Seattle Seahawks

People often ask me what are the most memorable sports stories of 2009.  While most have taken the obvious road with the enthusiasm of a Tiger, I have chosen a different path with two moviing stories you probably do not know about.  Let’s see.

Enough of words today, here are a couple of inspirational videos we all need to see.

The second, titled The amazing story of Mark Herzlich is also a keeper for 2009.

Sports can certainly serve as an inspiration.  Pass these the link from today’s videos on to people that need a bit of hope.

It was a big day in sports today.

I know what you are probably thinking.  Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators came up short against the Alabama Crimson Tide in a battle of #1 vs. #2 in the SEC championship at the Georgia Dome.

If you are a West Coast football fan, you might be depressed that USC finished sixth in the Pac-10 after dropping a 21-17 decision to the University of Arizona today.

While those games were exciting and interesting, it pales in comparison to the impact of the World Cup soccer news that came out of South Africa.  The sports world turned its attention to the draw ahead of next summer’s matches as the seedings were announced today.

This blog is for you, the sports fan thsat has an eye towards internal sporting events.

As I mentioned the big news is the seats and I am about to give you which group every nation is seated for the World’s 2010 soccer tournament.  For those of you who are hard core soccer fans, I hope you will forgive me for a second.  My peers are the first generation to play soccer en mass in the United States, yet many do not know the rules and path of the World Cup.  I admit I watch a few matches but still have a lot to learn.

The World Cup is comprised of 32 teams that have reached this final stage after advancing as a result of qualifying matches.

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In Group A

South Africa

Uruguay

France

Mexico

Group B

Argentina

Korea Republic

Greece

Nigeria

Group C

England

United States

Algeria

Slovenia

Group D

Germany

Serbia

Ghana

Australia

Group E

Netherlands

Japan

Cameroon

Denmark

Group F

Italy

New Zealand

Slovakia

Paraguay

Group G

Cote D’Ivoire

Brazil

Portugal

Korea DPR

Group H

Honduras

Spain

Chile

Switzerland

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For those of you who will follow the Ameircans in the first round, here is how their schedule breaks down.

June 12 vs. England

June 18 vs. Slovenia

June 23 vs. Algeria

If you want even more coverage, you can click here and go to the Fifa World Cup Home page

December is here and the holiday rush to buy presents is on.  In a related move, I recently posted a one question poll and asked, would you consider purchasing a comprehensive 2010 event schedule with a focus on sports?  The overwhelming majority, 66% said, yes, there is an interest in this solution.

Since then, I have been hard at work creating something that would fit everyone’s need.  You can visit it here at SportsCalendarPro.com

First, I created a master sports calendar.  It has every major sports event in the United States.  What did I include?  In no particular order, here is a listing of just SOME of the events.  The Super Bowl, The 2010 Winter Olympics, the 2010 World Cup, College Bowl Games, The Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500, the men’s and women’s college basketball NCAA tournament and Final Four, sports conferences for sports related events like the IEG Sponsorship Summit and the 2010 World Sports Congress.  There are about 100 sports events in all.

As a sports executive and dedicated sports fan, I want and need to know what is happening and when it is happening.  It would be nice to find everything in one place for the enter year.  I am tired of searching for the Next event.  It is also great for planning events.  Not a sports fan, but you may be involved in major life events like getting married or you are just planning major events like fundraising dinners?  Then this is ideal for you as well.  I cannot remember how many times a major golf event or fundraising dinner collided with a major sports event and either a TV was wheeled in an event or continuous updates were given to keep people informed.

Belowis a snap shot of the calendar for two weeks in April.  If you click on the image you can see it in a full screen view.

If you want additional details of the event itself, you can click on say The NCAA Frozen Four dates and you will see this

At SportsCalendarPro.com, I created the site where you can view it online via a gmail account and from there, you can easily download this or sync it with Outlook and iphone.  I did it and it now runs as event dates on my master calendar.

The second option is to purchase the 2010 Master Calendar.  This includes not only al of the sporting events, but also includes the 2010 Entertainment Calendar, the 2010 Technology Calendar and major U.S. holidays.  For example, want to know when the 2010 Academy Awards take place or the ESPYs?  Maybe you want to visit the Sundance Film Festival, CES in Las Vegas or Macworld?  Then, this option is for you.

Last, which you won’t find on the home page but you will find on the ordering page, is the 2010 Custom Calendar.  It includes all of the above and allows you to add four (total) sports team schedules to the mix. For example, say you live in New York or the Boston area.  You can add the 2010 schedule for the Yankees, Mets, Nicks and Islanders in one place.  Hate NY teams but love Boston sports?  Then you can choose the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics schedules.

You write a sports related blog?  This allows you to preview the event since you know what is coming up.

Okay, it is the first time I have blatently plugged a product in the year I have been writing this sports business blog, but it is my product and I really believe in it.

Please, visit the site, Re-Tweet and Post this onto facebook or Digg for others to see.

Consider purchasing this unique holiday gift for the sports fan or event planner in your life.

I have taken a few days off from blogging for several reasons.

First, the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us and with that, there is so much to do.

Family friends, cooking and the possibility of planning a day hike or two.

Second, based on the terrific response from the poll last week (see previous post), I have been finalizing a 2010 sports calendar that will fit your needs.

Look for the debut of this next week.  This has taken a lot of time and research.

Third, I admit it.  I needed a short break.  The blog takes a lot to provide what I think is interesting information for this space.  For the millions of people that write about subjects that interest them,it takes a lot of energy, time and creativity.

This weekend has football games galore to take in, both college and pro.

The NFL kicks off football action on Thursday with three games.  The Detroit Lions, who always play on Thanksgiving take on Green Bay.  Other games include the Cowboys vs the Raiders and the New York Giants vs the Denver Broncos.  See below for information on all three games.

On the college side:

Florida State vs. Florida (Tim Tebow’s final game at the Swamp).

Alabama vs. Auburn

USC vs. UCLA

Texas vs. Texas A&M

ESPN has a nice briefing on some of these games this weekend in a segment called College Football Live Extra

I thank you to those that continue to come back to this blog.  You help continue to set record numbers each month and I appreciate the loyalty and interest.  I will continue to search and provide interesting content for you to digest.

I wish all of you a happy and healthy extended weekend.

Charles

The days of businesses just running a simple television advertisement adjacement to a sporting event are long over. For real impact, integration is the key to additional eyeballs.

It appeared the Fox Sports sales team worked hard over the weekend to incoporate one auto dealer into its pre-game show.

Ford, looking to improve its image, positioned itself closer to the National Football league in week six.  During the NFL Pre-game show on Fox Sports this week, the automobile company incorporated its sponsorship in the following ways:

* In studio exposure with a shot of the Ford Taurus left of screen as well as an image right below Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshow, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson and Curt Menefee.

* The pre-game show was called “the Ford, Drive One Fox NFL Sunday Pre-Game Show” Which Menefee said on-air.

* There was a hosted Ford Taurus Game Day House Party.

* One person from the House Party would win a Ford Taurus and also be rewarded with a trip to the Fox Studios.  They also announced the winner on the show.

* The partnership also featured a lead in bumper to the commercials after the break, encouraging football fans to go to foxsports.com/fordtaurus and sign up for the Taurus winning drive sweepstakes.  Only later did we learn with a graphic on the screen that the contest ends on Halloween, better known as October 31st.

A Ford logo was posted at the bottom of the screen during the third segment of the pre-game show while a ticker ran across featuring the game times of many of the NFL games for week 6.

* Ford logos also appeared in the background when Menefee spoke about the Giants-Saints game.  At one point I counted almost 19 full or partial logos on the TV during a shot of Menefee and Bradshaw.  In any angle that showcased the studio broadcasters, there was some image of the automobile company for the viewer to see.

* Ford also ran two traditional commercials within the show, one  following the opening segment and a second one later on.

*At the end of the pre-game show, it was revealed at Mary Gonzales from Winter Garden, FL was the winner of the Game Day Sweepstakes.  She walked off with a new automobile and a trip to the Fox Sports studio.

While Ford was the title sponsor, they were not the only sponsorship sold by Fox Sports  during the pre-game show.  State Farm had its own segment with banners and mentions.

Even Coors Light got into the integration game by sponsoring Frank Caliendo’s segment:  Frank’s Cold Hard Picks:  Coors Light had branding in the visual leading into the segment

The City of Hope also received exposure  for charitable initiative and a partnership with Fox Sports