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.

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

If you think the sports business, specifically the business of professional football is above the world-wide recession, think again.

According to Forbes Magazine, which came out with its annual ranking of NFL football teams and their values this week, eight teams declined in value.  Blame it on the recession or blame it on the won-loss record.  The bottom line is the financial statements were headed the wrong way for these eight clubs.  No real surprise the Oakland Raiders led the way (a drop of 7%), the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts (minus 5%), Miami Dolphins (-3%), Atlanta Falcons, St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks (all -2%) and finally the Jacksonville Jaguars lost one percent.  If you want to see which NFL team increased and which decreased in more detail, here are the team valuations.

Jerry Jones and The Dallas Cowboys, were valued at the top of the 32 teams while Daniel Snyder of the Washington Redskins and Robert Kraft and the Patriots round out the top three places.  Robert McNair and the Houston Texas, which only entered the league as an expansion team in 1999 for 700 million dollars and has never been to the playoffs, is the surprise team in this ranking.  Forbes lists them as the sixth most valuable team in the league with a value of $1.2 billion.  They were valued more than the Philadelphia Eagles (7th on list), Chicago Bears (9th) and the six time defending Super Bowl Champs Pittsburgh Steelers (16th).  Are you sure about this, Forbes writers and editors?

Click on any or all of the teams below to see their profile in Forbes.  There are some interesting details.  While the magazine claims the Raiders are last in the league, they still value the franchise at $797 million dollars.  Just a bit more than the reported $180,000 Al Davis paid when he purchased the team in 1966.

MOST VALUABLE TEAMS

1. DALLAS COWBOYS
2. WASHINGTON REDSKINS
3. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
4. NEW YORK GIANTS
5. NEW YORK JETS
6. HOUSTON TEXANS
7. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
8. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
9. CHICAGO BEARS
10. DENVER BRONCOS
11. BALTIMORE RAVENS
12. CAROLINA PANTHERS
13. CLEVELAND BROWNS
14. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
15. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
16. PITTSBURGH STEELTERS
17. GREEN BAY PACKERS
18. MIAMI DOLPHINS
19. TENNESSEE TITANS
20. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
21. CINCINNATI BENGALS
22. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
23. ARIZONA CARDINALS
24. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
25. ST. LOUIS RAMS
26. BUFFALO BILLS
27. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
28. DETROIT LIONS
29. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
30. ATLANTA FALCONS
31. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
32. OAKLAND RAIDERS

Anheuser-Busch recently unveiled  a new marketing and advertising promotion that caused quite a stir, both among participating colleges and in the media.  The beer company began advertising a plan can to dress some of its beer bottles in the school colors of select colleges and Universities.  The move comes in part based on comments made by employees at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

So I have to ask the question, Do ‘Fan Cans’ make you drink more?  I am responsible, know the dangers of drinking and driving and try to set a good example.  I think alcoholic companies also need to set good examples and be responsible advertisers.   That said, this advertising campaign, in my humble opinion, might influence someone to try the Bud Light brand (see picture), but I don’t know that it will get them to drink in the first place.  A college student who intends on drinking beer, will continue to do so.  Tell me, is this targeted advertising towards minors or a company just affiliating with a college campus?

This is a legal product that is sold at most games and advertised on TV virtually doing all college football games.

All of this comes at a time when InBev, the parent company for AB, recently announced price increases.

“We plan on taking price increases on a majority of volume and in a majority of markets this fall,” a spokesman told the St. Louis Business Journal

If you are going to stop promotions for Beer companies from affiliating with a college campus that promotes a product, then stop take marketing and accepting promotional dollars at Athletics departments.  That is exactly what the University of Wisconsin did today when it announced the university ended long-standing sponsorship partnership with  and Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors for advertising during Badgers broadcasts. The deals, according to an Associated Press story which ran online today, totaled about $425,000 per year, were stopped after a campus committee suggested stopping the advertising as a way to help prevent college binge drinking.

If a University is ready to take this financial step, then I understand the decision ask a Beer company like A-B to stop a promotion like Fan Cans.

Other companies have also recently attached themselves to college universities as Chicago-based The Parking Spot, came out with their own school colored promotion on its shuttle vans, asking users to choose between UCLA and USC colored vehicles.

So please, answer the question, Do You Think ‘Fan Cans’ make you Drink More?

Here are some other related stories

SMU protests Bud Light campaign

Too Dangerous for College — Newsweek

The Price Hike’s For You – Bloomberg

There is something special about day baseball games.  As a kid, I grew up on Chicago Cubs baseball and back then there were no night games at Wrigley Field.  It was the only kind of baseball games I knew about.  So on Wednesday, when a friend of mine called and asked if I wanted to attend the Los Angeles Angels day baseball game vs. the Cleveland Indians, I jumped at the opportunity.

It was my first opportunity to see an American League game this season and, in addition to spending time with a pal, I got to experience a major league baseball day game.   To change things up a bit, I decided to take my camera and post a few photos of the experience.  It started with a somber moment as a Nick Adenhart memorial by fans greeted me as I approached the stadium. Once inside however, my mind turned to the game as we took our seats just as the first pitch by John Lackey was being thrown.

Entrance to Angels Stadium

Main gate

Part of the Nick Memorial

A view from the seats

Angels on their way to a win

A quick look at Angels sponsor signage

Think about your favorite sports team and then think about the sponsors that have associated with the organization.  It does not matter what sport, just close your eyes or take a pen and paper and try and write down as many businesses that are associated with your team.

How many can you immediately name?  Have they made enough of an impact to register in your long term memory?  Has your impression of these brands improved since they struck a sponsorship deal?  They certainly spend enough money to affiliate with a building/team/organization and the visual or stagnant advertising is just one component

So I did a little experiment on Wednesday evening and while watching ESPN, I tried to ignore the highlights and write down as many businesses as I could that received exposure, long enough for me to recognize the name and to scribble it down on scratch paper. You certainly do not tune in to ESPN to watch sponsor visibility but it is certainly a part of why sponsors affiliate with teams.

Here is what I saw from the following baseball highlights.

St. Louis Cardinals at Houston Astros

Dasani Water

Best Buy

First Community Bank

Corona Beer

Admini Staff

C&D

Farmer’s

Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies

Modells

Citizens Bank

Turkey Hall

Chevydealer.com

Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates

Consul Energy

Trib

FSN

New Era

San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves

Sun Trust

Coca Cola

Zep

Geico

Aaron’s

Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees

Modells

Toyota

Pepsi

Pepsi max

Sony

Hass

Casio

Avis

Ford

Delta

Ford

Mastercard

Budweiser

Corporate Exposure Seen in two or more baseball parks.

Stanley

State Farm

Stubhub

Any sane corporation is not relying solely on a static advertising program as part of its affiliation with a sports team. Those days are long gone for smart businesses.  Today, It is all about activation and return on investment (ROI).  Many times, the first step for a partner is to baseline or measure the amount of awareness the brand has with its fans.  It then moves into programs on how to improve the brand image with the team and finally ways to sell more goods and services to the same fans.  More about this in a different post.

A few other items I noticed while looking for sponsors.

* The Signs at Yankees stadium are larger than most fo the other stadiums I saw and it was easier to read the names of its sponsors.

* Exposure from company logos behind home plate received the most time in the highlights, but a few of the signs had a bad design, including one from Minute Maid, that read “Kids Free All Summer.”  I really could not understand the message and it took an extra large focus to see it was in fact, Minute Maid.

* A few of the stadiums continue to have sight lines that do not support some of the signage being sold.

For Major League Baseball and Sponsors, the exposure still adds up to a winning formula for the sport.

It did not take long for a dunk that has not been seen by anyone outside of a gym to make natinal headline news. Let’s get you up to speed on the latest developments.  It seems, aacording to wide spread media reports, college sophomore Jordan Crawford dunk on LeBron James at the Cavaliers star’s Skills Academy yesterday.

I’ll make the story short for those who somehow haven’t heard it. Crawford, who plays at Xavier, jammed on James, but Nike (NKE) representatives confiscated the tapes from more than one cameraman in attendance.  I guess if you cannot see it it didn’t happen, did it.

Check that.  You do not need to see it to understand hew buzz it has created in the last day. Yesterday, according to Google, the words “Jordan Crawford Dunk on Lebron” was the fourth most searched terms on the internet.  Check it out for yourself

Some are asking if we are ever going to see the tape of Crawford’s dunk?  it does not matter.  I understand people are trying to protect the King James image here.  But protecting an image is making sure an athlete stays out of jail or out of court.  Protecting an image is for the agents, sponsors or other athlete partners to make sure the star has been trained to react under the microscope of what sports and sports media is today.

Lebron’s image suffered when he didn’t shake hands after a tough NBA playoffs loss.  Was it wrong?  Yes.  Does it help form an opinion about a person’s character.  Maybe.  The man is 24, born the year the Olympics were held in Los Angeles.  Lebron is still learning and many people in the sports management business are “yes men” and “yes women.”  They tell athletes what they want to hear.  But did Lebron commit a crime? No.  He has been a terrific example and role model early in his career.  This is just another life lesson.

In an age where technology is forcing businesses and people to become more transparent, the Nike rep and Lebron should have just let it run.  it would have been a highlight for a day and then people would have moved on.  Now, it remains the talk of the sports world.  Jordan Crawford’s dunk on Lebron might have helped Jordan Crawford’s image most of all.

IEG, which claims to be the leading provider of consulting, valuation, measurement, research and training to the global sponsorship industry has announced from its 24th annual annual industry forecast that spending on sponsorship by North American companies, will grow by just 2.2 percent this year.  This would be  the smallest growth rate in the forecast’s history.

IEG, also said that no other economic downturn in the past two decades has had such a negative impact on the outlook for industry spending. This includes difficult times such as the post-9/11, period which included the the dot-bomb era of the early 2000’s.  That down period saw a 2.9 percent growth.  Has the sponsorship market matured to a point where growth will become more difficult or are we just seeing the severity of the economic impact finally hitting the sponsorship world?

You probably need to look no further than the dollars spent by the automotive and financial services industries as an indicator to the overall horrific trend of business today.  That said, yesterday IEG announced that Worldwide sponsorship spending on amateur and professional tennis tournaments, including leagues and sanctioning bodies will total $581 million in 2009 a 1.3 percent increase from ’08, according to IEG Sponsorship Report.

I have seen first hand some major teams scrambling to fill high profile sponsorships at the 11th hour.  This has led to significant reductions in rate cards and standard pricing in order to get the inventory sold in time for events and season’s games.

In a press release last month, IEG announced that the music industry overall has fared better than the industry with North American-based companies expected to spend $1.08 billion to sponsor music venues, festivals and tours in 2009.  This would be a 3.8 percent jump from the $1.04 billion spent in 2008.

The May 14th blog should entry also interest you, and it related to Sponsorship Growth.  It is called Sponsorship & Addressable Advertising or the April 29th entry which breaks down all of the sponsors in Major League Baseball, called Sponsorship 101 for Baseball

Major League Baseball is the first of the major sports having to work through smaller dollar amounts from sponsors.  It will be interesting to see the impact on the NFL season moving forward.  Hopefully a better economy in 2010 will help elevate Sponsorship Growth to better times.

—————————-

Important Links:

IEG.com

IEG Sponsorship Report

Reuters related story on Sponsorship

Music Sponsorship Spending

A few thoughts to share after visiting Dodger Stadium for a ball game on Tuesday night.  It was only the second time since I last left the club in 1994 that I was back to see a game.  Okay, so I was gone for eight years in Israel during that 15 year span but no excuses.  I should visit more often.  

* There is a recorded message of Vin Scully that players on a speaker at entrances to the Stadium.  Do not know if we did it in my day, but what a great touch for fans as they enter a stadium.  Hear Vin’s voice and you are ready to see a great baseball game.

* Before I even got my tickets, the Dodgers had signs posted at the parking entrances that asked fans to respect that the Stadium is a family venue and to avoid bringing in alcoholic beverages to keep the atmosphere positive for everyone.  Thumbs up.

* It was nice to see the Dodgers game from the field level.  I sat in seats that were still available for a season purchase.  I had never seen seats that had a sticker on them for the cost for the season seat and the per game average.  The Dodgers also had an account executive’s card attached to the seat.  It felt a bit like a used car lot when I saw the signs, but at least anyone who saw this seat in the area before the game knew it was still for sale on a season seat purchase.

* Here is a list of some of the sponsors who had signs along the outfield fence, something Peter O’Malley never allowed while I worked there:  Bank of America, Kaiser, Hyundai, San Manuel Casino, Bud Light and AM-PM.  There was also signage on the scoreboards that included Trader Joes, Subway and Bud Light.  Other smaller signs above those that were attached to the outfield walls were much less visible and harder to read.

* The Dodgers still have long time employees who have been on staff through all four owners changes.  Thge few I saw tonight all remembered me BY NAME and I have not been in the house for 15 years. I was nothing short of amazed.  Good people, good atmosphere.

* The Dodger press box, now called the Vin Scully Press Box still looks pretty much the same from the inside.  Ran into Rick Monday and Jim Hill before the game as well as longtime beat writer Steve Dilbeck, Joe Resnick and Ken Gurnick.  Some things do not change.  Gurnick, who now writes for MLB.com, filed six stories in one day for the Dodger web site.  Looks like he i working harder than ever.

* Enjoyed chatting with Dodgers VP of Communications Josh Rawitch over dinner in the Stadium Club.  Good food, good service and a great fan experience.

* The 2009 Dodgers media guide has 512 pages and it about a 1/3 of the size wider than during my tenure.  I counted 14 vice presidents on staff, according to the team media guide.  One risk you always take when you put players on the cover of the media guide:  Manny Ramirez was front and center.  I wonder if anyone within the organization regrets putting him there, though they almost had to, no?

* Other than the LED and outfield signs, I did not notice that much advertising at the ball game.  I certainly did not notice any of the sponsors engaging directly with the fans at the game.  By design?

* Dodger baseballs with alphabetical letters on them let you know where you are parking.  I was in lot “P” tonight.  I think those calls should be sponsored by a company.  Good revenue opportunity for sponsorship all around the stadium.  I did not see a company name on the baseballs.

* Wanted to link the first mention to Vin Scully, but could not find a link to his bio on Dodgers drop down menu on team web site.  Hmm.. Then, taking a closer look, the club could use Ballena’s technology or something that will allow fans to see the view of the field from their sites.  Could not find it on the web site. 

All in all, visiitng Dodger Stadium for a ball game, this time as a fan, was a ton of fun.  Dodgers come from behind to win in dramatic fashion, 6-5.

Sports game promotions are normally used to help drive traffic to home games, most often walk up traffic that did not plan in advance to a game or event.  For years, it has been associated with a giveaway which has been driven by a corporate sponsor underwriting a single game.   So let’s do a little comparison shopping between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, currently facing off in the Western Conference Finals.  

Based on the time of year and the significance of the games, I would think there is no need to sell tickets in either city.

The Lakers, which hosted game 2 last night, gave away Lakers Flags to fans at the game.  I learned this after reading Beto Duran’s Tweet.  Duran is a reporter for ESPN Radio in L.A.  Here was his note.

and picture.

This is a typical offering of what teams do during the playoffs.  It is much like a hockey team giving away a towel for a Stanley Cup playoff game or shirts to fans to create a home ice or field advantage.  However, I also learned, via the web, that the Denver Nuggets have also created a promotion for their playoff game.  Their efforts however, have been a bit more unique.

Qwest, also had a post today that spoke about their unique playoff promotion — Here is the photo that went along with it.

I had to double check on their web site but Qwest is a sponsor of the Nuggets.  Here is what they were offering fans in the Denver Area.

Qwest is giving away two pairs of court side tickets to Game 3 at Pepsi Center, two iPod Nanos and free Nuggets shirts and hats.  It is not geared towards fans attending the game but for all Denver NBA basketball fans.

This Saturday, from 9 am until 2 pm 20 blue basketballs will be placed in the Denver/Boulder area.

Find a basketball and post it to Twitter or Brightkite (I have no idea what this is) and then be eligible to win the announced prizes.

Eligigility Rules for Nuggets Playoff Promotion

I like this since it is unique, it builds buzz and gets possible many more fans involved in the game.

What do you think?  Which team/sponsor came up with a better Playoff Promotion?