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.