Latest Thinking from IEG

Untapped Marketing Opportunity in the NBA

For the record, I am an NBA fan. But aside from my love of the game, it’s my opinion that the NBA has been ahead of its time, when compared to other professional leagues in America, in creating interest abroad, especially in China. The past few years have seen some of the greatest playoff series ever (Spurs-Suns 2007 and 2008, Celtics-Cavaliers 2009, Celtics-Bulls 2009, Pistons-Cavaliers 2007, Lakers-Celtics 2008) and the league’s stars have never been more likable and charismatic from a fan’s standpoint.

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Filed under: social media, sports, pro sports

Why No Coors Commercials during Super Bowl XLIV?

Hi all,

My name is Jon Kander. I am an alumnus of Wake Forest University for undergrad and Ohio University’s MBA/MSA program. I have worked in IEG’s Valuation Services department since graduating from Ohio and am brand new to the IEG blogosphere. You can read a little more about me in the brief bio on the right.

Watching this year’s Super Bowl, I found myself wondering one thing – where are all the Coors commercials? Obviously, the price tag for a 30-second advertisement is steep; however, when Coors is paying an estimated $100 million per year in NFL-themed advertising, promotions and other team sponsorships to be the official beer of the NFL, it needs to make sure it is seen by the 106.5 million people watching the NFL’s marquee game on TV, right?

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Filed under: pro sports, sports, beer

Home Theater 3D Technology – Sponsorship Activity and Activation

Get ready for 3D technology at home. Based on some announcements over the past twelve months, we will be seeing a lot of 3D technology in 2010 and beyond. Sony announced that it will launch 3D TVs in 2010. LG claims it will sell 400,000 3D TVs in 2010 and 3.4 million in 2011. Panasonic is also going to roll out 3D-ready plasma TVs and 3D-enabled Blu-ray Disc players in 2010. Furthermore, the Blu-ray Disc Association just announced that it reached an agreement on the standard that allows for 1080 viewing of 3D movies on a home TV.

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Filed under: entertainment, events, olympics, pro sports, sports, activation

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Gears Up College Basketball Promotion; Latin Music Sponsorship

Looking for a point of differentiation in an increasingly cluttered category, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, inc. is ramping up promotional activity in the first quarter of ’10 for at least two of its brands.

For Sunkist, DPS will leverage partnerships with the Big 10 Conference, Big East Conference, Pac-10 and other college sports conferences with a national promotion featuring college athletic personality Dick Vitale.

For 7-Up, DPS plans to build on the brand’s seven-month-old Sevenisima Hispanic marketing campaign with a sponsorship of a major Latin music property. The Sevenisima campaign was designed to play up 7-Up’s healthier refreshment positioning by celebrating “flavorful moments experienced through a natural, real lifestyle.” The campaign featured a sweeps this past summer that dangled family vacations, shopping sprees and other prizes.

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Filed under: music, pro sports, soft drink, spending, sports, activation

Should Sports Sponsors Get Involved With Athlete Safety?

A fair amount of the National Football League’s news coverage this season has focused on the impact of concussions and other brain injuries on active and retired players. Similarly Major League Baseball has been working to implement new standards for head protection for its players and on-field coaches. And motorsports leagues, probably more than any other, are constantly working to update their safety protocols.

With so much interest in athlete safety, is there a place here for sponsors? Not just the equipment manufacturers, who clearly have a vested interest in such initiatives. I’m talking about the soft drinks, personal care products, etc. While fans can be temporarily plied with retail promotions and swag, perhaps a more lasting connection would result from a serious effort to support the athletes who risk their health and well-being every time they put on their uniforms.

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Filed under: college sports, pro sports, associations

NHL Finds Way To Include Teams In League Sponsorship Deal

The recent sponsorship deal forged on behalf of Enterprise Rent A Car by the NHL is noteworthy in that it includes rights and benefits with all 30 of the league’s teams.

Anyone who has ever tried to construct an agreement where a sponsor fee is paid to a “parent” organization and then divided among constituent bodies—be they teams, chapters, etc.—knows how difficult it can be to please everyone involved.

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Filed under: pro sports, selling, packaging

Casino’s Ambush Marketing Gamble Craps Out

Harrah’s Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind.—just over the state line from Chicago—took a chance at the beginning of the ’09 MLB season by renting ad space on the rooftop of a building across the street from the left-field bleachers of the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field.

For a reported $600,000-a-year, two-year deal, the casino received lots of TV exposure during Cubs broadcasts. But the team has now put the kibosh on that visibility, erecting two large outfield billboards that block TV cameras’ view of the Horseshoe sign.

While I have nothing against clever ambush marketing efforts, this attempt by Horseshoe does not fit in that category. It paid what appears to be a highly inflated rate for the rooftop, as reports are that previous advertiser Anheuser-Busch paid just $347,000 in ’08 for its Budweiser sign that occupied the same space. The Cubs—under former owner Tribune Co.—were okay with that ad, as A-B has been a longtime official sponsor of the team.

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Filed under: pro sports, sports, ambush marketing

Eco-Conscience Title Sponsorship for U.K. Sailing Team

Have you ever heard of a property donating an $8.3 million title sponsorship slot? Well you have now! Team Origin, a U.K. America’s Cup team founded by business man Keith Mills, is donating the title sponsorship of their team to Carbon Trust, an independent business set up by the U.K. government to affect positive change regarding low-carbon economies.

Team Origin is an eco-conscience team at heart but they also believe this to be a good financial decision. “This is a different way of marketing sport and a model that has a lot of promise going forward” said Tom Delay, CEO of Carbon Trust. According to Mr. Delay “The team has said it believes in being sustainable in terms of our environmental impact, and we are going to attract a number of sponsors who all want to be associated with that as a core value.”

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Filed under: international, pro sports, selling, sports, cause marketing

An Interesting Approach to Jersey Sponsorship

The Darlington Quakers, a British soccer club in the Coca-Cola Football League 2, is taking a different tack in selling sponsorship rights to the team’s jersey.

The club announced last week that it will raffle off the right to affix a corporate logo to its jersey in a £5,000-per-entry lottery.

Although the low entrance fee promises to be a boon for the winner, those who do not come out the shirt sponsor do not leave empty-handed. According to the Northern Echo, all bidders will receive stadium signage and one match sponsorship, among other recognition.

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Filed under: packaging, pro sports, selling, trends, assets

Harsh Words about the Commercialization of Pro Sports

“The commercialization of sports hasn’t reached its nadir, and we know this because the inevitable last step still hasn’t happened-that moment when the Browns and the Rockets become the Cleveland E*Trades and the Houston Mennen Speed Sticks, with logo-embossed jerseys to match.” The column continues…

“This is the year when sports commercialization will finally go from being a cute, quintessentially American subplot (poor small town jock makes it to the big leagues, gets the big hit in the big game, gets rewarded with his face on a Wheaties box) to a disfiguring herpes-like disease that one never stops being aware of and finally sucks the last bits of joy from following pro sports.” And continues…

“It’s not just the preposterous sponsorship tie-ins you see everywhere, so much so that you can literally consume them…I know we are getting there because I love sports but am beginning to hate watching sports. There are so many goddamn ads and tie-ins now, your skull starts to feel like an echo chamber by the end of the game-and you start inadvertently humming beer-company jingles to yourself, against your will. It is enough to make you want to gouge out your own eyeballs with a spoon and eat them raw.” (Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel.)

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Filed under: NASCAR, pro sports, research, sports, beer