Euroleague Basketball signs first-ever title sponsor

Europe’s main club basketball competition is going to be renamed Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball after a ground-breaking sponsorship agreement signed by the airline and the league.

Tim Tebow Gets Chance To Take On Michael Jordan

• Jockey announced the signing of Tim Tebow to a multi-year endorsement deal to endorse its line of products, including what it calls its new “Staycool” collection, which will hit stores in the spring of next year.

• It’s the brand’s biggest sports endorser since the company signed Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer to start posing in briefs exactly 30 years ago.

TaylorMade-Adidas Pits Two to Twitter Way Into a Job

How far would you go for a job? Would you eat a bug or wash an elephant? Both those challenges were presented to two contenders for the title of social-media catalyst at golf juggernaut TaylorMade-Adidas. To test the social-media mettle of its two finalists, the company dispensed with round-robin interviews and luncheons and dispatched them on the ultimate job tryout: a 50-day, nine-country golfing trip chronicled on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Along the way, the contenders must respond to interactive challenges that include everything from creating a viral commercial to participating in user-generated contests — such as eating a bug or washing an elephant on their most recent stop in Thailand.

Want to Score in Sports? Create a Connection

And few people are more qualified to make sense of this turbulent and fascinating year than Michael Levine, co-head of CAA Sports since 2007. Mr. Levine leads a unit that not only represents more than 500 of the world’s most famous athletes, but is also active in the areas of corporate marketing, broadcast rights and sports-property sponsorship sales. Ad Age recently caught up with Mr. Levine for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the sports world.

Coke, P&G Find Consistency Wins Out for Global Sports Platforms

• Pricey sports sponsorships are often described as a casualty of the digital revolution. Why write a nine-figure check to be an official partner of the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics when a well-executed web video such as Nike’s “Write the Future” can score 20 million online views or associate a non-sponsor more strongly with an event than the companies that paid for the affiliation?

• Increasingly, mega-marketers are finding that the best way to make such sponsorships worth their considerable cost — and fend off well-executed ambush attempts — is to connect every activity related to the sponsorship to one big idea.

Pro Football Is One Game Major Marketers Want to Play (and Buy)

The chain is far from alone. Marketer interest in the NFL has been so strong that the league actually moved to reduce its number of sponsors to 21 for the upcoming season from 30 corporate partners in 2001 and 24 in 2008. The purpose was to avoid the sponsor-overload of, say, a Nascar, which has done a good job of delineating the categories for its partners so there are no conflicts but, nonetheless, still has 49 corporate sponsors.

Official Sponsors Score With World Cup

The six official FIFA partners successfully fended off some good ambush-marketing tactics, and while most of the evidence is anecdotal in nature only 15 days after Spain’s victory over Holland, there is a cautious optimism that the sponsors — Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, Sony, Hyundai/Kia and Emirates Airlines — got a big bang for their $125 million.

LG boosts F1 tie-ups with Red Bull deal

• The multi-season partnership extends LG’s current sponsorship of the F1, as a global partner and technology partner of the championship.

• Under the deal, LG will supply Red Bull Racing with its latest products at track and at the team’s headquarters.

Premier League signs EA Sports as technology partner

Under the deal EA Sports branding will feature on all live on-screen broadcasts of Premier League matches – both domestically and internationally – and the company will work with the League’s broadcasters to enhance fan interaction elements of coverage through graphics, animations and other technology. EA’s video game license with the League has also been extended as part of the new deal.

Jordan Gets Comfortable With Hanes (Again)

• Hanes can’t get enough of Michael Jordan. The basketball pro is yet again the star of new ads in an ongoing campaign for men’s underwear, dubbed “Hanes Flight 23.”

• The TV spots, breaking this week, mark phase two of a Hanes campaign—via The Martin Agency—that kicked off in May. The ads highlight new underwear with Comfort Flex waistbands, which are more stretchable waistbands now included in all Hanes men’s briefs, boxers and boxer briefs.

DirecTV Plays Offense With NFL Ads

• DirecTV Group Inc. is launching its biggest advertising campaign yet for its marquee property, NFL Sunday Ticket, as it faces mounting pressure from pay-television competitors increasingly offering rival NFL packages.

• The country’s largest satellite-TV operator will kick off next month an elaborate marketing campaign spanning television, magazines, radio and the Internet for its NFL package, which offers football fans every NFL game on Sunday afternoons for $300 a year.

IMG Moves Further Into School Sports

• IMG Worldwide, a talent- and entertainment-management company that represents stars including Tiger Woods and Roger Federer, is buying ISP, a collegiate-sports marketing firm.

• The deal, said to be valued at between $80 million and $100 million, will make New York-based IMG by far the leading company that represents colleges and universities in their efforts to maximize revenue through media and marketing-rights deals.

• Thus far, college-sports marketing has proven to be a low-margin business. Even the biggest schools have profits that are a fraction of the top professional teams. But IMG is betting that buying ISP will give it a critical mass of high-profile collegiate properties it can package together, allowing college sports to compete with the major professional sports leagues for national marketing and sponsorship deals.

Gatorade to sponsor NHL Hockey Operations camp

• Gatorade has signed a deal to be the title sponsor of the National Hockey League (NHL) Hockey Operations camp.

• The camp, which is scheduled to take place on the 18th and 19th August at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ practice facility, features over 30 prospects eligible for the 2011 Entry Draft, and will test a number of suggested rule changes and modifications to the NHL game or playing surface. Daily scrimmages will create live game-like situations with these variations.

Couples Behind Golf Industry’s Surprise Best Seller

• Freddie Couples didn’t win this year’s Masters. But what happened to the shoes he wore in Augusta through, and the subsequent demand for them, will be part of sports marketing lore.

• The fascinating story has its roots at a sales conference in January, when Ecco unveiled its spikeless Golf Street shoes

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While Major League Baseball diehards were tuned into each of their favorite teams’ games during everything from LeBron-athon to World Cup soccer, and especially their all-star game, it wasn’t easy for it to hold the attention of the masses according to W. Scott Bailey in the San Antonio Business Journal.

It was reported that Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, broadcast by FOX, received a 7.5 Nielsen rating which makes it as the least watched Midsummer Classic in history.
My initial thought as we head toward the start of National Football League training camps: is there any sport or off-season activity that would distract NFL fans from their season?

Is baseball officially not America’s Pastime anymore? We’ve long heard that professional baseball television ratings pale compared to the NFL and even the NBA, much of the latter which is broadcast on cable outlets. But a scripted special about where an NBA free agent is going to play next and – soccer?

In his story, Bailey wondered if the passing of New York Yankees iconic owner George Steinbrenner earlier that day affected All-Star Game viewership. I don’t think so; if anything, I believe that more people tuned in that may not have otherwise because they wanted to see how Major League Baseball would mourn and celebrate Steinbrenner’s life during pregame ceremonies and in-game video packages.

Numbers aside, what can professional baseball do to recoup a fan base that according to reports has been steadily slipping since at least the late 1980s? After all, here’s a sport where you can see players’ faces (no helmets as in the NFL), fans depending on their tickets, are invited onto the field to watch and take pictures during batting practice, and play a game that can be mimicked in anyone’s backyard with a stick and a ball. Is it a PR problem, one of engagement with its fans or one of the many other activities available to people rather than watch television during the summer?

I was at Miller Park this past weekend and watched a Milwaukee Brewers homestand against the Washington Nationals. More than 42,000 were in their seats nearly each day and neither team is in contention for a prize of any kind unless you count high ERAs and guys hit by pitches.

So, what gives? Can baseball make a comeback of its own in the hearts of television-watching fans?

P.S. I want to take this opportunity to bid so long and best wishes to an All-Star in her own right. As many of those who work with Sports Networker know, Hannah DeMilta soon departs for the next inning of her life in Australia. I can’t begin to say what a great experiences it’s been to work with her. She’s laughed at my goofy and often snarky emails (not aimed at her, of course!); put up with my apologetic notes when time didn’t allow me to write a post I wanted for a given week’s Sports Networker library, and much more. Detail driven and efficient, Lewis Howes will have a tough time replacing her.

So, please join me in wishing Hannah the very best of everything. Safe travels and exciting adventures, Friend.

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What is Mental Imagery?

Classically, mental imagery has been defined as:

• The ability to form mental images of things or events
• By repeatedly calling up images in your mind and rewiring the circuits of your mind toward a realization of those images. The remarkable feature of imagery work is that it can be accompanied by physiological changes.
• Experience that resembles perceptual experience, but which occurs in the absence of the appropriate stimuli for the relevant perception.
• Involves focusing your mind to visualize yourself in a certain situation and doing well in that situation.
• A cognitive psychological skill in which the athlete uses all the senses to create a mental experience of an athletic performance

There’s nothing mystical about mental imagery. Simply put, it’s a visualization exercise that helps not only athletes but anyone who desires increased success and performance. There’s multiple ways to practice it and it can be done in short spurts or for a long duration.

How Mental Imagery Works

When an athlete imagines himself performing to perfection, he is physiologically creating neutral brain patterns that are similar to small tracks engraved in the brain cells. This enables the athlete to perform athletic tasks by mentally practicing those tasks first in his mind. Mental imagery is intended to train the athletes’ mind, thus teaching the muscles to perform exactly how he wants them to perform.

Practical Application of Mental Imagery

It’s true that we move closer to what we focus on. If an athlete imagines missing a shot, or how good the other team is, or even fears injury, it harms his game concentration and affects the outcome. It’s absolutely essential that athletes visualize success and victory.  Steven Balzac, a psychology professor and former nationally ranked fencer says, “If we imagine success, we prepare ourselves for success because that’s what’s in our heads.”

It’s important to remember that athletes use imagery in different ways. Their imagery may not involve just visual images, but sounds, smells or touch. It really depends on the person. Another important aspect of mental imagery is for the athlete to watch and study his sports heroes and imagine that he is making those same shots with precision. Does this mean the athlete will always perform at top level? No…we’re human and we all have bad days on occasion. But visualization and mental imagery increases the chance of increased and sustained success.

Results of Mental Imagery

Of course physical practice is always the best way for an athlete to improve his skill level and race to the top of his game. However, mental imagery is better than no practice at all and, incorporated with physical practice, is the best way to see optimal results.

Continuous studies are always being conducted to determine just how much mental imagery plays into the increased success of athletes. And, for the rest of us, imagining ourselves more successful is never a waste of time if we are also spending equal or more time physically developing our skill set. The time spent in mental imagery is beneficial not only to the athlete but to the business person, the student, the entrepreneur, and anyone else who desires to develop and increase their level of play.

The more mental imagery is studied; more effective techniques can be developed and adapted by athletes…and the rest of us.

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One of the first posts I ever wrote here was about Gilbert Arenas, the true pioneer of the social media space for professional athletes. Shaq gets the credit for being the one who led the way, because of his use of Twitter, but Gilbert was in the space first. And Gilbert was a blogger! Forget Shaq writing 140-character tweets in 2008, Gilbert was writing blog posts that consisted of hundreds if not thousands of words… two years earlier!

Anyway, this post is not about Shaq or Gilbert Arenas or anyone you’ve likely heard of before. This post is about Swedish professional golfer Alex Noren and minor league baseball player Matt Antonelli. Why? They’re both professional athletes and outstanding bloggers. We focus so much on Facebook & Twitter as the tools athletes should be utilizing, but let’s not forget the power of the blog.

Alex Noren (AlexNoren.com)

Alex uses his blog very much like how I would recommend a professional athlete to use his or her blog; frequent updates with lots of pictures and behind-the-scenes looks that tell the story of who Alex Noren is. He posts pictures from the course, as well as from workouts, and the clubhouse lounge, and he’s always sure to add a caption or a bit of commentary. All the posts seem to come directly from Alex.

One big criticism would be that Alex fails to interact with commenters. These are readers who feel passionately enough about him to leave their thoughts on Alex’s posts, and yet he misses the opportunity to capitalize and engage.

Matt Antonelli (MatthewAntonelli.com)

While not the prettiest of blogs design-wise, Matt does an excellent job with content. He posts regularly, using the blog almost as a journal. Matt generally posts about what is on his mind and what he’s been up to. I love the fact that he posts videos. Recently, he posted some footage of his trip to the San Diego Zoo, as well as footage from a recent Massachusetts to Arizona road trip. The content is incredibly personal and authentic, and that’s what makes it so great.

Matt also asks site visitors to “Become a Fan” with a Like Box and to “Follow Matt on Twitter” with an embedded Twitter feed. Great to see the incorporation of social media, and also to see that Matt updates both his Facebook & Twitter accounts quite frequently.

Fun Story: Recently, my boss, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Matt Antonelli had an exchange on Twitter where Gary told Matt that his brother AJ owned Matt on his fantast team. He replied, “tell @ajv I’m sorry I’ve been hurt all year…Don’t lose the faith lol.” Great stuff!

Honorable Mention: Kevin Durant (KevinDurant35.com/blog)

This is easily the best blog I’ve seen from a well-known athlete. Durant posts about once per week, and generally seems to write his own posts. He writes about basketball, of course, but also about what’s on his mind. For example, he recently posted about hip hop artist Drake’s new album as well as his thoughts on pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg. The blog isn’t perfect, but it’s the best I’ve seen from a notable pro athlete.

Advice for Athletes

Take some notes. Buy your domain name. Create a blog (use Tumblr, it’s easy). Post regularly. Be authentic. Post lots of pictures and videos. Include your social presence if you have one (if you don’t have one, get one). Give fans a behind-the-scenes experience they won’t be able to find anywhere else.

You may think you don’t have the time, but believe me, it’s smart to take the five minutes per day to post some content on a consistent basis. Why? Facebook and Twitter are great, but they are only platforms. You can make your blog your permanent home on the web.

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Back by popular request, Sports Networker returns to the international stage one again this fall as it teams up with the UK Sports Network for an exciting sports professionals networking event at the Sports Bar & Grill in London.

When:  August 10th from 6pm-9pm

Where:  Marylebone Station, Melcombe Place, London NW1 6JJ, United Kingdom

The UK Sports Network is a group founded by Daniel McClaren that strives to share its expertise on sports social media and the industry’s latest trends with sports professionals.  Since its inception in November 2009, nearly 1,000 sports professionals now seek the insight and creativity that the UK Sports Network offers.

All sports professionals are welcome to attend this event and learn from the experts on social media and the latest developments in the sports industry.  Admission is £10 GBP if you sign up now, and £15 GBP at the door. Stay posted for updates about the event by registering for the event on LinkedIn HERE.

To receive early bird pricing and ensure your spot at this event (as there is limited spacing) register below and we look forward to seeing you at the event!

The Elliptical For The Rich, Tai Chi For The Poor

*         Every year, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association releases its state of sports participation in America study. The 64-page document is filled with interesting tidbits that will make you smarter at the office water cooler.

*         Of all the fitness machines, the elliptical motion trainer has the highest percentage of participants whose annual household income exceeds $100,000 a year. Forty percent of those who use the elliptical make over $100,000.

Internal Watchdog Criticizes ESPN for Ethical Missteps on LeBron James Coverage

*         ESPN’s internal journalism watchdog sharply criticized the cable-sports network for what he said were ethical missteps in its recent broadcast of a TV program devoted to basketball star LeBron James.

*         The Walt Disney Co. network two weeks ago aired a one-hour special about James, who used the program to announce that he signed with a new team, the Miami Heat. In an unusual arrangement, James’s sports-marketing company suggested the program to ESPN and brokered an arrangement whereby the show’s advertisers donated money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a charity James supports.

EA Sports Campaign Taps Football Stars, Fans

To launch the 11th iteration of its NCAA Football game, EA Sports is taking both a national and regional approach with its advertising campaign. A national television commercial features fans and football luminaries (such as Ronnie Lott, Tim Tebow, John Elway and Desmond Howard) talking about their college football fanaticism by completing the phrase “Where I come from …” with a team-specific comment.

Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells signs endorsement deal with Blimpie

Sandwich maker Blimpie has signed Arizona Cardinals player Chris “Beanie” Wells to an endorsement deal. The Arizona Cardinals running back will be a spokesperson for the company.  Its rival Subway has relied heavily on sports figures in the past for its advertisements, including Michael Phelps, Michael Strahan and CC Sabathia. Blimpie has very infrequently used athletes as spokespersons but did star Nascar driver Jeff Gordon in Blimpie marketing in 2005. Wells is its first ambassador from the National Football League (NFL).

Going to Bat for America’s Youth

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are joining First Lady Michelle Obama in her “Let’s Move!” effort to prevent childhood obesity. Obama today introduced a new public service campaign featuring players from 30 MLB teams to encourage families to make healthy nutritional and physical activity choices.

World Cup boosts supermarket promotions

Market growth reached 4.4% and more than a third (34.5%) of goods were sold on promotion as the major supermarkets offered aggressive promotions to take advantage of World Cup celebrations and warm weather.

Minnesota Vikings hit the jackpot with lotto deal

The Minnesota Vikings have become the latest NFL team to strike a deal with a local lottery provider after signing with the Minnesota State Lottery.

IMG takes golf to the skies

*         IMG has announced the launch of HSBC Golfing World, an exciting golf television programming concept, customised specifically for the Inflight market.

*         HSBC Golfing World will take the best and most compelling material from the existing Golfing World show (a comprehensive hour-long golf magazine show that mixes the latest news, interviews, lifestyle features and tournament updates, and is currently aired in over 30 countries, five days per week) and make it available in a monthly version to passengers on many of the world’s top airlines. The dedicated 30 minute per month version of HSBC Golfing World will air on British Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines amongst others from August 2010.

Dogleg Right: The Strategy Behind KitchenAid’s New Golf Ties

In May, Whirlpool Corp. and the PGA of America agreed to a four-year deal that names the appliance giant’s premium KitchenAid brand as presenting sponsor of the Senior PGA Championship and official home appliance of the golf organization. In addition to aligning with new marketing goals for the KitchenAid unit, the sponsorship also furthers a corporate objective to support its headquarters community.

Coke’s World Cup Song Is a Marketing Winner

*         Music industry executives have been making an unusual pilgrimage to Coca-Cola’s (KO) Atlanta headquarters, a telling measure of the company’s successful World Cup soccer marketing blitz. They want to learn how Coke turned a song called Wavin’ Flag by a little-known Somali-Canadian hip-hop artist into a World Cup anthem and No. 1 iTunes hit in 17 countries in less than a year. “They are getting on planes from New York, from U.K., from Los Angeles,” says Joe Belliotti, Coke’s director of global entertainment. “Word of mouth is a great thing in the music industry.”

*         Initially, Coke had hoped only to create a World Cup song good enough to entice stadiums full of soccer fans to sing along. To get there, it forged an unusual partnership with singer-songwriter K’naan and his label, A&M/Octone Records, that has ended up changing the way Coke works with entertainment companies.

Colt McCoy signs endorsement deal with Russell Athletic

Russell Athletic has signed a deal with former University of Texas and current National Football League (NFL) Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy to represent the company’s brands, including Spalding, BIKE and Russell Outdoors. McCoy will also work with Russell Athletic in continuous research and development of products across the family of brands.

Air Guard signs five-race contract with Nascar

The Air Guard, which received a one percent awareness rate across the US, is sponsoring the new number 26 car, owned by Bill Jenkins. In addition, the Air Guard will be at schools and different events in the area leading up to the race, in an effort to promote its name and image.

HR Derby loses some of its pop

*         Some of MLB’s largest corporate sponsorship deals are up after this season, which should make for an interesting winter for MLB sales and marketing officials.

*         Among those deals due to expire are MasterCard, a league sponsor since 1998 and a company that began its now iconic “Priceless” ad campaign with a general baseball ad; Anheuser-Busch, MLB’s oldest true corporate sponsor at 30 years; Chevrolet, a five-year sponsor; and Bank of America, in place since 2004.

Minor-League Baseball Creates One-Stop Digital-Ad-Buying Platform

If a marketer wanted to run an ad to cover all 160 teams that make up the various leagues, ad buyers once needed to have 160 different conversations — a daunting and unpleasant task to reach the 60 million visitors to Minor League Baseball during its six-month season last year. But a new digital-buying platform rolled out this season has centralized the process so marketers need only have one contact with a league rep to run an ad across nearly the entire network of sites, potentially opening it up to more business from national advertisers. Marketers such as Kraft and PepsicCo’s Frito Corn Chips have already signed on to the system created by Minor League Baseball, which partnered with Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Some 148 teams are currently taking part.

The Dow Chemical Company Becomes Worldwide Olympic Partner

The Dow Chemical Company chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris announced today that the company has become an official Worldwide Olympic Partner as part of The Olympic Partners Program (TOP). As the official “Chemistry Company” of the Olympic Movement, Dow will partner with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and National Olympic Committees around the world through 2020.

OUT! Pet Care Targets New Market By Sponsoring NASCAR Car

OUT! Pet Care is pleased to announce its strategic sponsorship of Trevor Bayne’s No. 99 Toyota Camry. OUT! Pet Care recognized the opportunity to reach out to NASCAR fans where previously only pet food companies have represented from the pet industry. This sponsorship marks the beginning of an aggressive national brand awareness campaign targeting new and unique markets, including the 48 million pet-owning NASCAR fans.

Tiger’s Sponsors Need Woods To Win Now

No matter how far Tiger fell, true marketing insiders continued to tell me that he’d be able to make some sort of marketing comeback as long as he started winning.

TVG sponsorship will keep Del Mar race purse at $1M

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has signed a sponsorship deal with horse racing channel TVG that will allow the Southern California meet to keep the purse for its premier race, the Pacific Classic, at $1 million.

Blackhawks’ Cup provides nice boost for league’s licensees

The Chicago Blackhawks’ first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years boosted many licensees to new heights, and the extent of the demand allowed even hard-good licensees to share in the riches of a championship market, normally reserved for apparel licensees selling championship T-shirts and caps.

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(This is a guest post by Allie Savarino Kline)

PGA Tour Travelers Cup champion, Bubba Watson, topped a debut list of Rising Sports Stars to watch in July.  Watson survived a six shot deficit and a nail biting three-way playoff to emerge the victor of the June 27 tournament and recorded his first ever win in a PGA Tour event.

Other notable athletes who made July’s Rising Sports Stars list include USA Soccer Team midfielders Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey; John Isner, who won the longest match in tennis history; and NHL’s #1 overall draft-pick Taylor Hall.

Rising Sports Stars is a new monthly list distributed by Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT) and ranks the top ten U.S. professional athletes from all major sports who experienced the greatest relative growth in popularity during the prior thirty days.

While most lists only track a single data source once or twice a year, Rising Sports Stars takes a unique approach in gauging a particular athlete’s popularity, measuring multiple data points for more than 27,000 athletes that are tracked on a daily basis.

The complete Rising Sports Stars list can be found here and people can learn when new lists go live at the start of each month by subscribing to BAT’s Twitter feed at @BATimpact.

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Allie Savarino Kline is Vice President of Marketing for Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT), the company reinventing the business of endorsement marketing. Allie leads BAT’s market strategy and brand development and directs public relations and partner relations.  She began her career with the Washington Bullets (now Washington Wizards) in sponsorship, sales and community development.

1. When in Doubt, Tweet
2. Respect the Fan
3. Use the Resources You Have
4. Follow Back and Listen
5. If it isn’t Broken, Don’t Fix it

While every sport and team appeals to different fan bases, utilizing social media is something that every sports organization can capitalize on.  No matter if you’re involved with an amateur basketball team or in charge of a pro football team, you’re going to want to take a look to see the top ways to improve your brand. Remember, all support and encouragement counts when you’re chasing of the championship. Download the free guide by filling in your name and email below to see exactly how the top sports teams put out their ‘A game’ and learn ways to grow your own following.

Download your free copy of the Twitter Sports Marketing Guide by entering your name and email below and you will receive an email with the link for the PDF shortly.

(This is a guest article by Sheila Scarborough)

If you are part of the tourist board for Paris or Tokyo or New York, you have visitors coming in all the time, for millions of different reasons.

If you are a smaller town or less urban region, you have to look around and ask some hard questions…what do we have that can draw visitors and tourism dollars since we appear to have misplaced our Eiffel Tower?

One answer is sports tourism.

Several towns and cities in Texas, for example, emphasize their sports facilities in tourism marketing materials. Arlington (between Dallas and Fort Worth) has the Texas Rangers ballpark, the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame and of course, the schmancy new Dallas Cowboys stadium. The west Texas town of Midland touts its family-friendly Rockhounds minor league baseball team, the Scharbauer Sports Complex for hosting a variety of tournaments and the Odessa Jackalopes Hockey team.

My current hometown of Round Rock uses the tagline “Sports Capital of Texas” for its offerings in youth, amateur and recreational sports. The Round Rock CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau) is active in social media channels and hired me to do some YouTube video work tied mostly to the sports angle. It has helped to round out and enhance the content that already flows to our Facebook, Twitter and Flickr accounts.

An unexpected benefit of this for me personally is discovering sports treasures right under my nose.

For example, I had no idea that we have an active cricket league with a full pitch in our Old Settler’s Park, a world-class discus golf course and even a flying area for RC (remote-controlled) planes and helicopters. I spent part of a weekend shooting video at a big teen bowling event, and when Team USA women’s football held their training camp here prior to a major international tournament, it was great fun to interview them about their love of football and their impressions of my town’s facilities.

All of those players, coaches, managers, trainers and family members mean dollars flowing into the local economy from “heads in beds and napkins in laps.”

It may not be as glamorous as having the Eiffel Tower or a hopping club scene, but tourism organizations of every size are recognizing that sports can be a great way to entice and welcome visitors.

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Sheila Scarborough is a writer and speaker specializing in tourism, travel and social media. She’s the co-founder of Tourism Currents: online courses in social media and tech for tourism. A travel blogger since early 2006, Sheila thinks everyone ought to have a passport and experience jet lag. Blog on tourism and social media: Sheila’s Guide to the Good Stuff Twitter: @SheilaS

Last week we posted a job description looking for a new community manager for our sites. The response was overwhelming and we received many amazing resumes and applications. The top 10 were invited to participate in the next stage of the search by submitting video posts explaining why they wanted the job. The videos showed clearly why these candidates made the top 10 cut to begin with. They are dedicated and passionate, something we value a lot for our company.

Some candidates really stood out and impressed us. They did crazy things like submit their application an hour after we requested it, created a website, sent multiple video posts and recorded themselves from a Sonic Drive-Through to illustrate their 24/7 hustle.

If you want to stand out you have to be willing to think creatively and show that you have that drive. We had people submit resumes that were far more qualified with impressive work experience, but that’s really not what was most important to us. In the end we wanted someone who would out hustle the rest and be hungry to learn every day.

Unfortunately not all of the applicants were such rock stars. There were some obvious job no-no’s we ran across when reviewing submissions. I came up with a list of tips on things to avoid when applying for jobs that might be useful to current job seekers.

Don’t send links to dead social networking accounts. If you have a Twitter account but don’t follow anyone and have never tweeted from it, I probably don’t need to see it. I wouldn’t call attention to the fact that you don’t use this tool when this job involves social  networking and being familiar with this platform. It’s calling attention to your weakness, so leaving it out is probably best.

Telling me about your social media expertise and then linking to your Twitter account with less than 100 followers is probably not a good idea either. Don’t try to build up your qualifications or exaggerate, especially when your potential employer obviously knows a thing or two about social media. It looks bad on your part.

One of the weirdest applications had very little information and a few links. Then the applicant stated that they had many qualifications for the job but too many to list. I’m not sure if that’s laziness or ignorance but please, DO tell me why you are qualified for the job.

We are a pretty casual crew but swearing in your cover letter or typing “LOL” might be pushing it. I know a lot of employers who wouldn’t consider those applications.

I’m not sharing this information to embarrass or make fun of anyone. I’m sharing it in the hope that it helps job seekers and those who are looking to work in sports or any industry. If you’ve made similar mistakes in the past, don’t worry. Be positive, sharpen your game and keep working toward your goals.