With Super Bowl Sunday around the corner, now is a great time to think about some of the various sports business plots tied to the big game…

- The Ratings Game:  With two of the country’s top markets represented in what’s been billed as a rematch of Super Bowl 42, this year’s game is in position to set another record. Last year’s game averaged 111 million viewers, which was 4.5 million more than the previous year. Could we see 115 million this year? Maybe even 120? Well, 120 million might be a stretch, but it’s probably safe to assume that this year will set another ratings record.

- Hello Indianapolis:  If you build a new stadium, there’s a good chance you will host a Super Bowl. Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008, and gets to host the big game at the end of its fourth full season. While the game may break television records, attendance will be significantly lower this year because the stadium only holds around 70,000 for football, almost 30,000 less than last year’s game in Dallas. With 30,000 less ticket buyers in attendance, there could be a smaller economic impact on the city compared to previous host locations, but “small” is relative. Historically, the Super Bowl generated upwards of $500 million in additional revenue for the host city.

- Marketable Superstars:  This game features two of the league’s most marketable players in Tom Brady and Eli Manning, with both athletes already tied to several visible product endorsement deals. The real question is, will anyone else make a big leap in marketability from this game? Some potential names to watch include Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, Jason Pierre-Paul, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. While every local fan and fantasy football participant knows these names, starring on this stage can take them from fantasy-relevance to national-relevance very quickly.

- Ticket Prices:  Darren Rovell has been covering this story over on his CNBC blog and on his Twitter feed. The combination of marquee opponents in high-income markets playing in close proximity to another high-value market (Chicago) has all contributed to drive up tickets prices even more than normal. Of course, the market may be over-inflated right now, so those hoping for a bargains may see prices come back to earth this week. If you do plan on going to the game, I hope you booked your flight a while ago, as flights into Indy are completely booked and flights into Chicago have risen over 200%.

- The Commercials:  It almost seems like every year, the commercials draw just as much attention as the game does, which certainly goes a long way to explain their cost – an astronomical $3.5 million for a 30-second spot. On Monday, we can all argue which ones were the funniest, the most bizarre, the most effective and most ridiculous. A new twist this year seems to be the decision by several companies to release the commercials before the game airs. You can click here to view seven ads that are currently available online. While leaking the ad early does remove some of the surprise element, it will still be seen on Sunday by those 100+ million viewers, so maybe this tactic will end up generating more buzz for these companies.

In the past, we used to have regular “Five for Friday” columns that featured five interesting links for the week. I’m going to start bringing this back more often with all different types of lists. Today, in honor of Twitter’s #FF (Follow Friday) hashtag, here are five great sports business folks to follow on Twitter.

(NOTE: there are clearly WAY MORE than five great sports business folks to follow on Twitter, and since this is a recurring column, you will meet many more of them over time, so please do not be offended if you aren’t on the list).

• Brian Gainor (@BrianGainor) – The founder of PartnershipActivation.com and account supervisor at GMR Marketing, Brian is a constant source of best practices and new ideas in consumer and corporate sports marketing.
• Lou Imbriano (@LouImbriano) – Former CMO of the New England Patriots, current CEO of TrinityOne and author of Winning the Customer, Lou offers a great blend of business insights that span sports, sales, marketing and customer service.
• J.W. Cannon (@cannonjw) – Senior Project Lead for Sponsorships at UPS and co-founder of #sbchat (with Lou), J.W. is never one to shy away from an opinion and always shares excellent and entertaining sports business knowledge.
• Mike Mahoney (@mahoney) – Sponsorship Sales Executive for the Carolina Panthers, Mike is one of my earliest Twitter friends and is an active, expert participant in all sponsorship-related discussions.
• Tariq Ahmad (@tariq_ahmad) – A Ph.D candidate at Northern Colorado studying the intersection of sports and social media, Tariq has quickly become a go-to person on emerging trends in social media marketing.

Yesterday I sat down with Justin Cener, Founder of Crowd Seats, to discuss how sports organizations can use group-buying deal sites as part of their sales efforts and what’s unique about the Crowd Seats product compared to other options.

Justin, give us a brief overview of Crowd Seats?

Crowd Seats is the first and only daily deals site for sports tickets. We offer amazing sports ticket deals for 50-90% off face value with no added ticket fees. Consumers love us because we offer great tickets for great games at unbelievable prices. Teams and events love working with us because we’ve created a medium to generate revenue on distressed and last-minute ticket inventories. We focus on one niche – sports, and our business is built to meet the needs of sports teams.

In general, how do you see discount and group-buying sites adding value to sports organizations? What trends have you seen in this area?

Sports tickets are the ideal match for the daily deals model. Sports ticket inventory is perishable – if you don’t sell it, you lose it. Teams have an incentive to offer discounts in order to salvage this perishable inventory.

Further, the nature of attending a sporting event solves the issue of overage spending. Deal sites have had to battle a lack of overage spending as customers would buy a deal and not spend a dime extra. For each ticket sold, teams can count on additional per-cap revenues in the forms of parking, concessions, and souvenirs. $20 parking, $8 beers, and $6 hot dogs add up quick and represent a significant revenue stream for teams.

How should teams best manage the risks associated with discounting tickets? Are there any best practices you recommend?

Teams know they need to discount to salvage distressed/last-minute inventory, but they hate offering discounts to their full-price-paying customers. Teams can alleviate this risk by utilizing services like deal sites to promote the offer to their own user bases. We do recommend that the team provides as big of a discount as possible without going too far past their season ticket price.

How important is the group/social component of these sites in driving sales?

Going to a sports game is a social event, a group event. Further, getting a great deal is a social event as well so the two mesh nicely together. In order for these deals to be really successful, there needs to be a social element to it. That means social media needs to play a huge role in both increasing deal exposure and driving sales from social proof. There is no better advertisement than one that comes from a customer that is sharing his/her purchase. As an example, with Crowd Seats, over 1/3 of our sales come directly from Facebook or Twitter.

What is different about Crowd Seats compared to other non-sports-specific sites like Groupon and LivingSocial?

As a niche daily deal site focusing on sports tickets. we’re able to build our business to meet the needs of sports teams. We’ve spoken to over 50 teams and events nationwide and listened to what they were and were not happy with when working with deal sites. Armed with this data, we built Crowd Seats to give teams another avenue to move inventory on their terms.

Most importantly, we differentiate ourselves from Groupon, Living Social, etc in two major ways. First, we offer the most aggressive revenue split in the industry – by far. Our revenue split gives the team a much larger share, leaving them with far more revenue per ticket than they would receive with other sites. Second, we provide full customer contact information to our partner teams so they can build their customer base. So, we’re not only generating revenue, we’re driving highly targeted leads to teams. This has been extremely well received by teams and has been a driving force behind a lot of our relationships. As a niche site, users who sign up show a pre-determined interest in our partner’s products and we consider them to be highly targeted leads for teams.

What’s next for Crowd Seats?

Currently, we’re live in two markets, New York and Los Angeles. We’ve sold over 250 tickets to date and we’re aggressively targeting new markets to enter. In total, we see 16 potential markets nationwide and we’ve already begun to build relationships with many teams in those regions.

You can connect with Justin Cener on LinkedIn or on Twitter at @CrowdSeats.

My condolences to the Paterno family on the passing of Joe Paterno.

While there is no arguing his accomplishments as a football coach, may his final legacy be allowing the world to learn from his mistakes and the mistakes of others involved so that the situation at Penn State never happens again.

In case you didn’t know, I’m a big social media advocate. I love what it can do for people and business alike, creating content, conversation and active communities. In turn, when I see unique opportunities and promotions based around this space, I love to share them here, which bring me to the “Ultimate Sports Social Media Job” program created by Xfinity.

Here is a quick summary of the contest and what the winner can receive:

“Comcast’s Xfinity Service is launching a contest to hire an individual who will serve as the new voice of Xfinity in the sports social media space and go behind-the-scenes at some of the biggest nationwide sporting events in 2012, sharing exclusive insights and updates with fans. The contest, entitled “Xfinity Presents: The Ultimate Sports Social Media Job,” runs from January 13 through March 25 in search of the next sports social media star.”

“The winner will receive a one-year salary and will be responsible for tweeting from the @XFINITYSports Twitter handle on continual basis,  reporting live from premier sporting events throughout 2012, and educating and engaging avid sports fans in social media communities. In addition to live event access, the winner will also receive all the electronics for the ultimate sports pad, including televisions, home audio/video equipment, etc.”

Anyone who is interested can apply through their Facebook page at Facebook.com/Xfinity. You have to share a video (up to 2 minutes) pitching why you’re the perfect person for this role based on your knowledge and passion for sports, social media and Comcast (after all, the winner will be working for them!). The top entries will be featured on this page and voted on by fans, with the top 5 advancing to the finals. These lucky five will get a trial run covering a premier sporting event in early March, and then a panel of celebrity judges will make the final decision on a winner who will get to travel to and cover some of the biggest sporting events for an entire year.

So, if this is your ultimate sports and social media dream job, make sure to enter ASAP. Also, if you are a reader of this blog and decide to apply, please let us know in the comments so we can check out your entries. I’d love to throw my support behind one of our fans, sharing your entry on the site and in the newsletter. Good luck!

My full-time roles in the sports industry have been focused on the CRM and database space, and these positions can have lots of fun and interesting responsibilities, such as:

• Consolidating data to build a complete picture of each fan and customer
• Building distinct customer segments for targeted marketing campaigns
• Managing digital communications using email, web, PURLs, social media and more
• Creating detailed customer profiles to understand who are fans are
• Measuring the results of sales and marketing initiatives
• Generating new leads and building models to predict sales and renewals
• Using marketing automation to generate incremental revenue
• Analyzing ticket sales and survey research data to identify trends and opportunities
• Leveraging technology to build efficient sales, service and marketing departments

In case you haven’t checked out the Event Calendar, we have two more sports networking events scheduled for this month!

The Business of Sports – New York Networking Event

• Wednesday, January 11 at Slattery’s Midtown Pub
• Open networking from 6:00 to 9:00PM
• Free to attend, all backgrounds welcome (No resumes please!)
• Details and RSVP here!

The Business of Sports – Atlanta Networking Event

• Tuesday, January 17 at Buckhead Bottle Bar
• Open networking from 5:30 to 8:00PM
• Free to attend, all backgrounds welcome (No resumes please!)
• Details and RSVP here!

Our goal is to create a regular series of sports business networking events in as many major markets as we can. These events provide opportunities for sports professionals on all levels to connect with other like-minded individuals and build up their professional network. Our feedback from these events continues to be tremendous, so we will keep seeking out new locations and new ways to help support this wonderful community. We hope to see as many of you as we can at one of these events very soon!

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Dave Fogelson.

In all likelihood, people aspiring to “work in sports” are over-looking the sporting goods industry, particularly the retail end of the business, as the starting point for a career path. Retail is where people seeking entry-level jobs can find the most opportunities to apply their sports interest and knowledge and acquire invaluable, real world experience.

The $52 billion sporting goods industry is home to some of the most recognizable and iconic consumer brands and biggest names in retailing. National chains like Dick’s and Sports Authority, regional stores such as Modell’s and Hibbett, specialty retailers in the team sports, golf, running and outdoor segments and many other brick and mortar and on-line outlets have an on-going need for people who either have or can acquire product knowledge and possess a commitment to customer service.

Working the past two years as a retail sales associate at a sporting goods chain, I’ve influenced more sales than during the combined 13 years I spent as the head of public relations for two athletic footwear and apparel companies. I oftentimes think about how much more effective I (and most of my corporate colleagues) would have been in our brand marketing positions had we possessed some of the insight that comes from working retail.

So, what knowledge, experience and skills can you expect to acquire at retail that can help you land that “dream job” in sports?

-  Selling and business development:  Every organization in every industry needs people oriented to generating business. Sporting goods retail associates play the critical role in the space known as “the last three feet of the sale.” It’s the epitome of missionary salesmanship and not merely order-taking.

- Product knowledge:  Having the capacity to understand and embrace the features and benefits of the products/services you represent is essential to any job you’re likely to perform in sports marketing. A product or service’s unique selling proposition is the foundation of an effective marketing campaign.

- Listening and communicating:  Having acquired product knowledge, the ability to apply it by listening to customers, understanding their needs and clearly and concisely communicating the features and benefits of products that meet their requirements creates more business for your employer now and in the future. Aren’t the majority of (if not all) sports marketing programs predicated on building and sustaining customer/fan loyalty to the sponsor’s brand and products?

- Prioritizing and working the plan:  In addition to dealing with customers, retail associates handle a myriad of responsibilities. From organizing inventory to merchandising product displays, many balls must be kept in the air simultaneously. The ability to take on and handle multiple assignments is one of the hallmarks of a successful sports marketer.

- Working (well) with others:  Working retail requires flexibility, a willingness to pitch-in whenever and wherever situations demand and a thick skin. Among managers and sales associates, retail’s “we’re in this together” mentality is comparable to the work environment and expectations you’ll encounter throughout the sports industry.

- Understanding what truly resonates with customers:  Retail (the Place) is where the rubber meets the road for the other three “Ps” – Product, Promotion and Price. Working retail provides insights into what truly motivates consumers to part (or not part) with their cash for products and services. People with this insight are better able to create and conduct more targeted sports marketing campaigns that utilize brand resources more efficiently and effectively.

With this knowledge and experience, in tandem with your educational background and special interests, aspiring sports business executives are in a much better position to pursue and secure more rewarding positions of greater responsibility.

• If your heart is in retailing, there are corporate level positions as a buyer, in merchandising, operations and marketing.
• If retailing isn’t for you, brands across the spectrum of the sporting goods industry need people in product development, marketing and sales who’ve experienced first-hand how consumers and retail sales associates respond to product features, advertising and promotional campaigns and price promotions.
• Non-sports brands that sponsor sports along with their agency partners need people who’ve experienced at the retail level how event sponsorships and athlete endorsers can be leveraged with the consumer to generate sales and create brand loyalty.

The retail environment isn’t glamorous and can be down-right difficult. The challenges you’re likely to encounter at retail, coupled with the modest compensation, are best surmounted by taking a broader view and looking at the time and energy you’re spending on the sales floor as a means to a greater end.

In the majority of instances, the investments brands make in product development and marketing are greatly diminished absent the sales associate creating connections for the product and brand with consumers. Creating these connections is the stuff with which attention-getting resumes are built.

Within this context and keeping in mind your career aspirations, every retail floor assignment, no matter how mundane, every customer interaction and sale you generate have greater significance. Leverage this experience and the insights you’ve gained in your ongoing communications with the organizations you’ve identified as prospective employers and networking with industry contacts.

Dave Fogelson is the former head of public relations for adidas USA and Reebok. He’s also held public relations positions with The Miller Brewing Company, Pan-american Sports Network and Sharp Electronics. For the past 2-1/2 years, he’s served as an athletic footwear and golf sales associate at a major sporting goods retail chain.

When I talk about my various non-sports experience, people tend to laugh when I tell them that my time working at McDonald’s as a teenager was one of the most positive experiences I’ve ever had. I learned so much from that position that applies to any business, so it seems only fitting to share some of those key lessons here in the context of sports business.

1.  No one knows the customer better than your front-line staff.

This is rule number one because I don’t think enough organizations realize the power that their customer-facing staff truly has. Our McDonald’s was a particularly busy location, so our cashiers and floor staff engaged with thousands of customers every week. Through these interactions, we knew what items people wanted, how long they were willing to wait, how much prices mattered, and the general sentiment of our store’s patrons. This information was used each day by managers and staff alike to make sure we were running efficiently and reacting to the needs and preferences of our particular customers.

In sports, the front-line staff includes a wide range of roles, such as sales reps, service reps, box office, concessionaires, ushers, receptionists, gameday interns, guest relations, security, merchandise sales, custodians and more. These are the employees that interact directly with your fans and customers every single day. They know what the fans are saying and feeling. As such, these staff members have very well-educated opinions that can be used to help shape important decisions. Senior management has to set ticket prices, decide on gameday entertainment, select food and merchandise options and build communication strategies. While market research can be used to help influence these decisions, I feel strongly that asking your front-line staff about what the fans want is an important resource that can be just as, if not more valuable that survey results.

2.  Discounts help in the short-term, but value wins in the long-term.

I remember when McDonald’s first came out with the “Dollar Menu” and it was huge!  How can you beat a $1 cheeseburger or $1 french fries? But then Burger King released a “Value Menu”, and then Wendy’s, then Taco Bell. It didn’t take long for everyone to try this approach. This strategy was easily duplicated and in turn, it moved the focus from the product to the price. The same problem exists with coupons and other discount programs. These tactics focus on a quick, immediate transaction – get them in the door and then hope they decide to stay. The problem is that the quality of the product and the product’s value relative to the price have much more of an impact on long-term success.

This concept is very important when it comes to all prices, from tickets to hot dogs. Offering discounts, whether its direct from the team or via a site like Groupon can definitely generate a quick spike in sales, but that revenue is not sustainable. A better approach would be to take a more sophisticated look at your prices to make sure the value proposition is there for the customers, perhaps through variable or dynamic pricing. In addition, we know that customers are very sensitive to food prices in the stadium, but most of the time, it’s actually the combination of price AND quality that they are upset about. Dropping the price of a hot dog won’t help if the hot dog isn’t hot or tasty. Just like the actual tickets, concession items need to have value for the consumer, and that comes from quality as much as, if not more than price.

3.  Don’t underestimate the value of a clean bathroom.

Hopefully you just laughed a little, but when you stop to think about it, this statement is very true. Cleanliness in general is a very important factor when it comes to feeling comfortable and welcome in any venue, and the location where people tend to notice this most is the bathroom. At our McDonald’s, we cleaned the bathroom at least once an hour, and usually even more often than that. Even if we were in the middle of dinner rush, we never skipped this task because we wanted the entire dining experience (which often involves a trip to the restroom) to be a positive one.

No one likes a dirty bathroom, whether it’s at a restaurant or at a stadium. That feeling of being disgusted by something can be a surprisingly “sticky” memory, even if the rest of the game experience is quite positive. Meanwhile, fans have come to expect dirty bathrooms and port-a-johns at sporting event, that when you enter one that’s clean, it can create a surprisingly positive reaction (or at least avoids creating a negative one). Keeping stadium bathrooms clean on a gameday is quite challenging, but even if it means a few extra workers on gameday, I would argue it’s well worth it.

4.  Failures can be your best opportunities.

Who hasn’t had a negative experience at a fast food restaurant at some point, whether it’s receiving the wrong order, sitting at a dirty table or finding a hair in your food? The most important thing to do at this point is to listen first, apologize, fix the issue as quickly as possible and try to replace the bad feeling with a good experience. A single service recovery opportunity can have even more impact on long-term customer satisfaction than hundreds of regular, uneventful visits. As a McDonald’s employee, I was taught to go out of my way to make a situation right whenever a customer has a problem, and 99% of the time, I was able to turn that negative situation into a positive touchpoint with our restaurant.

As much as we try to prepare for every situation, we are faced with failures and mistakes all the time in sports – it is the nature of any service-based industry. The tickets get lost in the mail, the hot chocolate isn’t hot, the shirt is the wrong size, a fan slips on a spilled drink – there are thousand of things that can go wrong. In fact, many times the “failure” isn’t even our fault, such as when a customer loses their tickets or mistakenly purchases counterfeit tickets. Heck, we also get blamed for bad weather or poor team performance! Whenever these situations arise, rather than get frustrated, we need to remember that we are being presented with opportunities to build a better relationship with the fans. We must listen to what they’re saying, even if they just want to vent about the team. We should make sure problems are resolved, maybe even with a refund or complimentary tickets. You might be interacting with the most passionate fan who only comes to one game a year, and if that fan walks away unhappy, it could be the last game they ever come to.

5.  Reward loyalty.

I still remember several of the “regulars” that came to my McDonald’s, and I haven’t worked there in almost 15 years. These customers were regulars because of how we made them feel when they came to our store. We knew their names, how often they came in, and what they always ordered. In fact, when we saw them come in the front door, we started making their meal before they placed their order. If they decided to treat themselves to an additional dessert, we just gave it to them without thinking about the extra $1-2 we could have made. Around the holidays, we gave them a thank you card. and above all, we talked to them and listened to them. As this happened, we started realizing that other customers saw how we treated them, and sure enough, these customers often became regulars themselves. We loved our loyal customers, and did everything we could to make them happy.

In sports, we have an amazing luxury in that our customers are fans of our brand and product, something that many industries don’t experience. But unfortunately, this fact is often taken for granted, when it clearly shouldn’t be. The most time, effort and money should be dedicated to those fans and customers that have shown their loyalty over the years as season ticket holders, suite buyers and corporate partners. These are the audiences that you want to reward with the best value, the best experiences and the best level of service. Some teams try to do this with loyalty or rewards programs, and while those programs can succeed, they aren’t necessary to truly reward loyalty. Visit your best customer in the stands and bring them a small gift or upgrade their tickets. Send out thank you card or birthday emails. Call them to ask how the game was, even if you don’t have anything to sell them. These are all simple ways to reward loyal fans that will have a lasting impact on their relationship with the team.

Last week, Coyle Media released a great infographic on how sports fans use various social media check-in services. It’s interesting to see how the results vary by sport (unfortunately, there’s no data on MLB), how sports venues compare to other types of check-in locations, and the most effective ways to drive check-ins.

Personally, I have concerns about the long-term success of geolocation-based services, but the poll does show that there is definite value in this service when it comes to sporting events. So even if the overall adoption rate in these services lags behind other social media channels, it shouldn’t be overlooked by sports organizations.

Sports Marketing from Coyle Media, LLC.

In light of yesterday’s trade/non-trade of Chris Paul from the Hornets to the Lakers, I feel the need to re-publish my take on the inherent conflicts of interest that arise from having a franchise owned and operated by a league. I’ve heard and read several different arguments over the merits of this trade and why it should have been allowed, including:

• The Hornets got back a lot of talent and it was a fair package for Paul.
• The Hornets have a GM in place that is keeping the best interests of the team in mind.
• Paul wasn’t going to sign an extension with the team, so it’s best for them to make a trade.

The actual reason why the trade wasn’t allowed to go through is unclear. The “official” statement was that the Hornets decided against it, but in reality, there has to have been a decision at the league level, which makes sense because…THE LEAGUE OWNS THE TEAM! General managers have to report up to the team owner, and in this case, the team owner is the group of all 29 other team owners. If those team owners do not want the trade to go through, whether or not the reasons are justified or completely selfish in nature, then the trade cannot go through.

Update: For all those people who feel that David Stern either made this decision himself or shouldn’t have “allowed” this veto to happen (cough, cough, Bill Simmons), his bosses are the other 29 team owners. For all of his authority, he still has to listen to them, even if he disagrees with them.

Clearly, this is a gigantic conflict of interest, and it’s a big reason why situations like this should be prevented at all costs. It affects both team decisions (trades, signings, contracts) and business decisions (television contracts, relocations, sponsorships). I wrote about this earlier this year with regards to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I also include other examples with the Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, and funny enough, the New Orleans Hornets.

———-

By now, you’ve probably already seen the news that Major League Baseball has taken control of  day to day operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers away from current team owner Frank McCourt. Instead of trying to weigh in on whether MLB’s decision in this case was right or wrong and what McCourt should or shouldn’t do, I’d like to take a philosophical look at the concept of a league-owned or league-operated franchise. This situation has come up a few times in professional sports over the past decade, including the Texas Rangers, the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, the New Orleans Hornets, the Phoenix Coyotes and now the Dodgers. While the circumstance behind each situation is different, there are some fundamental issues at hand any time a league steps in to manage an individual franchise.

If a league owns or operates an individual franchise, in essence the other 30+ owners within that league are now in charge of that team, since the league itself is owned equally by all of the separate team owners. While each owner is primarily concerned with their own franchise, even having a 1/30th stake in another team is a significant investment. This additional “ownership” can represent a unique conflict of interest for those put in charge of the team’s operations.

The owners want this franchise to be run profitably, but what is the best way to do that? Often times, the best way to generate a short-term profit is through reducing costs, whereas long term profit is more sustainable via investing in the team’s operations. If the other owners care more about the short-term, which could easily be the case since they theoretically won’t own the team for long, then those in charge may be forced to cut costs. In addition, the specific approaches the team takes in their operations could be dictated by that league’s revenue sharing system. If more revenue is shared from ticket sales that local media, will those in charge be forced to focus more on that specific revenue stream to the detriment of the other.

This problem is even more significant when looking at the on-field operations of the team. Those in charge should theoretically continue to do what they can to help the team win, since that will in turn lead to more revenue. However, if that team wins more games, logic dictates that other teams will lose more games, which can decrease revenue for those team owners. This question came up last year with the Texas Rangers. The team was doing well, but until new ownership was in place, the team seemed unlikely to make any roster changes. A more recent example took place this year with the Hornets, when those in charge of the team did make a significant trade in an attempt to improve the team. Mark Cuban spoke out vehemently against this trade in particular because the team took on additional salary, which mean as a partial owner of the Hornets, Cuban could end up losing more money. He didn’t seem upset about the team’s attempt to improve (he said that he wouldn’t mind the trade if they hadn’t taken on additional salary), but I wouldn’t be surprised if behind the scenes, other owners were angry about this aspect as well.

Finally, you also need to look at the context under which the league steps in. One of the most unusual arrangements was when MLB decided not only to “purchase” the Expos, but also arrange for the sale of the Marlins to former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, and in turn the sale of the Red Sox to former Marlins owner John Henry. While I will not attempt to analyze the various motivating factors behind these deals (how often do you see owners “trade” their team?), there’s no doubt that Henry and Loria benefited greatly from the situation, while the “rest” of the league ends up owning the orphaned Expos, which surely had a negative cash flow until the time they were sold as the Nationals. Again, there does seem to be some conflict of interest when other owners end up having to support the operations of an additional team as part of another owner’s franchise purchase and sale.

Even putting that unique situation aside, other events will continue to arise where a league has no choice but to step in and own or operate a franchise. It is clearly in the best interest of any professional sports league to make sure all of its teams can operate successfully. The conflicts that these situations present are real, and must be delicately managed by all parties involved until operations can be turned back over to the team, hopefully as quickly as possible.

Last Friday I had the chance to attend the 2011 Ivy Sports Symposium, which every year offers an impressive array of speakers, informative panel discussions and wonderful networking opportunities. If you haven’t already, search for the Twitter hashtag #ISS2011 to see some of the updates that were shared during the event. During the breaks between sessions, I tried to grab a couple of video interviews to share with you this week, along with a larger event recap post coming soon.

My final interview was with Brandi Connolly, Director of Sports and Experiential at hawkeye. Brandi and I talked about experiential marketing and how it can be a valuable component in a brand’s overall sports marketing and sponsorship strategy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQwQli-LgrM

You can connect with Brandi on Twitter at @brandiconnolly or by email at bconnolly@hawkeyeww.com.

(Please pardon the slightly unusual shape of the video box – I took the video vertically on my iPhone. I’ll stick to landscape for future clips!)

Last Friday I had the chance to attend the 2011 Ivy Sports Symposium, which every year offers an impressive array of speakers, informative panel discussions and wonderful networking opportunities. If you haven’t already, search for the Twitter hashtag #ISS2011 to see some of the updates that were shared during the event. During the breaks between sessions, I tried to grab a couple of video interviews to share with you this week, along with a larger event recap post coming soon.

Next up is my interview with Scott Minto, Director of the San Diego State University Sports MBA Program. Scott talks about the value of an advanced sports education degree and how attending events like the Ivy Sports Symposium is critical for young sports professionals.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyZpR7iJIYY

You can connect with Scott on Twitter at @SDSUSportsMBA or at the SDSU Sports MBA Facebook page.

(Please pardon the slightly unusual shape of the video box – I took the video vertically on my iPhone. I’ll stick to landscape for future clips!)

Last Friday I had the chance to attend the 2011 Ivy Sports Symposium, which every year offers an impressive array of speakers, informative panel discussions and wonderful networking opportunities. If you haven’t already, search for the Twitter hashtag #ISS2011 to see some of the updates that were shared during the event.

During the breaks between sessions, I tried to grab a couple of video interviews to share with you this week, along with a larger event recap post coming soon. First up is my interview with Len Perna, President of Turnkey Sports & Entertainment. Len discusses some of the different products Turnkey has put together and how valuable market research can be in the sports industry.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuU5jngQHNU

You can learn more about Turnkey on Twitter at @TurnkeySports or by visiting the Turnkey Facebook page.

(Please pardon the slightly unusual shape of the video box – I took the video vertically on my iPhone. I’ll stick to landscape for future clips!)

Thanks to Brett Pharis for sending me this colorful timeline of the NBA Lockout through the end of October. I’m sure everyone is paying attention to how things go this week with the league’s Wednesday deadline on their current offer. Will the players agree? Will they decertify? We’ll all find out soon enough!

Via: Designed by USDirect.com

The latest issue of The Sports Business Exchange from Joshua Duboff was released today and features several great articles, including:

• Perspective From 35,000 Feet Above: Why Steve Jobs was Important to Young Entrepreneurs by Joshua Duboff
• KAEO Startups: Crowd Seats - Daily deals website for tickets to sporting events
• KAEO Startups: Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund - Non-profit to support the education of children who lost a parent in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom
• Making a Marketing Paradigm Shift Within Your Athletic Department by Adam Schemm
• Cheerleading May Not Be Ready For Sport Status, But It Is Big Business by Daniel Scott Benjamin
• The Relationship of Fantasy Football Participation with NFL Television Ratings by John A. Fortunato, Fordham University (a special article from the JSAS Online)

For those of you in the Northeast, I wanted to make sure you know about a great event coming up in a couple of weeks down in Philadelphia!

The 6th Annual Ivy Sports Symposium @ Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Friday, November 18, 2011 from 8:00 AM to 7:30 PM (ET)

Today is the final day to register for the 6th annual Ivy Sports Symposium (formerly known as the Princeton Sports Symposium) on Friday, November 18 at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The Ivy Sports Symposium is an annual sports business conference established in 2006 by Chris Chaney (Princeton ’07) at Princeton University. Click here to view the 2011 Symposium agenda.

The Ivy Sports Symposium is one of the global sports industry’s premier conferences that sets the standard among college-based sports business events. It is widely considered the best and most comprehensive one-day event. The Symposium has gained industry-wide recognition since its inception by featuring more than 180 unique speakers from around the world representing all facets of the sports business.

The Symposium aims to advance the sports business by facilitating interaction among students and professionals, providing a forum for communication and debate, and enabling some of the most successful executives in the industry to share invaluable knowledge with their peers and successors.

Click here to register today for the 2011 Ivy Sports Symposium.

My friends over at Qcue,who specialize in dynamic ticket pricing in professional sports, sent me over some interesting information on what they were able to do with their Major League Baseball clients in 2011. I think this is valuable to share, particularly for any organizations that are thinking about the pros and cons of implementing a dynamic pricing strategy.

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Qcue today announced the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) season was the most active season to date for dynamic pricing, resulting in significant gains for all clients, including increases in total revenues, full-price ticket sales and revenue per seat (excluding season tickets, which do not use dynamic pricing).

With the regular season now complete, Qcue conducted in depth analysis across clients, concluding that the frequency of price changes has a direct impact on incremental revenue. In fact, they estimate that a team can generate an additional $900,000 in incremental revenue over the course of a season by making one additional change to each of its section prices.

Results like this show why dynamic pricing is quickly becoming an industry standard with more than one-third of MLB teams, as well as teams across other leagues, implementing the practice. Qcue’s roster continues to grow, with the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners set to implement dynamic pricing for the 2012 season. Qcue clients now represent 95% of all dynamically priced baseball tickets.

On average, teams approached 2011 with conservative on-sale prices, often lower than previous years, providing substantial values for many fans.

Additional findings include:

• Average price change per seat: $1.55 increase
• Average percentage change per seat: 3% increase
• Average price decrease: -$13.63
• Average price increase: $3.27

“The market has definitely hit a tipping point, where teams are no longer wondering ‘if’ they should embrace dynamic pricing, but rather ‘how often’ to leverage the intelligence and flexibility a solution like ours can provide to drive incremental revenue,” said Barry Kahn, CEO of Qcue. “Our analysis demonstrates the relationship between the frequency of price changes and incremental revenue and the value of understanding real-time market dynamics in setting more accurate prices. Teams that adjust prices more frequently make more money that can be invested back into the club.”

In addition to regular season pricing, teams are finding ways to extend dynamic pricing to new scenarios such as spring training, which the San Francisco Giants successfully did this year in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Qcue’s turnkey software solution helps teams analyze sales data and other external pricing variables, providing sales and revenue projections, strong reporting capabilities, as well as market-based price recommendations. Additionally, integration capabilities remove the management burden teams often face by directly communicating price changes to the teams’ ticketing system and website.

Thanks to Cybele and Barry from Qcue for sending this over!

Over the past week, there have been several news stories discussing the Big East Conference’s attempt to add additional football programs in order to maintain their automatic qualifying status with the Bowl Championship Series. While the conference’s current structure had been dictated primarily by geography (the “East” coast), their current efforts are focused more on the caliber of program than a program’s physical location. Their current targets would lead them to Idaho (Boise State), Colorado (Air Force) and Texas (SMU and Houston).

If these programs decide to accept their current/eventual invitations to the join the conference, it only seems logical that the conference should change it’s name to reflect their new geographic expansion. Some suggest simply creating western and eastern divisions, but even with that structure, it still seems a tad silly for the conference to use the term East when playing in Idaho and Colorado.

So, I’d like to come up with some suggestions for the Big East, “crowdsourcing” some naming options if you will. I posted the question on Twitter yesterday and got the following suggestions:

• From @TamaraJoleeTV - America Football Conference: AFC East / AFC West…
• From @SportsLoop - STSS Conference–Sea to Shining Sea
• From @NateThompson_ - Conference USA (Editor’s Note: taken for now, but it could open up if C-USA and the MWC merge)
• From @tonymagnelli - How about “The Empire” because the sun never sets on The Empire Conference.
• From @mBLASzKa - Big Country
• From @PioneerPlanner - The Big Best of the Rest (EN: I somehow think they might not like this one)

Earlier this year,  David Holland, Senior VP, Sports and Entertainment Solutions Group at Cisco, wrote a guest post called “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” that discussed how emerging technology continues to improve the fan experience. So when I received information about a partnership between Cisco and Verizon at AEG’s Staples Center, I thought it was definitely worth sharing.

The premise behind the Cisco StadiumVision partnership is to leverage digital video technology build by both Verizon and Cisco, to provide a more interactive experience for fans in the building, while making information on stadium amenities and services more visible. At  the same time, this technology can provide additional sources of revenue tied to targeted digital delivery of sponsor and partner assets across more than 375 interconnected HD displays in suites, stands and concourses.

Here are more of the details, courtesy of their joint press release:

• In the luxury suites, Cisco StadiumVision further personalizes the event experience by allowing fans to customize their view of the live game or show below, or switch to other channels of premium HD content, by simply changing the channel via the Cisco touch-screen Unified IP Phones in conjunction with Verizon voice-over-IP service. In the future, fans will also be able to order concessions and team merchandise for delivery to the suites using the touchscreen on the phones.
• With constantly changing games, teams and events, one of the keys for STAPLES Center is the flexibility of the technology being delivered by Verizon and Cisco. The entire color scheme, content and branding of the venue can be done with the push of a few buttons, and this is proving exceptionally valuable at the concessions stands where dynamic menu boards can easily be updated with new menu items and pricing.
• AEG is already seeing a strong return on its investment evidenced by results from the early deployment of digital and dynamic menu boards at the refreshment stands. For example, in March AEG saw a 9% increase in revenue (year over year) from concessions for Los Angeles Kings games. Even more impressive was the 400% increase in revenue (year over year) from select pilot promotions offered for the Los Angeles Sparks games this season.

According to James Timmons, vice president of global enterprise sales for Verizon Communications, “Designing and implementing technology solutions that cater to the individual consumer, as AEG has done with STAPLES Center, is a successful model for other venues to adopt.  Together with Cisco, we’re helping to create a game-changing experience for fans and new business opportunities for STAPLES Center partners.”

Technology partnerships like this one are a key component to maximizing the in-venue experience. With more and more advantages in digital displays, data delivery and interactive content, I expect you will continue to see teams and arenas implement similar programs, hopefully topping each other with more features and benefits for the fans each time.

The NBA is clearly going through a rough period because of the lockout, and with every passing day, more damage is being done between the league and its fans. However, even when an organization has to deal with something as stressful and problematic as a work stoppage, teams must continue to communicate to their fans, keeping them abreast of the situation and offering up as much damage control as possible.

I’m signed up for several team email lists, and I have to say, I’ve been most impressed by the Lakers messages over the past few weeks. Here are a few snippets to show how they’ve stayed in touch with their fans in an honest and direct manner. Each of these messages was “signed” from Tim Harris, Senior Vice President, Operations/CMO.

September 23:

We appreciate your continued patience as the NBA and the NBA Players Association negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. Since no such agreement has been reached at this time, the league has postponed player training camps and cancelled preseason games scheduled through October 15th.

Please know that you are a vital part of the Lakers, and we value your support.

We want to assure you that the league’s efforts are focused on reaching an agreement that benefits all parties involved. The NBA’s goal is to secure a sustainable business model that enables all 30 teams to compete for a championship, fairly compensates players, and ensures a world-class experience for our fans.

We recognize that without our fans, there would be no NBA. Your passion for the game is what motivates us, and we do not take your support for granted. The league will continue to work toward a new collective bargaining agreement so that we can get back to enjoying the excitement of NBA basketball.

Thank you again for your support and your continued loyalty to the Lakers.

October 4:

We appreciate your patience as the NBA and the NBA Players Association negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. Since an agreement has not been reached at this time, the league has canceled all preseason games.

The league will continue to work toward a new collective bargaining agreement so that we can get back to enjoying the excitement of NBA basketball.

Lakers fans are the passion that drives the team and we appreciate your support and your continued loyalty to the Lakers.

October 12:

We’re sorry to share that the NBA and the NBA Players Association have yet to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. Unfortunately this means the league has had to cancel all regular season games scheduled through November 14th.

Rest assured both sides are working hard to get a deal done so that we can get back to what we all want most, the excitement of NBA basketball. In the meantime, we’ll continue to keep you informed with updates as they become available.

We share your frustration and sincerely appreciate both your support and continued loyalty to the Lakers.

There’s really no way to sugar coat the labor situation that the NBA is going through, so I think the Lakers’ sincere approach and expression of gratitude is a very effective way to communicate to their fans as the lockout moves along. Sending out bad news can be quite challenging from a marketing and PR perspective, but its much better to take this approach than to ignore the situation and not say anything.

I received an email last week from the St. Louis Rams about a new program called “Football University” that I thought was a great idea, so I wanted to share it with you here:

Teams are always looking for new packages and experiences to sell, and this package has a lot of unique benefits outside of just revenue:

• It’s a great integration with existing health care partners, creating more value for their sponsorship (and a nice mention for the team’s catering provider as well)
• The pink color scheme is consistent with all of the NFL’s breast cancer awareness messaging
• The package itself, with inside access to the team’s staff and facilities appeals to casual and hardcore fans alike
• Offering it with and without a game ticket creates flexibility for the consumers, while also hopefully providing a lift for ticket sales
• The inclusion of a charitable component (the United Way) is a great way to give back, and can also encourage more purchases
• Finally, I really like the name of the event – “Football University”

Earlier this week, I received an email from Yelp.com (pictured below). If you’re not familiar with the site, it is a great resource to share and look at reviews for local businesses, and they are also getting into the local deals business, so don’t be surprised to see special offers from sports teams through their service. This particular email was focused on promoting local sports bars where you can go watch your favorite teams play.

When I saw the email, I immediately noticed it because the subject line was “Get Yer New York Sports Here!” – for those of you outside the NY metro area that don’t recognize it, that’s the slogan for SportsNet NY (SNY). You can watch one of their newest commercials, and you’ll hear the phrase at the very end. They use it at the end of almost every TV and radio spot they create.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vDKyKQCYrU

So, what do you think of Yelp’s decision to send an email marketing message that prominently features the slogan of a local sports media outlet? I tried to see if the phrase was trademarked, and my cursory searches did not reveal any results. If the phrase is not trademarked, then it’s probably a great tactic. Of course, if it is trademarked and I just couldn’t find it, using the phrace might not even be legal. Should SNY be angry at Yelp? On one hand, Yelp is benefiting from SNY’s work, but on the other hand, it might help SNY my reminding the reader to watch their programming.

I’m pretty torn on this approach, so I’d love to know what you all think.

Digital Fan Marketing Summits, created and organized by Pat Coyle, are educational events designed to help attendees increase revenues through digital media. Pat normally hosts a few of these per year, most recently in Los Angeles and New York. His next event is coming up on October 11 in San Francisco, and I highly encourage folks to attend.

As a special offer for our readers, you can use the discount code sportsbiz to get $100 off the cost of admission!

Each summit attracts leading practitioners in digital publishing and brand marketing who share their experiences and latest thinking, build relationships and debate emerging opportunities such as:

• how to attract fans in digital channels
• how to generate value for these fans
• how to drive revenue from fans
• how to evaluate emerging trends and emerging technologies

Major discussion themes will include: social commerce, mobile commerce, location-based services, games, analytics and more. These 1-day events will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, Ignite presentations, and ample networking opportunities.

For more information and to register, please visit http://dfm11-sf.eventbrite.com/.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Brett Pharis.

Three More Questions About College Football Conference Realignment: From a Non-AQ Point of View

Under consideration: the current landscape of college football’s conference affiliation and the direction of realignment. Last year we saw Utah and TCU get the nod from the ‘big boys’ to come play for the lion’s share of BCS money. In addition, we saw Boise State, Nevada, Hawaii, and Fresno State make small steps toward becoming legitimate post-season contenders. While Utah and TCU have used their success in big games to make the move to BCS conferences, teams like Boise State, Hawaii, Nevada, Houston, and others are still doing their best to prove themselves worthy in the BCS era. It’s unclear how conference realignment will play out, but as outsiders, Non-AQ schools face a different set of issues that are often overlooked when dissecting the BCS breakdown.

1. Do Super Conferences Provide Any More Stability to the Current CFB Landscape?

Although initial talk about conference realignment was fun and exciting, it’s quickly become one of stress and anticipation – not only for students and fans, but administrators and conference management as well. We’ve decided, as college football fans, which conferences are most powerful and in the best position to add schools to their ranks. It has been decided by ticket and merchandise sales, television viewers, and, unfortunately, the BCS system.

When coupled with Super-Conferences, these factors provide even more economic and political power to conferences that have already become staples in the college football arena. The fact is, Super Conferences do provide more stability for those conferences that already enjoy the benefits of the BCS stage. The Non-AQ schools, however, have an even more tumultuous road ahead of them. Consider the possibility of a Non-AQ school getting an at-large bid above a BCS conference that has multiple no-loss or one-loss teams – pretty unlikely, right? That doesn’t mean the Non-AQs would miss out on all potential BCS earnings, but this could dramatically decrease the slice of pie these schools have access to. You know the implication of this: less money equals further separation in program facilities and recruiting ability, etc., etc.

2. Which Non-AQ Schools Have the Opportunity to Make the Move to a BCS Conference?

This is an interesting topic – do any current Non-AQ schools deserve the chance to play in a BCS conference? Obviously, yes. Utah has already made the jump and TCU is poised to do so next season; albeit to a somewhat depleted Big East. The other obvious choice would be Boise State, but will population-base and television ratings hold Boise and other elite Non-AQ programs back?

3. Is it All About Television Viewers and Population-Base?

Yes and no. To the big conferences currently looking to add teams, television-market-size, fan-base, stadium seating, and academic standing fall in line as some of the most important considerations for conference realignment. But many of these conferences are looking past high potential, expanding, Non-AQ markets in an attempt to steal bigger fish from competing conferences. Look no further than the PAC-12, in discussion with OU and Texas for a potential conference scenario that makes no sense geographically, or economically, for current members.

A closer look at national fan-base and potential to build a conference a bit more organically might lead to a BCS conference extending an offer to a team like Boise State. Boise State, whose TV market and alumni population don’t offer much ‘wow-factor’ for BCS conference addition, do have quite an impressive national following. A recent NY Times article shows Boise State’s national following at about 500k, which is more than nearly half of the current PAC-12 members can claim. In addition, the city of Boise continues to be one of the fastest growing television markets in the US. Other schools like Houston, UCF, and ECU could all make very similar arguments for inclusion. Are these numbers enough to prove worthy of a BCS conference invitation? It’s yet to be seen!

Brett is a writer for CableTV.com. He typically writes about business, entertainment, and sports. You can follow him on Twitter at @BrettDrive.

I am excited to announce that we’re bringing our networking events back to Texas, specifically the Dallas/Forth Worth area!

The Business of Sports – Dallas Networking Event

• Wednesday, September 7 at Hully & Mo’s (2800 Routh St, Dallas)
• Open networking from 5:30 to 8:00PM
• Free to attend, all backgrounds welcome (No resumes please!)
• Details and RSVP here!
• Special thanks to Brian and Brandi Connolly, Jamie Acks and Tom Scovic for making this event happen.

Our goal is to create a regular series of sports business networking events in as many major markets as we can. They provide great opportunities for sports professionals on all levels to connect with other like-minded individuals and build up their professional network. Our feedback continues to be tremendous, so we will keep seeking out new locations and new ways to help support this wonderful community. We hope to see as many of you as we can at one of these events very soon!

Also, please check out the photo gallery from our last New York event, courtesy of VenuesToday.com.

A lockout is never a good thing for an organization. The stress it creates can have a long-lasting impact on the relationship between the team and its fans. As such, it’s very important to find a way to foster that relationship as much as possible while the labor issues are addressed.

The Denver Nuggets have taken the approach during this time to create Fan Features on Nuggets.com. According to the team, they will feature a different fan each week for at least three months, and maybe longer. The features will cover a mix of long-term season ticket holders, top group leaders, and even new buyers, highlighting their experiences being Nuggets fans.

The first profile went up about a month ago and featured 36-year season ticket holder Brian Dyet. You can read his profile here, or check out the most recent profile of Cheryl Burger (seen on the right), and scroll down for links to all their fan features to date. All fan features are also promoted on the Nuggets Facebook page and other social media outlets.

These features serve multiple important functions, including:

• Rewarding the team’s most valuable customers
• Building goodwill during a tenuous time
• Create some that other customers can aspire to be a part of
• Generate positive content to drive visitors back to the team website
• Potentially generate sales interest from fans that relate to the fan features

Content like this is a great tactic to use not just during a lockout, but year-round. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Nuggets continue this feature once the lockout is resolved. This type of fan-focused content can also extend beyond the website to things like yearbooks, programs, dedicated social media content, in-stadium features and even the physical tickets (several teams in the NFL used fan images on tickets this year).

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Caleb Mezzy.

Playing OF for the AL in this year’s #TweetStarGame, leading the league with a Klout score of 77.80, @JoeyBats19……

We’ve seen the recent activity and popularity of many of our favorite players on Twitter. I’m sure, by now, you have favorite players to follow based on their funny tweets or inside information.

However, have you ever thought about how influential the player is on Twitter? You can see their followers, their following and their tweets, but who is the best MLB player on Twitter to follow?

On July 6, I launched #TweetStarGame. The idea was to combine Klout with my love for baseball and Social Media. I wanted to see which player had the highest Klout score. On Klout.com it states: “The Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses over 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score.”

We wanted to find the best MLB players on Twitter at each position for both the American (AL) and National (NL) League. You’d be surprised at the scores we received and who is starting, on the bench, or flat out just didn’t make the cut!

Major League Baseball teams could use something like the #TweetStarGame as a positive way to gauge their players’ influence on fans. The most appealing thing in social media is your total outreach. These players are able to influence and engage with their fans all over the world. Klout helps to measure this for the individual players, and teams are also able to see their own organizational Klout score.

There are many teams in which their players have happily adopted social media and are using it wisely. The Yankees, Rays, are among the leaders in the AL and the Indians even have #BullpenMafia as a popular hashtag with their bullpen pitchers being popular tweeters. In the NL,  we’ve seen a recent rise in the Phillies’ players and a steady involvement with the Pirates and Marlins.

As Klout is a measure of online influence it is important to note a few moments that have caused MLB tweeters’ influence to rise. Here are a few instances:

• @HeathBell21 made the NL Bullpen in #TweetStarGame right after his grand entrance with a slide in the MLB All-Star Game
• Players like @HunterPence3 and @CarlosBeltran15 saw a rise in trade talks as they were welcomed by their new teams graciously using their handles. This led to more mentions and followers.
• Other players like @thisisdspan and @mcuddy5 received an increase in influence due to potential trade talks. Although Denard Span and Michael Cuddyer were never traded, their names wer frequently mentioned.
• Other tweeters new to the game of Twitter always see a significant spark in their Klout score. This is evident in Phillies’ Rookie Vance Worley (@VANIMAL_49) who started his Twitter career last week and is now seeing time in the #TweetStarGame bullpen for the NL.

The scores will update once a day. I encourage all of you to voice your opinion using #TweetStarGame. You can post comments on my site (see Caleb’s original blog post here) and use #TweetStarGame to congratulate the players (their handles/Twitter pages are linked) on their deserving spot in the #TweetStarGame.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Brian Connolly.

Unsold premium seating inventory is a rising problem in the sports industry. It is becoming more and more common to turn on the television for a game, only to see dark suites and swaths of empty club seats in the background. Most teams have approached this issue as a sales problem… making more sales calls, offering more creative discounts, etc. In my opinion however, this is not a sales problem, this is a structural problem.

During the sports facility building boom that lasted from the early 1990’s to the mid 2000’s, most professional sports teams drastically ramped up their inventories of luxury suites and club seats. Prior to the building boom, the vast majority of seating revenues for sports teams were generated from general admission tickets, but now seating products focused on corporations and high-income individuals can account for as much as 25% of a franchise’s locally-generated income.

As the U.S. economy sank into a recession in 2007-2008, many teams were optimistic that the effects of the economic downturn would only be temporary. However as our nation’s economic outlook continues to stagnate, there are several financial and cultural factors that could continue to depress long-term demand for suite and club seat sales:

• A prevailing culture of austerity – With the U.S. unemployment rate exceeding 9 percent, many companies don’t want to associate their brands with premium seating that could potentially be viewed by the general public as “exclusive” or “excessive”.
• The rising non-ticket costs of attending a game – As corporate entertainment budgets have been slashed, the additional cost of stocking a suite with food and beverages or paying for the gourmet food and beverage options that are available in the club lounge, has become prohibitive for many firms.
• Advanced technology has made it more appealing to stay home – With the growth of satellite TV, streaming on-line video, interactive iPad apps, HD and 3D televisions, DVRs, and other such technologies… more sporting events are available at home in a wider variety of entertaining formats. The increased quality of affordable entertainment at home can make it very difficult for price-conscious buyers to commit to large, long-term contracts.
• A surplus of single-event inventory cannibalizes long-term demand – If a team responds to unsold inventory by heavily marketing it on an individual-game basis, they not only incent potential customers to avoid making a long-term commitment, but they also encourage current suite holders not to renew. If you know that discounted club seats are on sale for just about any game you want, why would you commit to buying an expensive club seat license or full-season ticket package? Or if you see another company occasionally renting the suite next door to yours on a per-game basis, why would you renew your long-term suite lease?

As all of these factors continue to depress the demand for traditional premium seating products, the 1990’s mentality of maximizing revenue by building as many large luxury suites as possible on your suite-level is no longer relevant. The days of generating premium prices from non-premium locations by turning them into club seat sections are over. So now, many of those large luxury suites and many of those mezzanine-level club seats are sitting empty. This is a structural problem… a fixed inventory that cannot easily be adjusted to meet changes in demand.

I have been engaged by several professional and collegiate sports teams in recent years to analyze premium seating demand, and there are several demand trends that have consistently appeared:

• As overall demand has decreased for large suites that can be difficult for all but the largest companies to fill, new demand has developed for a wider variety of suite sizes, configurations and locations. Examples include smaller suites with seating capacities for 8 to 12 people, super suites with memberships sold in 2-seat increments, large party suites that cater to high-capacity corporate functions, and bunker/event-level suites that offer both a lounge area with behind-the-scenes views of the players and front row seats in the lower bowl.
• There is significant untapped demand for loge boxes (open-air, “theater-style” boxes with seating for four to six people). Loge boxes are extremely popular with small to mid-sized businesses that can’t afford suites but would like a comfortable, private space for entertaining clients.
• Demand for club seats that are located on a mezzanine level is rapidly decreasing. Attaching premium amenities to a non-premium seating location has lost its appeal for many fans. The demand for club seats can be greatly enhanced by relocating them in the center of the lower bowl.

In order to maximize their premium seating revenues in the new economy, many teams/buildings will need to invest in facility renovations to meet the current levels of consumer demand. Until teams provide a wider variety of seating options and price points, they will continue to carry large amounts of unsold inventory and cannibalize their long-term sales efforts with single-game rentals.

Brian Connolly is a sports and entertainment venue consultant with CSL International (www.cslintl.com). He specializes in market demand analysis and financial advisory for professional sports franchises, collegiate teams, arenas, stadiums, ballparks, performing arts centers and amphitheaters. You can follow him on Twitter @BrianHConnolly or e-mail him at bconnolly@cslintl.com.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Dr. Kirk Wakefield and was originally published in Volume 7, Issue 4 of the Migala Report. The Migala Report was launched in October 2003 to create an educational and idea-sharing resource for sports executives pursuing revenue-generating concepts. To subscribe, please visit www.MigalaReport.com.

Do great players make a coach great? Or do great coaches make players great?  Either way, all else equal, anyone of us involved in recruiting would rather start with the best personnel we can find for our rosters. Since mistakes in recruiting can cost a coach his or her job. We want to know what traits, skills, and experience are necessary to perform at the highest levels, so we know what to look for and how to effectively coach top performers.

What makes a successful salesperson? To find out, we examined the characteristics of ticket and sponsorship salespeople across eight professional sports teams on the advisory board of the Migala Report, who also serve as advisors to Baylor University’s Sports Sponsorship & Sales program. The results, which did not differ whether ticket or sponsorship salespeople, confirms and extends what we know about the characteristics of successful salespeople.

Five characteristics differentiate strong from weak performers in selling for sports organizations. Each is a significant predictor of sales generated for the organization, but of varying importance. In terms of the influence on actual annual sales revenue, the top five characteristics, in order:

1. Adaptive selling skills
2. Sales training
3. Goal clarity
4. Dominant behavioral style
5. Experience

We begin with number five and work our way to the most important characteristic leading to success in selling in this industry, adaptive selling.

Experience:  Since success in selling is based upon commissions and bonuses, individuals who sustain longer careers have clearly produced sales in the past—or else they wouldn’t have a job. So, experience as measured by years in the position (within the team or within the industry) will always offer a clue as to future success. Yet, it’s important to note it is the least important of the five characteristics. While experience definitely helps in this industry, some organizations may weigh this factor more heavily if they have less ability to discern the next four more important elements of successful salespeople.

Dominant behavioral style:  The DISC behavioral style assessment tool is growing among sports and non-sports organizations alike to evaluate sales candidates and is also used as a sales management tool. The DISC Behavioral Style Assessment requires individuals to complete a psychological battery of items describing the way one interacts with others in work settings. The emphasis is on behavior, not temperament or personality. The chart below offers a brief summary of the four behavioral styles, based on work conducted by TTI Performance Systems, who assisted us in our studies.

Our results in studying sports salespeople, as well as real estate salespeople, reveal that individuals who are “High D’s” are more successful than low D’s. Furthermore, higher levels of the other DISC traits are not associated with successful salespeople. In fact, individuals with high “S” scores may do very well in customer service positions, but fare poorly in sales positions due to inability to close.

Goal clarity:  To be successful, salespeople must know what is expected of them. Compared to poor performers, successful salespeople:

1. Know exactly what output is expected.
2. Have clear and unambiguous performance targets.
3. Have a clear, planned set of goals to achieve the objectives.

Goal clarity is a function of sales management effectiveness and the individual salesperson. Driven salespeople are goal-directed, so even when management is vague, the individual will still establish goals. Of course, the problem is these goals may not be consistent with management’s goals. Consequently, the best scenario is when the sales manager works with salespeople to establish agreed upon goals for the position.

Sales training:  The level of sales training provided varies considerably across professional and collegiate sports. Compared to Corporate America, sports franchises could stand to improve sales training. In complex buying contexts involving large dollar expenditures, corporations may invest anywhere from six weeks to two years in training salespeople. One of the reasons sports franchises may not see the value of such sponsorship sales training is a lack of understanding or appreciation for the complexities with which major corporations evaluate and manage brands.

In a general sense, effective training can be measured by understanding the extent to which the sales staff clearly understands:[1]

1. How to interact with customers.
2. How much service to provide customers.
3. How to behave with customers while on the job.
4. How to handle customer objections.
5. How to handle unusual problems and situations.
6. How to deal with customers’ criticisms.
7. Which specific strengths to present to customers.
8. Which specific benefits to highlight for customers.

Organizations that highly value training ultimately invest in their own bottom lines, as the level of training was the second strongest influence on salespeople’s earnings in our study.

Adaptive selling:  The strongest influence on performance is adaptive selling, defined as “the altering of sales behaviors during a customer interaction or across customer interactions based on perceived information about the nature of the selling situation.”[2] The top performers in selling sports, or just about anything else, will:

1. Use a unique approach for each customer.
2. Easily change to another approach if the current sales approach is not working.
3. Experiment with different sales approaches.
4. Be flexible in selling approaches, not stuck on a set approach.
5. Find it easy to change presentation style to fit the buyer.

A key component in adaptive selling is confidence in one’s selling abilities, or the personal belief in being capable of organizing, executing, and evaluating the right course of action in the sales context. Not so much confidence or self-esteem in a general sense, but confidence in one’s sales skills. We all know people with plenty of confidence, but that doesn’t mean they have good adaptive selling skills.

Adaptive selling skills fit hand-in-glove with a partnership approach to selling. Adaptive selling, also referred to as consultative selling, focuses on offering a unique selling proposition attuned to the buyer’s needs. Our research also indicates adaptive sales skills are highly correlated with sales training, High D behavioral styles, and experience. Hence, the best salespeople are both born and bred—pointing to the importance of both recruiting and coaching.

Dr. Kirk Wakefield is the Executive Director at Baylor University’s Center for Sports Sponsorship & Sales, and serves as editor of The Migala Report published by the Center.

[1] Singh, Jagdip and Gary K. Rhoads (1991), “Boundary role ambiguity in marketing-oriented positions: a multidimensional, multifaceted operationalization,” Journal of Marketing Research, 28 (August), 328-38.

[2] Spiro, Rosann L. and Barton A. Weitz (1990), “Adaptive selling: conceptualization, measurement, and nomological validity,” Journal of Marketing Research, 27 (February), 61-79.

I am excited to announce that we have two more sports networking events scheduled for this month and they are in the two biggest markets in the country!

The Business of Sports – Los Angeles Networking Event

• Thursday, August 18 at ESPN Zone at LA Live
• Open networking from 6:00 to 9:00PM
• Free to attend, all backgrounds welcome (No resumes please!)
• Details and RSVP here!
• Special thanks to Joshua Boren (Populous) and Ara Messerlian (Par 5 Events)

The Business of Sports – New York Networking Event

• Wednesday, August 24 at Slattery’s Midtown Pub
• Open networking from 6:30 to 9:30PM
• Free to attend, all backgrounds welcome (No resumes please!)
• Details and RSVP here!
• Special thanks to Joshua Duboff (The Sports Business Exchange)

Our goal is to create a regular series of sports business networking events in as many major markets as we can (we’re actually working on coming back to Dallas/Fort Worth very soon). These events provide opportunities for sports professionals on all levels to connect with other like-minded individuals and build up their professional network. Our feedback from these events continues to be tremendous, so we will keep seeking out new locations and new ways to help support this wonderful community. We hope to see as many of you as we can at one of these events very soon!

I was riding on a subway in New York last night and saw an advertisement that caught my interest. Take a look at the picture below…

If you are from the New York area, you might see this ad and “recognize” the font being used for the word “YES.” If it doesn’t look familiar to you, take a look at this logo:

Now, I know that they’re not exactly the same (e.g. there is a diagonal slant in the tips of the “E” in the YES Network logo that’s not in the Nestea ad), but you have to admit there’s a definite resemblance. The question I have is, was this font choice intentional? Considering the advertisement is running in a New York subway and the popularity of the Yankees and the YES Network in this area, this could be a strategic decision by Nestea or their advertising agency, especially if this is only a local campaign (the argument doens’t hold as much weight if this is part of a national campaign).

It costs a lot of money to use a team’s logo, but designing an advertisement in a way that can still trigger an association in the mind of the reader without including any actual team marks could be a cost-effective option. In many situations, a particular font or word choice can be enough to trigger that association. I’m not saying that’s what Nestea was going for here, but the font choice was definitely enough to make me think of the YES Network, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Coyle Media has created a great info-graphic providing insight into the demographics, behaviors and affinity of fans that follow NHL teams on Twitter. Take a look…

[Via Coyle Media]

Some of the items that I found to be most interesting were:

• 78% attended at least one game, which is particularly impressive since only 68% live within the team’s metro area. These engaged Twitter users represent an important source of potential ticket revenue.
• 87% check Twitter multiple times a day, but only about 1/3 of these users have used a geolocation service. While geolocation has a lot of potential, the adoption rate is still much slower than other forms of social media usage.
• The fact that 88% are multi-screeners shows how much value fans see in social engagement as a key facet to the home viewing experience. The more that media outlets integrate social media, the better experience these viewers will have.

For more insights from Pay Coyle, including his thoughts on how this data relates to sponsorship potential, visit his blog post at CoyleMedia.com.

Update:  Coyle Media just released a similar info-graphic on Facebook usage – click below to view that one as well, or visit CoyleMedia.com for the complete blog post.

Sports Marketing from Coyle Media, LLC.

Rather that relying just on my opinion, earlier this morning I asked my Twitter network, “What does the #USWNT loss yesterday mean for the WPS and soccer in the US in general?” Let’s take a look at some of the different replies I received, ranging from quite positive to pretty gloomy…

From @timingle:  Loss is unfortunate but gives increased motivation to continue developing program. A strong, well-funded professional women’s league can only help the future of the #USWNT, it certainly can’t hurt it. Recent fans of the #USWNT need to be made AWARE of WPS. ‘Strike while the iron’s hot’, so to speak, capitalize on excitement.

From @gx5:  Means nothing for soccer in the US. Was never big, will never be that big here. Nothing changes. Huge hit for WPS though. People will continue to not care. Another Cup win could’ve temporarily boosted attendance.

From @andrewhfine:  Definitely a hit to lose, but game was well played and very entertaining. As far as attracting fans, thats better than 3-0 win.

From @ShekBorkowski:  Probably nothing. US fans are big event fans and a typical womens football club match just will not excite them. Not really possible to sustain that level of interest without media coverage we have witnessed since the BRA match.

From @Chris_Lesley:  It meant WPS being marketable for 3 months to not being marketable at all.

From @parkour_knox: As much as I loved them being there, even a win for #USWNT would have done very little for WPS or womens soccer in the US. The hype around the game was more about national pride and less about people caring about womens soccer #inmyopinion.

From @jonathan_norman: I think the strong overnights bode well for the long-term health of soccer. I still see growth potential, honestly. #sportsbiz

From @spencerlueders: Millions in $ and lost potential of young girls picking up the sport. London 2012 is next chance.

From @JoshuaABoren: Long term it benefits the game. Added lots of new fans & drove interest. Short term though, people will forget when NFL is back.

In addition, this was the first topic discussed in last night’s weekly #sbchat. You can check out the transcript here (thanks to @cannonjw for sending this over). What do you think the short- and long-term impact of yesterday’s match will be?

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Dr. Kirk Wakefield and was originally published in Volume 7, Issue 1 of the Migala Report. The Migala Report was launched in October 2003 to create an educational and idea-sharing resource for sports executives pursuing revenue-generating concepts. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.MigalaReport.com.

Is winning everything? When it comes to fan attendance and setting ticket prices, how much does winning matter? There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence and exceptions people like to throw out to prove the point one way or the other.  That’s what you do when you don’t really know. At least that’s what I do. But, since this is a research column, we thought we’d look at some data. And, who has more data than they know what to do with? Major League Baseball.

The real question isn’t really just about winning. We cannot look at winning and losing in isolation, because context matters.  What about the economy? What if the team has a new stadium? What if the team has a star player approaching a career milestone? What if there are other franchises in the same area?

Within the context of the factors listed below, which do you think has had the most influence on a team’s attendance for the past decade (2000-2009) in Major League Baseball?  Even though they  mirror the previous decade, the results might surprise you.

When we include all of these factors together to predict annual attendance in MLB, we find that the stadium has the strongest effect, followed by star players, and then the winning percentage in the current season. Last season’s performance also has an influence on this year’s attendance. Statistical analysis shows that the order of the size of the effect on predicting attendance is as follows:

1. Stadium quality
2. Star players
3. Current season’s winning percentage
4. Last season’s winning percentage
5. Population-related factors (SMA population, number of MLB and other professional franchises)
6. Ticket and concession prices
7. The economy (per capita income)

The surprise may be that winning has less influence on attendance than the stadium and players, but also interesting is the fact that population-related factors and ticket/concession prices are positively related to attendance.  Other economic studies have previously suggested that larger populations with more pro franchises hurt, not help, attendance in MLB. Further, because professional sports are more of a prestige good, higher ticket prices are associated with higher attendance. Also interesting is the fact that as much as we hear people blaming the economy, reduced earnings of consumers across MLB cities has a very minor effect. We’ll discuss each of these shortly, but let’s start with the strongest influence on attendance.

The Stadium. When analyzing the effect of the stadium, it’s important to account for the fact that vintage stadiums such as Fenway Park and Wrigley Field attract just as well as new stadiums.  One of the reasons that the stadium is so important to baseball is the length of the season.  With 81 home games, the potential amount of time spent at the game for season ticket holders is far greater than for basketball or hockey (41 home games), soccer, and, certainly, for football.  Other research shows that the facility is still important for those sports, but not as much as for baseball.

The advantage of investing in the sportscape is that it has a known, certain effect on attendance for at least ten years. Investing in players and managers, while obviously important, produce less certain outcomes. Investing in individual star players, however, may be worth it.

Star players. The reason that star players have such a strong effect on attendance is because fans identify with individual players on the team as much as with the team.  Fans build psychological bonds with star players that positively reinforce their own self images.  From management’s perspective, this suggests that signing key players with attractive leadership qualities is a critical part of building attendance.

Winning. For those that thought that winning now is everything, apparently it comes in third. The results show that winning during the current season should attendance. However, winning is unlikely to have a lasting effect without a good stadium and star players. The Florida Marlins proved this twice following World Series wins in 1997 and 2003. Fellow Floridians in Tampa Bay have witnessed similar problems.

The results from the MLB data show that last season’s performance has almost as much influence on attendance as the current year’s performance. Season tickets are sold primarily on the basis of the hope offered by last year’s performance on the field. So, teams that win from year to year are likely to sustain or maintain attendance.

Taken together, putting together a string of winning seasons should increase attendance. The problem is that compared to investing in the stadium and star players, winning is uncontrollable.  Of course, signing star players may help winning, but that’s also hard to predict.  From a marketer’s perspective, you are better off promoting what you can control and deliver—and winning is not one of them. If you’d like to read about some classic collapses by teams that thought they’d be big winners, see David Schoenfield’s article on ESPN.com.

Population and competition. Economists have studied these same factors in multiple studies dating prior to this past decade and have always shown that larger populations in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and the Bay area with multiple teams have negative effects on attendance. Theoretically, teams located in these cities face more indirect and direct competition that might lure fan spending from MLB attendance. I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but almost all of the teams in those cities (Yankees/Mets, Dodgers/ Angels, Cubs/White Sox, and Giants) have strong attendance.  The only exception is Oakland. The stadium and lack of star players and winning explain why.

The reason these previous studies showed different results are likely due to two reasons. First, the introduction of AT&T Park in San Francisco and the repeated renovations to improve Cellular Field in Chicago have boosted attendance. It didn’t hurt that the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. Further, the new Citi Field will continue to help attendance for the Mets. Second, prior economic studies did not account for the fact that population size is correlated with having competing franchises in the same city and having multiple pro franchises across all sports. Statistically speaking, this causes errors in estimating attendance models that can produce misleading results.

In the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have benefited from being the only game in town. But, these results from MLB indicate that having the in-town rivalries between the Cubs & White Sox, Yankees & Mets, Angels & Dodgers help attendance. Fans in these cities must intentionally choose allegiance to one of the teams, which should increase identification and passion for each team.

Ticket and concession prices. The results show that teams with higher attendance have higher ticket and concession prices. We also conducted additional analysis that shows that you can closely predict next year’s prices with this year’s attendance in MLB.  Increased demand for tickets of teams with good stadiums, star players, and winning teams in strong markets means higher prices. Put differently, teams with poor stadiums, no-name players, and losing teams are the ones that are forced to cut ticket prices.

The economy. For all the hand-wringing about the effects of the economy, we find that lower per capita income levels across MLB cities affect attendance, but much less so than the other factors we’ve discussed. In the end, the fan’s objection is not so much to price, but to the value offered by the team in terms of the stadium experience, the players on the team, and the performance on the field.

Dr. Kirk Wakefield is the Executive Director at Baylor University’s Center for Sports Sponsorship & Sales, and serves as editor of The Migala Report published by the Center.

- Click here for David Shoenfield’s ESPN article on “Baseball’s all-time train-wreck seasons.”
- Click here to go Dr. Wakefield’s TeamSportsMarketing.com website to read more research and sports marketing tips.

It’s very easy to get caught up in all the technology options we have today when it comes to how we communicate with our customers. Whether it’s via the web, email, mobile, social media or all of the above, we have no shortage of ways to interact digitally. However, we cannot forget that this technology may not be as exciting or natural to use for many of our customers, and as such, it’s up to us to make sure that we do not overlook these individuals or provide a lower level of service to them.

The term “digital immigrants” was coined to identify people that have not grown up with technology (as compared to “digital natives”), and in turn, their comfort level with it will vary dramatically. Some people will refuse to learn at all and can get along quite comfortably without ever using a computer. Others will recognize the value of these digital services and attempt to teach themselves how to use them, but even in these cases, they often prefer to use more traditional means of communication.

Here are some ideas to make sure your digital immigrants receive the same level of service as your other tech-savvy customers:

• Make sure your customer service phone number is prominently displayed in all communications, both digital and print.
• Always provide the option to receive invoices and other important communications by mail or fax. We all want to be “greener” and more cost effective, but not at the expense of customer satisfaction.
• As you identify customers that don’t have email addresses, add them to a list and make sure that list receives phone calls from your service department after important notices are sent. This should include items that the customer finds important (pre-sales, on-sales, special events), not just payment information.
• Don’t assume that just because you sent an email that the customer actually received it or read it. Even those customers that you do have an email address for may not check it regularly enough (that’s why we don’t have 100% open rates on emails).
• Use a “robo-call” service as an option for important customer communications (opt-in only!).
• Where technology is absolutely required (e.g. listing tickets for resale online), create easy-to-follow video instruction and a video tutorial to try and make the experience as simple as possible.
• When surveying customers, don’t overlook those that don’t have an email. These customers could receive the option of completing the survey over the phone or by paper copy.
• Have regular walk-up hours at your box office, including at least one day per week with extended hours.

On my drive home last night, I was thinking about the differences between the visibility and marketability of NBA vs. NHL players.  At first, I thought there were enough similarities between them that NHL players should get more name recognition about casual fans than they currently do, especially compared to the recognition that NBA players have.  Let’s take a look at some of those similarities, then I’d like to highlight one particular item that I think the NHL’s media partners can help with.

Similarities:

• Time of year – both start in the fall and finish in late spring
• Season length – both have around 80 games per season with similar playoff structures
• Venue – both have similar capacities and most arenas are designed to host both sports
• Markets – the NHL has more Canadian presence, but most major U.S. markets are represented
• Players in action – both sports are 5 on 5 (plus goalies for hockey), which should be an advantage compared to baseball (9 on 9) and football (11 on 11)
• Uniforms – both feature the players’ last names and numbers prominently across the back
• Action – both games feature a constant flow of action for about the same length of time

Differences:

• TV Coverage – while the NHL’s coverage is increasing, the NBA has more network and cable coverage
• Grassroots – there are many more basketball courts across the country than hockey rinks, leading to more familiarity and interest
• Scoring – there’s a big difference between a 3-2 final score and a 104-96 final score
• Roster size – hockey rosters are about double the size of basketball

If I keep drilling into more details, I can list out more similarities and differences, but there’s one more difference that I want to focus us…line changes. Unlike basketball, where you have a lot of continuity with the players on the court, hockey has a constant stream of player changes that makes it very difficult for a casual fan to know who exactly is on the ice at any given time. Combine that with the lack of scoring (in basketball, every basket provides a chance to share the name of the player that scored), and the amount of exposure that the players gets throughout the course of a game is limited.

With this in mind, I have a simple suggestion for the NHL’s media partners that can help… an “on-the-ice” bar at the bottom of the screen that lets the viewers know what players are currently on the ice.  I know the idea of putting more things on the screen takes away the amount of space available for the game, but with the popularity of widescreen televisions, I feel that two thin bars at the bottom of the screen could easily be added in the same place you’d see a score ticker.  Seeing the names of the players involved in the action and updating them with each line change could have a huge impact in building awareness for these athletes, which will benefit both the players and the league.

Today’s post is an excerpt from an interview with Ken Stefanov, CFO for the Indians, conducted by Peter Alpern from BusinessFinance (businessfinancemag.com).

Anguish isn’t just part of the Cleveland sports fan’s culture; it becomes part of its very identity, seemingly embedded in the city’s very DNA. It is this tidal force that franchises such as the Cleveland Indians, Browns and Cavaliers come up against each season.

Ken Stefanov, CFO for the Indians, has to combat this on two ends: providing the financial and organizational foundation to build a winning team on the field while addressing the sober economic reality of competing in a market that draws roughly a fifth of the annual revenue of the New York Yankees.

As the calendar turned to June in this, the Indians 111th season in the American League, the Indians have become baseball’s biggest secret, racing to the top of the Central Division. But that success hasn’t equated to the turnstiles: Less than half of the seats at Cleveland’s Progressive Field are full and season-ticket sales are at their lowest since the Indians moved into their current stadium in 1994.

Stefanov discussed with Business Finance how the Indians, with all the organization’s small-market challenges, is really not unlike any other corporation: financial rigor and strategic insight need to be tightly linked; uncertainty demands flexible strategies and the development of alternatives for growth.

Business Finance: From a financial perspective, tell me a little bit about the economic landscape you’re working with and how that translates on the field and running the business?

Ken Stefanov: The local economy, obviously, is quite different from the one we were operating in during the 1990s and it’s quite different from even five to 10 years ago. The competition isn’t just with the local sports teams, like the Cavs and Browns. We’re an entertainment business and people have options.

We work based off where the team is in relation to the business cycle. You ramp up, develop players and hopefully make a charge on top of the business cycle for competitiveness on the field. Then, the way the economics of baseball work is that you’ve got to be fiscally responsible and maybe take it down because players leave for bigger contracts you can’t afford. So you learn to deal with the business cycle, and you learn to budget accordingly.

BF: Where is the team within that business cycle right now?

KS: The state of the [Indians] franchise is good. I say that in light of the whole Dodgers situation. We have to be very realistic about where the team is at and what the market will bear. While it appears we may be in the midst of a recovery economically, we have some very serious concerns about the Northeast Ohio economy and where it’s going. Statistically, we’ve seen unemployment is down. It’s dropped to 9.3% in Northeast Ohio. Last year, it was up 1.5%. So there are some glimmers of hope. But it’s my job to be realistic and take the emotion out of the baseball side of things.

BF: Where do you see the role of finance contributing to the success of a ballclub?

KS: Well, for us, the big picture here is, as an organization, to win a World Series. We’re also here to make the fans—the focus of our attention—entertained. We want to reinvest in our ballpark, and we want to have a positive impact on our community. Those are our four goals.

To do that, though, we have to be creative, especially in finance. There may be very little difference between the finance departments at the Indians and the Yankees and a Fortune 500 company. But I think it’s my charge to make sure that the little difference that there is counts for a significant influence on the operations of the company.

BF: Within the confines of the finance department, how do you overcome that competitive disadvantage?

KS: We have to be that much sharper in our decision-making process day to day. We have to spend wisely. And it’s that pressure to be smarter that I think will make a smaller-market team successful or not successful.

One of the things we have made an investment in as a small-market team is in my IT department—which I oversee—we have developed our own proprietary software applications. We do not share these with other teams. One [application] focuses on scouting, another identifies metrics and trends and then another is a video coaching system for adjusting mechanics for the players.

This is where small-market teams really have to separate themselves. Maybe the Yankees have a comparable system, and maybe they don’t. But because our margin is so thin, we have to excel in other areas because we’ll never win the outbidding game.

To continue reading the full interview, visit www.businessfinancemag.com. Thanks again to Peter Alpern for sharing this interview with us!

Of all the leagues that I receive email from, I have to say that MLS does some of the best work in providing sponsor value via this important communication channel (and this is an area that I’ve criticized other organizations about in the past). Take a look at some of the examples below that I think you can learn from:

Home Depot – Drives participation in their Community MVP program, which is a key component in how Home Depot activates around MLS, and rewards entrants with a chance to win.

American Airlines – Great integration between the idea of being a soccer fan and traveling the world (look at the names on the departure board), driving valuable opt-ins for both organizations.

Castol – Back to the basics with an email that directly encourages Castol product sales and rewards MLS fans with a valuable incentive.

I also love the simple, clean and effective footers they use in their emails to drive more engagement via social media outlets. These are great examples to follow when driving sponsor value with your email communications.

Today’s post is from guest blogger Travis Yost, an Arizona State University graduate with his B.S. in Business Management. In the past, Travis has covered the World Series of Poker for BLUFF Magazine and acted as a contributor to the likes of Deadspin, KuklasKorner, and MSN FoxSports. Currently, he covers the Ottawa Senators for HockeyBuzz.com.

Just last week, NBC was able to extent its partnership with the Olympic Games through the year 2020, forking over a hefty $4.4B sum in exchange for broadcasting exclusivity.

Exact terms of the contract are not yet known, but one certainty is that the Olympics will remain on NBC for the next four games, starting with the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, and ending with the 2020 Summer Games in a locale still to be determined.

Obviously, NBC’s been pretty forthright and open about making the Olympics their proverbial bread and butter, but it does beg the question of whether or not spending such massive amounts of money for a competition that’s waned in popularity over the past couple of decades is truly a smart business decision.

When Dick Ebersol decided to step down as Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, many expected the business plan for the network to change. As a sports entity, NBC’s primarily targeted two fronts – the National Hockey League and the Olympics – in an attempt to stay ahead of the curve and build on the potential for growth in unsaturated markets.

For that reason alone, it wasn’t entirely surprising to hear that NBC and Comcast managed to strike a deal with the National Hockey League a month ago. NBC’s been fairly adamant that the National Hockey League, by and large, will continue to grow over the next decade.

The success the league’s had since the devastating lockout in 2004-2005 is quantifiable, so when NBC handed the NHL $2B for exclusivity and broadcasting rights over the next ten years, many praised the network for it’s focus on building in both the short and long-term. With the deal, NBC and the soon-to-be renamed Versus will offer a much more enviable product line, one that’s going to deliver the game of hockey on a daily(as opposed to weekly) basis.

Dick Ebersol – now Mark Lazarus – and NBC’s other business venture in the Olympic Games has been far more treacherous. When reports surfaced back in 2010 that NBC Universal would lose almost $200M on the Vancouver Games alone and continue their hemorrhaging in the 2012 London Games, many expected the network to shy away from a massive overpayment at the very least, and in all probability, back out of a bidding war with other network conglomerates.

That wasn’t the case.

The $4.4B bid NBC put forward crushed the opposition. For a benchmark, ESPN had offered just $1.4B for the 2014 and 2016 games, putting an average at $700M per. NBC’s deal is 1.5 times that. Said ESPN in a public statement:  ”To go any further would not have made good business sense for us,” ESPN said in a statement. “We put our best foot forward with a compelling offer that included the enthusiastic participation of all of The Walt Disney Co.’s considerable assets.”

For whatever reason(s), it’s pretty apparent that NBC thinks the American public will begin to buy figurative stock of the Olympic Games and tune in with regularity, but considering recent trends, I’m not sure the general public is as confident.

Again, the deal makes fiscal sense if the Peacock Network can change how they deliver their product and make it once again appeal to men and women of all ages. NBC took a royal beating from media types for their ‘tape delay’ broadcasts of the 2010 Olympic Games, but that now seems like a thing of the past. In this day and age, there’s really no excuse for tape delay in the first place, especially when you consider how readily available information is through the internet. After the merger with Comcast,  NBC is changing its tune and remains confident that they’ll be able to broadcast all events live, meaning an almost certain ratings jump across the board.

One problem, though – the United States is approximately 14 hours behind Russia(host of the 2014 Summer Games), meaning that the appeal of ‘live events’ rapidly diminishes. Aside from a very select few sports – basketball, soccer, and hockey come to mind – there aren’t a whole lot of events that will have Americans staying up during all hours of the night.

Another problem includes general availability when it comes to broadcasting. As per USA Today, NBC is strongly considering using internet web streams as one of their primary ways of delivering live content. Again, there seems to be a certain disconnect between NBC’s aspirations and the reality amongst the general public. For many, if it’s not on television, it’s not worth tuning into, period. And, that’s without even mentioning the fact that many still do not have consistent high-speed internet access to follow the Olympic Games online.

There’s no question that NBC and the Olympic Games remain optimistic about creating and sustaining a profitable relationship, but the reality is this deal – coined ‘egregiously large’ by some – is of the high-risk, high-reward nature. You have to admire NBC’s courage and faith in their forecasting, but another contract that sees the hemorrhaging of funds for years to come could mean the downfall of one of America’s largest commercial broadcasting television network.

Today’s post is from guest blogger Brian Gainor, founder of Partnership Activation, a leading resource in sports business that showcases sports marketing and sponsorship trends, best practices, and creative activation tactics. Brian has also been featured as a guest writer for Darren Rovell’s CNBC SportsBiz column.

Sports leagues and organizations are turning to Facebook to offer fans more content, access, and interactivity than ever before. As sports entities begin to fully understand the value of social media, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have become critical channels in the marketing mix to promote messaging, drive participation and interest, and engage fans on a 24/7, 365 basis.

Teams can no longer rely on Wall posts, photos, and shareable videos to drive consumers to frequently visit their Facebook pages and stay for awhile. As a result, it’s important that teams identify and share best practices in the social media space both internally and externally.

Here are 50 creative ways that teams are engaging fans on Facebook outside the traditional elements:

1. Fans Map – FC Barcelona (Find FC Barcelona fans across the world)

2. Real Madrid Avatars – Real Madrid (Fans can create their own virtual avatar)

3. Arsenal “Like the Players” – Arsenal FC (Fans can easily like all the players on the team)

4. Spread the Word - Manchester United (Fans can easily invite their friends to join the Manchester United Facebook Page

5. Fountain Tire Shootout – Vancouver Canucks (Fans can play a virtual hockey game to win prizes and coupon vouchers)

6. 3-Point Play – Boston Celtics (Fans can compete in an interactive stats-related game to earn points)

7. Summer Salute – Team Lowe’s Racing (Fans can post a military salute or message to troops overseas)

8. Polls / Quizzes – NASCAR (Fans can test their NASCAR IQ via a number of quizzes and polls)

9. NBA Ball of Fame – NBA (Fans can click on basketballs to relive famous moments from the NBA Finals)

10. NBA Turnstile - NBA (Fans can “check-in” to NBA games on Facebook to chat with fans, win tickets and merchandise, and earn badges)

11. Support Your Team on Facebook! – NFL (Fans can scroll through an interactive tab to see where their favorite team ranks in popularity and intensity amongst all teams and within conference/division).

12. Shopping – Liverpool FC (Fans can quickly scroll through ultimate shopping ideas and can get easy access to the team’s mobile application)

13. JetBlue FaceOff – Boston Bruins (Fans can access game information, play games, win prizes, and more)

14. Mavs Spirit Photo Upload – Dallas Mavericks (Fans can submit their best photo wearing Mavericks gear for the chance to have it featured on the team’s Facebook page)

15. Fan Zone - New England Patriots (Fans can interact with polls, listen to live broadcasts, post comments, share virtual gifts, play trivia, and more)

16. Share Your Story – San Francisco 49ers (Fans can share why they are a Faithful Fan for the chance to be featured on 2011 season tickets or in a team commercial)

17. Tickets & Promotions – Philadelphia 76ers (Fans can closely follow current ticket specials and promotions using a tab integrated into the team Facebook page)

18. A Date with SFC – Seattle Sounders (Fans can watch video dating profiles of different players on Seattle Sounders FC and partake in a date auction via Ebay.

19. Guess the Kit – Tottenham Hotspur (Fans have to correctly guess what the team’s new kit (uniform) will look like)

20. Broadcast Schedule – Portland Timbers (Fans can easily see which networks will be carrying the team’s upcoming soccer matches)

21. Locker Room – Los Angeles Lakers (Fans can take a virtual tour of the Lakers locker room)

22. Flickr - Milwaukee Bucks (Fans can scroll through photos of the Bucks’ gameday experience posted on their Official Flickr page)

23. U-Stream – Golden State Warriors (Fans can watch a live webcast with a Warriors player each day during Training Camp

24. Trailblazers.tv – Portland Trail Blazers (Fans can watch exclusive interviews, shows, highlights, pre- and post-game shows, and more)

25. AC Milan Jersey – A.C. Milan (Fans can create their own virtual A.C. Milan Jersey (with a custom name and number) and share it on their Facebook wall)

26. Fantasy Manager – A.C. Milan (Fans can create and manage a virtual team of players and compete against friends for the chance to win team prizes)

27. Ice Dancers – Florida Panthers (Fans could vote on their favorite Ice Dancers in a bracket competition that gave away a free cruise!)

28. Stars Text Alerts – Dallas Stars (Fans can easily sign up to receive basic text alerts or student rush text alerts)

29. Leafs on YouTube – Toronto Maple Leafs (Fans can watch a series of YouTube clips directly within a tab on the team’s Facebook page

30. Photo Pick-Up – Phoenix Suns (Fans can have their picture taken by Suns personnel at a game and retrieve it for free on the team’s Facebook page)

31. Match of the Week – Sporting KC (Fans can receive in-depth information about a premier MLS game each week)

32. Meet the Team – Denver Nuggets (Fans can vote for their favorite players on the Nuggets by “liking” them on the interactive Facebook tab)

33. Letter to Fans – Buffalo Sabres (Fans can read a letter sent from the team’s owner Terrence M. Pegula thanking them for their support)

34. Which Cap Are You Like? – Washington Capitals (Fans can take a quiz to see what Washington Capitals player they are the most like and win an autographed jersey)

35. Foursquare – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Fans can view the team’s Foursquare profile and access tips and insights on whose checked-in at Raymond James Stadium)

36. Draft Party Sweepstakes – Charlotte Bobcats (Fans can sign up on Facebook to win a VIP experience at the Bobcats Draft Party courtesy of Donatos Pizza)

37. Fan Forum – Dallas Cowboys (Fans can participate in an interactive forum where they can participate in a live discussion board)

38. Showcase – Sacramento Kings (Fans can scroll through to see all of the Kings’ hottest merchandise in their online team store up close)

39. Host UpClose Contest – Indianapolis Colts (Fans can upload a video of themselves hosting a sports segment for the chance to fly to Indianapolis and host a segment on Colts UpClose)

40. Scarf Yourself! – New York Red Bulls (Fans can add an official New York Red Bulls scarf to their profile picture and feature it on the team Facebook page)

41. Support – Atlanta Falcons (Fans can post questions/ideas/problems that they have and a Falcons customer representative addresses them for all fans to see on a live discussion board)

42. Give Your All – All Blacks (Fans can watch a series of vignettes where the All Blacks players talk about giving everything they’ve got when they enter the pitch)

43. Fan of the Week – Chicago Bears (Fans can submit a message/photo detailing why they are the biggest fan for the chance to be featured online)

44. A’s Kids Club – Oakland A’s (Fans can sign up for an Oakland A’s Kids Club Membership directly through the team’s Facebook page)

45. WTA Extra – WTA (Fans can easily scroll through high-res images of the top WTA players and also see information about their world ranking and Twitter feed)

46. Giving – Tampa Bay Rays (Fans can read about the Rays Baseball Foundation and make a donation)

47. Fanographies – Cleveland Browns (Fans can submit their Browns story for the chance to win 2011 season tickets)

48. Bulldog Club – University of Georgia Athletics (Fans can read about the Bulldog Club, make donations, invest in educational opportunities, and more)

49. Charity – PGA (Fans can read about the PGA’s new partnership with Darius Rucker and download a song which benefits PGA Tour Charities, Inc.)

50. UStream Live – Colorado Avalanche (Fans can watch broadcasts throughout the season and sign up to receive email alerts every time they take place)

This is an excerpt from an interview with Carol Sawdye, CFO of the NBA, conducted by Peter Alpern from BusinessFinance (businessfinancemag.com).

From the pure power of LeBron James, to the artistry of Dwayne Wade and understated stardom of Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA Finals represents a climactic two weeks of fan interest to celebrate a staggeringly successful year.

With viewership of all four rounds of the playoffs up double digits, along with sharp upswings in attendance and merchandise sales, the NBA is enjoying a cultural boom not seen since its Golden Age of Michael, Magic and Larry.

But Carol Sawdye, who was hired as the new CFO for the NBA a year ago, recognizes the harsh realities facing the $4 billion industry. There is a rapidly approaching labor war between players and owners on tap this summer, along with alarming growth in the percentage of expenses. According to league commissioner David Stern, 22 of 30 clubs are losing money.

In an exclusive interview with Business Finance, Sawdye shared the fiscal perspective of the NBA as a business, the managing of risk amid bustling gate receipts and the role finance plays in creating a winning product.

Business Finance: As the 65th season of the NBA wraps up, how does the landscape from a financial perspective compare to what you saw earlier in the decade?

Carol Sawdye: Despite the state of the economy, the 2010/11 season has been very successful in terms of fan response to our teams, players and the game.

Overall revenues are at the highest they have ever been with gate receipts up significantly and team sponsorship sales at an all time high. We are on pace to have our most-watched season ever on TV. Subscriber growth has increased dramatically on NBA TV to 55 million homes in the U.S. We are experiencing double-digit revenue growth this year both in the digital business and internationally.

However, in order to achieve the revenue growth that we have experienced over the last decade, we have had to spend much more to generate the same $1 of revenue than we had to in decades past. As a result, the league overall has been experiencing significant net losses now, which wasn’t the case back in the mid 1990s.

BF: What does the office of finance do to contribute to the success of the league as a product?

CS: Finance is responsible to the commissioner and the owners for assisting business units in maximizing the financial results of the league and managing the financial risks associated with running this business.

The Finance department is involved in the financial aspects of all transactions, including ensuring league-wide financing is available at competitive rates and supporting financial analysis for significant business agreements and team sales transactions. Although much of these activities are invisible to the fans, they are all critical to delivering a consistently successful product for them.

BF: What were some of the steps you’ve initiated since you came onboard as CFO?

CS: My principal area of focus has been on expanding our capabilities in connection with financial reporting on and analysis of the results of our teams and the league as a whole.

We also have a growing business to support. Much of that growth is coming internationally and has required a lot of my focus on planning for profitable growth and managing the financial risks of operating in so many different tax, regulatory and labor environments.

BF: When you stepped into this role as CFO, what have been some of the organizational changes that you made to help finance become more effective?

CS: The single biggest change I have made is to expand our resources and interaction with the teams. This allows us to provide better combined financial information for use in all aspects of our business, ensuring that we are running a more effective and efficient business in general.

BF: What is your philosophy of finance and what kind of job have you wanted to create?

CS: The CFO should be a trusted adviser to the CEO and all business leaders and a critical member of the senior management team of any business enterprise.

In the NBA’s case, this extends to the owners and team management as well. The entire finance department should view itself as a critical service provider to all departments throughout the organization and, in our case, to all of the teams as well. The league office and our 30 teams are only as strong as our weakest link so we always have to serve with a view that support to any one team or department will raise the bar for all of us.

To continue reading the full interview, visit www.businessfinancemag.com. Thanks again to Peter Alpern for sharing this interview with us!

Today’s post is from guest blogger David Holland, Senior VP, Sports and Entertainment Solutions Group at Cisco.

When Dr. James Naismith was trying to keep his gym class active during a rainy day in 1891, and invented a game with two hoops and a ball, no one outside that gym was able to watch this game (later named) basketball.

When the Boston American League baseball club was pitted against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1903 World Series, many fans had to wait until the following morning to learn from their local newspaper which team had come out on top.

When the first Super Bowl aired on television in January of 1967 from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, if you were away from your television set – you were completely removed from all of the action. Checking the score on the Internet or watching a video clip on your phone, were simply not possible.

Our lives today are evolving in almost every aspect, and technology is helping lead the way – from changing the way we work, to how we access information, communicate and interact. This is also true in the world of sports, where technology is having a profound impact on the way we play. Coaches, for example, use the latest video, training and visualization tools to improve their teams’ skills; referees depend on replay technologies to help them make the right calls; and off the field fans now expect ubiquitous connectivity to their sport’s most up-to-the-minute information – with no hassle.

An increasing number of today’s fans have not only become immersed with the sports information machine, but they also help drive it – from downloading applications on their mobile device to getting the latest score, to watching live streaming video of the hottest matchup – and debating it via social media. Fans live and breathe sports. Technology innovation not only has to keep pace with demands of sports fans, but increasingly is delivering new fan experiences that they may have never imagined possible.

With fan expectations rising, new and existing venues across the globe are upping their game in terms of delivering a memorable in-person experience – and this goes beyond what happens on the field of play. Venues in some ways are competing with ‘the couch’ for viewers. Fans today have a wide array of viewing options to choose from in the comfort of their home. High definition TV, digital video recorders, computers, and now even smart phones, tablets and other Wi-Fi devices provide viewers with high video quality, interactive information about the game, and in some cases more choice over viewing angles, etc.

To get more ‘butts in seats’ and provide fans with more intense sporting experiences, teams and leagues see to the imperative for upgrading the in-venue fan experience. They aim to bring fans closer than ever to all of the action and to have them benefit from real time, relevant information and promotions that make a great game even more memorable.

This next generation fan experience is not only creating and attracting a more loyal fan following, it also has tangible business benefits. Through customized promotional, marketing and branding capabilities, stadiums and arenas can increase profitability by attracting new business opportunities and adding new sources of revenue.

For example, technology today allows sports operators to host more and more varied events. With a few clicks, a stadium can change its entire look and feel on strategically placed digital screens – converting itself from a sporting venue during the day to a rock concert in the evening, to perhaps a trade show a few days down the road. From venue entrances to concourse displays to the clubs and all points of sale (i.e. concession), immersive video and other network-based amenities are delighting fans, and enhancing sports and enhancing the business of sports and entertainment.

The legacy of live sports and entertainment must also be protected. In other words, technology must be built into the fabric of the venue, in such a way that it doesn’t get in in the way of the live performance. Whether we are talking about uses of video, networking, fan security, or Wi-Fi connectivity, a successful technology provider works hand in hand with venue owners and operators to make their offerings integrated with the live experience, user friendly and complementary.

Looking into the horizon, fans expectations will continue to evolve. Technology will find even more ways to harness fans desires to be part of sports and entertainment communities. We can’t foresee every fan requirement today, but we know having a solid technology platform to drive this evolution is critical. Connected fans will decide what they want. Sports and entertainment properties must be ready to deliver it!

Sports have come a long way. Were he with us today Dr. Naismith would surely be amazed – and hopefully delighted – to see how his game with two hoops and a ball is having its impact on so many today.

David Holland serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Sports and Entertainment Solutions Group (SESG) at Cisco. In his role, Holland has overall responsibility for accelerating development and adoption of Cisco solutions in the Sports and Entertainment market. Cisco has targeted the Sports and Entertainment industry as a $1B market opportunity, and it is one of the company’s top Market Adjacencies.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blooger Jamie Acks.

It’s playoff time in the NBA and the buzz is stronger than ever. Will “The Big Three” be victorious or will a long shot steal the crown?

For the past five years Clevelanders had the pleasure of rooting on their beloved Cavaliers. But, this year was different and Cavaliers fans have now taken on a very different role. The role became to root for whomever “El Heat” faced in each round. Throughout the 2011 NBA Playoffs, the 76ers, Celtics, Bulls and Mavericks have become something to all Cleveland fans.

Recently, I was sent a website that asked me to become a “Cavs for Mavs” fan. Cavs for Mavs (@CavsforMavs) and it’s creator have sparked some hype and the emotions of NBA fans across the U.S. Within just hours the Twitter handle had over 1,000 followers and as of this morning has reached over 5,900.

The moniker is coupled with a logo and even “Cavs for Mavs” limited edition t-shirts. Cleveland fans have tagged the team with the names Cavericks and Mavaliers and over the past few days the chatter has been something else – even The Heat are talking about it.

The platform brings a new component to the 2011 Playoffs. Without the campaign an entire region of fans may have dropped off from watching or listening to the games and news.

In my mind, this is innovative and has caught the attention from a wide audience, so “what’s not to like?”

Jamie Acks recently graduated from the Ohio University MBA / Master of Sports Administration program. She accepted a position with Genesco Sports Enterprises, based in Dallas, TX.

In the past, I’ve written about some poor email-based sponsorship solicitation tactics that I’ve seen, and how they can do better (see “How NOT to Solicit a Sponsorship”). However, this email takes the cake – I don’t think there’s any saving this one. Hope this brightens up your Friday!

Hello we have two monster trucks that run for monster jam . And many other shows as well as over seas . As u know times r harder now we have new stuff as well as a new semi . We would love to letter that trailer up with ur name or any kind of sponcer help we do 25-30 shows a year as well as over seas . We would love to work with you thank you for ur time or info
Mk-motorsports.net website

Wow…

After much tough deliberation and discussions with other trusted peers, I’m excited to announce the winners for the 2nd annual The Business of Sports Awards!

Best Sports Business Blog

• Winner:  Partnership Activation – Another year of tremendous work by Brian Gainor, who consistently seeks out and shares the best practices in sports sponsorship, activation and marketing tactics. In particular, Brian does an excellent job seeking out emerging trends and new ideas, giving his readers the change to stay ahead of the curve. His site is a must-read for any sports marketer.
• Runner-Up:  Sports Marketing and PR Roundup – Joe Favorito was one of the first to get into the sports business blogging world and he continues to produce incredibly valuable content across a wide range of industry topics. Whether the topic is PR, marketing, sponsorships, ticket sales or more, Joe uses his wealth of experience to keep us all informed.

Best Sports Business Twitter Account

• Winner:  J.W. Cannon (@cannonjw) – Beyond being a go-to sports business expert on Twitter, J.W. is one of the most honest and direct professionals out there, always willing to share new ideas and personal opinions. You can learn a lot from his tweets!
• Runner-up:  Liz Mullen (@sbjlizmullen) – Of all the individual SBJ contributors, Liz has the most followers and that can be attributed to the incredible amount of interaction she offers. She has a wonderful talent for mixing personality and enthusiasm with valuable sports business content.

Best Sports Business Content – Company

• Winner:  CNBC – Darren Rovell continues to be arguably the most prominent sports business contributor, and in turn, making CNBC into a top industry news resource. Whether it’s his regular blog posts, video segments or his steady stream of tweets (steady may be an understatement), you will always stay up to date on sports business news through Rovell and CNBC.
• Runner-up:  IEG – Runner-up in this category last year as well,  IEG continues to share their industry insights across multiple channels. Their bloggers at Sponsorship.com provide a wide-range of perspectives and in-depth expertise and their line-up of active Twitter users is always engaging with the online community on almost any sponsorship-related topic.

Best Sports Business Up and Comer

• Winner:  Tariq Ahmad - In a short time, Tariq has made his name known as a top sports and social media expert, highlighed by his session at SXSW on social media and the NBA. Tariq is a very active participant on Twitter, both in sharing his own views and in seeking out other valuable resources that we can all learn from.
• Runner-up:  Joshua Boren – Also featured as a Rising Star by Partnership Activation, Joshua has accomplished a lot in a very short time in the field of venue design and fan experience and his contributions in the digital sports business conversation cover a wide range of topics. I know that he will be a valuable resource for a long time.

Best Alternative Sports Business Content

• Winner:  #SBChat – The creation of Lou Imbriano and J.W. Cannon, #SBChat has become a wonderful way for industry professionals of all backgrounds to come together. Whether the topic is current best practices in sponsorship activation or advice on building a career in sports, this weekly Twitter chat provides quality insights for all participants.
• Runner-up:  The Row Show – Runner-up now in back to back years, the Row Show is a fun, creative and entertaining way to learn about the latest trends in sports and technology. Their show provides a great balance of discussing current events and sharing best practices and useful tips.

Best International Sports Business Contributor

• Winner:  Daniel McLaren – Daniel is the man behind TheUKSportsNetwork.com, a great resource covering a variety of sports business and digital marketing topics from the United Kingdom. Beyond the UK and Euro-specific content, the insights that Daniel provides, particularly when it comes to fan engagement and social media, apply to any sports organization across the globe.
• Runner-up:  Cedric Grundler – Cedric is the created of LeMarketingSportif.com, a French sports business blog covering global sports marketing, sponsorship and communications. While you may need Google Translate for this one, it’s definitely worth it. And for those who are fluent in French, he’s recently started an in-depth podcast interview series (wish I could enjoy those too!)

Best Sports Business Email Newsletter

• Winners:  Sports Business Daily (Paid Subscription) / Sports Marketing and PR Pros (Free) – For this category, we ultimately decided to have two winners, recognizing the best paid and free newsletters available. Every day, in fact multiple time per day, Sports Business Daily keeps their subscribers up to date on every piece of breaking sports business news available, making them a must-purchase subscription for anyone in sports. Meanwhile, Joe Favorito has built up his free weekly newsletter to over 22,000 members. Every Sunday, he shares links to valuable news stories, books, networking events, brands looking to connect and job openings, providing a valuable service to all his subscribers
• Runner-up:  Partnership Activation 2.0 – Every month, Brian Gainor manages to put together a detailed and engaging list of best practices, emerging trends, case studies and rising professionals. While the main focus is around corporate sponsorships, he also includes information on ticketing, social media, brand management and communications. Every example is supported with links and vivid photos to really drive home the value of each tip and tactic.

Best Sports Business Book

• Winner:  Moneyball by Michael Lewis – Not surprising to see this book as the top choice. Moneyball is a rare book that covers both the on-field and off-field aspects of sports business in way that is intriguing and education for fans and industry professionals alike. I don’t think any other sports book of the past 20 years has shifted the landscape of the industry the way Moneyball has.
• Runner-up:  Veeck as in Wreck by Bill Veeck and Ed Linn – While this might not be a sports business book by definition, you can learn a great deal about the industry through the life of Bill Veeck. Veeck was always willing to push the envelope in a constant effort to create a memorable fan experience, an admirable goal that we all should share.

People’s Choice – Sports Business Social Media Contributor of the Year

• Winner:  Darren Rovell - The people have spoken (819 total voters) and with 48% of the vote (394 votes), Darren Rovell is the winner of the 2011 People’s Choice – Sports Business Social Media Contributor of the Year. There is little doubt that Darren has the most extensive reach in creating and sharing sports business content, as demonstrated by his 83,000+ Twitter followers and who-knows how many blog readers. When you combine the quality of his insights, the quantity of posts/tweets/etc, his industry knowledge and his tremendous reach, it’s clear that Darren has created quite an impressive brand for himself in the sports and social media landscape.
• Runner-up:  Brian Gainor – This year’s winner for Best Sports Business Blog and runner-up for Best Newsletter, Brian consistently uses multiple social media channels (his blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and more) to share his industry knowledge with all of us. Brian came in 2nd with 20% of the vote (164 votes), and it’s clear from the response and my conversations with others that he’s a respected and appreciated voice when it comes to educating and engaging with those working in sports.

Thank you to everyone who sent in nominations and voted in the People’s Choice poll. This process is very challenging with so many great sports business contributors out there. And of course, congratulations to all of our winners. Make sure you continue to follow them and all of this year’s nominees to learn from their wonderful industry resources.

I know I write about email marketing a lot, but it is an important way of communicating with your fans. Even with the constant increase in social media usage, email marketing is still the most effective way to reach your customer base with targeted messaging. One way to make those messages stand out even more is to use personalization.

When I mention personalization, most people think about using the customer’s name, such as starting your email with “Dear Russell” or including the customer’s name in the subject line. Both of these can be effective options for increasing open and click-thru rates. However, sometimes the best way to personalize is to use other information you know about the individual receiving the email.

Take a look at this example from the NHL (viewed from my Gmail account):

The important think to note here is the subject line – ‘Vote for “THE CAPTAIN’S GUARANTEE” as the greatest Stanley Cup Playoffs moment in history.’ From my NHL.com preferences, they know that I am a New York Rangers fan, and Mark Messier’s famous guarantee from the 1994 playoffs was an incredible moment for all Rangers fans. This subject line resonates with me in a very personal way, increasing the likelihood that I’m going to open the email and vote for this moment. I’m sure that Bruins, Canadiens and Penguins fans received a very different subject line to encourage them to vote the historic moment that they care most about.

Think of it this way – imagine you are a Rangers fan. Which email would you want to open?

- Subject 1: Vote for “THE CAPTAIN’S GUARANTEE” as the greatest Stanley Cup Playoffs moment in history
- Subject 2: Russell, vote for the greatest Stanley Cup Playoffs moment in history

In this case, personalizing with my name would seem flat. There’s nothing about adding my name that makes me more interested in opening the email and voting. On the other hand, referencing a historic moment that brings back wonderful memories as a Rangers fans drives much more interest in opening this email. In general, I believe that name-based personalization is a much better approach for customer service related communications, while interest-based personalization can have more impact on sales and marketing communications.

Major League Soccer’s National Sales Center (MLSNSC), which I wrote about almost eight months ago, recently sent their fifth set of graduates into the difficult environment of selling soccer tickets in a down economy. To refresh your memory, the MLSNSC is (and I quote from their official website) “a highly selective 45 day sales training program, this experience provides a one-of-kind learning environment and exposure to the fundamentals of MLS ticket selling. Trainees will have the opportunity to apply what they are learning to actual selling of season, group and mini plan ticket inventory for different MLS clubs during the program. At the conclusion of the session, those trainees earning specific benchmarks throughout the program will have the opportunity to interview for sales positions at MLS clubs.”

Bryant Pfeiffer, Vice President of Club Services for MLS, commented on the changes that were made over the course of the first five sessions. “Initially we were thinking we would try to facilitate close to 6-7 sessions in 2011,” commented Pfeiffer. “After getting a better handle on both recruiting and placement flow in 2010 we felt it worked better to run four total sessions in 2011 that were more spaced out in between them.”

In terms of placement for the first four sessions, 40 candidates went through the program with 39 of those securing employment with an MLS club. Many of those graduates continue to keep tabs on each other. Jacob Hanselman, a graduate of Session IV, was hired by the Chicago Fire in March 2011. “Since we have been out at teams we keep an email chain that we are able to share stories with the entire group about different situations that have occurred or tips on questions some people have,” said Hansleman. “We grew to be very close and there hasn’t been a week were you won’t get a phone call from someone in the session or talk on Facebook comparing numbers and how everyone has been successful. I wouldn’t have been able to have the success that I have had thus far without any of the other 10 people that were in session IV not having a profound impact on me.”

One of the most valuable tools in the program is the instant feedback each candidate gets regarding their techniques. The feedback is not based solely on whether a sale was made or not. Pfeiffer mentioned, “We have added much more emphasis on video and audio recording of sales calls as an instant feedback tool. Trainees have consistently highly rated the impact this technology has on their development.” For Hanselman, the feedback was invaluable. “The most challenging part of the session for me was the refining of the sales process,” commented Hanselman. “Every one of our calls at the MLSNSC was taped, so even when you did make what you thought was a good call, we could go back and analyze and break it down; much like watching game tape. After each one you would see that we still had a lot of room for improvement.”

It’s easy to see after the first five sessions that the MLSNSC is going strong. “Fourteen MLS clubs have either hired or interviewed National Sales Center graduates,” said Pfeiffer. “Dallas and Houston have both hired six graduates so far.” With the blessing of the MLS head office, and strong recommendations from it’s previous graduates, MLSNSC will begin it’s sixth session on July 25th.

A successful candidate will “show a strong to desire to keep improving themselves, a strong competitive spirit, and refuse to be outworked wherever they are.” If that describes you, you can apply by visiting the MLSNSC website, scrolling to the bottom and clicking ‘Apply now.’

I normally don’t post job openings on the blog, but in this case, I had to make an exception because…I used to hold this position! Comcast-Spectactor (the parent company for the Philadelphia Flyers, 76ers, Wings and more) is hiring for a CRM & Technology Analyst. This is a unique opportunity for anyone with an analytical marketing background and a passion for the sports industry.

In general, CRM and other technology and analytics-based marketing programs are becoming more and more valuable for sports organizations, and people with this type of experience are in more demand across the industry. The knowledge and experience you would gain from this position is tremendous, and I am speaking from personal experience. My career would not be where it is today without the time I spent at Comcast-Spectacor.

Take a look at the posting below, and if you have the background and interest in this area, I encourage you to apply right away.

Summary: This entry level / experienced position resides in the Technology Solutions department at Comcast-Spectacor. This position will be aligned to Sales, Marketing and Customer Service departments of the entities inside Comcast-Spectacor to assist them in fostering and developing new and existing business through analysis of the CRM data and other sales and marketing technologies. This position will be the leader and expert in Comcast-Spectacor’s CRM and marketing automation systems (sales, service, and marketing) and will also measure the effectiveness of these and other technologies and campaigns that drive through these organizations.

Responsibilities Include:

• Develop a yearly business plan for this role and the ability to measure the results
• Configure the CRM and marketing automation systems to help achieve ongoing business goals for ticket sales, customer service, and marketing
• Mine the CRM system to create targeted list for emails, mailings, and other marketing campaigns
• Configure, support, measure and report on innovative sales and marketing campaigns to support the various assigned entities and departments
• Create targeted direct marketing campaigns for ticket sales using direct mail, emarketing, hypersites, PURLs, and call campaigns
• Create and manage campaigns to increase entities database and newsletter subscriptions
• Track monthly, quarterly and yearly count of entity newsletter sends and subscriptions
• Work with ticket sales and marketing to acquire new lead lists through various means
• Provide training and support for ticket sales, customer service, and marketing on sales and marketing systems and other technology products and solutions introduced to the business
• Utilize web traffic reporting and tools to generate opportunities for advertising and ticketing sales
• Occasionally work with the ticketing service provider to best maximize the use of the ticketing, auctions, and marketplace sites to integrate with entities’ respective websites
• Keep up to date on the latest technologies and work to keep respective entities ahead of the curve
• Work with the respective Leagues and member clubs to best maximize tools available to generate leads and sales opportunities
• Familiarity with SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and online advertising campaigns

Qualifications – Required:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work comfortably with Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook

Qualifications – Preferred:

• One to two (1 – 2) years of experience in business operations of a professional sports organization, preferably in marketing, sales or technology
• Experience with Salesforce.com and / or Eloqua
• Working knowledge of HTML, JAVA and Photoshop
• Experience with database applications such as SQL / MS Access

Click here for the full job posting and to apply.

Earlier this week, I had the chance to interview Barry Kahn, CEO of the dynamic ticket pricing company Qcue. Barry was recently named to Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2011. We discussed what exactly dynamic pricing is and some of the impact it can have on the sports industry.

First off, thanks for taking the time to discuss dynamic pricing with my readers. For those that might not be familiar with the topic, can you give us a quick synopsis of what dynamic pricing means?

Barry Kahn: Dynamic pricing is all about finding the right value for a ticket and recognizing that the value often changes between the time it goes on sale until it is purchased. Prior to dynamic pricing, teams would set prices months before the season and then were forced to stick with them. With dynamic pricing, teams now have flexibility to adjust prices throughout the season. We apply advanced analysis to adjust prices based on sales and other measures of shifting demand. The result is better scaling throughout the house and better variable pricing.

While the idea of maximizing the value of premium games seems great, I think some companies are afraid that dynamic pricing could undervalue other games. How is this handled within the structure of dynamic pricing?

BK: Most teams face an internal debate – price for a sell out or price to maximize sales? I like to view dynamic pricing as giving a team the flexibility to balance these priorities. They can price to fill the venue while retaining the opportunity to take advantage of a high demand situation. While this may mean some lower prices for low demand games, dynamic pricing isn’t about dropping prices to sell at any cost. It’s about setting prices more accurately to sell at the right cost. That typically means maintaining price integrity. You have to take into account all games – all sections – season ticket holders, group sales, promotions, etc. Our software does this. In addition to real time data covering all of these categories, we also pull in historical data to provide a complete picture. We look closely at every section in the stadium and all upcoming games to ensure that price changes in one section or for one game, do not negatively impact a different section or game. We have seen clients increase revenue in both high and low demand situations.

How does dynamic pricing in the primary market (purchasing directly from teams) impact sales in the secondary market?

BK: There will always be a secondary market, we aren’t changing that. What we are doing is helping the teams compete with the secondary market by providing them with the flexibility to change prices as the market dictates. People that scoop up tickets only to resell them at a high markup may be impacted, however in the case of season ticket holders, all teams that we work with have taken great care to protect this group and ensure they get the lowest prices available. Dynamic pricing will actually help this group price their tickets more accurately for resale.

What types of insights can teams gather from dynamic pricing?

BK: With dynamic pricing, teams gain a better understanding of what drives sales using variables such as real-time sales, day of the week, opponents, etc. to set more accurate prices from the onset and maximize demand across the house. We compare dozens of price factors throughout a season, across venues and between ticket sections and provide teams with flexible business views of past price performance, current sales activity and future sales projections. But the real power of dynamic pricing is its ability to take all of this data and provide specific price recommendations that can be made in real-time, across all points of sale.

If a team wanted to go down this road, what is the best way for them to proceed?

BK: Call us! In all seriousness, dynamic pricing is a sophisticated process. Some teams may try a do-it-yourself approach, but there is tremendous value in using a proven software solution. For example, in the case of Major League Baseball, you are looking at 81 games and 20+ sections. Analyzing the data and changing prices could be someone’s full time job, whereas by using an existing dynamic pricing solution, teams can change thousands of prices in minutes.

Barry Kahn is CEO and founder of Qcue, the most widely deployed dynamic pricing solution on the market. He works closely with professional sports organizations across MLB, MLS, NBA, NHL and NASCAR to optimize revenue while providing the best value to fans. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in economics from The University of Texas at Austin, and a B.S. in applied engineering physics from Cornell University.

Last month, I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of “The House That Ruth Built” by Robert Weintraub. The book chronicles the Yankees’ 1923 championship season, their crosstown rivalry with the New York Giants and the construction of Yankee Stadium. It’s an excellent book for any Yankees or baseball fan, but beyond that, I really enjoyed the sports business aspects to the story, particularly around the team’s ownership, the local media and the stadium construction.

Robert was kind enough to share some of his time for an email interview to provide additional insights from his research about these sports business topics of the day. In addition, after the interview you can read an excerpt from the book’s preface that helps set the backdrop of his story.

- Robert, most Yankee fans know the name Jacob Ruppert, former team owner when the stadium was built, but not many recognize Cap Huston. Yet, as co-owner of the team in 1922, he was instrumental in the construction of Yankee Stadium. How do you think things would have been different if Cap Huston wasn’t involved and should he have a bigger legacy in Yankee history?

Robert Weintraub: I definitely think Til should be better remembered today. His engineering background and knowledge of ballpark construction and the ways to increase revenue by preparing for multi-sport utility was a key element to the iconic nature of the Stadium through the years. Certainly, had he not been on the scene, Ruppert alone would have found a way to build a Stadium–it was his dream to have a park full of thirsty fans drinking the beer that his brewery churned out–but it wouldn’t have been the epic edifice it became.

- It’s always interesting to see how the media treated athletes differently in earlier eras, almost protecting them from the public and hiding some of their “inappropriate” behavior. What impact did the media’s protection have in shaping Ruth’s legacy?

RW: One of the great surprises I discovered in researching the book was just how hard the press was on Ruth for his on-field failings, contrary to the myth. As for his off-field endeavors, we are accustomed to talking today about a “different era” when stars weren’t dissected like today, and that’s true to a point–many of Ruth’s more notorious scandals were obscured or flat out ignored by writers that didn’t want to endanger their meal ticket in any way. But the idea that Ruth drank, ate, gambled, and whored to excess was certainly a part of the coverage, and his popularity, even at the time. But the fact that there was still some more room to go with the Babe was key in terms of his legacy. Many of the writers wound up writing memoirs or histories that enumerated Ruth’s scandalous adventures that went well beyond what had already been reported, and thus the legend that exists to this day was born.

- What parallels did you see between the construction of Yankee Stadium in 1922 to the construction of new facilities in the past 5-10 years?

RW: Not much, frankly. The trend today is to go smaller, to be sport-specific, and to be built with as much public funding as possible. None of that was true with the Yankee Stadium. Building such a huge, lasting arena in a mere 284 days is another aspect of the construction project that cannot be matched in modern times. Certainly the current trend is to build where the people are, not away from the masses like with the Stadium. The Bronx rose in prominence thanks to the Stadium. That hasn’t happened with modern stadia. No one flocked to live in Auburn Hills, Michigan or Landover, Maryland.

- In covering the 1923 season for the Yankees, the New York Giants played a very visible role as an opponent and business rival. If the Yankees and Yankee Stadium weren’t as immediately successful, do you feel that local popularity would have shifted back to the Giants, and would they have ended up staying in New York?

RW: Yes to the first part–the Giants were negatively impacted by Ruth’s and the Yankees’ success, and were it not for the slugger winning championships in the new Stadium would have remained top dogs in New York–but only if they continued winning as well. Remember, it wasn’t only that the Yankees got good. After 1924, the Giants didn’t win another pennant for a decade (1933). Then, the Giants regained some of their old glory. They get obscured by the mythology that surrounds the glory years of the Yankees and Dodgers, but the Giants with Willie Mays were quite popular in New York. Their move to California was less about declining popularity then following the money (and the Dodgers) out west–it wasn’t a direct line from the time they were supplanted by Ruth’s Yankees.

- What was the most surprising thing you learned about the behind-the-scenes dealings that allowed for Yankee Stadium to be built?

RW: Probably the involvement of Arnold Rothstein, aka “The Big Bankroll,” in the suspicious delays that held up the construction project, so that it wasn’t ready until 1923. Rothstein was an investor in the Giants, his insurance company underwrote the Polo Grounds, and he was tight with John McGraw and Charles Stoneham, the principal owners of the Giants. He was often seen in box seats at Giants games. The Yankees needed two small streets in the South Bronx to be closed in order for building to begin. They expected the city to OK the closings as matter of routine. Instead, thanks most likely to Rothstein’s influence with the Tammany machine that dominated New York politics, the waivers were lost in the bureaucratic haze for months. As a result, the Yanks had to crawl back to the Polo Grounds and play there in 1922, at an increased rent. There was profit in dollars and in the humiliation of the Yankees for Rothstein, McGraw, and Stoneham. The boys in the Bronx had the last laugh, however.

Thanks again to Robert for his insights.  Please click the link below to enjoy some of the book, or visit Amazon.com to pick up a copy!

Excerpt from the Preface of The House That Ruth Build by Robert Weintraub

The center of New York power, then, as now, remained downtown, in the Financial District. But uptown had the Giants, for the past two decades the nation’s most potent sporting brand. These two critical elements of New York’s cultural engine— sports and money—were merging rapidly. The ad salesmen at the big newspapers had taken it as gospel that baseball fans — an unserious rabble with little taste, in their eyes— didn’t constitute the buying public, but that changed in the ‘20s. Literary Digest noticed the new climate: “We have no hesitation in declaring that if an accurate poll were taken of the attendance at any big-?league ball game the ratio would be around 80 per cent of business officials, office employees and men of leisure to 20 per cent of the actual ‘laboring class.’” A little relaxation at the ballpark was expected after a day spent frantically selling or dealing in the rarefied air of high finance.

Stock and real estate speculation was the Big Thing on Wall Street, and the deal making continued in the Polo Grounds grandstand. As one player said, “I’d go to the ballpark and get stock tips from turnstile men and bootblacks and peanut butchers and newspapermen. Everybody was going to be a millionaire. It was a little confusing.” The Giants started home games at three thirty p.m. in order to better allow the moneymen to travel north after a day of wheeling and dealing to watch McGraw and his team dominate the National League.

But today’s contest was starting earlier, at two p.m., and it most certainly wasn’t a home game for the Giants. As McGraw turned toward the water on the 155th Street Viaduct, passing over the Harlem River Speedway, built for horse and carriage but now crammed with automobiles, the enemy’s fortress came into view. McGraw scowled. The building in front of him, just across the river in the Bronx, would be the scene of today’s game and the cause of much of the manager’s agita— the brand-?new Yankee Stadium.

Despite its proximity to Manhattan, the Bronx definitely had an outerborough feel to it (expressed neatly in a headline in that morning’s Daily News: “Bronx Landlords Count Dogs as Added Tenants”). Under ordinary circumstances, a sneering McGraw would have paid as much attention to a Bronx baseball park and its American League occupants, the Yankees, as he would to something stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

But this was no ordinary time. Thanks to the deep pockets of the men who had bought the team in a deal brokered by McGraw himself, the Yankees had emerged as dangerous rivals to the Giants for the hearts and minds of New York baseball fans. And thanks to the team’s superstar— to McGraw, a mighty ape with intellect to match—the Yankees had not only challenged the Giants on the field but outstripped them at their own gate. Since 1912, the two teams had shared the Polo Grounds, with the Yankees as tenant and the Giants as landlord, so this development hit the Giants and McGraw, who owned roughly a quarter of the team, right in the wallet. But it was a situation McGraw and Giants majority owner Charles Stoneham had thought they could rectify— by evicting the Yankees.

They did, kicking the Yanks out of the Polo Grounds and essentially forcing them (daring them) to build a home of their own. So the bickering Yankees owners, Jacob Ruppert and Til “Cap” Huston, responded by going all?in. They put aside their own differences long enough to construct this gigantic palace of sport within shouting distance of the Polo Grounds. It had opened six months earlier on April 18, to enormous fanfare and great critical and popular reception.

Money was at the heart of this competition, and the Yankees suddenly had more of it — and with the Stadium they now had the means to increase revenue exponentially. But McGraw and the Giants could still win where it counted most— on the field.

Separated by a thin slice of the Harlem River, Manhattan and the South Bronx look like jigsaw pieces left slightly apart. At 155^th Street, McGraw traversed the gap by means of the four-?hundred-?foot swing span of the Macombs Dam Bridge. And as he made landfall in the Bronx, the boisterous crowds hoping to attend the first World Series game ever at the Yankee Stadium came into view. This new monstrosity held an enormous number of fans, upwards of sixty thousand, and it seemed like twice that number were milling outside the Stadium on 161st Street, on River Avenue, and on the unpaved section of Doughty Street (to be renamed Ruppert Place in 1933) near the Elevated train, hoping to buy tickets. McGraw despaired momentarily, wondering how he would get through the logjam, when a policeman recognized him and organized a flying wedge, leading McGraw to a side entrance.

Once inside, McGraw wrinkled his nose and stepped into the visiting clubhouse. His players were inside, quietly awaiting batting practice. Unused lockers surrounded the team— and they’d remain empty. Such was McGraw’s distaste for the Yankees and their new home that he had refused to allow the Giants to change inside the Stadium. Thus the team had met at the Polo Grounds, put on their uniforms, and headed over the river. McGraw might have to play the World Series here, but he didn’t have to spend any more time as guests of the Yankees than absolutely necessary.

Much has changed on the Manhattan side since the days when McGraw strolled through the area. Next door to the former site of the Giants home field is Rucker Park, where the fabled summertime Rucker Tournament attracts the best playground basketball players in the city and beyond. One Hundred Fifty-?fifth Street abuts the northern edge of another park, one named for a New York baseball player— Jackie Robinson, who played in Brooklyn! Eighth Avenue today in this stretch of Harlem is now called Frederick Douglass Boulevard. But perhaps the greatest change, at least from a baseball perspective, is that the Polo Grounds no longer exists. A large public housing project stands where the diamond and seats once did, and the entire area is in thrall to the great new Yankee Stadium across the river. Everywhere one turns in the summer months, the familiar Yankees “Top Hat and Bat” emblem (which didn’t exist in 1923) winks out from memorabilia stores, makeshift parking lots, and pre-?and postgame watering holes. It is a turn of events that would have eaten at John McGraw.

The New York Yankees are the preeminent sports franchise in the United States, if not the world, and the club’s resume is well known to most fans — twenty-?seven World Championships (as of 2010), by far the most of any team in any sport. But in 1923 this dominance didn’t yet exist. As that year’s World Series opened, the Yankees had yet to win a single championship. And in the previous two seasons, it had lost the Series, decisively, to its mighty rival—the New York Giants.

As you can see from the image below, I’m probably about 90 minutes early in writing this post, but even though the Wizards haven’t “officially” announce their new look, I think it’s ok to start discussing it now.

This morning, the Wizards are going to officially change their colors back to the traditional red, white and blue that the old Washington Bullets used to use. This color change will also go along with new marks, logos and jerseys. Personally, I think this is a great idea – any team in the nation’s capital would do well to feature red, white and blue as their primary colors. It should provide a strong fit to their regional brand (the name “Wizards” might not fit, but that’s a discussion for a different time).

This choice to return to a “classic” theme is quite emblematic of an approach that several teams have taken over the past few years. Both the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons had recently reverted back to traditional colors and logos after a period of time with a more modern look. The Cleveland Cavaliers also seem to feature their vintage uniforms quite often.

In the 1990′s, it seemed like the popular thing to do was to modernize a team’s look, but just a decade later, these teams are going back to their original style. I wonder if this is because the more traditional color and logo theme was a better brand fit, or is the idea of a vintage look just as much of a trend as the modern look was 10-15 years ago? It is very costly for a team to change their brand in this way – everything in the team facilities must be changed, all merchandise must be turned over and any other materials with the old colors become instantly useless. Considering these costs, I think its safe to say that these teams have decided that their classic branding offers the best long-term strategic approach.

For a bit of record-keeping, here is a screen shot from the Wizards website before and after today’s announcement, so you can see the instant change in look that the team is pursuing:

This is a big time of year for the NBA when it comes to season ticket sales. Most teams are finishing up their current season ticket holder renewals and ramping up for new business. Last week, I wrote a bit about a unique positioning the Golden State Warriors were using to help sell and renew season tickets, but every team has their own approach to season ticket sales. So here are a few more fun examples from other NBA teams:

Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets – Pay the Pick Pricing Plans:

Detroit Pistons – Renewal Website, featuring benefits based on tenure and payment date, including:

• Free Parking and Piston jersey (potentially with autograph)
• $50 to $150 in Palace Gift Cards
• Complimentary club passes and a suite for a game
• Referral rewards equal to 3% of the new season ticket holder’s purchase

Charlotte Bobcats – Buy 2 Get 2 Free

Memphis Grizzlies – Playoff Access for This Season

• While playoff access is always a benefit for season ticket holders, the Grizzlies are capitalizing on this year’s surprise run by limiting access to this year’s playoff tickets to current or future season ticket holders (30% deposit required).
• This type of offer was used by the New Orleans Hornets (and most likely other playoff teams as well).

Toronto Raptors – Raptors Plus You

• The Raptors build an interactive microsite tied to their “Raptors + You” marketing campaign, complete with video highlights, letter from the GM, benefits, payment plans, and information on new dynamic pricing for next season.
• In addition, they are guaranteeing their ticket prices for the 2012-13 season as well.

Early Bird Programs – Many teams’ early-bird programs have probably ended by now, but a few teams still have them going, including:

• New Jersey Nets (features additional 10% savings for early renewal and matrix of additional benefits)
• Sacramento Kings (features the chance to get free parking, team store vouchers and extra free tickets)
• Washington Wizards (features a 3 year price freeze, replica jersey and 12-month payment plan)

Last week, my good friend Isaac sent me a very interesting season ticket sales promotion that the Golden State Warriors are offering. They are calling it the “first official contract between a professional sports team and its fans.” While that may or may not be true, the “contract” itself is quite interesting. Take a look at the image below from their website (or click to visit the site).

The first thing you notice are their four main promises: reaching the playoffs, having an all-star on the team, winning 25+ games at home and a risk-free renewal with 5% interest (this relates to the risk of games being cancelled because of labor issues). Of course, there’s fine print on this agreement, but in this case, the team wants their fans to read the fine print, which reviews a series of incentives that all season ticket holders would receive if the team fails to meet any of their promises. These incentives would be in addition to the other incentives that they are offering regardless of team performance.

If you break this down, it is a pretty standard set of benefits to offer your season ticket holders (a potential price freeze, drawing for a free trip and private autograph session). However, combining these potential benefits with a “guarantee” of team performance is an interesting way to position it. They can simultaneously sell on-court success and unique season ticket holder experiences in one platform.

I’m excited to announce the nominees for the 2011 The Business of Sports Awards! Every spring, we will take a look back to reward the best content and contributors from the sports business community over the past year.

Unlike other sports business awards that recognize the people working within specific organizations, the goal for these awards is to recognize those individuals, companies and websites that create and share the best sports business content and provide the most benefit for the rest of the sports industry. Also, in an attempt to spread the recognition a bit, last year’s winner in each category cannot win again this year.

With all that said, the nominees are…

Best Sports Business Blog: Last year’s winner was SportsBiz with Darren Rovell. This year’s nominees are…

• Athletics Development Frontier
• The Biz of Baseball
• Partnership Activation
• Relationship Architecture
• SponsorPitch Blog
• Sports Agent Blog
• Sports Info 101
• Sports Marketing and PR Roundup

Best Sports Business Twitter Account: Last year’s winner was Kathleen Hessert (@kathleenhessert). This year’s nominees are…

• Brian Gainor (@briangainor)
• J.W. Cannon (@cannonjw)
• Kristi Dosh (@sportsbizmiss)
• Liz Mullen (@sbjlizmullen)
• Lou Imbriano (@louimbriano)
• Maury Brown (@bizballmaury)
• Michele Steele (@michelesteele)
• Paul Hemingway (@paulhemingway)
• Rob Katz (@robkatz)

Best Sports Business Content – Company: Last year’s winner was Sports Business Journal. This year’s nominees are…

• Activ8Social (Website, blog and Twitter accounts)
• Coyle Media (Sports Marketing 2.0, Sports Fan Graph, @sports20, Digital Fan Marketing Summits)
• CNBC (Darren Rovell’s blog, Twitter and video content)
• Forbes (SportsMoney website and blog)
• IEG (Sponsorship.com blog and individual Twitter contributors)
• GMR Marketing (Industry blog and multiple Twitter accounts)

Best Sports Business Up and Comer: Last year’s winner was Peter Amador. This year’s nominees are…

• Brittany Gilman
• Deandra Duggans
• Jared Casden
• Jonathan Norman
• Joshua Boren
• Sean O’Hara
• Tariq Ahmad
• Tim McGarry

Best Alternative Sports Business Content: Last year’s winner was Sports Business Radio. This year’s nominees are…

• #SBChat (Weekly Twitter-based sports business chat)
• #SportsPRChat (Weekly Twitter-based sports PR chat)
• Be Your Own Fan TV by the Goldklang Group (Bi-weekly web video)
• The Migala Report (Monthly web publication)
• The Row Show (Weekly web video broadcast)
• The Sports Business Exchange (Quarterly online journal)

Best International Sports Business Contributor (New Category):

• Ash Read
• Anthony Alsop
• Cedric Grunder
• Daniel McLaren
• Hubert Munyazikwiye
• Jonathan Müller
• Lourdes Turconi
• Shane Harmon

Best Sports Business Email Newsletter (New Category):

• Brian Gainor’s Partnershp Activation 2.0 Monthly Newsletter
• Howard Bloom’s SBN Daily Dose
• Joe Favorito’s Sports Marketing and PR Pros Newsletter
  
• National Sports Forum’s “Selling It” Bi-Monthly Newsletter
• Street and Smith’s Sports Business Daily
• Sponsorship Insights Monthly Newsletter

Best Sports Business Book (New Category):

• Ice to the Eskimos by Jon Spoelstra
• Moneyball by Michael Lewis
• Sports, Inc. by Phil Schaaf
• The Business of Sports by Scott Rosner and Kenneth Shropshire
• The Elusive Fan by Irving Rein, Philip Kotler and Ben Shields
• Veeck as in Wreck by Bill Veeck and Ed Linn

People’s Choice – Sports Business Social Media Contributor of the Year:

• Brian Gainor
• Darren Heitner
• Darren Rovell
• Joe Favorito
• Kristi Dosh
• Lou Imbriano
• Maury Brown
• Pat Coyle

The voting for the People’s Choice award (on the top right of the page) will run through May 15. All of the winners will be announced the following week.

Please Note: The only award that you can currently vote on is the People’s Choice award. However, I encourage you all to leave comments about who you think should win in the other categories. These comments will be considered when deciding on the winners. Thanks!

By now, you’ve probably already seen the news that Major League Baseball has taken control of  day to day operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers away from current team owner Frank McCourt. If not, you can read more about it over at ESPN.com and on Darren Rovell’s SportsBiz blog.

Instead of trying to weigh in on whether MLB’s decision in this case was right or wrong and what McCourt should or shouldn’t do, I’d like to take a philosophical look at the concept of a league-owned or league-operated franchise. This situation has come up a few times in professional sports over the past decade, including the Texas Rangers, the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, the New Orleans Hornets, the Phoenix Coyotes and now the Dodgers. While the circumstance behind each situation is different, there are some fundamental issues at hand any time a league steps in to manage an individual franchise.

If a league owns or operates an individual franchise, in essence the other 30+ owners within that league are now in charge of that team, since the league itself is owned equally by all of the separate team owners. While each owner is primarily concerned with their own franchise, even having a 1/30th stake in another team is a significant investment. This additional “ownership” can represent a unique conflict of interest for those put in charge of the team’s operations.

The owners want this franchise to be run profitably, but what is the best way to do that? Often times, the best way to generate a short-term profit is through reducing costs, whereas long term profit is more sustainable via investing in the team’s operations. If the other owners care more about the short-term, which could easily be the case since they theoretically won’t own the team for long, then those in charge may be forced to cut costs. In addition, the specific approaches the team takes in their operations could be dictated by that league’s revenue sharing system. If more revenue is shared from ticket sales that local media, will those in charge be forced to focus more on that specific revenue stream to the detriment of the other.

This problem is even more significant when looking at the on-field operations of the team. Those in charge should theoretically continue to do what they can to help the team win, since that will in turn lead to more revenue. However, if that team wins more games, logic dictates that other teams will lose more games, which can decrease revenue for those team owners. This question came up last year with the Texas Rangers. The team was doing well, but until new ownership was in place, the team seemed unlikely to make any roster changes. A more recent example took place this year with the Hornets, when those in charge of the team did make a significant trade in an attempt to improve the team. Mark Cuban spoke out vehemently against this trade in particular because the team took on additional salary, which mean as a partial owner of the Hornets, Cuban could end up losing more money. He didn’t seem upset about the team’s attempt to improve (he said that he wouldn’t mind the trade if they hadn’t taken on additional salary), but I wouldn’t be surprised if behind the scenes, other owners were angry about this aspect as well.

Finally, you also need to look at the context under which the league steps in. One of the most unusual arrangements was when MLB decided not only to “purchase” the Expos, but also arrange for the sale of the Marlins to former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, and in turn the sale of the Red Sox to former Marlins owner John Henry. While I will not attempt to analyze the various motivating factors behind these deals (how often do you see owners “trade” their team?), there’s no doubt that Henry and Loria benefited greatly from the situation, while the “rest” of the league ends up owning the orphaned Expos, which surely had a negative cash flow until the time they were sold as the Nationals. Again, there does seem to be some conflict of interest when other owners end up having to support the operations of an additional team as part of another owner’s franchise purchase and sale.

Even putting that unique situation aside, other events will continue to arise where a league has no choice but to step in and own or operate a franchise. It is clearly in the best interest of any professional sports league to make sure all of its teams can operate successfully. The conflicts that these situations present are real, and must be delicately managed by all parties involved until operations can be turned back over to the team, hopefully as quickly as possible.

Over the past few weeks, the Arizona State Sun Devils athletic department has been releasing videos and teasers about a big announcement they had planned for April 12, 2011.  Before we actually review what happened, we should start by taking a look at what they did to create anticipation and excitement among their fans and alumni:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSYYgGHrTd8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKbYekB_TSE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=U13DaBHLzkY

Clearly, something big was coming, but no official announcements were made until April 12, so fans had to wait. I love how the videos covered the full history of their athletic program, successfully mixing nostalgia and historic moments to more recent highlights and successes. This allowed the videos to resonate with a wide age range of fans, which is very important when you have alumni from age 22 to 102.

When the time came, we finally learned that the Sun Devils were undergoing a complete rebranding, transitioning away from the traditional “Sparky” logo to a new pitchfork-based logo and updating their official colors and fonts. Here is the official “Time to Fear the Fork” video that went along with the announcement:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQxHr4xplzE

Behind the scenes, Nike was working with Arizona State for over a year on the rebranding process, which involved changes to all the colors and marks across all sports at the school.  The logo itself was the most significant change, but the introduction of black as an important color for the school’s brand was also very important. For more on Nike’s role in the process, check out this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhnfE10B7YQ

Here is an official statement on the new brand from the school’s weekly “Devil’s Insider” email newsletter:

“The rebranding of Sun Devil Athletics includes adding two colors to the athletics color palette: copper, for its prominence in Arizona history, and black, a long-anticipated return to the Sun Devil attitude. This fall will not be the first time our Arizona State football squads have worn black helmets, as we previously wore black helmets in the 1950s.  We now have a custom athletic font exclusive to Sun Devil Athletics. The font, called Sun Devil Bold, incorporates unique characteristics intended to represent my horns or my pitchfork. Speaking of pitchforks, the official logo of Sun Devil Athletics is now the pitchfork… This exclusive and contemporary mark will be used consistently across all of our Sun Devil teams. Anytime someone sees this logo, they will instantly recognize it as Sun Devil Athletics.”

Putting aside that I’m a bit biased when it comes to Arizona State (I went there for my MBA and worked in the athletic department), I think this is a great move for them. While Sparky has a long history at the school, it wasn’t the greatest logo to build the brand around. They wanted to have a strong, intense brand, but at the same time, Sparky was also their mascot and was very family friendly, which created a conflicting message in their brand. Now, they can continue to use Sparky in the mascot role, where he’s always been a great fit, but their athletic program can be better marketed under the new colors and pitchfork logo. This change should contribute to improvements in merchandise sales, brand awareness,  ticket sales and hopefully alumni contributions.

The decision to rebrand any sports organization is very complicated, as the decision makers need to balance the affinity that their fans have to the current brand against the long-term value of what the new brand could represent. It seems like the Sun Devils really used their time productively not only to decide on what the new brand will be, but in how to create excitement about it and communicate the changes to their fans.

Over the past eight years, there has been a tremendous growth in popularity of poker as a form of “sports entertainment.” While the game itself is not a sport, it’s coverage on television and across the web has created a deep connection between poker and the sports world. However, as of Friday, the relationship between the sports world and poker took a dramatic turn.

For those that aren’t familiar with what happened, I’ll try to summarize quickly. The FBI and Southern District of New York announced that they were arresting the top executives from the big-three online poker sites (PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker/UltimateBet) and they seized the related “.com” domain names. Those arrested are facing charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and violation of UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act).

Ever since the UIGEA was passed in 2006, there has been a question as to the legality of online poker in the U.S.  The language of the bill focused on financial transactions related to online gambling, but the big service providers mentioned above believed that poker is a game of skill, not gambling, and continued to operate very successfully in the U.S. In fact, the poker industry continued to boom over the past 4-5 years, as you can see from the amount of media coverage it received and the sponsorships involved. Both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars sponsored poker television coverage on ESPN (World Series of Poker and the North American Poker Tour), NBC (NBC Heads-Up and Poker After Dark) and Fox (PokerStars The Big Game). ESPN.com also had PokerStars sponsored coverage through a web-video show called the Inside Deal. PokerStars was even an NHL sponsor, with prominent exposure at their annual awards show.

Poker also created lots of new “sports” celebrities, people like Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth and many more. Not only were these top  players sponsored by online poker sites, they were popular enough to receive endorsements outside of poker. In looking at the “sport,” there were definitely similarity to NASCAR in terms of individual endorsement potential. You could often see these players wearing logos of their partner companies, and the better they performed at the table, the greater the partner exposure.

In the immediate aftermath of “Black Friday,” the following events have occurred:

• ESPN and ESPN.com have removed all associated with PokerStars, canceled their North American Poker Tour coverage and even stopped showing reruns of older WSOP broadcasts.
• The Big Game on Fox has been canceled, at least temporarily
• Wynn Entertainment and other U.S.-based casinos have ended most of their relationships with online sites
• All three sites have stopped serving U.S. players for real money games
• Top officials that have yet to be arrested could be extradited, depending on their current location (officials for these sites usually live outside the country)
• Funds for U.S. players are temporarily frozen, and there’s a chance this money could be lost altogether.

The big question is, what happens now? The World Series of Poker, which has become a top sports-related brand will probably see a significant drop in participation and television coverage. Top players that rely on online poker for their income may be forced to leave the country, or even worse, could be looking at criminal charges depending on their relationship with the online sites. Poker television as we know it could be over, along with any poker-related sponsorships of U.S. teams or leagues. Meanwhile, the Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group on behalf of poker players, is trying to rally players to push for legislation to legalize and regulate online poker. Bills on this topic have been discussed in Congress on and off for the past two years, and some people even feel that these recent events could speed up the process of U.S. regulation.

It’s too early to predict what the ultimate results from these charges will be, but there’s little doubt that the landscape of the poker industry has been permanently changed by “Black Friday.” For more coverage of this story, check out Darren Rovell’s coverage or visit www.pokernews.com.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Emily Huddell from Turnkey Sports & Entertainment.

The inaugural Wharton Sports Innovation Conference (SIC) was held last Friday, April 8, at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.  Initiated and organized by the Wharton Sports Business Club, the event was conceived as a forum for high-level discussion on “what’s next” in the world of sports business, attracted approximately 250 attendees, and (full disclosure) was sponsored by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment.

The event began with a welcome address by Kenneth Shropshire, Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics and Director of Wharton’s Sports Business Initiative. Then, attendees split into sub-groups to attend panels including “Developing Story: Shifts in Sports Media Coverage,” “If You Build It, Will They Come?: Innovations in Stadium Land Use and Surrounding Real Estate,” and “The Social Impact of Sports.”

In one of the day’s first sessions, Barry Blyn (VP of Consumer Insights, ESPN) engaged attendees in a discussion centered on ESPN’s “brand health narrative.” According to Blyn, ESPN’s core focus is the die-hard sports fan (i.e., the individual who identifies as at an 8, 9 or 10 on a 1-10 avidity scale). In their quest to “relentlessly monitor brand health” by understanding the perceptions of this group, Blyn’s team employs many non-traditional means, including father/son BBQs (at which fans’ perceptions and needs are discussed), “ESPN deprivation” experiences, conflict groups, and projects like eulogy creation (in which fans are asked to pretend that the brand has “died” and reflect on its cause of death).

Moving forward, Blyn’s group is focused on determining how SportsCenter should adapt/react to the growth of mobile to retain its appeal. Other goals including developing a true social media strategy, and continuing to create a sense of community with fans with innovations like the World Cup Match Truck.

In one of the morning’s second panels, titled “To the Cloud!”, a stacked panel comprised of Dave Butler (CEO, Paciolan), Sean Morgan (Founder & CEO, Critical Media), Brian Perez (SVP & GM, NBA Digital), Matt Higgins (EVP Business Operations, NY Jets), and Brad Goldberg (CEO, Peak6 Online) and moderated by Len Perna (President & CEO, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment), engaged in a lively conversation about the impact of cloud computing on the sports industry. The panel agreed that though fans may not understand the concept of the cloud, they directly benefit from it in the form of customized and improved in-stadium service.

Other hot button issues tackled by this group included:

• The interplay of broadcast rights and mobile/digital
• The lack of mobile bandwidth in areas/facilities (Perez called it the “single biggest issue” in sports)
• The potential nationalization of team brands via mobile technology/mobile’s effect on the ~75 mile marketing boundaries currently in place
• The role of in-stadium replay
• The development of platforms enabling fans to invite friends to games via social media

The panel’s consensus was that the sports industry must do a better job of implementing initiatives like the NBA’s Fan Night, which allows fans to determine which game airs on NBA TV each Tuesday. According to this group, increased adaptation stemming from going where the fans are and giving them what they want will be crucial as the sports industry strives to remain relevant.

Perhaps the day’s most compelling event was Ted Leonsis’ Keynote Speech. Leonsis, the Founder and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, spoke about teams’ effect on the metro areas they call home, and their responsibilities as the “caretakers of the emotional well-being” of those cities. He discussed how the Verizon Center has played a crucial role in the revitalization of DC’s Chinatown, changing the arc of the narrative of the city, and turning the area surrounding the arena into a hub of commerce with an annual economic impact of $300 million.

As one who has worked in multiple industries and created and managed companies of varied sizes and types, Leonsis was the perfect person to give the SIC Keynote Speech. The themes of innovation, forward-thinking, creating value for consumers, and keeping philanthropy front-of-mind remained as Leonsis detailed his career with AOL, his roles as a founder of SnagFilms, and his experiences as a member of the Groupon Board of Directors.

Leonsis’ recommendation to students looking to break into the sports industry was, as he put it, “M&M” – math and Mandarin. On the math side, teams’ evolution into “gigantic data factories” means that mastery of statistics and numbers will become a crucial skill set. With regard to the second “m”, Mandarin has more native speakers than any other language, and is the language spoken in Beijing, the political and cultural center of China.

Following Leonsis’ presentation, Chuck Greenberg (Former CEO & Managing Partner, Texas Rangers), Nick Sakiewicz (CEO & Operating Partner, Philadelphia Union), and Stu Siegel (Partner, Sunrise Sports & Entertainment) took the floor as participants in the “Owner’s Roundtable.”

Sakiewicz, possessing the unique perspective of a person who literally created a franchise and a brand from “a blank sheet of paper,” emphasized the importance of the role of data mining as it pertains to improving the in-game experience and building connections with the fans outside of stadium via social media.

Greenberg, meanwhile, was tasked with rehabilitating a storied brand’s image when his group purchased the franchise in 2010. Interestingly, Greenberg noted that, prior to his group’s purchase of the club, the Texas Rangers were perceived as a small- to mid-market franchise… despite the fact that their stadium is literally across the street from Cowboy’s Stadium, capacity ~110,000 and home of “America’s Team.”

In his role as CEO of the club, Greenberg focused on rebuilding trust with Rangers fans and enhancing a sense of community. Said Greenberg, “Sports franchises may be the last great town hall of modern society,” in that they have the ability to connect unrelated individuals from different backgrounds and with varied interests.

Following the “Owner’s Roundtable,” SIC attendees grabbed bag lunches and then attend two more waves of roundtables about the future of international expansion in sports, the impact of social media on sports brands, and innovations in sports analytics.

In “Growing the Gate,” a roundtable focused on innovations in ticketing, participants agreed that teams’ current challenge is creating true communities and a “membership” feel among season ticket holders. Ben Gumpert (Sr. Director, Team Marketing & Business Operations, NBA) noted that the Charlotte Bobcats have already taken steps in this direction by offering season ticket holders access to movie nights and cooking classes with the team’s Executive Chef.

Personalizing the stadium experience for each fan was also a popular concept the group expects to see more of in future years.

When asked how his side of the business has changed as technology has evolved, Dave Butler (CEO, Paciolan) made the point that his business is no longer just about ticket transactions. Instead, Paciolan now considers helping teams better understand their fans, build relationships with them, and figure out how to give them what they need to be their primary responsibility. “The fan teaches us what’s right and what clicks and what doesn’t,” said Butler, adding that Paciolan looks to other industries for innovative ideas but ultimately takes their cue from ticket buying fans.

In the day’s final session, a presentation featuring Joe Banner (President, Philadelphia Eagles), Stan Kasten (Former President, Washington Nationals), Tim Purpura (EVP & COO, MiLB), and Jason Levian (President & Founder, LSRI) titled “The Bottom Line,” panelists discussed the balance of on-field success and success on the books. Kasten summed up the concept mid-way through the session, explaining that “smart’s going to beat rich, but when you’re rich and smart, that’s tough to beat.”

Overall, this event provided insightful and interesting content appropriate for professionals and students alike. Students benefited from sessions geared specifically towards them (“Paying Your Dues: Breaking Into The Sports Business”, etc.), and comments from panelists like the NHL’s Jeff Morander, who noted that teams’ increasing sophistication with regard to technology and analytics opens doors to students looking for jobs in sports with who are comfortable working with data and tech-savvy. Industry professionals, meanwhile, had the opportunity to network with dozens of top-level executives, discuss the future, and openly brainstorm about new concepts and ideas. Given the convenient location (blocks from Philadelphia’s Amtrak station), reasonable cost for attendee badges, and stacked lineup of panelists and speakers, this event is a must-attend for anyone with an eye on the future in 2012.

Today’s guest post is from Emily M. Huddell. Emily serves as the SVP of Client Sales & Service at Turnkey Sports & Entertainment. At Turnkey, she oversees two of the company’s core products, Activator and Prospector.

With the NHL Playoffs starting today, it’s a great time to look at how the NHL differs from other major American sports leagues in crowning their champion.

National Football League (NFL)

Only 12 of 32 NFL teams make the playoffs each year. At 37.5%, the NFL has one of the lowest percentages of teams allowed into the postseason. Four division winners from each conference automatically qualify, plus two Wild Card teams (non-division winners with the best record). At times, this can make for interesting seeding. In 2011, for example, the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7-9 record. They were slated to host the first round matchup against the 11-5 New Orleans Saints, the non-division winner Wild Card out of the NFC South. There was quite an uproar about whether Seattle deserved to host that game, but they quieted  (most of) the critics when they pulled out a 41-36 win.

National Basketball Association (NBA)

In the NBA, 16 out of 30 teams (a whopping 53.3%), make the playoffs. Once those 16 teams are seeded, the bracket will never change, regardless of any upsets that occur.

Major League Baseball (MLB)

MLB doesn’t refer to their tournament as the ‘playoffs.’ For baseball, it’s the ‘postseason’ that determines the champion. Only 8 of the 30 MLB teams (the lowest of all major American sports leagues at 26.7%), make the postseason, often coming down to the very last game, and occasionally needing an extra game as a tiebreaker.

Major League Soccer (MLS)

The youngest of the major American leagues, MLS advances 10 of their current 18 teams (55.5%) to the playoffs. Five teams from each conference are seeded, and while the first three seeds get byes, the #4 and #5 seeds play each other for the right to face the #1 seed. Once the bracket is set, no changes are made to account for upsets.

National Hockey League (NHL)

The NHL may just be the most fair when it comes to their playoff system. While they do allow a large percentage of their teams in (16 out of 30 – 53.3%), teams are re-seeded after each round. What this takes into account, that no other major American league does, is the regular season. A lower-seeded team that didn’t perform as well over the course of the 82-game season, doesn’t get an easier path to the Stanley Cup Finals just because they upset the higher seed. Kudos to the NHL for keeping the regular season more relevant than the other four leagues.

What is your favorite playoff system? Do any of these five leagues get it right? Should MLS consider going to the European-style of crowning the regular-season champion and forgoing any regular season?

Image courtesy of NHL.com

Earlier today, I saw an interesting post on AllFacebook.com that discusses Major League Baseball’s decision to end their free livestreams on Facebook. You can read their take on the decision here.

In case you didn’t know, MLB was providing a live game feed to select spring training games that could be watched directly via the MLB Facebook page. I thought this was a pretty big step for the league, which generally maintains very tight control over all of their digital content, which under most circumstances has to be viewed via MLB.com. From MLB’s perspective, this service could have several benefits:

• It would be an opportunity to promote their MLB.tv product, which I think is the industry standard for a web-based, live streaming service
• It would be a great social media engagement tool to get better value from their Facebook page
• It would generate increased interest in spring training games, which generally have very low viewership

According to Bob Bowman from MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the service was successful in generating interest in baseball, but it was not a great conversion tool for generating MLB.tv subscribers.

So, MLB has since stopped the live streaming service, which to me seems a bit short-sighted.  If the program was having a positive impact on promoting and generating interest in baseball, then instead of ending the program, maybe fine-tune it. As Jackie Cohen from AllFacebook.com pointed out, maybe the main reason for the low conversion numbers was because the only games being shown were spring training. It would have been very interesting to see if the conversion data jumped based off a opening week trial run (I believe the NHL offered their GameCenter Live product for free during the first week of the regular season to generate new subscribers). Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing this now.

In his statement, Bob Bowman mentioned that most people ended up clicking over to the MLB website to watch the games, rather than use the embedded player on Facebook, and this contributed to the decision to remove the live stream. However, I think this behavior can be more attributed to the short trial window. If a company is going to provide a brand new way to consume content, they need to provide enough time for the corresponding consumer behavior to change. And in this case, since MLB doesn’t have the same numbers of Facebook users as the other four major U.S. leagues and most MLB fans have been trained that content is only available on MLB.com, I think a longer trial period would definitely be needed and could generate much better results.

I hope to see MLB try this again during the season, maybe during another 1-2 week trial period, or better yet, all throughout the year via a free “Game of the Week.” At least then, I think they’d have a better idea of what impact this can have, and meanwhile, they’ll continue to get a benefit through increasing exposure for their product.

UPDATE: I was contacted by someone at MLB Advanced Media who informed me that there is still a free “Game of the Day” available via Facebook, but instead of using Facebook’s embedded video player, it takes the user to the high-definition MLB.tv video player. See the image on the right for an example from a recent post.

I love that they have decided to still offer a bit of free content to their Facebook fans, but I wonder how requiring the user to leave their Facebook page will impact viewership. If the video was embedded right there specifically for fans of their official page, their level of fan engagement on Facebook would jump, but would they maybe miss out on some new MLB.tv subscribers.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Amy Skiles, SVP of Business Development for Phoenix Design Works.

Branding the building is a process that usually comes after you’ve branded the team, but actually it presents the first point of engagement with your brand for many of the consumers in your various fan bases.  If indeed, you do plan to allocate resources to utilize your facilities in your branding efforts, it just means that you need to allow a little additional time to go through your primary identity process first, and then proceed to apply your branding program to your buildings or arenas.

But it will be well worth the extra effort, and for those of you who already have your core branding program locked down, you’re one step ahead when it comes to branding your building.

Facilities branding also known as outdoor, display, on site, and campus branding, usually consists of banners, video displays, or manipulation of display and construction materials.  Usually there is a hierarchy of usage that dictates the chosen execution.  For example, Banners usually have a promotional or seasonal theme that indicates that they will go up and come down within a certain time frame, while actual manipulation of metal, wood or stone materials would be reserved for a longer lasting purpose, such as delivery of your core logo branding.

Branding for your building can be thought of as the place where your logo meets your ad – it would be a waste of precious marketing resources to produce banners, billboards of any sort of facilities branding program with one and not the other.

Building branding, no pun intended, really is an area that is unique unto itself.  On the one hand, building branding requires more finesse than other lesser, or at least, smaller brand applications, in it’s visibility, and on the other hand, it becomes the largest ad you will ever do –  Eight foot tall type is simply more commanding than eight point tall type.

Although scale is the most obvious and dominant consideration of a branding program for your building, it’s not the only one.  Time would be other major factor – You have to imagine ahead of time what it will be like for your fans to see your branding and promotional campaign over and over when it is, quite literally, the size of the building.  That’s why there is never a substitute for the development of a proper strategy and a savvy deployment of your branding campaign on this level .  If your messaging is “trendy”, or cavalier, your audience will tire of it quickly, and so will you.  You can actually damage your brand perception in the marketplace, in fact, your marketplace, and spend a lot of money doing it.

Which brings us to our next point – While we are all enjoying the digital revolution in our branding applications,  (We are, aren’t we?) a mistake here is harder to get rid of than replacing the web page.  So if you want to avoid really, really big typos, proof, proof and proof again.

Regarding the point of building branding being the place where your logo meets your ad, this is the part of the process of developing your program where you’ll want to allocate the most time and effort to create your new campaign.

When you’re developing your strategy, you’ll want to consider exactly what you want to communicate to your audience – Is it season tickets going on sale?  An anniversary?  Or the return of your marquee event?  Whichever the case may be, this is the time and place for you to think it through.  And in the process of doing so, you will hopefully come to the realization that you need a big idea.

It’s only fair – A Big Idea for a Big Execution.  The benefits of delivering your messaging within the context of a larger, more provocative concept are many.  For starters, a larger concept can deliver your messaging here and now, but also have the legs to deliver additional messaging further down the road.  Also, a bigger idea will underscore your brand recognition in other media like print, broadcast and the web.  Further, you have to consider the way people think, and the way they interact with your brand.

There is nothing terribly sexy about “Tickets Now 9.99″, but under the heading of “Dare to Bring the Thunder”, “It’s Showtime”, or “Minor Entertainment”, it almost seems as if you’re doing me a favor by letting me buy a ticket… “9.99″ is a product benefit.  ”Major Entertainment” is a brand promise.

If you have an existing campaign in place in other media, then your concerns are what we’ve covered so far, in terms of time and space, as well as to what degree the campaign is dominant or subordinate to your identity. But if you really want to have some fun, launching your campaign on a scale the size of your arena is one of the most exciting things you can do, and provides absolutely tremendous potential return for your brand as well.

There is nothing that is as exciting, or provides as much brand potential, as the combined launch of a new identity and a new campaign in your own arena –  Otherwise known as “Branding the Building”.

To learn more about branding your building and other services that Phoenix Design Works offers, visit www.phoenixdesignworks.com.

On Saturday night, we were treated to two excellent Final Four games. The first game, Butler vs. VCU, featured underdog vs. underdog, two team that all college basketball fans could get behind. The second game, UConn vs. Kentucky, was on the other end of the spectrum, featuring two perennial juggernauts, even if each of them was “only” a 3 or 4 seed. Both games featured tremendous athletes, talented coaches and great storylines.

According to this morning’s Sports Business Daily, Saturday’s pair of games was the highest rated Final Four since 2005. If you look at each game separately, the Butler/VCU game, which ran from 6-8:30PM, had an 8.3 rating with 14.2 million viewers, while the Kentucky/UConn game, which ran from 8:45-11:15PM, had a 9.5 rating with 16.7 million viewers. So, this leads me to ask, why did the 2nd game do so much better? There are several factors that impact ratings, so let’s see if we can figure this out.

1. Time of Day: On a Saturday night, the best ratings usually take place between 8 and 9PM. The two games straddled this time period, so this shouldn’t have affected things much.
2. Media Market Size: In general, networks love it when teams from large markets play for a title because the size of that market can dramatically impact ratings. In this case, all four schools are from relatively small markets, so none of these market would affect this.
3. Fan Base: Here’s our first difference. UConn and Kentucky have a much longer basketball history than Butler or VCU, so the size of their relative fan bases would tilt ratings towards the 2nd game.
4. Public Interest: This is another category that can go either way. The public tends to watch teams they are more familiar with, but at the same time, March Madness is driven by underdogs and Cinderella stories.
5. Lead-In Programming: This is the underrated factor in my opinion. A strong lead-in program will lead to carryover viewing, and in this case, with Butler/VCU generating so much interest, some of that had to positively impact the 2nd game’s ratings.

With all of those factors in mind, I wonder how the ratings might have been different if the games had been in the other order. Would UConn and Kentucky fans been more or less likely to stay tuned in for the Butler/VCU game? Which game truly had more public interest?

Finally, with UConn and Butler advancing to the championship game, will this match-up generate record ratings for CBS? Would Kentucky or VCU have been better? We’ll see tonight!

In honor of today being opening day for MLB (and with the Yankees/Tigers game on in the background), I wanted to share one of my favorite local sports sponsor commercials. Watch this Avis ad that runs in the New York market on the YES network:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOnoJVJZDSw

Avis is a national brand that has sponsorships with many sports organizations, so they could easily stick to their overall brand message in their Yankees in-broadcast commercials. However, that would not maximize the value of their sponsorship. They recognized that connecting with a fun, local tradition in Yankee Stadium while simultaneously poking a little fun at Boston will let their advertisement resonate more with the local viewership.

In addition, on their closing screen, they feature the statement, “Not Just Corporate Sponsors. Fans.” This seals in the notion that Avis really knows what it means to be a Yankees fan. This helps break down the barrier that can exist between a standard corporate message and the fans that the sponsor is trying to reach.

Avis has several of these ads, which you can find on YouTube, and I’m sure other local sponsors in different markets use similar tactics. If you have a particular example that you really like, share the link in the comments. Thanks!

It’s time for the 2nd annual The Business of Sports Awards! Every spring, we take a look back to reward the best content and contributors from the sports business community over the past year. Unlike other sports business awards that recognize the people working within specific organizations, the goal for these awards is to recognize those individuals, companies and websites that create and share the best sports business content and provide the most benefit for the rest of the sports industry.

For this year’s awards, we have NINE categories, including three new ones!

• Best Sports Business Blog – The overall best sports business blog
• Best Individual Sports Business Twitter Account - The best individual use of Twitter to help the sports business community
• Best Sports Business Content by a Company – The company that best uses social media platforms across their organization to create and share sports business content
• Best Alternative Sports Business Content - The best sports business content distributed via an alternative, non-blog format
• Best Up-and-Coming Sports Business Contributor – The best new contributor of sports business content (must have just started within the past 12 months)
• NEW: Best International Sports Business Contributor – The best non-U.S. based, global sports business contributor via blog, twitter, etc.
• NEW: Best Sports Business Email Newsletter – The most valuable, insightful sports business email newsletter
• NEW: Best Sports Business Book – For this year only, this can be ANY sports business book, not just those written in the past year.

The winners in these five categories will be selected by The Business of Sports with advice and feedback from other trusted members of the sports business community. The final award will be voted on by The Business of Sports readers…

• People’s Choice – Sports Business Contributor of the Year – Recognizing the individual that has made the greatest contribution to the sports business community through any and all communication channels (web, email, social media, etc).

Now, I need your help with the nominations process!

Please click here now to send in your nominations for any or all of the nine categories!

I will accept nominations until Friday, April 15 and will then announce the finalists (up to 5 per category) the following week. Those individuals that won an award last year are not eligible to win again this year. Thank you for your help!

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Mike Mahoney.

Chicago was once again host to IEG’s Annual Sponsorship Conference but this time at a new venue, the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. For many years the venerable Hilton Chicago was the host hotel for this gathering of sponsorship sellers, agencies and brands. This will become important later on in this conference review. I also attended this conference last year and looking back on my notes there are several similarities.

First, let’s look at the setup. About 1200 sponsorship professionals attended this year, up slightly from last year. About 80% are from properties or agencies. (This is a guess but 80-20 rule feels right). As far as the agenda, the conference sessions are organized into four basic types; sponsor panels, keynote addresses, workshops and interactive roundtables. Last year I loved the roundtables which are small group meetings designed for interaction and an exchange of ideas around a topic. This year, in the new hotel, you could not hear anything at the roundtables as the acoustics in the cavernous room were horrible. But this was the only complaint I had about the new hotel.  It was extremely convenient to Michigan Ave. and a number of great restaurants which were great to hit after the evening networking receptions.

On to the content! Return on Engagement was this year’s theme. The buzzwords again were “measurement”, an IEG core product and consulting topic and “activation.” Both were used extensively last year throughout the conference.  Cause marketing and social media were a larger focus based on the number of session around these topics.  I always leave with great activation ideas and examples and they came from a large number of sessions. Let’s review a few of them and what I learned from each.

• Scotts Miracle-Gro partnered with the head groundskeepers of several baseball teams to develop local seed and fertilizer blends based on local growing conditions. What a brilliant way of using experts (and trademarks) from both companies to offer a tangible benefit to fans.
• Frito-Lay’s Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” promotion where fans actually created the ad for SB45 took something that usually lasts 2 days into an 8 month conversation with fans about the brand and the NFL. The lesson here is to lengthen promotion impact time by using social media and having a two-way conversation with consumers.
• The NHL solved a major problem the league had been trying to solve for a number of years. Apparently only 10% of league revenues came from national sources. They created a series of unique events with national impact across the calendar, from the draft to the Winter Classic, to an All-Star fantasy draft.  This had a significant impact on sponsorship revenue by incorporating traditional media, hospitality, digital and on-site activation into custom packages, including a larger multi-year partnership with Cisco as a result.
• AT&T’s Keynote presentation featured integrated cause or non-traditional marketing including a campaign to keep all of us from texting while driving. This YouTube video is a must watch if you ever entertain the idea of texting while driving and certainly great for your teen drivers to see before getting their learner’s permit. See the YouTube video for “It Can Wait” here.
• The NFL and Gatorade joint presentation was a true highlight, though I might be biased. The NFL conducts a thorough brand positioning and matching analysis with potential partners to highlight similarities. Can you and your sponsor both claim to be innovators? Develop a shared campaign around those values. The NFL clearly stated they know and focus on how many bottles of Gatorade need to be sold to make the NFL partnership work.

The last few tidbits are some I really want to make sure to use this year. I know they’ll help me close a deal before 2011 ends. Frito-Lay’s Rudy Wilson implored sponsorship sales professionals to sell a story, not a sign, or a program. He mentioned that Susan G. Komen sells hope, not an activation opportunity. We can do that as well. Tagging along with that directive was a great suggestion by IEG’s Lesa Ukman to change your sponsor’s “Official Category” to the “Official Emotion”. Rather than your Official Security Company maybe it becomes the Official Supplier of Peace of Mind. I’m sure I’ll think of a better one before I put it in a proposal.

Lastly, IEG’s dashboard on www.sponsorship.com was a great resource before, during and after the conference and worked very well on mobile devices when the room(s) were equipped with IEG’s free Wi-Fi . Now that the conference is over I am enjoying being able to go back and watch video of sessions I missed and review the handouts.

Recommendations for those thinking about going to IEG next year will echo last year’s suggestion. Please don’t swarm sponsorship buyers while at the conference by handing them unsolicited stock proposals. I met reps from brands that actually disguised their true company on their badges to avoid over-zealous sales people. Do learn and network from other salespeople. Let your ROI from the conference come later when you are back in your territory putting to use what you learned from the week. This will also put less pressure on you during the conference and allow you to meet more colleagues.

Mike Mahoney is a sponsorship sales executive based out of Charlotte, NC with 5+ years of sponsorship sales experience. Prior to selling in the sports world he worked in major account sales at FedEx and SAP. Mike believes in the power of CRM and loves social media. You can follow him on Twitter (@mahoney) or on LinkedIn or find him on Sponsorpitch.

It’s time for the SportsBiz Free Agent of the Week. Instead of featuring a top job posting, I like to feature a qualified industry professional who is looking for their next opportunity. If you are interested in being a future SportsBiz Free Agent of the Week, you can apply here.

Now it’s time to introduce our next free agent, Josh Robbins! Let’s learn more about him.

Goal: To gain employment in the media relations, stadium operations or video department of a professional sports organization.

Experience:

Videographer/Writer/Baseball Historian, 1999-2011

• Contributed historical and biographical content for baseball websites
• Official writer for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Prosportsblogging.com
• Created promotional video of MLB UYA collegiate summer league team for website
• Generated drafted players database for tracking future MLB talent
• Coordinated ticket sales at Annual Urban Invitational Tournament
• Served as Celebrity Golf Tournament Judge and Auction Runner
• Researched businesses and civic groups for marketing and sponsorship campaign
• Developed new in-game promotional activities to enhance the fan experience
• Team Videographer during home games used for marketing and promotion
• Produced season highlight video package and pre-game scoreboard introduction
• Served as Official Scorer for select home games

Education:

Greatest Accomplishment:

Sell Yourself in 3 Sentences or Less: A passionate sport management and video production expert with proven experience.  A baseball enthusiast with the ability to contribute to the development, promotion, and management of sporting events, teams, and facilities.  In 2008, set a world-record for driving to a game at all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in 26 days.

You can connect with Josh through his LinkedIn page, via Twitter (@Qualcomm98) or by email at robbinsjosh@hotmail.com. If you have an open opportunity with your organization or know of another company that can benefit from Josh’s experience, please reach out to him. I want to see this weekly feature really help some great people places into the industry positions they deserve.

• Click here to view previous Free Agents of the Week!
• Become a future Free Agent of the Week!

In today’s Sports Business Daily, there was an interesting article about a 2K Sports ad for their tennis video game Top Spin 4 featuring Serena Williams that was supposedly rejected for being too sexy. The ad has ended up on YouTube anyway, so before we discuss further, you can see it for yourself:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2yolyf2kVQ

The decision on whether or not to use a commercial like this comes down to a conflict between two opposing forces. On one hand, you have the fundamental (albeit cliche) idea that “sex sells,” and on the other hand, you have the debate as to what is and isn’t in good taste. Serena Williams is widely recognized as having tremendous sex appeal, which combined with her tremendous on-the-court success has made her into an iconic figure in sports, fashion and pop culture. So the idea of using a sexy image of her seems like a logical option. But does the combination of revealing outfits, poses and grunting turn sex appeal into something trashy? This is where 2K Sports must have ultimately felt this particular spot went too far.

Now I have three other questions to ponder, and I’d love your thoughts…

1. Would this ad have led to more sales for Top Spin 4 than a more conservative advertising approach?
2. Would running this commercial have adversely affected the brand of 2K Sports? Or for Serena herself?
3. Are ads like this a good or bad thing for women’s tennis overall?

I’m still going back and forth on these myself. I think you can make a good argument that this approach would have sold more copies of this particular game, but that short-term spike may not worth the risk of longer-term brand devaluation.

As for women’s tennis, the idea of using sex appeal to promote women’s sports actually came up at the Women in Sports panel at the Global Sports Forum two weeks ago. Even these distinguished panelists seemed unsure about what’s best in situations like this. Some felt that anything that increases the level of media exposure for women’s sports would be a positive thing in the long-term, whereas others were more concerned about maintaining a positive image. If they can’t decide what the best approach is, it’s not surprising that these decisions are so tough.

During the Global Sports Forum, I had the chance to sit down with former NBA player John Amaechi to get his thoughts on several current topics, including:

• The NBA’s efforts to expand their footprint in Europe and how the league compares to existing European professional leagues
• The way athletes use Twitter, both good and bad, to engage with their fans
• What CSR (corporate social responsibility) really means, and how some programs are more marketing than CSR
• His work at the Amaechi Basketball Centre

I hope you enjoy the interview!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWwYnQzf0bI

There were two different sessions at the conference that specifically focused on the subject of social media. The first featured Jonah Lomu, former professional rugby player from the New Zealand All Blacks, and Christian Hernandez, Head of International Business Development for Facebook. I don’t have any amazing insights to share from this panel, because it felt more like a confirmation of many of the typical social media tactics that most teams and athletes already implement, such as:

• Social media is the ideal way for athletes to take ownership of their brand – it all comes down to effort.
• It lets fans see a personal side of an athlete that they can relate to, such as their upbringing, family, personality, etc. Fans learn what type of person they are based on what information is shared.
• Personal tones in Facebook messages resonate stronger than statements tied to a corporate message.

There were a couple of specific details that deviated from the standard social media discussion. For example…

• Jonah Lomu initially decided to join Twitter because someone was imitating him. This could be an interesting way of “encouraging” a particular athlete to join the conversation.
• Instead of creating a dedicated “Jonah Lomu Fan Page” which he could still manage himself, he actually opened up his personal Facebook account to connect with everyone and share more. There are some functionality differences between what you can do with a regular account vs. a page that can add value to this approach, but it does mean the athlete has to sacrifice the idea of using Facebook in a private manner with family and friends.
• I also learned that the English Premier League has rules in place to prevent their players from using Facebook and Twitter (I’m surprised I hadn’t realized that).  As a result, their official pages aren’t as effective because they are run by player management, making them less personal and less engaging.

The other social media panel was actually a breakout session with Christian Hernandez specifically discussing Facebook and sports marketing. Two specific statistics that I found to be quite interesting were:

• A typical Facebook page update will be seen by 5% of followers.
• 200M out of 500M Facebook users play a game at least once per month.

The first statistic shows that even the best updates will only reach a fraction of your audience, so there is a definite importance to frequency of communication in order to maximize your effectiveness (as long as you do not sacrifice quality with frequency). The second shows that games are a very viable engagement option to complement the standard Facebook communication options. It may take resources to pursue that option, but the results could be well worth it.

For more insights from this session, check out the three videos below:

Engagement through Facebook Games vs. Basic Facebook Functionality

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6oPabEkelM

Facebook and TV Integration in Sports

www.youtube.com/watch?v=htHNkQepPZY

Facebook Pages vs. Using Microsites:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZOwP-VavW8

It’s time for the SportsBiz Free Agent of the Week. Instead of featuring a top job posting, I like to feature a qualified industry professional who is looking for their next opportunity. If you are interested in being a future SportsBiz Free Agent of the Week, you can apply here.

Now it’s time to introduce our next free agent, Josh Richter! Let’s learn more about him.

Goal: To obtain a sponsorship or retail activation position at a Charlotte-area sports marketing agency or brand. I am looking to utilize my nearly ten years of experience in marketing and communications to service business-to-consumer clients.

Experience:

Account Executive, Roberts Communications, (2008 – 2010)

• Managed marketing and advertising projects for Global Experiential Marketing division of Xerox Corporation
• Coordinated and executed activation activities and collateral for Xerox sponsorship and hospitality programs at the Phoenix Open, U.S.  Open Championship, University of Notre Dame, U.S. Open Tennis Championships, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Citi Field (New York Mets), and Kentucky Derby

Account Executive, Cenergy Communications, (2007 – 2008)

• Managed marketing and advertising projects for the Lake Erie Monsters and High Falls Brewing Company accounts

Account Coordinator, Cenergy Communications, (2006 – 2007)

• Assisted Brand Activation Manager in coordination of event and retail activation programs for Right Guard Xtreme

Sports Anchor, WGR-AM, (2004 – 2005)

• Wrote and anchored 20/20 Sports Updates for afternoon drive talk show Schopp & The Bulldog

Sports Reporter, WETM-TV, (2002 – 2004)

• Produced, shot, wrote, and edited local sports packages and highlights for 18 Sports at 6 & 11
• Co-anchored local weekend sports report, The 18 Sports Blitz

Production Assistant, ESPN, (2002)

• Produced highlights of sporting events for SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, NHL 2Night, and NBA 2Night

Education:

• Canisius College – Master of Science in Sport Administration (2006)
• Syracuse University – Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism (2001)

Recent Accomplishment:

Sell Yourself in 3 Sentences or Less: I am a revenue-driven, creative sport marketing and sponsorship activation professional with nearly 10 years of experience in marketing and communications, complemented by a master’s degree in Sport Administration. With strong communication and organizational skills, I am accomplished in providing exceptional client service.

You can connect with Josh through his LinkedIn page, via Twitter (@jrichter92678) or by email at josh.richter@gmail.com. If you have an open opportunity with your organization or know of another company that can benefit from Josh’s experience, please reach out to him. I want to see this weekly feature really help some great people places into the industry positions they deserve.

• Click here to view previous Free Agents of the Week!
• Become a future Free Agent of the Week!

Today is the official third birthday for The Business of Sports!!!

I started this website while finishing up my last trimester of my MBA at Arizona State. At the time, I thought this could be a fun way to start communicating with the sports business community and get my name out there. I was just starting to explore the world of social media, and I felt that a blog would be an effective tool in building my personal brand and giving back to an industry that I love.

Now, looking back at the past three years, I couldn’t be happier with how far it has come. Every month, the number of readers continues to grow.  I’ve extended from simple blog posts to videos, email newsletters, networking events and more. So many wonderful professionals have shared their own insights through interviews and guest posts. Most importantly, I’ve had so many great conversations and made countless valuable connections that will impact my career for decades to come.

I feel so for fortunate for the success I’ve had over the past three years, and its because of all of you who continue to read these posts and share your feedback. Thank you so much for your incredible support. I’m excited for how much more this can grow over the next three years and beyond.

In one of the last sessions from last week’s Global Sports Forum, Sandro Rosell, the President of FC Barcelona, talked about what it means for his team to be “més que un club” (more than a club). From the few days I spent in Barcelona, there is no arguing how important Barca is to the local sports culture. Fans live and breathe with the team (it happened to be a pleasant week since they had just defeated Arsenal in a Champions League game earlier in the week).

Here are some of the insights shared by Rosell about the culture and identity of the club:

• Fans that cannot afford to buy tickets find a way to do so. There is an added value to being there live at the games. The fans identify on a personal level with the ups and downs of the team. This symbolizes what it means to be “more than a club.”
• It’s not just about winning – it’s how you won. It’s part of the culture. What do you show on the pitch.
• People around the globe want to see Barca because of the values of good players and good people. This is a fundamental philosophy across all FC Barcelona clubs, and that comes through on the field. Also, the global expansion of media let’s everyone see it. It’s very real to the team and the players, not just a show for the cameras.
• FC Barcelona has more than the normal mission for a club – they want to use the power the club has to create social change. For example, in their UNICEF agreement, their team was actually paying money to UNICEF, not the other way around. (Note: with their new deal with the Qatar Foundations, they will be receiving payment. According to Rosell, the organization needed additional resources to put into the club and this was the best option without losing solidarity on the team’s mission)

Rosell also fielded some questions from the audience on other business topics:

• On the stadium name, Camp Nou:  We will never take the name from the stadium. We do want to get the best financial return that we can from everything. Ideally, we want to get more from less with our sponsorships. (Note: as one Twitter follower mentioned, similar statements may have previously been made about their jerseys)
• What is the brand essence:  “Feeling. ” I’d like to say, it’s more than what we try to sell, it’s what the customers want to buy.
• My question on their previous interest in a potential MLS investment:  That initiative from previous management. We don’t agree with that approach and we definitely will not do that. “There is only one Barca and it’s in Barcelona.”
• On the formation of a Euro-super-league: I don’t like the idea personally. That’s not to say it couldn’t happen in time, but it’s not my preference. The spanish season is long.  We should trim the length of this league and allow more time for the European league.

As someone without much knowledge of European soccer leagues, this session was quite enjoyable, and Rosell is definitely an iconic figure in Spain. Once the session ended, he was available for a 5-10 minute session with the media in attendance, and within seconds he was surrounded by a herd of media holding microphones and recorders as close as possible, so trying to ask additional questions was impossible. I was hoping to ask him what U.S. soccer clubs can learn from the success of FC Barcelona, but that question will have to wait for another day!

On a fun note, if you’ve ever wanted to walk out onto the pitch at Camp Nou, watch this video I was able to take at the Thursday night reception!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y51QIVmA_2s

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Ron Turner, Director of Gensler’s Sports and Entertainment practice.

In today’s competitive environment, sports sponsors are more attentive than ever to ROI.  And with many owners planning stadium and arena upgrades, the industry has a unique opportunity: by integrating the needs of sponsors and advertisers into the design process, we can create dynamic, transformational arenas and stadia that enhance the fan experience, increase sponsorship revenue, and create operational efficiencies for property owners.

With this in mind, we recently convened a panel of sports industry professionals representing brands, sponsorship agencies, sports teams and sports venues to get a better understanding of the needs of the industry.  My colleague and founder of MRA International, Michael Rubin, helped lead the discussion with a distinguished panel that included:

• Shervin Mirhashemi – Chief Operating Officer, AEG Global Partnerships
• Woody Thompson – Executive Vice President, Octagon
• Michael Robichaud – Vice President of Global Sponsorships, MasterCard
• Robert Jordan – Managing Partner, Venue Research and Design LLC
• Lisa Delpy Neirotti – Associate Professor, George Washington University
• Tim McGhee – Senior Vice President, IMG Consulting
• Seth Rabinowitz – Founder, Rabinowitz Consulting

We learned that the biggest concerns for the industry are related to technology, fan experience, ROI and sponsor integration.  Here is some of the advice we heard:

Involve sponsors early in the design process. Ideally, the venue owner should have sponsorship deals in place during the design process. This allows sponsors to customize their presence at the venue and maximize the fan experience, leading to an optimal ROI. Giving sponsors the ability to help design their own experience will also allow the property owner to provide added value in exchange for the price for the sponsorship as well as create a revenue stream prior to the completed construction of the venue.

Embrace technology and build it into infrastructure. The game day experience is becoming more interactive.  Fans are using digital signage and handheld devices more than ever. In response, venues need to incorporate enough bandwidth to satisfy this demand. This will allow fans to access information as they like, and also allow the venue to reach the fan during the game. Technology systems created by providers like Cisco and Harris allow operators to individually control every video display screen within a venue and target the unique audience watching each of those screens. The use of customer databases – with information gathered from the internet, handheld devices, credit cards, or ticket scans – will allow this technology to segment fans precisely. The technology holds great promise and will not reach its true potential until those involved with its operations are fully informed about its applications.

Make attending the event easier and more convenient than ever. Today, with what it costs to take a family of four to a sporting event, fans can buy a big screen HD TV to watch with friends and family in the comfort of their own homes. To get fans in the seats, venues need to minimize both monetary and non-monetary costs (such as time) by maximizing value and convenience. By integrating both automatic technology and reassuring human contact throughout the venue’s customer service strategy – from initial web inquiries and ticketing all the way through event parking, concession purchases, concourse navigation and post-event communication – venues can make both the fan and the sponsor feel like they are a valued part of the overall experience.

This event allowed us to gain insight from sports industry professionals, but we want to take it a step further and hear from the fans. What do you think? What elements in a stadium create such a fun, exciting, game day experience? Take a quick online survey here so we can find out about your fan experiences.

Ron Turner is Gensler’s Director of Sports and Entertainment and a principal in the Los Angeles office. Ron has over thirty years of experience dedicated to creating iconic event center designs that generate increased revenue, build civic brands, and employ innovative technologies. As a founder of sports design practices for Ellerbe Becket, NBBJ, RTKL and now Gensler, Ron has led design teams for numerous venues and sports-anchored entertainment districts around the world. You can reach him at ron_turner@gensler.com.

In the second half of my “Olympic Insights” posts, I’d like to share some information from Carlos Nuzman, President of the Rio 2016 Host Committee:

On the geographical design (see picture):

• They are using a four cluster plan, deciding not to concentrate all venues in one area of the city. The games needed to go to all areas of the city and the legacy needed to reach all people throughout the city.

On transportation and security:

• The biggest challenge for any bidding city is transportation, because 300,000 people come to your city. Rio is building multiple new metro lines, including one that is 30 meters under the sea. They are also building new BRT (bus and rail) lines between other clusters, which will be operated by the city, over 100km of BRT lines in total.
• The metro lines and tunnels are already started, with some parts done by next year. They have also started work on the port as well.
• Transport is top priority and security is second.
• The city is committed to solving all security issues. There is enough time until the Games, and safety is important to the legacy of the games and the city.

Other thoughts:

• Having the World Cup two years ahead of Games will be a big help in preparing. Both events share the problem of transport, so the airports will be ready to handle increase usage for the Cup. The two events have different organizing committees, but work in a similar way, raising private funds and working with public resources for infrastructure.
• Politicians are very active and support the process, but they are not the ones driving the process.
• Every organizing city will be different and it is hard to compare. Rio will be unique, just as London and Sochi will be unique.

The Rio 2016 Bid and Victory Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2elAldj2JU

Carlos Nuzman talks about the legacy of Rio 2016:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3SyNFyxgNI

This is my last post until next week. Time to enjoy some of the sights of Barcelona. Early next week, I will have additional posts on FC Barcelona, social media, and more, along with more pictures and videos. In the meantime, you should also visit www.TrendsInSpots.org, the official blog for the conference. Thank you for reading!