From SportsBusiness Journal
Review by Philip Pierce in KIN 501
Ryan Richeal’s article How being open, honest, and professional can build a brand summarized the success former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey accomplished with Fenway Park and Boston Fans.
Guided by his personal values, Yawkey focused on the team and not individual players. Moreover, Yawkey knew the importance of connecting with Boston’s fanatics and made it a priority to build that relationship.
Richeal’s article combats some of the most obvious reasons a brand could falter such as the team’s recent poor performance and unfortunate traits of social evolution. “People are more transient, attention spans are shorter,” Richeal writes, “expectations are higher and more immediate.” (Richeal, 2012.) Despite the obstacles, Richeal urges “any company should start by recognizing the value of reputation.”
The Red Sox traded Babe Ruth but have always seen the value in their employees. The Red Sox disposed of Roger Clemens in his prime but will always embrace the community. And most recently, the Sox unloaded Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers while staying true to Red Sox Nation – the fans.
Richeal highlights those three crucial pieces (employees, community, and fans) as a foundation to creating and maintaining a reputation that will build a brand. “Encouraging employees to be socially responsible allows them to benefit from better teamwork and greater work satisfaction,” Richeal writes. Furthermore, social responsibility extends beyond the Green Monster out into the community. “A truly successful effort will link prosperity between the team, its employees and the community to result in the long-term emotional bond of the team,” he adds.
Yawkey’s idea of a social conscience is reflected in Boston’s Customer Relationship Management strategy and has given them a marketing advantage over other teams. “All organizations should realize that the health of a community is interwoven with the health of a team”. (Richeal, 2012)
I could not agree more with Ryan Richeal’s ideas for building a successful brand. It seems like many brands in turmoil, the organizations or athletes that fill recent news headlines are in a branding nightmare because they forgot one of the three: openness, honesty, or professionalism. In addition, I think Richeal hit the bull’s-eye focusing his article on three central components of sport brands: employees, community, and fans. Richeal is right, times are changing. Some teams respond by spending more money but I agree with Ryan, invest in more time, effort and thought.
People are the backbone of sport teams. The more teams can connect with their people, the more fanatics will emerge, and the backbone to the business will be strong. In Tom Yawkey’s case, a Nation will be formed. “Teams don’t have the luxury of building on decades of tradition any longer,” Richeal added, “but, as Yawkey taught, stay true to the brand, and love and respect the customer. The team will be rewarded with a stellar reputation and a fan connection that is stronger and more enduring than the average business-consumer relationship and less influenced by the cycles of on-field performance and off-field competition.”
Monday, September 10, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
JMU Sport and Recreation Management Practium/Internship Information
Attention all JMU sport and recreation management students!
Please be aware of the meeting dates for spring practicums and internships. This semester and next, there will be separate meetings for KIN students and SRM students. Any KIN student that attended a spring meeting will not need to attend again. The meeting for SRM students is mandatory, even if the student attended a spring session.
Also note that this is the last time KIN students can attend a meeting to be eligible for KIN 472. The last KIN 472 will be this spring; the last KIN 482 will be next summer. Individual meetings will not take place this semester.
Please click one of the links below for meeting dates and times:
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
"Cowboys sell ‘experiences’ on LivingSocial"
From SportsBusiness Journal
Review by Pat Amerena in KIN 332 (section 2)
In an attempt to be the first of its kind and pave the way for a new marketing idea, the Dallas Cowboys have announced they are teaming up with LivingSocial to provide Cowboy “experiences.” The Dallas Cowboys have chosen LivingSocial because it is a website that has over 60 million users and considers itself one of the best ways to connect people with their local businesses and neighborhoods. LivingSocial is a company that offers its users a variety of opportunities including escapes, experiences, events, adventures and the Dallas Cowboys want to be a part of it. The two parties came to a multi-year deal that will include over a dozen different experiences. These experiences will include opportunities such as access to the Cowboys’ war room on draft day, a chance to try out for the cheerleading team, attending a cheerleaders’ photo shoot, shadowing a team reporter, appearing in Dallas’ official team photo or even attend training camp 101. The goal for the Cowboys is to create new and unique experience for both new and old patrons that can’t be found anywhere else. The Cowboys will be the first team in the NFL to offer deals as comprehensive and all-access as these but there will be limitations. Each experience will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and will be limited to a certain number of tickets. Some of the events will even be tailored to a specific group of fans, such as female only opportunities. By completing this deal the Dallas Cowboys may be well on their way to starting a million dollar idea or opening a can of worms.
In my opinion there could be two outcomes that come with this new marketing plan. It either becomes one of the most popular assets in sports marketing or it becomes a dangerous and uncontrollable ploy to maintain and create new fans. It can become the most popular thing in sports marketing if it is not abused. Fans are always looking for new ways to experience what their idols and heroes do every day so experiences like these will give them the chance to do so. For now it starts as access to the stadiums, fields and meeting the cheerleaders all while at a reasonable price. If it remains at experiences just like these and for the price they currently are it is all fine and well. However, if demand and greed play a role in this the prices could soar and the demand may cause much larger issues. This is where the other second outcome comes into play and how it could have a powerful impact on the sport marketing world. People will pay for these types of “experiences” and many fans would be willing to pay a lot of money for something they know only a few people have a chance at taking part in. By doing so it could end up alienating the true fans that don’t have the opportunity to afford it or the new fan who doesn’t want to pay the price for it. Well then suppose one team offers an experience that everyone wants to try, will other organizations then try and top this to make bigger bucks? Then there can be the point where it becomes too much of a problem for the athletes themselves. Suppose owners start asking players to play catch with a fan that paid for the opportunity to. Does the athlete then get a portion of the profits? Do agents then get part of it too? My point is this, marketing tools like this have all the ability to be successful and be a great tool for professional sports teams but they can also be a never ending attempt to “One up” the next guy. When you give a fan a peak at the inner workings of the organization are they going to ask to see the whole thing? Well then if they are willing to pay for the whole experience are you going to give them the option to? It can be a never ending revolving door of questions, answers and money for a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s a matter of seeing if more good comes than evil, or vice versa.
Review by Pat Amerena in KIN 332 (section 2)
In an attempt to be the first of its kind and pave the way for a new marketing idea, the Dallas Cowboys have announced they are teaming up with LivingSocial to provide Cowboy “experiences.” The Dallas Cowboys have chosen LivingSocial because it is a website that has over 60 million users and considers itself one of the best ways to connect people with their local businesses and neighborhoods. LivingSocial is a company that offers its users a variety of opportunities including escapes, experiences, events, adventures and the Dallas Cowboys want to be a part of it. The two parties came to a multi-year deal that will include over a dozen different experiences. These experiences will include opportunities such as access to the Cowboys’ war room on draft day, a chance to try out for the cheerleading team, attending a cheerleaders’ photo shoot, shadowing a team reporter, appearing in Dallas’ official team photo or even attend training camp 101. The goal for the Cowboys is to create new and unique experience for both new and old patrons that can’t be found anywhere else. The Cowboys will be the first team in the NFL to offer deals as comprehensive and all-access as these but there will be limitations. Each experience will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and will be limited to a certain number of tickets. Some of the events will even be tailored to a specific group of fans, such as female only opportunities. By completing this deal the Dallas Cowboys may be well on their way to starting a million dollar idea or opening a can of worms.
In my opinion there could be two outcomes that come with this new marketing plan. It either becomes one of the most popular assets in sports marketing or it becomes a dangerous and uncontrollable ploy to maintain and create new fans. It can become the most popular thing in sports marketing if it is not abused. Fans are always looking for new ways to experience what their idols and heroes do every day so experiences like these will give them the chance to do so. For now it starts as access to the stadiums, fields and meeting the cheerleaders all while at a reasonable price. If it remains at experiences just like these and for the price they currently are it is all fine and well. However, if demand and greed play a role in this the prices could soar and the demand may cause much larger issues. This is where the other second outcome comes into play and how it could have a powerful impact on the sport marketing world. People will pay for these types of “experiences” and many fans would be willing to pay a lot of money for something they know only a few people have a chance at taking part in. By doing so it could end up alienating the true fans that don’t have the opportunity to afford it or the new fan who doesn’t want to pay the price for it. Well then suppose one team offers an experience that everyone wants to try, will other organizations then try and top this to make bigger bucks? Then there can be the point where it becomes too much of a problem for the athletes themselves. Suppose owners start asking players to play catch with a fan that paid for the opportunity to. Does the athlete then get a portion of the profits? Do agents then get part of it too? My point is this, marketing tools like this have all the ability to be successful and be a great tool for professional sports teams but they can also be a never ending attempt to “One up” the next guy. When you give a fan a peak at the inner workings of the organization are they going to ask to see the whole thing? Well then if they are willing to pay for the whole experience are you going to give them the option to? It can be a never ending revolving door of questions, answers and money for a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s a matter of seeing if more good comes than evil, or vice versa.
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