"Firm extends corporate perks to schools’ fans"

From SportsBusiness Journal

Review by Derek Orndorff in KIN 332 (section 1)

A little over a year ago, two former Zappos employees decided to break away and start their own business, Fandeavor. Fandeavor is a new idea that gives fans the chance to become a VIP, but without the high costs. The experiences, in which Fandeavor is selling, are not just your everyday sports ticket. Yes, tickets are included in the packages, but so are field passes, tunnel passes, meet and greet passes, party tent passes, and so much more. I think this business is a great idea. The colleges and organizations are going to benefit from the extra attention, as well as the sales that Fandeavor creates. University and college experiences were the first stepping-stones for Fandeavor. By forming a stronger base through NCAA exposure, Fandeavor believed that they could generate more publicity and business faster than other organizations. The marketing team at Fandeavor has partnered with the Universities and Colleges in which Fandeavor promotes, to generate more interest in the business. Social media and carefully placed ads are another marketing tool that Fandeavor uses. However, to get to the next step, I believe that Fandeavor needs to increase their marketing campaigns. I think they need television exposure, instead of only using the Internet and word of mouth. Overall, these experiences seem to be just what people want. After reading several reviews about customer experiences, it is clear that these fans are more than pleased with what they purchased. Many of the packages are priced at a low cost, but the NFL packages offer more of a VIP experience and are higher priced. No matter what the cost is, Fandeavor customers seem to be enjoying the new business and continue to give great reviews.

"If your Doritos Super Bowl ad wins, you get a movie job"

From USA Today

Review by Pat Amerena in KIN 332 (section 2)

Doritos and Frito-Lay are well known for their “Crash the Super Bowl” ads and now they are trying to sweeten the deal even more. For this year’s contest there will be the usual chance at a cash prize but there will also be a new prize involved. For this year, the winner will win the chance to work with Hollywood director Michael Bay, who is most widely known for his Transformers movies. So in this year’s contest not only does the winner have a chance at anywhere from $400,000 to a $1 million but they now have a chance to make it big in Hollywood. Doritos chose Michael Bay for a number of reasons including because he is the director of the fifth highest grossing film of all time, he is number two on Forbes’ highest-paid celebrities list and he has earned $5.4 billion in box office sales. In addition to all this he has also filmed Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys and The Rock. However, to earn both the money and a chance to work with Michael Bay there is a catch. Working with Michael Bay is guaranteed but just as in years past the money is not nearly as guaranteed like one may think it is. In order to guarantee a money prize the finalists for the contest must have their commercial ranked in the top three of the “USA Today Ad Meter.” If the finalists are able to garner third place they earn $400,000, second place $600,000 and first place will earn them $1 million. Also, starting this year Doritos is trying to find a way to get those not interested in film involved in the contest. Individuals are allowed to go to Doritos Facebook page and offer the use of their homes, their pets or even themselves for other individual’s commercials. Doritos goal this year appears to be trying to appeal to all audiences who might be interested in being a part of a commercial one way or another.

In my opinion, there come both good and bad things from this new offer that Doritos is putting together. For starters, there is the good part. People are absolutely going to be more inclined to make a commercial now that there is the chance to meet and work with Michael Bay on the set of the newest Transformers movie. Many people looking for a break in Hollywood, who feel they have the talent and ability, will now submit their commercials. With more people entering higher quality commercials this is a win for both Doritos and for the viewers. Doritos wants to air the best commercial they can find and with a higher prize they will find those commercial. For the viewer they are looking to enjoy the best commercials the Super Bowl has to offer and with better prizes in this contest they too will enjoy higher quality commercials. However, there are some red flags and negative aspects raised by this contest. Just how worth it is this contest to Doritos? I understand they wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t turn a profit from it and find it valuable. But just looking at the numbers it seems to be difficult to understand. A 30 second commercial in the Super Bowl cost around $3.5 million, if three finalist place in the top three of the “USA Today Ad Meter” that costs Doritos $2 million and then there is whatever compensation that Michael Bay is receiving to do this project. This means that Doritos is spending around $7 million to air two ads in the Super Bowl plus all of the prize and compensation money which adds up to be an awful lot of money. For me, that just seems to be too much to offer when they could just simply use their own marketing team to make quality commercials. Overall though I feel that the contest is going to be a great success this year, even more so than past years, and Doritos is going to like what they find in this year’s commercials.

"NFL Not Firing Replacement Ref Pulled From Game; Will Not Give Him Saints Assignments"

From SportsBusiness Journal

Review by Beau Banglesdorf in KIN 332 (section 2)

Brian Stropolo was pulled from this past Sunday’s Saints vs. Panthers game after pictures were found on his Facebook page of him wearing Saints clothes and being a Saints Fan. Brian Stropolo was not fired and the NFL said he would continue to work games starting week three of the current season (the next week). This incident triggered a lot of media buzz. Sport writers were coming out and saying things like the NFL should be embarrassed, Brian Stropolo should not be allowed to work for the NFL anymore, the integrity of the game of football is slipping, and that the NFL is not doing its job when it comes to screening officials before hiring them. Due to the replacement officials struggles on the field, players are starting to voice their disappointment with the officials and analysts are agreeing with the players and are saying that the replacement officials are negatively impacting the NFL. Players are getting away with more things on the field and games are taking longer to be played out due to the officials’ lack of understanding and implementing of the rules.

I believe the replacement officials are seriously hurting the NFL brand right now. Fans are complaining on how long the games are taking. If games continue to last this long, fans are going to start to become unwilling to devote four hours to watch a football game instead of the three hours they have become accustomed to. Also, with players and analysts coming out and criticizing the officials and down playing their knowledge of the game and ability to keep a game under control, NFL fans are going to start believing that and stop caring as much about the outcomes to games because they do not know if the better team really won. This will result in lost fans, lower revenues, and lower TV ratings. I could see other leagues such as college football or the UFL (United Football League) taking advantage of the current situation the NFL has with their officials and making gains in fans and TV ratings which would result in higher revenue and more brand recognition.