Review by Jake Orpin in SRM 334 (section 3) James Madison had its first taste of basketball success defeating Northeastern in the CAA Championship to secure a visit to the NCAA tournament. The basketball team got their 10 seconds of glory having a 30 second highlight reel of their win over Northeastern on ESPN. James Madison has never been known as a basketball powerhouse so they didn’t get much coverage on the championship win. Then came March 17th when star center Rayshawn Goins got arrested for obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct. The very next day James Madison had media coverage like they won an important game in the NCAA tournament. Before the incident the media coverage JMU got was small then the arrest happened and it blew up to a national story. James Madison had to act on the incident and decided to suspend star center Rayshawn Goins for the first half against LIU-Brooklyn. On March 19th The Washington Post wrote an article on the ordeal, which wasn’t the case after JMU won the CAA tournament. The media coverage brought James Madison into the limelight whether that’s good or bad that’s for you to decide.
This subject is relevant to this course because its shows what media is really after. The media wasn’t concerned with James Madison making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994, they cared about the off the court arrest. In this situation I learned media is more concerned with the repercussions stemming from off the field actions more than they are concerned with the results of the game. A lot of the attention was on James Madison only suspending Goins for a half. James Madison was wrong for only suspending Rayshawn for a half. In my opinion James Madison should have suspended Rayshawn for the entire game. The media coverage we got from the suspension showed that it was a soft penalty. In my opinion since we haven’t made the tournament since 1994, James Madison was hesitant to suspend Rayshawn for the entire game. One thing to come out of this whole ordeal is James Madison getting a lot of media attention over this, whether that’s good or bad press we will have to wait and see.
From Adweek Review by Sean McGough in KIN 332 Digital Media is constantly changing in today’s society. More specifically, it is forever changing how fans interact with their favorite athletes, teams, leagues, and sports brands they follow. Fans are no longer turning to newspapers, magazines, or radios for their information. Why look something up when it could be found in a 0.002 second Google search? That is the mentality many sports fans have today and now that sports sponsors are a main source of information, they too must keep up with advancement of digital media.
Fans want to be entertained with videos of their favorite athletes, play games, and win prizes. This article “The Passion of the Fan” by Stuart Feil digs deep into the sports and sponsorship marketing that is “fan involvement”. As sports marketing agency Catalyst found in its 2012 Fan Engagement Study, digital channels such as: league websites, fan sites, online sports news sources, sports-related Twitter feeds and other Internet and social media outlets are now second only to TV as a primary and trusted source of information for sports fans. With that information, marketers look to find a way to create sports advocates. A hot area for doing that now is with the use of “super fans” and loyalty programs. Organizations are utilizing Facebook pages and social media apps to extend their reach of gaining more fans. By giving fans more insight or “behind the scenes” content, they will be more engaged and connected.
However, once a fan is connected, they must also be continuously entertained. Sponsors and promotional marketers have created plans to do this, as well. Through commercials, documentaries, videos, and contests the fan always has entertainment at his or her fingertips with the click of a button.
Review by Gene Daniels in KIN 332 In an recent ESPN segment, analyst and former professional basketball player, Jalen Rose, compared recording artist Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z to Earvin “Magic” Johnson. He did not compare their natural talent, nor did he compare their dominance in their respective professions. Rose compared these two men based on the fact that they have both elevated above stardom to the title of “mogul”. Jay-Z has lived his adult life in the headlines and the starlight and as shown by his recent business maneuvers shows no signs of slowing down. Carter has taken his Roc Nation Entertainment Company to new heights by adding Roc Nation Sports; a sports management agency. Carter is known for his passion for sports and has publicly shown it through the backing of the New York Yankees and more recently the Brooklyn Nets.
In a truly unforeseen move, Carter has aligned his Roc Nation Sports enterprise with Creative Artists Agency, better known as CAA, which happens to be one of the most powerful sports agencies in the business today. As if news of this powerhouse partnership is not enough to silence the critics, Carter inked his first professional athlete; none other than the New York Yankees All-Star second basemen, Robinson Cano. Cano, who finished in the top 5 of the AL MVP ballot voting last season, made the choice to leave well-known agent Scott Boras in favor of Carter and CAA agent Brodie Van Wagenen. In addition to Cano, CAA has individually inked New York Giants’ wide receiver Victor Cruz, and many think this may lead to a deal with Roc Nation Sports. Jay-Z has a specific passion for basketball and he has noted an interest in eventually representing some of the NBA’s elite. In order to do so, Carter most likely will have to rescind his ownership shares in the Brooklyn Nets.
This move is one that has a very interesting dynamic to it. Jay-Z is a global icon and with him comes a global market and global attention. Robinson Cano noted that he made the move to Roc Nation because he likes all the things Jay-Z can offer him off the field. Mixing professional athletes and hip-hop artists to me seems like a marketers dream and I can imagine that this can grow into a mutually beneficial relationship for both Roc Nation and the athletes they represent. Roc Nation can introduce itself to markets that the athletes might have a niche in and conversely the athletes can be exposed to markets that Roc Nation have a strong foothold in. It truly seems like a win-win scenario and I haven’t even mentioned the athletes’ representation on the field. CAA Sports is an extremely reputable agency and is currently known for getting the long-term deals done in a professional and timely fashion. For Shawn Carter, the proof is in the pudding. Almost everything he invests in with man-hours or financially is a success, and I doubt he would make a half-hearted attempt at something so important. The notoriety of Jay-Z paired with the skill and savvy of CAA Sports can lead to even greener pastures for many professional athletes; green pastures of dollar bills, that is.
