From Slate
Analysis by Patrick Arnold in SRM 334 (section 1)
The topic we chose for our current event covers the use of performance enhancing drugs in the MLB, with our presentation mainly focusing on Ryan Braun. We will take an in depth look at each event that happened and its outcome during a long and grueling process. The use of PEDs in baseball seems to be a common trend in today’s game, resulting in continuous speculation of cheating from the game’s biggest stars.
Evolution is happening everywhere around us. Should we accept the fact that new supplements are allowing us, as fans of the game, witness exciting feats that we have never seen before? Back in the early 2000s, many of the game’s sluggers were taking banned substances. Ratings at that time were at an all time high, with balls being hit over 500 feet and numerous 50+ homerun seasons. . Some of those substances weren’t banned from the league’s drug policy at the time, so was it wrong or unethical? At that time we did not know any better, speculation isn’t what it is like now. Sadly, our society views most accomplishments within the game as something that was unjust because of previous incidents. We’ve seen great efforts from Major League Baseball to try and clean up the game in the past five to six years. Braun’s actions have even more exemplified why professional baseball is in such a dark hole right now.
On August 22nd Braun finally issued a statement admitting his guilt. Was this 944 word statement enough? This was nearly a month after MLB suspended him for 65 games - the remainder of the 2013 season. The way he attacked innocent people, along with the overdose of denial to media and fans makes it hard for the average Brewers fan to oversee the past. Especially for someone who enjoyed watching his 2011 MVP campaign, which led to a contract extension with an annual salary of $10 million through 2020. The organization is in trying times right now being 21 games back in their division with the face of their franchise looking to regain the trust of everyone around him.
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Analysis by Jeremy Cappert in SRM 334 (section 1)
No matter your level of involvement, sports play a major role in many people’s lives on a daily basis. Catching the latest news and highlights via ESPN, reading blips with the recent advent of sports apps, or public opinion on Twitter, we are fortunate enough to have more information at our hands than ever before. As we see in developing cases such as with Ryan Braun, the reliance on media sources at all levels for timely news is beyond measure, but can we always trust what we hear and whom we hear it from?
The chronicle of Ryan Braun first began in early October of 2011 when he was selected for a random drug test. As a result of this test, Braun tested positive for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and with it began the two-year long stint of questioning and validation of media, fan, and athlete controversy. In December of 2011, ESPN and Yahoo released news of Braun testing positive which led to his appeal of a 50 game suspension in January of 2012. As of February 23rd, 2012, Braun won his appeal with a 2/3rds majority vote, the first ever in MLB history. Backed by thousands of loyal fans that proudly wore the number 8 in Miller Park and most notably, close friend and QB of the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers, it seemed as though justice had finally been reached. However, much to their dismay, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In February of 2013, an article from Yahoo Sports linked Biogenesis, the same company who assisted Rodriguez and various MLB players to Ryan Braun. Finally, on July 22nd, 2013, Braun’s appeal was overturned and he was ultimately suspended for the remainder of the season (65 games). Consequently, the feeling of betrayal towards the many that backed him over the ordeal was astounding, most notably leading to jersey alterations changing Braun’s name to “Fraud.”
What can we learn from the controversy following the Milwaukee Brewer’s Ryan Braun? First and foremost is the importance of media to present proper facts. We see in this case especially, no matter the likeability of a person, their actions speak louder than any public statement they can make. The once MVP will most likely forever be tainted for the remainder of his career because of his own choices. As a result of his perpetual lying, Braun was made an example of. His fixation on being innocent lead to further investigation and report by the MLB and media in order to reveal the truth. The fact that he brought so many into a personal ordeal and negatively affected them is absolutely astounding. A Brewer’s teammate, Zack Greinke stated,
"Just the fact that he was willing to use anyone that got in his path. The closer you were to him, the more he would use you. It's just disappointing that a human being could be like that" (Mark Townsend).
Now faced with distrust from the Brewer’s organization, the MLB as whole, and countless fans, he is tasked with an uphill battle to restore any character and credibility that may be salvageable. Going forward, we as students in SRM 334 should take away the fact that deal media will either make or break you. Societies’ tenacity for reliable information will forever be the motivation behind media to provide up-to-date coverage of the latest stories and it is our responsibility as students in this field to provide it.
From Sports Networker
Analysis by Zachary Graham in SRM 435 (section 2)
The boxing industry is currently at a crossroads; the golden era of boxing is over. Tyson is gone, Ali is gone, Sugar Ray is gone, and now lightweights and international fighters dominate the sport. With MMA coming on stronger than ever, and with the sports juggernauts like football, basketball, baseball, and even soccer the boxing window may be closing. However this article describes an alternative solution, change the way the sport is seen, and most importantly promoted to the public.
Boxing has always benefited off having superstars, and none may be bigger or better than Mayweather. Mayweather is pound for pound the best fighter in the world, and his record proves that. He also is one of the richest athletes in the world bringing in $41,000,000 for this one fight. However Floyd is getting up there in age at 36 years old, Boxing is realizing that they are going to severely miss the attraction of “Money Mayweather.” Boxing is also putting one of its brightest stars Canelo up against Mayweather, as what could be the passing of a torch.
Boxing is trying new tactics and old ones more effectively to promote this fight unlike any fight in years. One tactic is now that Showtime is owned by CBS they have a great opportunity to market the new commercials during football Sunday. As well you will be seeing a promotion during the big game between Alabama and Texas A&M, hopefully appealing to new fans. They are also trying some old school tactics by running the fight in over 500 AMC theaters. They are trying to promote the idea that watching it in a theater is similar to actually being there. They are also running an eleven city tour that goes to all the major big cities, including Mexico City, appealing to it’s largest demographic. These tours will be open to the public and hopefully will drive up the hype and make fans tune in on fight night. Finally the last thing they are doing is weeks before the fight they are stealing a page out of the NFL’s playbook with a behind the scene look into their training and lives. Similar to Hard knocks of the NFL on HBO, or the Association of the NBA, and even Ultimate Fighter of the UFC; “All Access” is trying to help new fans associate with the real person. This article is relevant to this class because it specifically discusses the ins and outs of marketing for a sport other than the usual juggernauts of the sports industry. Marketing for the NFL is easy, but when trying to keep an aging sport relevant like boxing, marketing can have its challenges. Marketing for boxing requires new creative ideas, as well as re-visiting old ones and improving them.
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Analysis by Joel Simms in SRM 435 (section 2)
Sports! Sports! Sports! People just love sports so much that the sport industry in generating more and more money every year. This is what you would think that would happen in each sport, but boxing is steadily on the decline in viewer ratings and generating revenue. Why? People believe that Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting is more interesting than boxing because MMA is new to the sport industry. As the society evolves and people are prone to like new things, sports have to evolve as well in order to have fans excited about sports. Boxing is trying to use different promotional strategies to target the boxing fans and fighting fans in general who love to see two people go head to head in a ring throwing punches at one another.
There are several ways that boxing is trying to bring back high television ratings and sales. One way is by having commercials broadcasted during another sporting event such as a football game on Sunday. The advertisements that are aired during football games can allow football fans to become interest in boxing because of the violence or physicality connection between the two sports. They have started using this promotional strategy with the Floyd Mayweather versus Canelo Alvarez title fight. I think from a marketing standpoint that airing commercials during footballs will allow people to maybe be interested in outcome of the fight, but maybe paying to watch the fight on paper view television is too early to say. I think in the long run, if they continue to air fights during football games, in the future more people would want to watch boxing since they are being repeatedly shown the sport.
Another way to promote boxing is by having city tours where the boxers will have a press conference and interact with the fans. These tours seem to be fun especially when the boxers face off one another. Face off in boxing means the two boxers stand face to face looking at one another with very seriously faces. In my opinion I think this is funny because I know some fighters do not be as serious as there face would show, so why would they act so serious? I believe from the marketing standpoint that the boxers are supposed to portray this image of intimidation and anger that allows fans to see how serious of a fight it will be. Having the city tours allow fans to get hype for the upcoming fight and see the seriousness of the fight.
Last, but not least, having televised segments of the boxers is a great way to reach out to people who do not know the accomplishments of the boxers or history. One thing I know is that most people enjoy watching television and since these broadcasted episodes are free with cable, people are able to watch the segments without paying. From a marketing standpoint, I can understand why boxing is trying to use new promotional strategies to attract more fans and that is simple because boxing is competing with other sports. Trying to generate more revenue and sales is hard when your competition is growing in the industry, so in order to compete and stay relevant, business strategies have to change and excite people. The way boxing is changing or evolving in the promotional aspect relates to the class material we learn in class. The change in boxing promotions relates to the topic of sport promotion and sales, and it relates to the journal articles all we have read online. In the Allstate article, they did a Tailgate Tour which is similar the city tours that the boxers do. One article I read was about sports starting to broadcast segments such as “The Journey” which has famous stars, Magic Johnson and Drew Brees on the episodes. Just like that of “The Journey”, boxing is using segments to attract fans and this is related back to the online journal readings. I believe boxing was end up declining at times and increasing at times because it is hard to appeal to the youth when you are competing with Mixed Martial Arts violence. The society has the concept that new is better and boxing is trying to attract fans to watch boxing.
From Adweek
Analysis by Ryan Dunn in SRM 435 (section 1)
Dunkin’ Donuts will have the first TV ad made completely from Vine. This ad will debut during the first Monday Night Football game of the 2013 season between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. The Vine video will be on an electronic billboard that appears between segments of ESPN’s programs. There are four versions of the Dunkin’ Donuts Vine Ads. This week’s ad will be a representation of an opening coin flip using lattes instead of players and referees.
Dunkin’ Donuts thinks this short visual add is more “engaging” than a traditional still billboard that are typically seen in stadiums. Other than this pregame billboard Dunkin’ Donuts will also take one key play from the first half and remake it using their products and post it on Twitter using the #DunkinReplay. To promote this and try and get the word out more Dunkin’ Donuts plans on purchasing promotion Tweets where they will target the people who are watching the Monday Night Football game. Dunkin’ Donuts is trying to connect with the highly social fans of sports and more specifically football.
Other brands have started using Vine to appeal to a younger generation as well. One of the companies listed in the article is Virgin Mobile who ran a spot on MTV and Comedy Central to try to reach the young demographic that tends to use Vine.
Dunkin’ Donuts is trying to appeal to the new age of social media where everything is connected. I think that using popular social media forums is a good way for the younger generation to see the ads. When a company is able to keep up to the popular technology of the day it allows them to more successfully access a different group of people then the companies that don’t take advantage of the same technology.Using Monday Night Football to promote a product will get a lot of viewership for the ad. The most intriguing part is the recreating of a play that has happened in the game and posting it during the game. Advertising eventually becomes a part of most things that are popular. Vine will be no different. I think that Dunkin’ Donuts has a great idea and are going to start a trend. Using their products to promote itself in a new unique way is always a good marketing idea.
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Analysis by Val Southall in SRM 435 (section 1)
During the Monday Night Football game on September 9th, between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins, Dunkin Donuts ran the first TV ad in history made entirely from a single Vine, the new popular 6 second video social media platform. Dunkin donuts will use a 5 second billboard ad unit, which appears full screen between segments during ESPN programs for the remainder of the season. “We think a billboard using Vine is dramatically more engaging than a standard billboard with a corporate logo on it,” said Scott Hudler, Vice President of global consumer engagement, Dunkin’ Brands. “Everyone is multitasking while watching TV with their phone, tablet or laptop. A lot of times, the content on their mobile device is not related to their TV shows. We want to make sure we’re supporting our TV investment with social media that’s relevant. It’s our job to make sure that it’s tied together to drive consumer engagement.” In addition to the 5 second billboard ad,ESPN will promote a Vine the retailer tweets out in the final quarter of each game using the #dunkinreplay hashtag. This will include a memorable play from the first half, recreated virtually using dunkin donuts products.
Essentially, Dunkin Donuts is using Vine to appeal to a younger audience and keep them engaged throughout the game, even during breaks in the action. They realize watching a football game has always been somewhat of a social event. “We’ll buy Promoted Tweets on Twitter and target people who are already watching the game, so they know that this fun content is available,” explained Stacey Shepatin, Senior Vice President at Hill Holliday. “Sports have always been one of the most social environments—especially football. So we’ll get good intel on whether people want to participate in this way.” The use of Vine and #dunkinreplay lets fans interact with each other and provides an innovative way to market Dunkin Donuts and promote Monday Night Football. In addition, its helping pave the way for more Vine based ads, Nissan is planning to use Vine for future ads and Virgin Mobile has already used a 30 second ad comprised solely of vine compilations.The use of vine for advertisements is somewhat uncharted water for businesses. Dunkin Donut’s use of Vine sets a precedent in funding and preparation for ads, while a typical NFL ad is costly in both time and money, a vine can be made almost instantly and without any funding.
