Owners planning to have players miked up

From ESPN.com and Wall Street Journal

Review by Steve Robertson III in SRM 435 (section 1)

Over the past few years, the NFL, believe it or not, has been struggling to fill its stadiums. Fan turnout to games is nowhere near as high as they have been in years past; in fact over the past 6 years the a average fan attendance has dropped by 4.5%. Why is this? Some would say the economy, why others believe the prices that are being charged not only for tickets but concession are absurd, but also the advances in the at-home viewing experience has improved immensely too. My group decided to do our presentation on the changes that the NFL plans to make in the coming season and beyond through the use of two articles we found. The first is by Kevin Clark of the Wall Street Journal, whose article is titled, “Game Changer: NFL Scrambles to Fill Seats.” The second article is by Daniel Kaplan, writer for the Sports Business Journal, whose article is titled, “Listen Up: NFL Moving to Mike Players.”

The NFL is pushing out new perks for season ticket holders and well as fan that attend the game at their respected stadium. Some of these new features include, a free NFL RedZone Subscription, In-Booth Camera review (aka Challenge Camera), locker room camera access, Wifi, and now installing microphones on the players! These a drastic improvements that have really caught the fans attention because of all of this up-to-date technology being executed. The only issue is that if the fans can get/or have access to this perks at home, has the NFL really won the competition. I would think not.

If you think about why an average fan would want to watch a game at their own home, typically it is because they enjoy the own comfort of their home. Think about it, you can have people over, you have an unlimited number of snacks that costs a quarter of what you would be charge to eat at the game, and you have some many more options of games to watch, whether it is live streaming of a game or another game being shown on a different network, and let’s not forget you can drink as much as you want and not have to worry about getting home because you are already there! It is insane! Why would a fan ever want to give up an opportunity like that?

I feel it’s because of two reasons, fan loyalty and tradition. If you were to think about it, season ticket holders for fans who have been apart of the Green Bay Packers and Redskins whose seat are on the 50 yard line and 3 rows back from the field, I can guarantee those tickets have been past down for nearly 3 generations. That is where tradition plays a huge role. It is a big way to bring a family together and have them all share an amazing game day atmosphere whether it is 90 degrees outside or even 10 degrees. The fact of the matter is that the loyalty that they have for their team is one that doesn’t truly need all the perks to keep them coming back for more. I mean sure it might help, but the fact of the matter is that a true die-hard fan will attend these football games because these football games impact their lives in so many ways.So in conclusion, I feel with the additions that the NFL has/plan to implement in the coming seasons, I do think it will work but not forever. I feel more fans will begin to get pulled back to the stadiums because of these new perks and I think these new traditions and fan loyalties will grow again among a new generation. If the NFL can keep up with the in-game home experience for the most part, with integrated technology at these games that fans can relate to, I feel the NFL will be just fine!

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Review by Connor Butler in SRM 435 (section 1)

Having players get mic’d up for a game is a promotional concept the NFL has used for years. Now, NFL teams are attempting to mike players for in-stadium use to go along with many other promotions. Recently, I read two articles: One from the Wall Street Journal article entitled Game Changer: NFL Scrambles to Fill Seats, and one entitled Listen Up: NFL Moving to Mike Players from the Sports Business Journal. This brief review will give a brief summary of both articles, a critical analysis of each article from a marketing and promotional standpoint, and discuss how this is all relevant to our class, SRM 435. 

The first article, Game Changer: NFL Scrambles to Fill Seats, written by Kevin Clark, gives a broad overview of the issues currently affecting the NFL, and the many steps, including miking players, that the NFL is taking to address it. After bluntly stating the issue, the writer offers out many ways in which the NFL is attempting to address the issue, such as miking players and coaches for in-stadium use, stadium wifi, watering down the blackout rule, and “liberalizing” restraints on crowd noise to give stadiums college like atmospheres. As the article wraps up, the article states that some developments in using these new technologies as vehicles may be a long way off.

Fast forward a little over one year when Listen Up: NFL Moving to Mike Players written by Daniel Kaplan, a staff writer for the sports business journal was released. The article, in support of the previous article, begins by stating the NFL is moving to put microphones on players and coaches as another step in the leagues ongoing push to improve fans’ in-stadium experience. The article continues on to compare the situation to NASCAR, stating that the professional racing league has never hesitated to let fans hear the conversation between spotters and drivers, and that multiple teams are equally enthused by the idea. Towards the end of the article, the writer discusses the censorship, or lack of, of the miking. The current debate in player miking is over whether audio should be exclusive stadium use, and whether the audio would be broadly available, or available on an individual basis, like using an online app.

From a sports marketing, promotion, and sales standpoint, I believe that these many new promotions would be a great idea for encouraging the average fan to come spend money in your stadium. Often times, the average fan is a much harder sell than your hardcore follower and is going to need much more promotionally to attract them to an event. These many new features could provide the extra push to help increase ticket sales. This all, of course, hinges on all of these features staying free. If they are not free or will cost extra, I think it serves no purpose in attracting the average fan. When it comes to your hardcore fans, I think that these many new promotions serve no purpose. A team’s hardcore fans will be there no matter what and often times won’t need a promotion to get them there. While the incentives could serve as a cool addition to their experience, I don’t see these things being deal breakers.

When I think of how this relates to class, the first thing I think of is my experience working the St. Francis game with the marketing department. Before the game, some students were going around passing out promotional items, and inside of the gate before kickoff we were all passing out thunder sticks as even more promotional items. Obviously what the NFL is attempting to do is on a much larger scale, but I feel as though it’s a similar concept. Promotions are a very large part of marketing, which helps increase sales; the two main subjects of our course.These articles were two very well written articles that were fun to review and enjoyable to read. Because of these articles, I am now hooked to see where the NFL goes when it comes to the in-stadium experience.

"Eagles receiver Riley Cooper uses racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert"

(Disclaimer: this video contains a sensitive subject matter)

From USA Today

Analysis by Sean Wheeler in SRM 334 (section 2)

On June 9th, 2013, Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, alone with his coach and some of his teammates attended a Kenny Chesney concert in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cooper, teammate Jason Kelch, and coach Chip Kelly were invited on stage by Kenny Chesney to perform his song, “Boys of Fall.” Cooper then, after a security guard did not allow him to go backstage, said a racial slur regarding African-Americans. On top of that, Cooper also got into a verbal altercation with people outside of the concert. After all of this hit the fan, Cooper released a serious of tweets apologizes for the incident, as well as, personally apologizing to his black teammates. He was eventually fined and sentenced to three days of sensitivity training.

From a media standpoint, this was blown way out of proportion. The media has the power to “blow-up” stories and this was exactly the case. The media made it seem like Cooper committed a serious crime and even publically viewed him as someone like Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots wide receiver who was recently charged with murder. Cooper understandably did and said a horrible thing, but he did not commit a crime and, therefore, should not have made national news.

Another point to be made, regarding the media, is that everything is documented now-a-days. Because of the advancement in technology this past decade, not so important stories like this are being viewed and taken to levels they should not be taken to. For example, without cell phones and cameras this incident never would have been made publically like it did. People in this generation care more about taking a picture or video of something rather than fully enjoying the experience firsthand and not through a lens. Sure, people would talk and a good amount would have found out about it, but it would not have been talked about around the entire world (twitter). Furthermore, because of twitter, it allowed anyone to voice their opinions on Cooper to millions of people, which they absolutely did. Other athletes, like Marcus Vick, and many non-athletes showed their anger and attacked Cooper via twitter. This would have never happened ten years ago before twitter and all of this advanced technology was created. The Riley Cooper incident is relevant to this course because this is a textbook situation that we could be in and might have to deal with in the future. Whether it be working in PR or being an SID, you never know what you might have to deal with or the decisions regarding players’ actions that you are going to have to make, especially due to the fact that athletes are constantly acting as they should not be and doing “stupid” things. Furthermore, this is relevant because we learned about the advancement in technology and how it took over the media; one little slip-up can make national news and really turn someone’s life around.

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Analysis by Brooks Shyman in SRM 334 (section 2)

For our current event Sean and I chose the topic of Riley Cooper and we chose the article “Eagles Receiver Riley Cooper Uses Racial Slur at Kenny Chesney Concert.” The article starts by giving you background on what happened before the event. It tells you that Cooper and some of his teammates were even invited on stage to perform the song “Boys of Fall” with Chesney. Then the article goes on to explain the event behind Cooper using the racial slur. It also tells you that Cooper got into another verbal altercation with a group of people outside the concert, and has videos of both incidents. The article concludes by telling you how the Eagles organization feels about the article and tells whether or not they think the NFL will discipline Cooper.

The media took this story and ran with it. It was major news the second the video became public. This happened in large part to technology improving. Think about it, would this have even been a story 10 years ago in a time before cell phones and cell phone cameras? Now a day for athletes everything you do is documented and can be out in the media within 10 seconds of you doing it. Another media aspect to this story is twitter. Many athletes and celebrities were able to tweet out there opinions to millions of people in an instant. Even Cooper’s teammates were going out on twitter and criticizing him. But not only were people able to tweet their opinions; they could tweet directly to Riley Cooper themselves. And while I did not tweet to him, I can only imagine the kind of messages he was receiving. This story also shows you the power the media holds. This Riley Cooper incident in the media was about as big a story as Aaron Hernandez; and Aaron Hernandez is accused of murder. And of course, what Riley Cooper did was terrible, but to be held on virtually the same level as someone who’s accused and likely guilty of murder really shows you the power the media has over public opinion.

This article/incident is very relevant to us as a class. We all want to go into different jobs in this field, and some of us are bound to end up working in media. Whether its being in PR and having to clean up an incident in, or being a journalist and writing an article; it’s a predicament any one of us can be caught in the middle of. Also the media is changing, and it’s something that we will all have to adjust to. With all different kinds of social media out there, there are a lot more ways to break a story.

"Special Report on Oklahoma State Football: Part 5 -- The Fallout"

From Sports Illustrated

Analysis by Lindsay Butler in SRM 334 (section 2)

The Oklahoma State scandal is something we have seen time and time again in the world of college level sports. Players receiving payments or benefits of some sort as an incentive to push them to do their best and win is not a dirty secret kept by few, but instead a major issue on the rise, specifically in football. Although, Sports Illustrated shocks its audience when in a five-section spread they expose not only cash rewards but also drug use, female hostesses used for sex, and the falsifying of grades. With numerous players coming forward with allegations and accusations made against boosters, professors, and coaches the media became the number one information source for curious readers. 

Sports Illustrated broke the story in a way that would draw reader’s attention and keep them wanting more. Disguising an over talked on issue as something much more they released the story in sections with each headliner completely different from the last and never giving readers a conclusion telling them to wait for the next section. A cleaver marketing strategy that worked just how the SI team planned. Whether you believed the stories being released or thought it was a load of junk you would still read the story upon it being released to judge the information provided. After the fifth section finally hit the public, media sources of every kind began examining the content and looking to interview any party associated with the scandal.

ESPN reacted immediately with an article that questioned the credibility of those quoted in the SI release and pulled facts that disproved multiple claims made within it. With two of the largest sports outlets in the nation touching on the issue Oklahoma all of a sudden became a hot commodity and was receiving media coverage from every angle. If you hadn’t had the opportunity to read the full story on Sports Illustrated you could easily gain access to it through a link posted at the end of the article released in response to it by ESPN. In the modern world we live in today the internet is a powerful source and this scandal was not going to escape from it. Looking toward social outlets such as Twitter we see not only the accused players responding to the article but news sources tweeting quotes from interviews with those affected by its accusations. Potentially one of the most impacting articles in response to SI’s was from Kansas City Sports where they finally said what no one else had, “who cares”. Quotes from this particular article spread like wildfire through short clips posted on YouTube, and once again Twitter. As fans and spectators we crave the most up to date news on our favorite teams and wait for bad exposure for our least. It is the job of members of the media to exploit stories such as the scandal in Oklahoma State. The media touches the lives of nearly every citizen daily and it is their responsibility to find a way to make us stop and look at the stories they provide us with. The headlines chosen by Sports Illustrated were short and to the point so readers knew exactly what that portion of the article would be about before reading the first sentence. By breaking their story into sections SI also ensured that the interest level of readers would stay high until they had all the dirty details and could make a firm opinion of their own. Within the world of sports, communications is critical for the reason that it can either benefit you or you can become victim to its wrath but you can’t escape it. As a student with intentions of working in the field of sports I believe having the knowledge of dealing with media is extremely important for a successful career.

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Analysis by John Boitnott in SRM 334 (section 2)

The five parts series of Sports Illustrated’s investigation into Oklahoma State’s football program included over 60 interviews of former players who talked about their experience while at the school. The five series addressed the money, the academics, the drugs, the sex, and then the fallout faced by many players after they were no longer on the team.

This story was investigated and reported by Sports Illustrated, arguably the nation’s most popular sports magazine. Whether through television channels, websites, social media, or in this case print media, the sports stories we talk about and discuss with the people around us are all influenced by the media and help shape our views of the issue. While these days ESPN seems to always be the ones that come out with the breaking news of what is going on in the sports world, it was interesting that Sports Illustrated (SI) was the first one to reveal the story. Most everyone in our class seemed to think that print media will completely die off within 10-15 years and is becoming less relevant to how we find out information. But with SI being the first to find out and tell us the information on such a huge story it showed that print media may not be as far behind digital and social media as some think. Because of a media source breaking the story the NCAA will most likely conduct their own investigation in the matter soon, and if SI didn’t shed light on the matter it is very possible the NCAA would not have found out about all the infractions and violations.This article was relevant to the course because it focuses on things we have discussed during class, such as how the players were interviewed and also how media loses trust when coaches or administrators do not communicate with the media. Both coaches Miles and Gundy would not talk about the subject when SI asked to interview them about what they knew, which led to the tone of the article having a lack of trust in the coaches due to their non-compliance when asked about the possible infractions their players may have committed.

"How Twitter Amplify May Change Sports And Social Media As We Know It"

From SportsBusiness Journal, USA Today, and Forbes

Analysis by Griffin Waugh in SRM 334 (section 1)

Recently, Twitter hired former Professional Bowlers Association CEO Geoff Reiss to be the head of sports partnership. This comes at the same time as Twitter filling its initial public offering. As a publicly tradable company, Twitter is estimated to be worth $12 Billion and wants continue grow its connections with other entities. Reiss will now help Twitter to gain a larger hold on various media companies. They already have deals with media outlets like ESPN and Fox Sports. Reiss has an experienced background with creating major sporting deals, such as when he convinced ESPN to extend its contract with the PBA as well as to show more bowling telecasts on the ESPN family of networks throughout the year.

The second article I read dealt with how Twitter has set itself up for success. Twitter has based its profitability off of its advertising revenue and its connections with other entities. So far Twitter has already begun partnering with content providers like ESPN, Turner Sports, MLB Advanced Media and many more. By creating this partnership with these companies, Twitter can then help to readjust the way these providers deliver their material. We have seen this already with ESPN on college football game days. Instead of just posting game casts, drive summaries and stats on their main website. They now post short clips of all the big plays going in the football games on that particular day. 

This growth of Twitter has changed the media and the way we receive content forever. We now live in an information driven society that constantly is looking for the fastest and easiest to get what we want. These two articles provide us with another example of just that. As Twitter continues to grow and partner with content providers they will help change the way we receive this information. Geoff Reiss may be a key cog in helping to create this shift in the way content providers get their information out quickly and in short bits. This is similar to what we have seen in class with other forms of media. Radio at one time was the primary way in which people heard about sports. That slowly changed with the rise of the television and society becoming more image driven. As Twitter continues to grow its capabilities and connections, we should see a change in the way media provide their content. Not to different from a short 140 character tweet, the information we receive on sports will become shorter and more highlight driven. In order to satisfy the needs of sports fans.

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Analysis by David Hoye in SRM 334 (section 1)

Twitter has become one of the most popular websites visited today, with over 550 million users. In the sports world, millions of fans follow their favorite athletes, coaches and reporters, to receive up to date information and entertainment throughout the day. Just like any social media site, not all good comes from using the account. Many athletes, college specifically, have gotten into trouble with their tweets. Dealing with criticism has been difficult as student-athletes receive more recognition and stardom. Any fan can tweet at these college athletes, expressing brutal opinions on their performance.

An article in USA Today focuses on Willie Cauley-Stein, a University of Kentucky basketball star that ended up deleting his twitter account, resulting from the negative tweets directed towards him during an underachieving freshman season (Auerbach). This happens all the time in college athletics. Some coaches at major programs don’t even allow players to tweet during season. This is done in a way to protect them from any distraction or emotional and mental harm they’d receive from fans. Assistant Professor Blair Browning from Baylor said, “(Twitter) can be a really constructive, positive tool but we need to train and educate our student-athletes instead of putting all this money toward being watchdogs." 

This really questions the fact if athletes should have Twitter at all. It can bring a lot of negativity to a player, team, and even university with the things that are said on timelines across the globe. It will be interesting to see if Twitter will be used continuously in the future if such controversy keeps occurring.

"Hawks fans ready for record roar"

From The Seattle Times

Analysis by Danielle Poplawski in SRM 435 (section 2)

On September 15, 2013, the Seattle Seahawks set the Guinness World Record for the “loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium” at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks were playing their rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. This record-setting event was organized by the group Volume 12 and was not directly related to the Seattle Seahawks organization.

Seahawks fans pride themselves as being the loudest in the NFL. The crowd at the stadium is known as the 12th Man. Volume 12 is a group specifically for those who consider themselves to be a part of the 12th Man fan base for the Seahawks.

In July, Volume 12 announced that they would attempt to set the world record. To excite fans, the group held a tailgate outside of the stadium. The previous record of 131.76 decibels took place at Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul on March 18, 2005 during a soccer match. Seattle’s CenturyLife Field broke this record twice in the same game. The first time in the first quarter with a level of 131.9 decibels while the second time took place in the third quarter with a level of 136.6 decibels.

To market the event, Volume 12 sent information, such as news releases, out to the media. In addition to this, they also made a YouTube video and posted on their various social media pages including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. The week before the game, Sunday Night Football discussed the record-setting event and just how loud they thought it would be. The Seattle Seahawks have added the world record to their 12th Man page on the official website.

Holding the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium will likely bring in some spectators who wish to see what all of the hype is about. Because of the 12th Man pride in Seattle, it also gives fans another commonality; thus uniting them more and providing the fans with more motivation to attend games rather than watch them on television. In a sense, a large part of the Seahawks game-day experience is the crowd, which requires a person to attend the game at CenturyLink Field.

The media attention gained from this event also brought attention to the Seahawks and their 12th Man. It is free publicity for the team. While discussing the world record, media outlets are also likely to discuss things such as the team’s record and other information. Volume 12 has also been able to gain from this event. The attention from media outlets has helped to spread their name and who they are. I believe that the Seahawks organization made a good decision in not being directly a part of the record-setting event. First, they were able to save time and money on promotions. Volume 12 took care of this all themselves and the Seahawks were still gaining attention. Secondly, by not becoming involved, it was less likely for the NFL to be able to intervene and cancel the event for any reason. Finally, by not putting their name on the event, the Seahawks organization can boast of the accomplishment that took place in their stadium without having to directly answer to any backlash.

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Analysis by Eric Brent in SRM 435 (section 2)

In the Seattle Times article “Hawks fans ready for record roar,” the author discusses the fans of the Seattle attempting to set the record of the loudest crowd at a sports stadium. This was set to take place on September 15, 2013 at the Seahawk’s home opener against the San Francisco 49ers. All of the planning and execution was put on by Volume 12, which is a direct link to Seattle’s “12th Man” fan base. Joe Tafoya, co-founder of Volume 12, sent in an application without thinking too much of it, but a week and a half later to his surprise Guinness World Records was on board. Even with having knowledge of the approval the Seattle Seahawks organization itself continued to keep its distance from the event. No marketing or promotion of any kind was put on or linked to the organization.

At a time where it is difficult to get fans to come to experience a game at the stadium rather than sitting at home watching from their television, the Volume 12 found a way. Once Volume 12 found out Guinness World Records was on board, advertisements were placed on the Volume 12 social media sites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter), news releases were completed, YouTube videos were made, and NBC Sunday Night Football even mentioned the plan a week prior to the Seahawks Sunday Night Football game. The game not only sold out, but Seattle had its largest crowd ever a record breaking 68,338. This is the first time I have seen a marketing strategy involving fans setting a Guinness World Record, and it gave each person the opportunity to be a part of history. Not too many people can say they have been a part of breaking a world record.

This relates to the course due to the fact of all the conversation and discussion about how can we get people to the games and stay at the games and what are some unique ways to market a game. The opportunity to set a record caused the Seahawks to break another record that was not even being promoted, which was having the largest crowd attendance in Seattle Seahawks history. The reason I say it got people to stay at the game is because after the record was broken earlier in the game, it was not until the third quarter where the Seahawks fans set the highest mark of 136.6 decibels. From a marketing standpoint everyone involved indirectly or directly received great exposure. Seahawk’s organization probably benefited the most indirectly due to it being at their stadium and their team but having nothing to do with the planning. Volume 12 benefited the most directly because all of the planning and organizing was through that organization. NBC’s Sunday Night Football and Guinness World Records also received some good marketing because the game was held on NBC and Guinness was the reason Seahawk’s fans had this opportunity.

"More Fun for Fans"

From Athletic Management

Analysis by Alyssa Truesdale in SRM 435 (section 1)

The article, More Fun for Fans, by Mary Kate Murphy (Athletic Management, 2013), looks at the reasons why more and more college athletic programs across the country are adding alcohol to their concessions at sporting events. The three main reasons listed as to why schools are allowing the sale of alcohol now are: it boosts revenue, enhances game-day experience, and increases crowd control. 

According to CBSSports.com, as of July 2012, of the 120 Division-I football programs, just 21 sell beer to all fans of legal age and out of those 21 schools, only 11 of them are on-campus, university-owned stadiums (DeRusha, 2012). One of the major schools listed in the article that we read is West Virginia University. In 2011, one year after being appointed Athletic Director, Oliver Luck began having beer sold in the stadium during football games. After this first year, WVU saw its number of police cases, calls made to police, and arrests during games drop significantly. The other positive for the university was increased profits. By combing alcohol sales and sponsorships the Mountaineers were able to profit over one million dollars after just two seasons.

A few other schools mentioned in the article that have added alcohol to their list of beverage choices at sporting events are Colorado Mesa University, University of Texas-Arlington, and University of Maine. Colorado Mesa started selling beer at their baseball games for similar reasons that WVU started selling beer; they wanted to control the amount of alcohol their fans were drinking in hopes that they would have less incidents. The University of Texas-Arlington had location on their mind when adding beer and wine to the menu at basketball and volleyball games. Because of their close proximity to professional sports stadiums in the area, the university felt the need to enhance fans’ game-experience in order to compete. Also, they wanted to make sure that they were appealing to alumni and adults in the community. “The Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers are in our backyard, so our spectators are used to the professional experience, and that's what we're trying to provide,” stated Athletic Director, Jim Baker (Murphy, 2013). The University of Maine also wanted to increase entertainment value by created a “Bavarian Beer Garden” for their home football games. “It's more about providing a convivial, positive social environment where mature adults are given access to something they enjoy,” says Robert Dana, Vice President of Student Affairs (Murphy, 2013).

Ohio State University was the only school represented in the article on the negative side of adding alcohol to concessions at sporting events. OSU Athletic Director, Gene Smith, wants to keep their school moving in the opposite direction. He does not feel that with the size of the university they will be able to control the crowds if alcohol is sold. He also feels that it would be very costly to add more security and programs to help with the increased number of intoxicated fans. The fans’ safety his most important value, which is why he accepted the fact that there would be a loss in revenue when cutting ties with all alcohol sponsors also.

From a marketer’s standpoint, I think that universities should absolutely sell alcohol at sporting events, especially football games. It is obvious that most students, alumni, and other adult fans attending the games are going to tailgate beforehand and consume alcohol. If they knew that there was going to be alcohol provided at the stadium, then they would be less likely to spend their money at other stores to purchase it and would spend their money at the stadium instead. Also stated in the article is the cost for alcoholic beverages, which can be at a higher price. A fan consuming alcohol is most likely going to purchase more than one drink in the time that they are at the game. Revenues will increase from game day purchases, and also from increased sponsorship by alcohol companies.

This is also a way to get the student population at games to increase. Many students at JMU for example have admitted that they would rather tailgate than actually attend the game. If students knew they could purchase alcohol at the game, they might be more inclined to go, and stay there longer which also means possibly spending more money. One other point is that colleges are competing with other professional sports and entertainment events. If they want to be at their level in entertaining the crowd, they need to provide alcohol. Like Athletic Director Jim Baker said, if fans are paying a lot of money to attend college games, they should be provided the best game-day experience.

This article directly ties in with the topic of promotion and sales, which have been discussed in class. Part of the promotional mix is the atmosphere at games. We asked the question, “How can you keep fans coming back?” The other question we can add to this topic after our discussion last week about the declining number of students in attendance at football games is, “How can you keep fans for the duration of the game?” I believe that selling alcohol is one solution to this problem. According to this article it will not only solve the issue of promoting collegiate-level sporting events, but will also increase ticket sales revenue, concessions sales revenue, and sponsorship revenue.
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Analysis by Jen Nelson in SRM 435 (section 1)

All across the United States, students, fans, and alumni are taking part in tailgating at their colleges and universities. Tailgating has become accepted as the “thing to do” before a sporting event. Not only at the college level, but at the professional level as well. Students and fans are looking to continue their drinking, but most schools and universities can’t meet their needs. Their alcohol consumption is put to a halt before they are allowed to enter the game. What many people don’t even realize, is the amount of school and universities that don’t allow alcohol sales at games. The big debate that has become quite controversial, is if alcohol should be allowed at sporting events. The article goes in-depth about several different athletic departments that believe selling alcohol is beneficial to their program which will help increase revenue for their school. On the other hand, there are many factors to consider, especially many legal aspects, which is why the majority of schools have opted not to sell alcohol.

This topic is extremely relevant the Sports Marketing Industry. Schools and Universities are essentially a business whose main goal is to provide entertainment for their fans. College and Universities are always looking for other ways to earn revenue, so why are some of them not allowing alcohol sales during games? Sporting events are all about the game-day experience, and getting everyone involved. Jim Baker, the AD at the University of Texas-Arlington states, “Another big reason to sell alcohol at athletic events is to appeal to alumni and adults in the community” (Page 2). He makes a valid point explaining that alumni and adults are an important demographic that attend a good amount of sporting events. From a promotion aspect, allowing alcohol sales would create sponsorship deals with alcohol companies, which would increase the schools revenue. On the other hand, if only 21 schools currently allow alcohol sales that is something to keep in mind. There has to be a main reason why Division 1 schools aren’t jumping on the band wagon. As a society, the drinking culture in colleges and universities will continue to increase, which will also cause more schools to need to provide more law enforcement. In the future, this is something Athletic Directors may need to change their schools polices, or keep them the way they are.

For JMU, if eventually they are going to move up conferences in the future, allowing alcohol sales, may be an option that the AD will need to take into consideration. A main problem JMU marketing faces now, is how can they get upperclassman to stay past half-time? This is a huge consideration that would potentially cause upper-classman to stay past half-time. Most upper-class man are tailgating anyways, but would like to have a drink during the game if available. Maybe JMU could establish some sort of system, like wearing wrist bands to signify you are over 21, or even a designated area of alcohol such as a Beer Garden like the University of Main has. Or like WVU, they have a no-pass out policy meaning you can’t leave the stadium at half-time to stock up on drinks and come back into the game. These are all ideas that AD’s can factor into making their decision. At the end of the day, the AD needs to do what is best for their institution. The Ohio State AD states, “It depends on the environment of a particular university. Athletic Directors who put adequate controls in place and ensure the safety of their fans should go ahead with the idea” (Page 3). So now the question is, will universities be turning off the taps, or kicking them into full gear?

Internship Opportunity: Association for Women in Sports Media

The Association for Women in Sports Media is now accepting applications for the 2014 scholarship and internship program. Please click here for the application site. The program is open to female undergraduate or graduate students working toward careers in sports media – from newspaper and online writing, to broadcast journalism, to magazine writing, to sports media relations.

Winners will receive up to a $1,000 scholarship and be placed in a paid internship for the summer of 2014. The organization's 2013 interns worked at ESPN, Sports Illustrated, MLB.com, The Denver Post and The Colorado Springs Gazette.

For the fourth consecutive year, an AWSM intern will attend the intensive SJI training before beginning her sports writing internship.

Finalists will be chosen by a panel of AWSM board members, and winners will be selected by the organization's prestigious group of employers.

Applications will be accepted through Oct. 31. Winners will be notified in December/January. Students need the following to apply: resume, three references, a letter of reference and five work samples.

For more information about our internship program, please visit our site.  For questions, please email awsminternship@gmail.com to get in touch with Internship Coordinator Lake Litman and AWSM Vice-President of Student Programing Stacy Hicklin Bauman.

"Rolling Stone Writer Believes Aaron Hernandez Could Be Back in NFL ‘Within Three or Four Years’"

From NESN

Analysis by Adam McElrath in SRM 334 (section 2)

With the Boston Marathon Bombings and the Aaron Hernandez arrest happening all within the month of June, the New England area has been the center of attention for the media in recent months. Jake and I have focused our attention to how the Hernandez arrest became all that was talked about on numerous television and social networks. We also wanted to take a different approach to our presentation and look at the future of Hernandez after coming across an article by Mike Cole of the New England Sports Network titled, “Rolling Stone Writer Believes Aaron Hernandez Could Be Back in NFL ‘Within Three or Four Years’” This article is interesting in many different ways. First off, at this point in time it seems farfetched that a return to the NFL for Hernandez is remotely possible. Also, in this article Cole interviewed Rolling Stones journalist Paul Solotaroff, who is responsible for writing a polarizing article delving into the criminal’s dark past with interviews involving close family and friends of Hernandez. From Cole’s interview with Solotaroff and his viewpoints on the legality of the case, we see a distant possibility of the John Mackey Award winner returning to the league. If this ever does happen and Hernandez is found innocent or completes a short term in prison, the media will have a frenzy speculating which teams will be willing to take the risk.

The media was in uproar when the story first broke back in the middle of June. With the bulk of the action being located in the town of Bristol, Connecticut, ESPN was one of the first to report on the subject. Shortly after ESPN arrived at Hernandez’s home, the word was out everywhere and from a viewers standpoint, it was almost impossible to escape the talk as Twitter and Facebook exploded with rumors and stories and how all major television networks were right in the heart of it all, covering it 24/7.

The mass media continues to put large emphasis when any new, developing stories arise involving the possible sentence Hernandez will face. TMZ outbid Barstool Sports for $20,000 over a handwritten letter from Hernandez in his jail cell to one of his friends as Hernandez kept pleading his innocence and how “God” has a plan for him all while begging his friend to keep this off social media. In this day in age, no matter how close of a friend he might be to the former Patriots’ tight end, no way was he not going to take this opportunity to bank a lot of cash.
All in all, as a student in a Sports in Media class, it is easy to see how the media loves to get their hands on intriguing stories before their competition does. And it is also obvious to see how these same people feel the urgency to be the first to break a story to the public. But with this being the case many rumors can start making their audience “trust” that they are being provided with facts ultimately leaving no chance for other opinions on the subject matter. In the Aaron Hernandez situation, the media has portrayed him in any way possible as a criminal, a convict, and a murderer.

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Analysis by Jake Porter in SRM 334 (section 2)

While researching articles for this presentation Adam and I found a vast amount of reports that have detailed the Aaron Hernandez murder case. This made it very easy to find a relevant report even though we had to sift through and find what was fact and what was speculation. Our main article written by Mike Cole gives a somewhat fresh viewpoint on a story that has already been blown out of the water by major news outlets like ESPN, CNN, CBS, etc. This article introduces the idea that Aaron Hernandez could possibly be integrated back into the NFL, given that he beats the multiple murder charges standing in front of him.

In the article Mike Cole interviews Paul Solotaroff, writer for the Rolling Stones, who claims that Hernandez can easily beat the alleged murder charges set before him. The article explains that Hernandez is likely looking at about 3 years of jail time for gun charges, but Aaron is young and pending his release will have, "very low mileage on those legs of his and a lot of time to heal up" (Cole). Paul is later quoted in the article that he would not be surprised if some NFL teams pursued Hernandez if or when the charges are dropped against him.

No one knows what the future really holds for Aaron Hernandez. The future may l look grim to some, but there are plenty of optimists out there that would not be surprised to see Hernandez back in the league within the next half decade. During the course of this project it has been interesting to see the role the media has played in this case. From the day the story broke to the weeks following it seemed that most major news outlets covered every minute detail. Even though the story has died off in recent months, the media can still play a big role in the future. Hypothetically if Hernandez is released and charges are dropped, the media will play a huge role integrating him back into the league, because they have the influence to turn a man once seen as a monster back into a cherished NFL superstar.

NFL hopefuls try to gain attention of league via YouTube

From Yahoo! Sports and Fox Sports

Analysis by Cory McCagh in SRM 334 (section 2)

Last year there were 254 collegiate athletes selected in the 2013 NFL Draft. After their college season ends, some players are invited to participate in front of NFL scouts at combines and camp workouts. For under the radar players trying to make their way into the NFL, players have started using social media sources such as Youtube to gain the attention of scouts. Rather than work out for scouts in person, displaying their overall skills, players have started using Youtube to market a particular skill. Youtube has developed a way for players to go from being completely unknown to Youtube celebrities in a span of a few weeks. Youtube is one of the most popular websites on the Internet, reaching over one billion users a month and it is a great spotlight for unknown players to get their name out to NFL scouts.

Essentially these players are relying on Youtube users to view their video until it becomes popular enough to be seen by NFL teams. Alex Tanney had just finished his senior season at Monmouth, a Division III school, and was not invited to the NFL combine or expected to be drafted by any teams. Tanney, along with a few friends, made a five minute video composed of the D-III quarterback making spectacular trick shots. After quickly becoming Youtube famous with now over 3 million views, the video made it around the league and Tanney was invited to attend the rookie minicamps of multiple teams. Norwegian player, Harvard Rugland, put together an impressive enough kicking video to convince NFL scouts to invite someone for a tryout who had never even played a real football game in their life. Youtube has presented low profile players with a way to make NFL teams more interested in them in a matter of a few minutes than they were throughout their entire season.

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Analysis by Cody Fazenbaker in SRM 334 (section 2)

Havard Rugland, a 28-year old from Norway, has recently become an internet sensation with a video he posted on YouTube. Having never played a game of football before, he was able to catch the attention of NFL scouts and coaches in a video displaying a wide variety of kicking skills that Rugland possesses. After seeing the video, the Detroit Lions contacted Rugland and offered him a try-out.

From a media and communications standpoint, this was a very smart and successful move from Rugland. He had never played football before and knows nearly nothing about the rules and yet was contacted by multiple NFL teams. Without using social media like YouTube, his skills and ability would have gone unnoticed. By placing the video online, it was able to spread quickly to millions of people. As the 4-minute video gained popularity, it started to reach members of different NFL teams who immediately took an interest in Rugland. The media also became aware of the video, and Rugland earned himself an interview on Good Morning America and a long article in the New York Times.Without the use of YouTube and other social media sites, Havard Rugland would not be who he is today. He would not have had these opportunities presented to him. This article is relevant to this Sports Media course because Havard used the media to get exposure and become recognized globally. In this digital era, he was able to use technology to his advantage and become successful. If he wasn’t able to put this video online, it’s safe to say that not nearly this many people would recognize his name.

"Special Report on Oklahoma State Football: The Overview"

From Sports Illustrated

Analysis by Graham Sharples in SRM 334 (section 1)

On Tuesday, September 10 2013, Sports Illustrated began the release of a five part series of their findings after a 10-month investigation on the Oklahoma State football program. Their special report examined violations that occurred within the OSU football program from 2000-2011. After receipt of information of possible corruption at the university, SI senior writers George Dohrmann and Thayer Evans sought to speak with more than a hundred individuals, which included 64 former Cowboys. All of these players spoke on the record and shed light on the extreme measures OSU took to build a winning program. The 5 part series that SI released detailed individually all the accounts of corruption through money, academics, drugs, and even sex.

Though the investigation covered a decade of NCAA violations committed by OSU, only recently were these transgressions revealed. The media, Sports Illustrated being the main source, played a huge role in highlighting the extreme measures taken by the program and also the damages that resulted from them. It all began from a leak of information given to these two reporters and consequently an investigation began in attempts to obtain more information. They used available resources by techniques of communication through interviews to individuals with ties to the university in order to gain insight about the corruption within the program. From that Sports Illustrated created a five series special report that detailed their findings and started their release on September 10 and titled the whole series “The Dirty Game.” The five parts were named: the Money, The Academics, The Drugs, The Sex and The Fallout. The violations that OSU committed aren’t uncommon in regards to big-time college sports programs especially in specifics to the acceptance of money or academic dishonesty, but one of the most troubling aspects of this case that the media wanted to emphasize was the collateral damages to humans that were also exploited by the university. Sports Illustrated looked to not only investigate these allegations against OSU but also the impact that it had on the players. They exposed how many of these players that were involved in this scandal were basically “cast aside.” Consistently from the interviews, the players exposed how their experience in university didn’t build them up for the future but their involvement with the corrupt football program left them with next to nothing. Some players were even kicked out, stripped away of their scholarships and returning to environments they believed to be done with.

Sports Illustrated took a very strategic approach to this case by releasing their results in an investigative series on all SI platforms. The fact that they decided to release it in individual parts makes the story much more appealing and intriguing. The main reason why this story is now such a big issue is due to the investigation that Sports Illustrated conducted. Since the release of the story there have been multiple press releases, news conferences and interviews investigating in depth of the allegations uncovered by SI.
The relevancy to this course rests in the techniques that Sports Illustrated used in order to present their story. Specifically, the amounts of time spent in creating this story as well as the amount of promotional work used to market the OSU scandal as well, not to mention the press release prior to the five segments were set to release. The story itself was set to release on multiple platforms, first on their website and then all together in a published magazine to increase their coverage. Sports Illustrated through the release of this story has profoundly affected both the university’s reputation as a football program as well as the players involved. They looked to not only exploit the deceit and disingenuousness of the school but also invited the audience and SI readers to feel empathy with the players who were deemed no longer useful to the program.

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Analysis by Austin Hersh in SRM 334 (section 1)

In this article Sports Illustrated investigators bring to light the foul play that occurred during Les Miles and Mike Gundy’s tenders as head coach of Oklahoma State University football. In the article you will find that there was everything from failed drug tests, sex provided to recruits, and money payments for good play.

The investigators found it odd for OSU to go from a, “big school stepping stone” to a major contender for a national championship in such a short period of time. Sports Illustrated interviewed 64 former Cowboys and received stories of players failing multiple drug tests with no repercussions. Many players would receive drugs for free and some on the team were dealing drugs as well. This lack of authority in these young men’s lives led many to drug abuse and some to end up in prison after leaving Clear Water. Payments for good play and sex provided to big name recruits seemed to be something of the norm in the OSU football community and as long as wins were rolling in, figures of authority seemed to turn a blind eye.

After life as head coach for OSU, Les Miles went on to create a powerhouse in Baton Rouge for LSU. With no consequences for his actions and how he ran his programs he now has more power and more tools at his fingertips to create champions on the field and rake in the cash for the university. What was interesting is that while all of this did occur, that SI decided to investigate years later. The investigation will do nothing but tarnish a once proud school and once proud program. Players with no association to the regime that caused so much pain now have to represent a legacy they did not sign up for.. Being a former college athlete and in speaking with former and current athletes at universities all around the country I still find it amusing to hear stories such as this one. Foul play occurs at programs all around the nation and it seems to be accepted that in order to succeed, “if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying.” While I understand it is the nature of the media beast to find dirt any way possible, I feel that the majority of fans do not realize that this sort of thing has been happening for decades and will never go away. Coaches will always give players/ recruits whatever it takes to keep food on their tables. OSU might be the latest on the long list of scandal ridden programs but the surface has only just been scratched.

"Ryan Braun's Dirty Deed"

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.

"Strategies For Boxing Promotions Are Evolving; Mayweather Vs Alvarez Is Proof"

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.

"Dunkin' Donuts Is Launching the First TV Ad Made Entirely From Vine"

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.

"Joe Flacco banners annoy fans"

From ESPN.com

Review by Ethan Miller in SRM 435 (section 2)

The NFL is one of the biggest organizations in America; along with have one of the most loyal fan bases to go along with it. However, are those fans actually loyal to the NFL or loyal to the NFL team themselves? This article answers that question, by proving that fans are more loyal to the team itself rather than the organization that created them.

Throughout the years the NFL has grown to become almost unrecognizable compared to the league that existed 50 years ago. The game on the field is part of the changes that have gone on, but what has changed the most is the fans’ experience. Now more than ever the fan experience at a NFL game is one of the greatest in all of sports. This has helped them develop the loyal and vast fan base that they’ve become known for. This same fan base is quick to turn though as shown by the banner that they posted at Mile High stadium of Joe Flacco. The NFL posted to banners next to each other, one of the Denver Broncos’ quarterback Peyton Manning and the other of the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco. The NFL said that they were simply promoting the opening night of the season and there was no harm meant. Needless to say, the whole city of Denver was outraged and began defacing some of the NFL promotions as a form of protest against the advertisements.

Was this the right move by the NFL? It’s tough to tell. The NFL Kickoff game is one of the most important games during the season. In 2010, the Kickoff game brought in 27.485 million viewers to the game. Other than the Superbowl, this is the largest viewership the NFL has during the season. Another factor that went into the banner placement was the fact that ever since 2004 the Kickoff game has been played at the defending Superbowl champion’s stadium. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the NFL was forced to schedule the Kickoff game in Denver and forced the Baltimore Ravens to be the away team. This put the NFL in a huge bind because they were forced to advertise the Kickoff game as the big event that it is for the league, but were advertising the Broncos’ opposing QB on their stadium. (Not to mention it was the same QB that knocked them out of the playoffs the previous year).

The intention of the banner and smaller ads was to promote the NFL as a whole. They were trying to promote the brand and organization. However, the NFL failed to realize that by doing this they were alienating the Denver fans. Ultimately this promotion actually hurt the NFL because the people they were advertising to (the city of Denver) were the people who hated the ad the most. If anything this made the city of Denver lose brand loyalty to the NFL, and instead be loyal to the Denver Broncos instead.This article relates to this class because the NFL is always trying to expand their brand and fan base. They often are very successful in including the fans and increasing the fan experience, but when they misfire they misfire bad and causes a city to cause uproar like in Denver.

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Review by Chase Warren in SRM 435 (section 2)

Opening kickoff for the NFL season holds almost as much prestige as Super Bowl Sunday Kickoff. This years season opener featured the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens visiting the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority at Mile High. In the article “Joe Flacco understands fans’ ire”, Jeff Legwold expresses to us the way that Joe Flacco felt about the fact that he, along with Peyton Manning, would be featured on large banners outside of Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Obviously, Denver fans were not happy with the fact that Flacco’s banner was hanging on their stadium alongside the beloved Manning. When Flacco heard that this was going to be happening he was very surprised and actually agreed with the Denver fans. He exclaimed, “ I think it’s all deserved, I don’t know if it’s deserved towards me, I happen to be the guy they put up there. But I don’t think here or anybody in our city would be too happy if we had somebody else from a different team on our stadium. I wouldn’t expect anything different than all of the people in Denver to be pretty upset by it.” Again, Flacco understood the fans dismay, and he made a good point that any other city in the league would feel the exact same way if that was happening in their stadium.
From a marketing standpoint, there is no one to blame besides the NFL itself. It was not the Denver Broncos or the Baltimore Ravens that were to blame for all of this controversy. The “NFL Kickoff Special” is nothing but an NFL promotion. The NFL decided that they would feature both teams because they were coming from a neutral standpoint, trying to promote the game to all NFL fans, rather than just one team. NFL vice president Brian McCarthy called it a “celebration” of the NFL season, not just the Denver Bronco’s season. This makes perfect sense from a marketing standpoint. It is much important to appeal to the entire league as a whole. Fans that have a neutral standpoint on the game do not want to see any favoritism towards a certain team during the first game of the 2013 NFL season. As stated before, it is a “celebration” of a new season for everyone, not a promotion for the Denver Broncos. This article is relevant to the course because it touches on how it is important to target the right audience in order to maximize fan potential. This article was very interesting and was a perfect example of sports marketing in a certain industry. There is a lot more to simple marketing strategies than what shows on the surface.

"Schools Strategize to Increase Student Football Attendance"

From Athletic Business

Analysis by Cameron McKinley in SRM 435 (section 1)

Football has been a long standing tradition of the college experience, however recent trends may suggest a falling off of the place gameday holds in the hearts of many students. This article by Paul Steinbach entitled “Schools Strategize to Increase Football Attendance” spoke towards the increasing difficulty with which college football marketers are trying to engage their respective student populations in order to increase involvement and attendance. Not only does the article go into depth about the course of action taken by many schools, but also details the reasoning behind the alarming trends schools are starting to see. This trend is not solely based on the smaller schools not traditionally known as powerhouses. The blue-bloods of college football, such as Alabama and Michigan, nor teams celebrating recent success they have long since been without, such as South Carolina and Georgia, are not exempt from having difficulty attracting fans and convincing them to stay for the entirety of the game. In all, there is a two percent decrease in student attendance while schools seek out solutions to reverse this trend.

In the article, the main two conferences detailed about their recent lack of student involvement for football games are the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big 10, perhaps the two biggest conferences in terms of fan base and money-making power. SEC school Alabama, which has won three out of the past four NCAA National Titles and is this generation’s closest thing to a college football dynasty, has seen the percentage of student tickets used hover at about 70 percent. At the University of Georgia, another SEC school, only approximately two thirds of its student tickets are being used on a per game basis. At South Carolina, a team that has enjoyed back-to-back 11 win seasons and an Eastern Division Championship, there is a new trend of a mass student exodus at halftime. For a conference that boasts about its football fan bases, these trends can be unsettling for schools across the nation as they seek out ways to combat them before they take their toll on the programs.

Schools across the country are employing a multitude of new ways to get students more involved in the gameday atmosphere. For example, Michigan State has added a two million dollar wi-fi system that will run throughout the stadium in an attempt to keep students connected while they are in the game. Maryland has upgraded their ticketing operations to allow students to access games via their smartphone rather than traditional ticket printouts. Both of these examples shows that teams no longer want to compete with the technology craze of this generation and are accepting it as a way to lure fans into the games.As covered in our class, higher attendance rates can lead to more money for the respective program. This is not just due to an increase in ticket revenue, as many student tickets are priced at a point where they will do little to increase overall income on gameday. However, many of these teams are ones that play on television week in and week out. These bigger names in college football are ones with which sponsors can easily get their names out on a national stage. But they are more willing to spend their money in sponsorship deals with teams that are able to fill their stadium and have their names be seen by the highest amount of people. Without being able to fill their stadiums and create an atmosphere that sponsors will want to be a part of, teams may see their revenues fall if they are not able to reverse these gameday trends.

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Analysis by Dejor Simmons in SRM 435 (section 1)

Student’s involvement in games is a big problem in collegiate sports. Most students are either leaving the game early or arriving late which is a problem in keeping the home team at an advantage when it comes to the twelve man. Even big schools like the University of Alabama who won three out of the last four national championships, has seen ticket sales hover between 68.4 and 71.8 making student apathy one of the biggest concerns facing the school’s football association. University of Georgia officials are heated with the turnout of the student section that usually sat 17,910 people only averaged 11,800. Now officials are opening more than 2,000 seats to recent graduates who will be willing to pay $40 per ticket compared to the $5 student price. South Carolina students almost made it a weekly tradition to leave games at halftime, pressuring Coach Steve Spurrier to publicly plead students to act like they're part of a winning program and stay to the end of the Gamecocks' home finale. Making USC officials wonder if it’s the heavy party scene in Colombia or the social media that make students leave maybe even the heat. So a solution to the weather they offered free bottled water on the hot games. There are many different things that collegiate officials are doing to make the students attendance increase and making and keeping them satisfied during and before games. Michigan is raising student prices by 23 percent and switching the policy for student seating to first come first serve in hopes of contesting a student no-show rate last season of 25 percent and a late-arrival rate of 50 percent. The University of Minnesota are dedicating parking lots close to the stadium for tailgating since studies shown that students want places to gather before the game. Also, a year after installing a new sound system and two new video boards in its stadium, Michigan State invested in a stadium wide Wi-Fi system to allow greater fan interaction. And lastly, Maryland has a new ticket system where students can get there tickets via email instead of the hard process of printing out tickets which allow greater ease of access.

Internship Opportunity: Northern Texas PGA

The Northern Texas Section of the PGA of America is headquartered in Dallas, and serves more than 350 golf facilities and 725 professional members across Northern Texas.  They are seeking two qualified applicants for a 13-week internship position in golf tournament operations during the spring of 2013.  Please click here for more details.

2013 United States Olympic Committee Recruitment Fair

The USOC is holding its Intern Recruitment Fair at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center from October 27 - 29, 2013.  Click here for more information.