Barack Obama

Within a 24 hour period this week, the brand value sport of professional soccer in the United States took a huge jump.

Last January, with Scott Price’s Sports Illustrated piece on then-candidate Barack Obama, we wondered if other candidates would take to sports to try and pull in the casual male voter who may not really be interested in politics but would put a guys guy in the White House. Price’s piece was followed by the now well known series of sports-themed shots and pieces about the President, while the other candidates never really looked to sports as a catalyst. John McCain golfed a bit and ventured to NASCAR races, and then-Senator Clinton never even looked to young women as a way to garner the support of young athletes.

Even as pitchers and catchers report in the States for Major League Baseball, our master marketers in the minors continue to be innovative and find ways to keep their local brands active, alive and relevant to the consumer, their partners and the media.

We have all seen the doctor “tips” usually affiliated with sports medicine sponsorships with teams and leagues.  The obligatory in-arena and on-air quick factoids on injury “sponsored by” have been around for years.  However it seems like the indicidual doctors have looked to sports more as a way to more directly reach the consumer on their own.  Maybe its the affordability of space, the need for individuals to stand out more as the competition for the health dollar gets more competitive or media and brands looking to create more one on one contact between a fan base that needs to exercise and is more health conscious these days, but the doctor as brand is on the rise, especially on the recreational side.  Some examples include the Florida Pa

Like the circus, or really any “touring” sports brand from tennis to golf to the PBR…or even an annual “show” like the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, the Harlem Globetrotters must find new and innovative ways to engage fans, find new audiences and keep their brand top of mind when one of their teams makes their annual city by city stops.  Part of that is smart advertising, part smart marketing, but a big part is innovation and doing the “little” things that set them apart and get them noticed in advance of city stops or off the sports page and into the mainstream where the casual sports fan or the family member will see and remember them.  There were two good instances this week of the Globetrotters doing a little extra to

It is one of the most famous “non-cities” (it is a borough of New York) in the world…everyone knows Brooklyn.  One out of every seven people in the United States can trace their roots to Brooklyn.  there are fewer places on earth whose residents have more civic pride, and that pride has always been tied to baseball.  Until they went west, that pride was reflected in the Dodgers, and in the last ten years it has been in the Mets Single A New York Penn League team, the Cyclones.  Anyone challenging the tradition of Brooklyn, let alone its baseball team, could find himself with some issues.  That is, unless the tradition is challenged by the team itself, and this week the Cyclones scored some big points in the Barack Obama race by announcing

Maybe it is the “economy,” maybe college football in its push to become more streamlined and protective has dulled creativity, and maybe there are just too many other ways to promote brands on college campuses these days, but it appears that the grassroots and creative ways that schools used to hype Heisman Trophy and All-American candidates are dead.  A look at the official Heisman site shows still pictures, a brown background and a total of three press releases in the past year…a search for the three finalists does not turn up one promotion close to last year’s student driven Booty’s For Booty campaign for the former USC star.  There were no large scale co

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., the minor league drum beating for great activation in baseball continues, as Ben Hill’s Minor League baseball blog singles out the best promotions of the past season, and rewards the Ogden (Utah) Raptors as the team with the best minor league promotions of the year.  In a struggling global economy, sports and entertainment brands of all sizes can continue to look to American baseball’s minor leagues as a source of inspiration and innovation not just for the offbeat, but for the ability to engage the consumer and produce quality and affordable entertainment on a nig

While the Red Sox today announced a ticket freeze, both the Nets and the Blues have looked to those in job and financial difficulty this past week to try and find a promotion that gets buzz, puts butts in seats and maybe, just maybe, brightens the outlook of those casual fans struggling with the current times.  Dave Waldstein in the Newark Star-Ledger touches on both promos, with the Nets looking to exchange tickets for those supplying a resume to a job bank they have created,  while the Blues go one further by actually offering up financial assistance for those in home owner hell on select Saturday nights through a l

Apparently there’s an election coming up.  Who knew?

Before I say anything else, please, regardless of who you vote for, get out and vote on Tuesday.  I’m not going to hunt you down like a celebrity, you aren’t going to get a cool t-shirt, you’re just going to get the satisfaction of knowing you had a part in what is arguably the most historical election in the history of U.S. politics.

That all being said, John McCain and Barack Obama will be on Monday Night Football pandering for your votes!  And who is the hard-hitting, well respected journalist doing those interviews?

The straw polls for the Presidential elections will begin as soon as the upcoming conventions will end, and the sampling size and diversity of spin will give us so many takes on what is going to be a very hotly contested election.  However we leave it to Mike Veeck’s Goldklang Group, and their six minor league teams from Florida to Minnesota and points central and east, to leave the first bit of (bobble) head to head sampling to the fans.  Each team gave the fans a choice of a Senator McCain or Senator Obama bobblehead doll to pick, with the first to 500 declared the primary winner in the ballpark.  The results are listed on milb.com, along with the spin put on the overall “campai

With the summer over halfway gone, retailers are already pushing back to school sales as hard as they can.  However in the sports world, the Olympics focus and the start of NFL training camp, combined with the traditional August vacation stretch for many sports, seems to push the “Back To School” programs until later in the month, when we will see a rush of teams and brands getting with kids and local school initiatives.  However once again a NASCAR driver promotion is out in front and leading the charge with a retailer to get the Back To School theme top of mind.  This time its