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Archive for January, 2009

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Nancy Pelosi not a college football fan?

Posted by ZA on January 7, 2009

Chalk this up under the “Don’t they all have more important things to do” category.  Like work on the economy or keep our government moving in positive directions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denied the request by Florida Republican Cliff Stearns to reschedule a Congressional vote so House members could attend the BCS Championship Game.  Stearns wrote on behalf of reps from Florida and Oklahoma that wanted to attend the game in Florida, which would make them absent for scheduled votes on Thursday and Friday.

Looks like you’ll just have to watch the game on TV, Cliff.  Sorry that duty to your country got in the way of your plans for the game, but that’s the way it works when you are elected to Congress.

I wonder if Pelosi would have rescheduled the votes if USC had been in the BCS Championship?

Posted in College Football | Leave a Comment »

Utah Attorney General to fix BCS system

Posted by ZA on January 6, 2009

I’m fan of anyone that helps to get us to a college football playoff, but doesn’t the Utah Attorney General have more important issues to deal with than this one?  But I digress…

The Utah AG, Mark Shurtlett, told the Deseret News that he is “considering launching an investigation into college football’s Bowl Championship Series” because his Utes are not going to be crowned college football’s national champion.  Shurtlett said the BCS is “an unfair system” and is considering an antitrust case to break the monopoly they have on college football.

Wow, go Mark!  Maybe this is the kind of pressure we to land a playoff.  Or maybe it’s a political move on Shurlett’s part just to win favor with his homestate voters.  He started down the antitrust path when the Utes made the Fiesta Bowl in 2004, but subsequently dropped the case.

Whatever the motivates for the Utah AG, at least it has people talking about what a farce the BCS system is.  Just imagine how glorious a college football playoff would have been in 2008:

2008 College Football Playoff (projected):
(1) Oklahoma Sooners vs. (8) Ohio State Buckeyes
(2) Florida Gators vs. (7) Utah Utes
(3) Texas Longhorns vs. (6) Penn State Nittany Lions
(4) USC Trojans vs. (5) Alabama Crimson Tide

That could have led to Oklahoma’s offense versus USC’s defense in one semifinal.  With perhaps Texas playing Florida (sorry Utes) in the other semi.  The possibilities for a National Championship Game are good enough to make any college football fan drool.  Plus it would have settled it on the field.  It Utah is the best squad (which I don’t believe is true) then they would beat the likes of Florida, Texas and USC on their way to the crown.

Barrack Obama are you listening?  We need a college football playoff.

[Sidenote: Does anyone else find it odd that Salt Lake City has a major newspaper named the Deseret News?  Not "Desert", but "Deseret" which apparently has meaning in Utah.  I had to double-check to make sure I wasn't getting farked by that article.]

Posted in College Football | 1 Comment »

The artist formerly known as Gatorade

Posted by ZA on January 6, 2009

Just like Prince once changed his name to a symbol.  Now we have a symbol for a sports drink.

What is “G”?  That’s been the question buzzing around for the last few days.  G stands for Gatorade and is part of their rebranding of their product line.  The problem for Gatorade (assuming I’m allowed to still call it that) is that there has not been as much buzz as they probably hoped.  Worse yet is a lot of people are missing the point of their “G” campaign entirely and many of the comments from an AdAge article were from people who don’t seem to care.

“totally ineffective”
“…I still would not know what ‘G’ was”
“…the spot wasn’t compelling enough for me to even ask anybody what it was“

If you google “G” you will find a paid link that a Youtube channel called “What’s G“.  Not sure what Gatorade was thinking on this one.

Posted in Gatorade, Sponsorship Deals, Sports Brands, Sports Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Michael Phelps heading back to China

Posted by ZA on January 5, 2009

2008 was a great year for Michael Phelps, whose Q Rating shot through the roof after his triumphs at the Beijing Olympics.  And it looks like the party is going to keep rolling into 2009 for Phelps who just signed what is described as “the largest single deal of its kind with a western celebrity in Chinese history”.  So Phelps will head back to China, back to the scene of his greatest professional triumph.  Only this time he won’t be there as a swimmer, but rather a pitchman.

Phelps has signed a deal with Mazda to endorse their products within China.  The deal states that he will “exclusively” pitch the Mazda 6 through personal appearances, outdoor, TV and radio.  The financial details of the endorsement deal were not released.

No word yet whether Michael will be able to fit his 6’4″ frame into the tiny sports car for the commercials.  Maybe they could just let Phelps lounge on the hood or even try to wrap 6’7″ wingspan around the Mazda.

Posted in Athletes, Endorsement Deals, Olympics | 1 Comment »

Gatorade needs to quit bringing it

Posted by ZA on January 4, 2009

Saturday morning I was washing off a late Friday night with a few breakfast tacos and a Gatorade.  Although it is rare these days that I can get out for a few drinks, that has always been my go to hangover cure.  Grease from the breakfast tacos and electrolytes from the Gatorade combine to get me back on-track.  But this Saturday there was something different than normal, something that I have never seen before.  I looked closely at my Fierce Grape flavored drink and noticed that it said “Bring It”.

Gatorade's new branding

Gatorade's new branding

“Bring what?”, I thought.  Did I win a contest?  Was this some sort of secret message to me from the people at Gatorade? Nope, “Bring It” is part of Pepsico’s rebranding of their famous athletic drink.  They have renamed each Gatorade extension and updated the packaging.  Gatorade says the change is to “convey the attitude of a tough-love or personal trainer, through in-your-face names on the label”.

Gatorade renamed all of their products:
* Gatorade is now “G”.
* Gatorade Fierce is now “Bring It”.
* Gatorade X-Factor is now “Be Tough”.
* Gatorade AM is now “Shine On”.
* Gatorade Rain is now “No Excuses”.

Gatorade has always been one of my favorite brands, but this time I’m not sure where they are going.  They are obviously trying to instill a tougher attitude about their product.  I assume to keep up with the variety of energy drinks that are popular with the younger generations.  Those energy drinks with names like “Amp” and “Venom” are all about attitude.

I’m not a fan of Gatorade going this direction because it isn’t just an athletic drink; Gatorade transcends the industry to be more of a lifestyle drink.  People are more likely to be drinking Gatorade driving in their car than working out at the gym.  Gatorade is the market leader in the category (regardless what Powerade is doing to try to catch them), so they need to act like the leader.  This change appears to be more of a reactive move to what other brands are doing in Gatorade’s category.

It seems like Gatorade trying to reinvent itself into something it is not.  If Gatorade wants to pursue the skateboard riding, Xbox 360 generation, then they should develop a product geared at them.  But don’t change the entire brand to court a small segment, thereby alienating a fanbase that has taken decades to build.  Otherwise next time I am standing in-front of the beverage cooler I might reach past “No excuses” and try a VenomAmp.  Truthfully I’ll continue to buy Gatorade but I’m not going to ‘bring it’.

Posted in Gatorade, Sports Brands | 5 Comments »

Bold predictions for Sports Marketing in 2009

Posted by ZA on January 2, 2009

There were lots of changes in the sports marketing world in 2008.  So predictable, but many were one’s that no one saw coming.  With the global economy in a tailspin, cash is now king.  That means big changes are in-store for the world of sports marketing in 2009.  So what is coming in the sports marketing world for 2009.  Here are 7 bold predictions.

2009

1. Tiger Woods signs with Mercedes (or BMW)
* He was dropped by Buick in 2008.  His agent said Tiger wouldn’t have a new car sponsor.  US automakers are in horrible shape, so look for one of these foreign car makers to make a run at Tiger. Mercedes stepped up and landed a spot in the Masters, so they are the favorite.  But don’t rule out BMW and even Lexus.

2. Wrigley Field gets a new name
* Actually I don’t think they’ll change the name, just add a presenting sponsor (e.g.- Rose Bowl presented by Citi). Tribune Company needs the cash and a Wrigley Field naming rights deal should bring in $20M+ annually (even in a down economy).  As to which company will pony up the cash, keep an eye on local Chicago corporations like McDonald’s.  It’s possible that the Big Mac will replace the Chicago style hot dog as the official food of Wrigley Field.

3. AIG defaults on Manchester United sponsorship
* There are a number of sponsorship deals that could go belly up, but I’m predicting AIG to be one of them.  AIG’s financial troubles brought them to the brink of bankruptcy before they were bailed out.  Their deal with Man United is $20M per year.  Some government auditor is going to force AIG’s hand on reigning in their spending, and the Man United deal gets cut (think Tiger Woods and Buick).  Not to worry Manchester United fans, there will be plenty of global companies eager to put their corporate name on the United kits.

4. Nascar will eliminate races
* For years Nascar has been the darling of the US sports world, growing faster than all of the other major professional sports leagues.  But the troubles in Detroit are going to take a big bite out of Nascar, forcing them to cancel a few races.  This will actually turn out to be a good thing as the attrition will make the races that remain that much stronger, think of it as addition by subtraction for Nascar.

5. Reebok brand is eliminated
* Not eliminated, but rather folded into Adidas so that all Reebok shoes/apparel/deals will now be Adidas.  Reebok’s sales were down in 2007, and soft 2008 sales will prompt Adidas to consolidate.  Since Reebok is already a subsidiary of Adidas Group, the change will be to convert Reebok into Adidas.  The move will eliminate jobs at Reebok and strengthen the Adidas brand which inherits deals with the NFL, NHL and MLB.  The Adidas logo will appear on NFL jerseys, rather than Reebok.  This type of brand changeover (consolidation) is not unheard of and already occurred when Adidas took over the NBA sponsorship from Reebok in 2006.   This cost cutting, brand building move is another move in the global sneaker wars between Adidas and Nike.

6. Under Armour acquired by Nike
* Nike’s reaction to Adidas taking out Reebok will be to acquire upstart Under Armour.  Under Armour is the new kid on the block in the sports apparel and shoes world, but UA has been growing fast and are preferred by a lot of kids today.  Plus, Under Armour is nearing $1B in annual sales so they have become a major player in the market.  Nike is flush with cash and looking to add to its roster of successful subsidiaries with already includes; Umbro, Converse, Hurley and Cole Haan.  Buying Under Armour ensures that Nike will remain popular with younger generations.  I don’t get the feeling that Under Armour wants to sell, but $5B to $10B offers are hard to turn down.

7. David Beckham goes back to Europe
* He came, we (barely) saw, he conquered (our wallets)…and now he leaves.  I was excited when he came to the LA Galaxy, but early injuries dampened that enthusiasm.  Since then it seems like Becks has spent more time socializing than playing soccer.  Now I think he goes back to England to finish his career in the EPL.  Overall, I think it was a positive for MLS that Beckham joined.  My hope is that the MLS will continue to add these type of players to provide a little more global appeal to the league.  Even aging stars on the tailend of their careers will bring more attention to the league.

Are the predictions bold?  Absolutely.  But the current market ensures there will big changes in 2009.  So bookmark these predictions and we’ll comeback next year to see which came true.

What do you predict will occur in the sports marketing world in 2009?

Posted in Apparel & Shoes, Endorsement Deals, Golf, Nascar, Sponsorship Deals, Sports Brands, Sports Marketing, Venue Naming Rights | 4 Comments »

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