BrandDunk

Branding the World of Sports

Archive for the ‘NFL’ Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Companies advertising in the 2010 Super Bowl

Posted by ZA on January 29, 2010

CBS sold spots for close to $3 million dollars for 30-seconds for the 2010 Super Bowl.  Did the $3 million dollar price tag deter many advertisers?  Some of the old guard, like General Motors and Pepsi dropped out, but there are still plenty of companies who want their chance in-front of the Super Bowl’s huge television audience.  Homeaway and kgb are two lesser known companies that will advertising during the 2010 Superbowl in hopes to build their brand.

Here are the companies that will be airing television commercials during the 2010 Super Bowl on CBS:

Anheuser-Busch
Audi
Boost Mobile (Sprint)
Bridgstone
CareerBuilder
Cars.com
Coca-Cola
Denny’s Restaurants
Diamond Foods (Pop-Secret popcorn)
Dockers
Dodge (Chrysler Group)
Doritos
E*Trade
Focus on Family (Christian family-help organization)
GoDaddy.com
Homeaway
Honda
Hyundai
kgb (directory assistance)
Kia
Mars (Snickers)
Monster.com
Motorola
Papa John’s Pizza
Teleflora
TruTV (Time Warner)
US Census Bureau
Viacom & Paramount Pictures (“Shutter Island”, “Iron Man 2″ and “The Last Airbender”)
Volkswagen

Posted in CBS, NFL, Sports Television | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Will Tim Tebow’s beliefs hurt his endorsement potential?

Posted by ZA on January 27, 2010

A good article from AdAge on how Tim Tebow’s appearance in a television commercial for a Christian group might negative affect his long-term potential as endorser.  The communication expert they quote in the article says that appearance will “dramatically shorten the window of opportunity”.  I think it will have little impact on his success as a pitchman.  What will decide whether he is a big endorsement star?  How well he plays in the NFL and what city he winds up playing for.  If Tebow becomes a similar star in the NFL to what he was in college football, then he’ll quickly become one of the top 10 endorsement stars among athletes.  If he is the next coming of Ryan Leaf then he’ll continue to pitch for niche Christian groups and car dealerships in North Florida.  Success on the field will be the deciding factor for Tebow’s NFL endorsement potential.

Posted in NFL | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

Government dollars being spent for Superbowl commercial

Posted by ZA on January 18, 2010

A good article from AdAge on the dilemma faced by America car makers, who were bailed out by the US government, when trying to decide whether to advertise in the Superbowl.  Ford and General Motors are sitting out again, but Chrysler has bought a commercial in the 2010 Superbowl.  That decision by Chrysler has brought some criticism by people who think they are wasting taxpayer money by shelling out $3 million for 30 seconds of air time.

It’s a bold move by Chrysler, and the right move for them to get the attention of their core market for their Dodge Charger.  The ultimate success will be determined by whether they are able to sell cars as a result of the Superbowl commercial.  So there is a lot riding on the creative for this Superbowl spot.  But more importantly, there will be a lot riding on whether Chrysler developed a great car.  The best advertising in the World, to the biggest audience (the Superbowl) won’t matter if the car sucks.

The controversy will die quickly if they hit their mark with the spot and sell a lot of cars as a result of it.  The lesson here: don’t count on other people to bail you out and then you never have to worry about asking them for permission.

Posted in NFL | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Vote for the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl

Posted by ZA on November 30, 2009

Go to NFL.com to vote your favorite NFL stars to a spot in the 2010 Pro Bowl.  The easy-to-use online ballot lets you vote for players at each position.  Make your voice heard and vote for the best NFL players to make the 2010 Pro Bowl.

Click here to visit the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl ballot.

Posted in NFL | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Who are the best announcers in football?

Posted by ZA on November 20, 2009

The Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily have published their list of the top 25 football announcers for 2009.  The list includes football commentators from both college football and the NFL.  Twelve panelists from the SBJ & SBD rated the announcers to produce the rankings.

Top 25 Best Football Annoucers for 2009:
1. Gary Danielson – CBS
2. Cris Collinsworth – NBC
3. Al Michaels – NBC
4. Phil Simms – CBS
5. Kirk Herbstreit – ABC/ESPN
6. Troy Aikman – Fox
7. Ron Franklin – ABC/ESPN
8. Verne Lundquist – CBS
9. Joe Buck – Fox
10. Jim Nantz – CBS
11. Mike Tirico – ESPN
12. Brad Nessler – ABC/ESPN
13. Brent Musburger – ABC/ESPN
14. Jon Gruden – ESPN
15. Daryl Johnston – Fox
16. Ron Jaworski – ESPN
17. Greg Gumbel – CBS
18. Sean McDonough – ABC/ESPN
19. Todd Blackledge – ABC/ESPN
20. Dan Fouts – CBS
21. Bob Papa – NFL Network
22. Mike Patrick – ABC/ESPN
23. Chris Fowler – ESPN
24. Gus Johnson – CBS
25. Dick Enberg – CBS

Here are the guys that are rated too high:
* Buck – He’s in the top 10 based on his baseball rep.  He’s solidly average in football.
* Gruden – It would be “outstanding” if he could expand his vocabulary.
* Gumbel – Living off his brother’s rep.  He’s okay, but not top shelf.
* Fouts – Top 20, really?  Proves no one is watching those AFC West games on CBS.
* Papa – Who gets to see him broadcast?  Time Warner still doesn’t offer NFL Network.
* Enberg – Great career, but listing him is more of a ‘lifetime achievement award’.

Here are the guys that need to be rated higher on the list:
* Franklin – Could easily be the top college football guy on list.
* Musburger – Polarizing figure, but he’s great for the game.  Getting old, but still comedic gold.
* McDonough – Always solid, would be rated higher if he were more of a “name”.
* Johnson – The panelists not only rate him too low they slight him with “Youtube generation” comment.

Here are some key names that did not make the list:
* Erin Andrews – ESPN (Put a lady on the list)
* Bob Davie – ESPN
* Dan Dierdorf – CBS
* Ian Eagle – CBS
* Bob Griese – ESPN
* Kevin Harlan – CBS  (Should make top 25 in future)
* Craig James – ESPN
* Andrea Kremer – NBC
* Jesse Palmer – ESPN (Should be in top 25 in future)
* Tony Siragusa – Fox
* Dick Stockton – Fox

PS – Could some production assistant at ABC/ESPN do Mike Patrick a favor and get him a better photo?

Posted in CBS, College Football, ESPN, Fox, NBC, NFL, Sports Television | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Who is the most valuable franchise in the NFL?

Posted by ZA on September 3, 2009

Forbes annual ranking of the most valuable sports teams has once again crowned the Dallas Cowboys as the most valuable team in the National Football League (NFL).  Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys and their stadium (Texas Stadium) from Bum Bright for $158 million dollars in 1989.  Twenty years later the Cowboys are now valued by Forbes at over $1.6 billion dollars.

Most valuable NFL franchises in 2009 (ranked by Forbes):
1. Dallas Cowboys ($1.6 billion)
2. Washington Redskins ($1.5 billion)
3. New England Patriots ($1.3 billion)
4. New York Giants ($1.18 billion)
5. New York Jets ($1.17 billion)
6. Houston Texans
7. Philadelphia Eagles
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9. Chicago Bears
10. Denver Broncos
Click here to see entire list of 2009 most valuable NFL franchises by Forbes.

The NFC East is the richest division in the NFL, the entire group is represented in the top 10 most valuable teams in the league.  Not surprising to anyone who follows football, the Oakland Raiders were rated as the least valuable franchise in the entire NFL.  Way to go, Al Davis!

NFL_Photo

Posted in NFL | Leave a Comment »

The NFL is too focused on controlling their brand

Posted by ZA on September 2, 2009

The NFL has the largest television contract among the four major U.S. professional sports leagues.  In-fact the paid media rights to the National Football League are surely the largest in the World, along with the Olympics and Premier League.  So there are a lot of dollars at stake for the NFL, which means they are extremely vigilant about how their product is distributed.  You’ve probably heard their “This broadcast cannot be redistributed without the express written permission of the NFL…” warning at the beginning of football games so often that you hardly notice it anymore.  But that pre-game warning is just part of the NFL’s strategy to protect their marks.

Now the NFL is expanding their protection to include a ban against social media.  The NFL is restricting players, coaches, league personnel or media from engage in social networking during games.  The purpose is to prevent a media member from twittering the activity on the field, which would be a form of redistribution that potential violates their television rights deal.  As if a reporter in Cleveland posting something on his Facebook page is going to ruin the entire Browns/Steelers broadcast for CBS.

I mean come on, isn’t this taking things a little too far?  I personally think it would be a more enjoyable experience if while watching the game on TV (on an NFL sponsor network) I was also able to read Peter King or Chad Ochocinco’s thoughts on the game.  Maybe Chris Cooley or his wife would post some scoop from the locker room that would totally enhance the game watching experience.  But that is exactly what the NFL does not want.

The NFL does not want some practice squad player posting from the New England Patriots locker room that Tom Brady was injured during a meaningless preseason game with the Washington Redskins.  They want to control the message and feel that’s the only way to protect the integrity of the game and their (high paying) media partners.  Which is dead wrong in my opinion.

The world today is too wired to try to control the message all the time.  Twitter, Facebook, etc. are meant to be means of distributing information to the masses.  The internet is the great equalizer in that it makes it easy to quickly spread information.  True, often that information might not be correct.  But to try to control that message to inhibit people from sharing their thoughts, ideas or opinions isn’t going to work.  It’s like trying hold a gallon of sand in your hand; it’ll first start to slip through your fingers and then eventually come pouring out.  The NFL would be better served to realize this now and refrain from trying to restrict entirely the information, but perhaps rather limit the information (e.g.- no distribution of injury related information).  They’d stand a much better chance of achieving their objective if they started with a reasonable goal.

I personally cannot wait until Ochocinco twitter’s after his first touchdown of the season.  It’ll be great to see how the league tries to penalize him.

Posted in NFL, Sports Television | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

What is a Super Bowl commercial worth?

Posted by ZA on August 3, 2009

How valuable is a television commercial during the Super Bowl? Apparently a lot less in the current economy.

CBS is reportedly selling spots for the 2010 Super Bowl in the $2-3 million dollar (per spot) range.  That amount is down considerably from the $2.4 million to $3 million per spot that NBC received on the 2009 Super Bowl.  CBS is selling cheaper because they have to given the current economy.  They are also telling potential buyers that they are negotiable on the price, something that NBC was (publicly) inflexible last year until the economy tanked.

Smart move by CBS to get aggressive on working with advertisers to get them involved in the big game.  There are lots of marquee brands that love to get the exposure the Super Bowl audience provides, but many of those have seen their ad budgets slashed.  By working with the potential advertiser to create a program, CBS is going to salvage some deals that might have otherwise walked away.  CBS will probably also benefit from hooking some of these advertisers into packages that include online, radio and other CBS-owned media properties.

I like this move, but if CBS really wanted to make a bold move they would publish the spot schedule with prices.  Imagine if they had a link from their website that showed all of the available commercial inventory during the broadcast.  The link would include all of the spots in order, which each spot having a price tag next to it.  If an advertiser has committed to the spot, then their name would be included (without revealing the price they paid).

I think this would be successful because it would create a buzz around advertisers to lock down the prime spots (which sell at higher prices).  It could also land some new deals from companies who might see a competitor listed and make the bold decision to buy a spot.  Imagine Heineken deciding to buy a spot immediately after (or before) a Budweiser or Miller spot.  Putting the information out there publicly might alienate some brands, but could get other new advertisers to step up to the table.  Because rather than negotiating the deals in backrooms, where favoritism rules the day, it would bring all dealings into the public domain.  Except of course the final agreed upon price should not be disclosed.

I even think CBS could take this strategy one step further by allowing Google & Microsoft (and other large online ad divisions) to each sell spots on their own sites, to earn a commission on the sale.  Maybe a Super Bowl commercial could even be auctioned off by Ebay (with a reserve price, of course).  The buzz alone generated by these moves would help to drive some sales and could even create a new online media property for CBS to sell ads for (i.e.- their web site listing all of the ads for sale on the Super Bowl).

This type of economy is when companies need to be most courageous.  CBS would be taking a big risk, but could also permanently change the way Super Bowl spots (and maybe others) are sold.  The change could have a positive financial impact now and down the road.  And before you remind me of the financial troubles of SpotRunner, I’ll say I think CBS has a few more resources than a 3rd-party site that is selling remnant commercial inventory.

Posted in CBS, NBC, NFL, Sports Television | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Who are the most popular athletes in America?

Posted by ZA on July 30, 2009

Americans love sports, so naturally we love the athletes who play the games.  But which athletes are our favorites?  Who are the top 10 most popular athletes in sports today? The Harris Poll recently released the results of their 2009 survey that asked 2,177 U.S. adults to tell who were their favorite sports stars.

America’s Favorite Male Athletes (2009):
1. Tiger Woods (Golfer)
2. Michael Jordan (Retired, NBA star)
3. LeBron James (Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers)
4. Kobe Bryant (Guard, Los Angeles Lakers)
5. Derek Jeter (Shortstop, New York Yankees)
6. Jeff Gordon (Driver, Nascar)
7. Peyton Manning (Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts)
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Driver, Nascar)
9. Brett Favre (Retired, NFL star)
10. Albert Pujols (Baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals)

America’s Favorite Female Athletes (2009):
1. Serena Williams (Tennis player)
2. Venus Williams (Tennis player)
3. Danica Patrick (Driver, Indy Racing)
4. Candace Parker (Forward, WNBA)
5. Mia Hamm (Soccer star)
6. Maria Sharapova (Tennis player)
7. Annika Sorenstam (Golfer)
8. Chris Everett Lloyd (Retired, Tennis star)
9. Anna Kournikova (Retired, Tennis player & model)
10. Michelle Kwan (Figure skater)

What stands out to me about the lists, particularly among the guys, is the influence that Nike has among the list.  7 of the 10 guys on the list endorse Nike, you could count Brett Favre as an 8th since he endorsed Nike brand, Starter.  The only 2 guys who do not have endorsement deals with Nike are the two Nascar drivers, who wouldn’t be a target for a shoe/apparel endorsement deal.  So you could say that Nike has a clean sweep of the eligible males.  Among female favorite athletes Nike’s percentage drops down a bit, but they still have four of the top 10 and the #1 overall.  Serena Williams, Mia Hamm, Maria Sharapova and Chris Everett Lloyd all cash endorsement checks signed by Phil Knight.

Other brands are well represented; Gatorade has deals more than half of the two lists.  That number is even greater if you factor in all of the Pepsico clients, Gatorade’s parent company, on the two lists.  Nike’s chief competitor, Adidas, also has a couple of current (Parker) or former endorsers (Kournikova) on the list.

But no brand is as well represented on the two lists as Nike.  The question it brings up is whether Nike’s marketing is helping to make these stars more popular or whether Nike has just picked the most popular athletes?  My thought is that it’s a bit of both.  Nike has always been one of the innovative marketers in sports.  They’ve revolutionized the game of sports marketing with campaigns they built around athletes, starting with Michael Jordan and continuing today through Tiger Woods.

Consider that Nike did not even make golf shoes or clubs prior to signing Tiger in 1996.  Nike’s original endorsement contract with Tiger Woods was $40 million dollars over five-years, which was then followed by a five year, $100 million dollar extension.  But their spending did not stop there, Nike has spent tens of millions more to promote their association with Tiger Woods.  And for their efforts, it’s estimated that Nike Golf pulled in $725 million in sales in 2008.  Through their endorsement deal and promotion, Nike essentially created a new billion dollar revenue stream for the company.  That type of innovative marketing will generate the cash to pay for a lot of endorsement deals.

And Nike has never been shy about spending for top talent.  They signed quasi lifetime endorsement deals with a few of the top names (Jordan, Woods & Serena Williams) to make sure they locked up their stars.  Other deals might as well be lifetime contracts because you won’t see Jeter or Sharapova pitching anyone else’s shoe brand anytime soon.  And Nike jumps at the chance whenever their has been an opportunity to add a big, new star to their roster.  Just recently they solidified long-term agreements with two members of the top 10 list above who happen to be the most popular players in the NBA; LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

All of the athletes above are some of the biggest stars in sports; a feat they achieved because of their superior talent and lots of hard work.  But to ascend to the top of the list of America’s favorite athletes also requires a little help from sponsors.  And from their dominance on the two lists, it appears that Nike is a really good sponsor to have.

Posted in Athletes, Endorsement Deals, Gatorade, Golf, MLB, Nascar, NBA, NFL, Nike, Sports Brands, Sports Marketing | Tagged: , , , , , | 5 Comments »

New Dallas Cowboys stadium called Cowboys stadium

Posted by ZA on May 13, 2009

This one was almost too predictable to even mention, but the Dallas Cowboys have decided to name their new stadium Cowboys Stadium.  The new Cowboys Stadium will host its first NFL football game this Fall.  It replaces Texas Stadium which was the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Irving for the past few decades.

The writing has probably been on the wall for some time on this decision.  I think Jerry Jones originally had visions of a 8 figure per year naming rights deal with AT&T or some other corporation.  When the economy tanked those deals dried up, which is why the Cowboys are going with a non-corporate name right now.  I expect Jerry will continue to shop a naming-rights deal to anyone corporations interested in partnering with “America’s Team”.  The opportunity to associate a corporate brand with one of the finest stadiums in the world is too great a chance for exposure to stay on the shelf for long.  I expect it’ll stay as Cowboys Stadium for the start of this season, but at some point this season or next Spring a major deal will be announced that provides some corporation with venue naming right for Cowboys Stadium.

Posted in New Venues, NFL, Venue Naming Rights | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.