SMB.

Mobile subscribers are increasing every year in USA, it has increased 7,9% from 2007 to 2008. The mobile usage is so widespread in the US that almost every american could be a potencial audience for mobile marketers.

Yet sports fan are for more engaged in mobile campaigns and any other kind of interaction. According to the latests posts I wrote in July, about the three major sports brands mobile campaigns, sports sites video streamming and customers engagement, these fans represents the best audience for new approaches.

In 2007, Nielsen/NetRatings published a study showing that sports fans were predominantly male and tended to be more affluent, educated and technically savvy than the total population. These fans are willing to pay for premium content and merchandise and are accustomed to the presence of sponsors and advertisers around sports events.

According to eMarketer, mobile ad spending will reach $1.1 billion in 2009, up from $806 million this year and 40% growth in mobile ad spending next year will be majorly driven by sports fans.

Despite the financial pressures due to the credit crunch, Coca-Cola is committed to sponsoring major football events such as the World Cup and European Championship.

Dominique Reiniche, the president of Coca-Cola's European operations, say they would continue to invest in sports notably soccer, at the top end and grassroots level.

"We don't see ourselves as sponsors, but as partners. Olympics, World Cup, UEFA European Championships will continue," she said.

Coca-Cola has already agreed to extend through to 2020 its membership of the International Olympic Committee's worldwide TOP programme, involving major corporations, which is the IOC's most lucrative sponsorship programme.

Reiniche added that Coca-Cola will also continue its investment at the local level in sport in a bid to reduce the problem of obesity, which IOC president Jacques said last month would also be his priority if he is elected for a second term.

Watch the 2006 FIFA World Cup Coke Commercial and Coca-Cola "Yao and LeBron" Olympic commercial

Due to this financial crisis, NBA team's values might decline if the economic downturn continues to worsen in 2009.

According to FORBES, some franchises will have a direct impact if this crisis continues. Season ticket renewals and new sales are down this season. The NBA recently laid off 9% of its staff on concerns over the economy. Also, some arena naming rights partners for teams like: American Airlines, Conseco, Ford Motor, United Airlines and Wachovia. Each of these companies saw its stock dive more than 80% over the past 12 months, and some sponsors might look to back out of their deals.
Despite all that, the last season (2007-08) was a success for the NBA. The league's most remarkable teams, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Laker, met in the finals, and TV ratings grew up 51% over the prior year.

League-wide revenues hit a record $3.8 billion during the 2007-08 season, 6% more than the prior campaign, and the average team posted a profit (in the sense of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $10.6 million, the highest amount since Forbes began tracking NBA finances 10 years ago.
The new agreements with ABC, ESPN and TNT that began with the 2008-09 season are worth $ 7.4 billion, 21% more than the prior deals on an annual basis.
Three teams experience double-digit gains this year, Portland Trail Blazer (up 21% to $ 307 million), Boston Celtics (up 14% to $ 447 million), Oklahoma City Thunder (up 12% to $ 300 million).

The Chart above shows the TOP 10 NBA's most valuable teams based on current arena deal (unless new arena is pending) without deduction for debt (other than arena debt).



In December the 4th, I wrote a post about how NBA is loosing attendance for NHL. Does NBA still a profitable sport?

#5 HOUSTON TEXAS (Profit: $57.6 million)

#4 FC Bayern Munich (Profit $62 million)

#3 Real Madrid
($83 million)

#2 Manchester United ($ 92 million)

#1 Washington Redskins ($ 108.4 million)

For about 6 seasons the two most popular professional arena sports in North America are struggling to increase their average attendance.

Even though, during the 2007-08 season, the NBA averaged 17,396 fans per game (2% down from the previous year), and was still the third-highest average attendance in league history, compared to NHL´s 17,268 fans per game.

The biggest difference between the leagues may be this: 4 NHL teams play to less than 80% capacity, compared to 8 NBA teams. Four NBA teams (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Sacramento and Memphis) are currently averaging fewer fans per game than the team with the lowest attendance in NHL.

On the other site, NBA still has higher attendance than the NHL and even with a attendance declining in the past 2 seasons, last year´s average still ranked among the best in league history.
The chart below shows the despite all the buzz around this topic, NBA attendance is dropping and NHL´s is increasing . So the NHL is definitely gaining on the NBA in attendance, even if not as dramatically as has been portrayed.

After the $85 billion Federal Reserve's $85 takeover of insurance giant AIG in return of 79.9% and management replacement, gave US government control of Manchester United sponsorship.
AIG's $100 million shirt sponsorship deal, signed two years ago, was the largest at the time.

A proactive public relations plan is a far more important and valuable strategy to pursue for the athlete by Darren Rovell

What is the most overused word in today’s athlete public relations and marketing lexicon? You probably guessed it: BRAND. Athletes and their handlers often talk about their efforts to build the athlete’s “personal brand.”

What is the reality? There are very few athletes who actually develop into a brand. Those athletes who do will certainly be the exception rather than the rule. My advice to all involved is: Don’t force the branding issue! In most cases the effort will be nothing more than an exercise. Truthfully speaking, you can’t be a brand if you don’t have a strong identity.

The real goal and focus of the public relations plan should favor maximizing awareness and building a universally recognizable identity instead of stressing the “branding” issue. A carefully crafted, clearly messaged, well executed, proactive public relations plan is a far more important and valuable strategy to pursue for the athlete.

The comprehensive and strategic plan should be effectively integrated with marketing partners, sponsors, business interests, teams, leagues, governing bodies and charitable or philanthropic initiatives. Be a good partner. I am a firm believer in the saying “rising tides lift all boats”. I am a strong advocate of promoting a collaborative effort between athletes and all of their partners and business interests. These partners should bask in the reflective glow of their association with each other. Each partner brings distinct value to the relationship. Don’t compete with each other. Be a team. Help each other create and seize media opportunities.

The plan should have a universal and clear message and aim to reach the largest possible audience. Athletes should seek opportunities across all media platforms and constantly look for ways to reach new audiences with their message in order to continue the process of creating greater awareness and building identity.

Focus on the message. Make sure that you are constantly promoting the right themes for you and your partners. Always know what you want to say and get those points across in interviews. Utilize every single media opportunity to promote the important messages and interests beyond your sport, including your goals, priorities, personal beliefs, sponsor partnerships, business interests and philanthropic initiatives. Every press conference, interview, book tour, sponsor day, charitable appearance, golf outing or speech is an opportunity so max out on every single one.

People love compelling stories and personalities that have depth that extends beyond the playing fields. The more access provided to introduce and promote the various aspects and dimensions of the athletes’ life and interests, the better. It takes time and a thoughtful and strong proactive effort; but in the quest to effectively build identity and increase awareness, it’s a critical step. Storytelling is often the great differentiator.

After all, the real goal is to stand out, not blend in. Maybe, someday, you actually may become a brand!

National Basketball Association and Harlem Globetrotters agreedd strategic partnership that will give fans worldwide access to high-quality basketball entertainment.
They will work together to plan and promote the Globetrotters' international slate of games and events. The partnership will début in February during the All Star Game 2009, the NBA's global showcase.
This past off season the NBA hosted more than 135 international events in 93 cities in 25 countries.

New York Mets (Baseball) and Vancouver Canucks (Hockey) will upgrade it´s data systems by offering fans the opportunity to order food, see instant replays, call up player statistics on the fly or buy merchandise right from their seats, using a handheld device.
"This is the general direction things are going in. People want information and convenience," says Harvey Jones, the Canucks vice president for arena operations.
According to Forbes, neither team expects to have fans punching up food orders or buying merchandise on their PDAs just yet. The system upgrades undertaken by each club will serve the immediate purposes of speeding up communications for the employees, the better to get fans into parking lots and through the gates faster. Concession workers will be able to re-stock hot dogs faster, while ticket scanning can be done in more locations, not just at the turnstiles.

A new study from Commercial Alert, a public-interest group, has highly criticised the marketing and adverting of junk foods, sodas, fast-foods chains and alcoholic beverages at the Olympic games. They study says that IOC policies must be re-examined.
‘The Commercial Games’ report states that such products conflict with the stated purpose of the Olympics, which they say is to "celebrate healthful living." Promoting such products in the widely watched Olympics, the study says, is "unhealthful," and particularly inappropriate "for an event with enormous appeal to children."
The study also criticises the IOC for what the groups believe is its lack of concern that some companies with marketing ties to the Games rely on so-called "sweatshops" that offer substandard wages and working conditions to produce goods. It specifically cited Nike and Adidas as companies that haven't taken effective steps to eliminate sweatshop conditions within their supply chains. In addition, study also criticises the IOC for awarding "monopolies" to sponsors such as Visa and Coke that limit spectator choices at the Games themselves. Only non-alcoholic beverages marketed by Coca-Cola are available at the Olympics, and Visa is the only credit card accepted there.

According to Sport Business Journal, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has announce a a plan to stream live games to local markets on the internet.
Under the plans, the NBA will negotiate contracts for its member teams so they can stream live games to targeted local online audiences this autumn. In theory, Los Angeles residents would be able to watch games directly from LA Lakers web site. NBA will use geo-targeting to improve market segmentation.
It is still unclear whether the games will be streamed for free, with advertisements, or even on which sites they would be shown. The NBA is also dealing with rights issues and potential pushback from regional sports networks.

According to Forbes, nine of the 10 most lucrative are indoor basketball/hockey venues that seat between 18,000 and 21,000 with at leats 89 luxury suits. Football and baseball stadiums, are too big to compete on a per-seat basis.
The Los Angeles Stapples Center it´s the #1, with more than 140 events a year thanks to LA Lakers, LA Clippers, NHL´s Kings, WNBA´s Sparks and de AFL´s Avengers.
The arena draws $5.8 million annually in naming rights from Staples. It adds up to approximately $216 million in annual sports revenue, or $10,200 per seat.
Take a look at the Top 10 in pictures.
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Spanish soccer club, Real Madrid launch an official mobile website of the team in Japan.
Real Madrid Mobile will feature weekly club news, interviews, video footage of goals from the UEFA Champions League and text updates of schedules, scores and results for users in Japan.
The site will be available on Japan’s three major mobile phone carriers.
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The greatest Olympic athlete so far, Michael Phelps is lifting up sponsors brands.
Phelps, who already receives an estimated $5 million annually in endorsement deals - more than 10 times what most of the high-profile athletes in his sport make - is likely to see his net worth increase by tens of millions of dollars.
According to Joyce Julius & Associates, Phelps’ air time on US network NBC has been worth $3.6 million for Speedo alone. Also senior vice president for marketing and sales for Speedo, Stu Isaac, said: "Truly, we've been able to leverage his popularity with all of our accounts because he has transcended swimming. It's helping Speedo become cooler and addressing a younger market outside just that core competitive swimmer."
Speedo offered a $ 1 million bounty if Phelps, only 19 at the time, could equal Mark Spitz´s record of seven gold medals, but the offer still stands for Beijing 08.
Phelps other sponsors include Visa, AT&T, Kellogg's, Hilton and Omega watches.
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During this Olympic game, Nike allowed swimmers to wear the Speedo LZR Racer suit, but at leats three non-Speedo athletes have covered up Speedo´s logo.
Eric Wright of Joyce Julius & Associates said that "Usuallly they were throwing a piece of black tape over the logo". A replay of NBC´s broadcast of the 4x100 meter relay, Speedo´s logo can´t be seen on the suits worn by Nike-sponsored athletes Cullen Jones or Jason Lezak.
According to Wright, Speedo has lost 30 seconds of exposure in both the men's and women's competitions from the cover ups. "Which comes to $750,000 of value if you're comparing it to ad buys," he said.

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Lenovo, fourth largest PC manufacturer and the Olympic sponsor, has said that it´s marketing campaing will boost brand abroad.
Lenovo is the only Chinese company among the International Olympic Committee's 12 top-tier sponsors. The firm acquired IBM Corp's PC unit in 2005 and is hoping its link to the Games will help its efforts to become a global brand name.
Lenovo is planning Olympics-related television advertising campaigns in the United States, Australia and India and will be running Internet advertisements in Europe, according to Alice Li, the company's vice president for Olympic marketing.

Sport marketing company, IMG, agreed a 20-year deal with China´s television broadcast, CCTV, to develop and market new sports events.
According to WJG, the venture hopes to capitalize on the post-Olympics commercialization of sports in China and intend to develop sports across that country for broadcast on CCTV- whose daily audience of 680 million people.
Ted Forstmann, IMG's chairman and chief executive, said: "The fundamental purpose of the joint venture is to marry what CCTV does in China and what IMG does all over the world. "If we are successful [in China], there are going to be a whole lot of events that exist that do not exist today," he added.

Nike sent a letter to swimmers allowing them to wear the Speedo LZR Racer Suit during the Olympics. The statement tells that wearing the Speedo brand during the competition will not be seen as a compromise to their contract with the world's biggest shoe and apparel company.
The main reason behind this decision it´s due to technologic advantage that those suits offer, before been aproved by FINA (The international swimming governing body) it was considered technological doping.
Many national teams changed their swimmers sponsors because of LZR superiority, but Adidas is insisting that its home country Germany, which it has a $6.2 million contract with through 2009, wear their swimsuit despite outspoken comments from the team and their desire to go Speedo.
After LZR suit, Speedo sales are up to 9.3 percent and Nike´s are down 7 percent.

Chelsea intend to became the world´s biggest club brand and to do so is teaming up with the world´s leading entertainment company, The Walt Disney Co.
Chelsea is committed to assisting and promoting all levels of soccer in the United States and youth soccer is a massive part of that. Disney is at the forefront of that movement in the US.on various levels.
Under the terms of the four-year agreement, Chelsea becomes the Official Professional Soccer Club of Disney’s Wide World of Sports and presenting sponsor of the Disney Soccer Showcase Series. As a result, Chelsea will be associated with the top youth soccer event destination, Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, and the number one youth soccer event in the United States, Disney’s Soccer Showcase.
The announcement is the first stage in a possible broader partnership between the two companies. Further talks are planned to see how Chelsea can work with the various entertainment and media brands within Disney.
Read the full article here
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