While Nike is, and will be the king of the athletic shoe market for some time, I have been impressed with recent advertisements from Reebok, New Balance, and Under Armour. Nike currently holds 47% of the footwear market for athletic apparel, but hopefully these ads push Nike to become more innovative with its ads.
New Balance:
Video
This might be my favorite ad of the three. The projection mapping technique used in the video allows the shoe to take on many different lights, colors, and animations. The video catches the eye because of the customization and fun atmosphere of the video. If New Balance is moving towards a more customizable, yet still athletically effective direction, they could have a very successful campaign.
Reebok:
Video
Reebok was extremely fortunate to get John Wall on its basketball side, considering they had just had Allen Iverson for quite some time. Considering how electric Wall has been thus far, it could be an excellent pick up for them. I am choosing to focus on the basketball side of Reebok because it has had a much more difficult time competing in the basketball market. With the introduction of the ZigTech shoes, which have been extremely successful thanks to endorsements by Peyton Manning, Chad Ochocinco, and Sidney Crosby, Reebok put together some great ads for them. The advertisements has a tremendous energy to it, which matches the high activity level that the shoe will use. Side Note: I love the quick appearance by Allen Iverson in the commercial, see if you can find it!
Under Armour:
Video
Under Armour finally launches into the basketball shoes market with some impressive looking shoes. The company secured Brandon Jennings to be its commercial athlete, which is a decent start for them. Jennings is not quite a superstar but a consistently exciting player. The commercial is an effective teaser ad which created a buzz around the shoes. Side Note: It seems like the ad uses the exact same music as Inception did.
Some very cool stuff, and hopefully there will be more to come. Let's go Nike, pick it up!
Nov 21, 2010
Spurs vs. Cavs End of game presentation
While this will be a quick post, I was really impressed by the music director for the San Antonio Spurs last night. I was watching the Cavs face the Spurs, and the Spurs were winning handily. Because I was watching on TV, I hadn't really been able to follow what the Spurs were doing in terms of game presentation.
Surprisingly and impressively, many of the fans stuck around to the end of the game, despite the 24 point lead the Spurs had. As the time was running towards zero, the song "All I do is win" started playing, which in itself was not surprising. It was the timing that was incredible. The lyric, "Everybody's hands go up"... occurred right as 0.0 happened, then a short pause, and all of the fans had their hands up. When the next lyric, "And they stay there!" occurred everyone within the camera view was dancing to the song. These small game presentation moves can make a huge difference, so well done to the Spurs.
Surprisingly and impressively, many of the fans stuck around to the end of the game, despite the 24 point lead the Spurs had. As the time was running towards zero, the song "All I do is win" started playing, which in itself was not surprising. It was the timing that was incredible. The lyric, "Everybody's hands go up"... occurred right as 0.0 happened, then a short pause, and all of the fans had their hands up. When the next lyric, "And they stay there!" occurred everyone within the camera view was dancing to the song. These small game presentation moves can make a huge difference, so well done to the Spurs.
Nov 14, 2010
Citi Field Review
For my weekly facility review, I decided to do the other New York Stadium, Citi Field. Here is the virtual slideshow.
Positives: First and foremost, I love the wider walkways. This allows for better fan traffic around concession stands, seating, and restrooms as well as decrease waiting times. The expanded fan fest area should give fans a lot to do during some of the below average baseball they have been seeing, as well as entertain younger kids during the game. Also, and this is a small but brilliant touch. The seats are both wider, and angled toward the infield so that there is no neck turning at any point during the game. Finally, they give access to all people to all restaurants and clubs during the game.
Negatives: With the access to the restaurants and clubs, the team will have to significantly increase season ticket holder benefits considering exclusivity is usually a big part of the reason to have the tickets. Secondly, 45,000 people could be considered a big number, especially with how wide the park is.
Overall, it looks like a great park, and should be one of the bright spots in the upcoming Mets season.
Positives: First and foremost, I love the wider walkways. This allows for better fan traffic around concession stands, seating, and restrooms as well as decrease waiting times. The expanded fan fest area should give fans a lot to do during some of the below average baseball they have been seeing, as well as entertain younger kids during the game. Also, and this is a small but brilliant touch. The seats are both wider, and angled toward the infield so that there is no neck turning at any point during the game. Finally, they give access to all people to all restaurants and clubs during the game.
Negatives: With the access to the restaurants and clubs, the team will have to significantly increase season ticket holder benefits considering exclusivity is usually a big part of the reason to have the tickets. Secondly, 45,000 people could be considered a big number, especially with how wide the park is.
Overall, it looks like a great park, and should be one of the bright spots in the upcoming Mets season.
Philanthropic Tweeting
One thing, other than social media in general, that I have been extremely interested in recently has been how philanthropy is used with tweeting. Recently, the LA Kings had a really cool co-promotion with the Colorado Avalanche. Here is the website where I found it. By the way, this is a great website that I found recently to keep up to date with some cool business trends.
The general idea was that the Kings challenged the Avalanche fans to try to tweet more than the Kings fans. In every tweet, the fan had to have either a #Kings or #Avs hash tag. With every #Kings tweet, the Los Angeles Children's Hospital donated $1 to cancer cure research. During the game, the #Kings had 29, 374 tweets, therefore donating $30,000! Considering the only costs associated with this promotion is the creation of promotional materials, this may be one of the best promotions I have come across.
From a brand standpoint, not only does the philanthropic message look great, the Kings added 1,00 follower during the game! The only change I would make if this event happened again, would be to challenge the other team to also find a donating partner. That way both cities would benefit in facing the cost.
Either way, great idea by the LA Kings, and I hope to see teams improve this idea.
The general idea was that the Kings challenged the Avalanche fans to try to tweet more than the Kings fans. In every tweet, the fan had to have either a #Kings or #Avs hash tag. With every #Kings tweet, the Los Angeles Children's Hospital donated $1 to cancer cure research. During the game, the #Kings had 29, 374 tweets, therefore donating $30,000! Considering the only costs associated with this promotion is the creation of promotional materials, this may be one of the best promotions I have come across.
From a brand standpoint, not only does the philanthropic message look great, the Kings added 1,00 follower during the game! The only change I would make if this event happened again, would be to challenge the other team to also find a donating partner. That way both cities would benefit in facing the cost.
Either way, great idea by the LA Kings, and I hope to see teams improve this idea.
Nov 8, 2010
Forbes Article Response
Forbes, one of my favorite websites for business news, recently published an article discussing changes they would make to the National Football League. The author, John Tamny, effectively argues how the league could improve its already solid parody, readjust the draft selection, promote competition, and get rid of revenue sharing. If you would like to read the article before reading my itemized response, click here.
1) Tamny argues that because the NFL is a private league, it should use its power to fire owners who have shown a record of not competing. I have been in favor of a competition committee for a long time, and I really support this idea. The Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Jacksonville Jaguars could have been spared the past decade for their fans. The owners would have to be proactive, aware of their fans' requirements, and ready for anything. This would force the teams to intensely compete each other to create competitive rosters, and building the brand.
2) Personally, I have no problem with revenue sharing in the NFL. While it does allow free riders, if the previous step was followed, the assumption would be that the teams would all be somewhat competitive and there would be less free riders in the system, therefore eliminating the problem.
3) Finally, Tamny proposes that the NFL Draft adopt a lottery style draft system, but instead of having the worst team have the best chance at getting the first pick, have the best non-playoff team get the best chance for the pick. This would provide an incentive for teams to compete the entire league, and the situation of a team giving up would not be a smart option because the team would not get the exciting young prospect for their fan base.
Thanks for reading and comments are always welcome!
1) Tamny argues that because the NFL is a private league, it should use its power to fire owners who have shown a record of not competing. I have been in favor of a competition committee for a long time, and I really support this idea. The Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Jacksonville Jaguars could have been spared the past decade for their fans. The owners would have to be proactive, aware of their fans' requirements, and ready for anything. This would force the teams to intensely compete each other to create competitive rosters, and building the brand.
2) Personally, I have no problem with revenue sharing in the NFL. While it does allow free riders, if the previous step was followed, the assumption would be that the teams would all be somewhat competitive and there would be less free riders in the system, therefore eliminating the problem.
3) Finally, Tamny proposes that the NFL Draft adopt a lottery style draft system, but instead of having the worst team have the best chance at getting the first pick, have the best non-playoff team get the best chance for the pick. This would provide an incentive for teams to compete the entire league, and the situation of a team giving up would not be a smart option because the team would not get the exciting young prospect for their fan base.
Thanks for reading and comments are always welcome!
Nov 7, 2010
Yankee Stadium
In my usually weekly series of reviewing a stadium/arena/or ballpark, I decided this week to review possibly the biggest and most revered stadium just recently built, Yankee Stadium. While there was some resistance to building the new one because of the history of the old park, the facility was incredibly outdated, and was becoming dangerous with age.
The new Yankee Stadium definitely acknowledges the history of the New York Yankees, making the exterior look like the original Yankee Stadium. It also kept the exact same dimensions, the arches in left field, monument park, and practically looks exactly the same on the field as the old park.
Internally, the stadium has a full restaurant, steak house, museum, many conference rooms, lounges, and more to entertain fans year-round. The park, like Cowboys Stadium, hosts a number of different events throughout the year, and will be hosting the Army - Navy game in two weeks. Its versatility makes it an attractive venue for many different sporting contests, concerts, and other events.
An unusual part of the stadium is the wind factor. A construction and design flaw created a natural wind tunnel out to right field, which creates a tremendous number of home runs in the stadium. Yankee Stadium led the league the past two seasons in home runs, and it will be interesting to see if the contractors do anything about the wind tunnel.
The new Yankee Stadium definitely acknowledges the history of the New York Yankees, making the exterior look like the original Yankee Stadium. It also kept the exact same dimensions, the arches in left field, monument park, and practically looks exactly the same on the field as the old park.
Internally, the stadium has a full restaurant, steak house, museum, many conference rooms, lounges, and more to entertain fans year-round. The park, like Cowboys Stadium, hosts a number of different events throughout the year, and will be hosting the Army - Navy game in two weeks. Its versatility makes it an attractive venue for many different sporting contests, concerts, and other events.
An unusual part of the stadium is the wind factor. A construction and design flaw created a natural wind tunnel out to right field, which creates a tremendous number of home runs in the stadium. Yankee Stadium led the league the past two seasons in home runs, and it will be interesting to see if the contractors do anything about the wind tunnel.
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