Google...the new college recruiter

Note: This does not directly relate sports marketing, however, it is a very interesting story and is the first of its kind that I have seen.

Google has grown to become more than just the dominant search engine on the internet, but a powerful brand name in most facets of online businesses: e-mail, stock market, online auctions, maps, etc. It can one more job on its resume now, college recruiter.
In a Nov. 29 article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tom Timmerman discusses how one German stand-out amateur soccer player, Yannick Reyering, found his college choice googling.

"I was Googling colleges in general in the United States,'' Reyering said, "and I came to the NCAA website. I wanted to be on the East Coast, and I saw that Virginia won the ACC championship in 2003 and 2004. ... A friend told me the first school I should contact is Virginia, that it had a great reputation, and I immediately got a response. There wasn't a desire to contact any other university."

The University of Virgina could not have recruited a soccer player in Reyering at any lower cost than someone simply walking up with a video tape of his highlights and stats and asking to sign. The only expense they had was one trip over to Germany to see a spring game of Reyering's.
The only that could have sweetened the deal would be if he could play a full 4 years. Due to NCAA rules and regulations, he must sit out a year becuase of his involvement with a semi-pro team. He did not receive payment so he is still an amateur player. Reyering was offered a contract but elected to have a life beyond soccer and go to college.

"It just wasn't the greatest contract,'' Reyering said. "I really didn't see a future there (with Osnabrueck). I wanted to start studying and do something else besides soccer."

Virginia's coach, George Gelnovatch, isn't naive; he realizes how lucky he and his program are for gaining a player with the talent and maturity of Reyering. He notes that players coming from Europe often are more mature and talented than those of American background. The fact that he was a 21 year-old freshmen gives him a physical advantage as well. According to the article, Reyering is a 6 foot 5 inch player who plays with the agility and ball control of a much smaller player.

"He's got very good touch for a big guy,'' Gelnovatch said. "He's a good passer and obviously is good in the air. He strikes the (heck) out of the ball with both feet. He hits a heavy ball. He's a very good finisher in front of the goal. He's a very technical finisher for a big guy."

This article shows the power of the internet and also how strong word-of-mouth buzz is. Reyering didn't just base his decision on Google, but also consulted his friends who said Virginia is the only university to talk to. Because of the information he saw on the internet and the recommendation of a friend, he contacted no other colleges or universities.

NHL + YouTube = Hockey 24/7

Earlier this month, the National Hockey League signed an agreement with YouTube Inc. (an internet video sharing site recently bought by Google) to legally share NHL game highlights as well as classic footage the true die hard fan always desires. This is the first of its kind for YouTube with a major North American sports league. As noted in an earlier blog, the NHL is still trying to recover from a year-long lock out in 2004-2005 and up until this point has not been successful.
According to a Nov. 16 article in the Toronto Star,

"The videos would be posted at least a full day after a game's completion. Brad Pelletier, an executive with the Canadian unit of sports consultancy I.M.G., said the league was probably considering a move to offer "raw, uncut and behind-the-scenes footage" that may not have aired during conventional broadcasts."

This is the type of inside or extended coverage that fans require nowadays. (Maybe Vince McMahon and his XFL experiment had it right after all, but that is for a whole different blog).
This type of fan access is not the first of its kind, however. Major League Baseball offers MLB Advanced Media, for an extra charge to fans. Why wouldn't the NHL simply create this type of service on its official site, NHL.com? To put it simplisticly, the NHL does not have the large fan base that will search out these features on a site they don't consistently visit.
However, Mark of the Sportsbiz Blog points out,

"However, the dedicated NHL fans would flock to live streaming video and would pay for it. The typical NHL fan is younger, more Internet savvy and earns more than the baseball fan and look what audio and video streaming did for baseball."

YouTube appeals to this type of audience and it is the NHL's goal to piggyback on YouTube's success in order to bulster their own. This may initially look to be a financial move for the NHL as the agreement is in escence a revenue sharing contract but do not be mistaken. This is simply a move to reach out to the departed fans from before the lock out.
Time will only tell if this accomplish the goal of increasing its fanbase that the NHL has yet to meet.
On a side note, this is not just a PR move for the NHL, but also for YouTube. YouTube has been criticized by every major sports league in the US (MLB, NFL, NBA, and formerly the NHL)and some have filed lawsuits against it and parent company Google. This partnership with the NHL, YouTube hopes, will make it more of a legitimate source for video footage, rather than a place for teens to people hurting themselves.

The New Ball of the NBA

As many of you may know, the National Basketball Association introduced a new basketball, replacing the leather ball used for generations of players. You may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with marketing? Well, several players have been about their feelings regarding the new ball. If the comments are negative, that is bad PR for the league.
According to NBA.com,

The new ball, manufactured by Spalding, features a new design and a new material that together offer better grip, feel, and consistency than the current leather ball...[and]features Spalding’s Cross Traxxion™ technology, a union of revolutionary design and breakthrough material

The league goes on to add that the new ball will have a longer life span than the leather version and will save the league and teams money in the long run. Some players on the other hand, are more concerned about the ball's effects on the game rather than the economic outcomes of the ball introduction.

"If it's played with for two months or if it's brand new, it feels bad," Nowitzki says. "So at least they accomplished that." as cited in the Dallas Morning News on 10/18.

This ill-will from the players is the exact opposite reaction the league was looking for.
From a different perspective, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, sees both sides of the argument. Often times outspoken against NBA executives, Cuban agrees with introduction of the new ball from a business perspective. On his personal blog, Blog Maverick, Cuban says,
"The NBA is on a business roll and our leadership continues to be consistent in their decision making abilities."
This is very good news for the NBA. If any owner was going to be outspoken about this, it would have been Cuban. However, Cuban goes on to say that the transition is not without its flaws. He realizes players are going to have to make adjustments to the way they handle the ball.

"In terms of the impact of the ball on the game itself. Its clear that the ball impacts all teams equally. Its also clear that it doesnt impact all playes equally. Some players have really benefitted from the new ball, while others have suffered. While i think players will make adjustments over the course of the season, and players "muscle memory" of the old ball will disappear and be replaced with a natural comfort of the new ball, its far from there yet."

Cuban also went on to request tests to be conducted at UT-Arlington in order to determine the differences, if any, between the leather composite balls and the new ones, according to a ABC News Study on 10/30.
The tests revealed the following,
"According to the results released Sunday, the ball bounces 5 to 8 percent lower than typical leather balls when dropped from 4 feet. It also found that the new ball bounces 30 percent more erratically."
This sounds to be opposite of the goals that the NBA hoped for from the new basketball.
It is yet to be seen if the effects of the introduction of the new ball favor for or against the NBA. Players have surprisingly been quiet about the ball, only giving short quips but nothing too lengthy. It appears the NBA will survive as they already survived the Mark Cuban test.

MLB adds new CBA

Taking local and national headlines throughout the weekend was the St. Louis Cardinals and their World Series victory over the Detroit Tigers in 5 games. Going almost unnoticed throughout the series was the new 5-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This is the longest CBA since 1968 and once again MLB avoids another stoppage of play due to contract negotiations. The CBA is similar to the current one in effect until the end of the calendar year. One important change involves the luxury tax an Howard Bloom discusses this in a recent post "Inside the Latest CBA".

"The competitive balance tax (aka the luxury tax) has some interesting modifications. The current four-year agreement had a $136 million threshold for the 2006 season. The Yankees as they have done for the three previous seasons exceeded the threshold, with a projected season ending payroll of around $201.5 million. The Yankees will pay a 40 percent premium on the $65.5 million exceeded the threshold, or $26.2 million."

The remainder goes onto discuss specific details of the CBA as they apply to certain teams.

MLB once again comes out looking great, especially when compared to the NHL and their current trends. MLB Commisioner releases the news at a good time so nobody looks too deeply into the details and focuses on the World Series. This is a strategic move on his part. But why wouldn't he want to have this be a story? Well, compared to the NFL, the MLB is far behind in relations between owners and players. The NFL's CBA tops the MLB's CBA in many ways. The most obvious is the salary cap. Ever since its inception, the salary cap has kept players' contract negotiations under control, as well as giving every team a fighting chance. Yes the MLB has the luxury tax as mentioned above but the larger market teams can afford to have an inflated salary, pay the luxury tax, and still come out ahead. Smaller market teams still can't compete. The NFL on the other hand plays on a level playing field, so to speak, and because of this, they consistently have more balanced games and higher television ratings.

The criticisms of the MLB and their CBA current and future can be refuted by a few stats. The most glearing stat is that each of the past seven world series champions have been from a different team. That is something the NFL cannot claim. Also, the fact that the Yankees have not won a championship in seven years also backs their case. They do consistently make the playoffs but have not gotten over the hump in awhile. It will be interesting to see how MLB continues with CBA and how the media and the fans respond to this new agreement.

NHL, getting bad publicity

In his Oct 18 blog post, "Just another day at the office for Gary Bettman and the National Hockey League," Howard Bloom discusses National Hockey League and their current string of negative publicity in the press. Bloom opens by stating the recent news concerning the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman.

"Tuesday was just another day at the office for the National Hockey League. First the bad news, the Colorado Avalanche remarkable string of sellouts is over. Second, last Thursday the Los Angeles Kings announced a five year single game attendance low. Third, on the very same evening the Chicago Blackhawks announced a crowd of 8,008. Fourth the NHL’s much ballyhooed cable partner Versus once again failed in their attempts to take the Comcast owned network a step forward, putting the NHL behind the eight ball in terms of leveraging and building their brand with their cable partner. Fifth, TSN is reporting the Russian Hockey League has filed a lawsuit against the NHL in New York Superior Court."

Attendance problems, law suits, poor television deals, the NHL is still dealing with many of the same problems it had last year, coming off the season long lock out. This negative publicity cannot help the NHL's marketing efforts to restore the popularity it possessed in the 1990's and early 2000's. As the article progresses, Bloom discusses the reality of the situation and how the NHL is attempting to recover from the lock-out and rebuild relationships with fans. Specific examples of the Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, and Atlanta Thrashers indicate attendance has not risen from last year and may even be worse. Bloom finishes with pointing out missedopportunitiess for their television rights and how their agreement with Versus (formerly OLN), has not been profitable for either party involved.

An interesting point mentioned by Bloom is the lack of media interest in the NHL. First, the LA Kings and Anaheim Kings were snubbed by the second largest paper in the United States. The LA Times that it would not send any beet writers to the Kings' or Ducks' games in order to cut back on expenses. This may save the paper money, however, it sends a terrible message to the hockey fans of Southern California. Secondly, the NHL's relationship with ESPN, or lack there of, is becoming ahindrancee to their already flat media coverage. ESPN no longer airs any hockey games and because of this, they have also cancelled their nightly hockey recap magazine, NHL Tonight. ESPN, as their slogan states, is theworldwidee leader in sports, and the NHL's non-association with them is a poor move on many levels. Rather then having live games and nightly shows dedicated to hockey, they may have 5 minutes of air time withbrieff commentary from Barry Melrose.

The NHL has to find a way to reconnect with its fans and it will need the help of the media to accomplish this goal. Deals with Versus and NBC are not enough. They need the support of ESPN, ABC, and FOX, as well as local media outlets, i.e. the LA Times. Until this happens, the NHL will be viewed as a second rate league to many outsiders looking in and this hurts me to write since I am an avid hockey fan since birth.

TIger and his sponsors

Tiger Woods, the most dominant golfer since Jack Nicklaus, is on a major hot streak currently. He is the world's #1 ranked golfer and along with that, the money leader on the PGA tour. Beyond the millions he making from the PGA tour (over $55 million in his career), he is bringing in much more through his sponsorships. Below, I will highlight Woods' sponsors and his role with their marketing campaign.

Nike Golf
This is Tiger's most obvious and recognizable sponsor. Every tournament, every round of golf, and every hole playes, Tiger displays the Nike swoosh on his hats, polos, clubs, and golf balls. Beyond Tiger displaying the Nike name and logo proudly, he works with them to help create the best gold products possible.

Buick
Tiger can be seen in numerous Buick commercials lending his seal of approval to the Buick line of cars. Tiger and Buick have partnered up since 2000.
According to Tiger Woods' official website

Tiger delivers power, style, and finesse every time he hits the course. And Buick is ready to deliver those same qualities every time you hit the road.

On a side note, Tiger has been very successful in the Buick sponsored events over his career, winning 6 of them since 1999.

Upper Deck
Tiger Woods has become an official partner of Upper Deck. With this company he serves as a company spokesman to the public and also as official autograph signer of the company

EA Sports
EA brings games from every sport to customers; from basketball, to soccer, to boxing, EA has a game for that sport. One of EA's top selling games is the one Tiger lends his name to, Tiger Woods PGA Tour. This game is a top-seller because it appeals to both the younger, youth market as well as the older adults that play their children's Playststion 2 or X-Box.

Tiger has plenty of other sponsors from many different industries including TLC Laser Eye Centers, American Express, Golf Disgest, and NetJets.

Mobile ESPN ends its service

Nine months ago, ESPN and its parent company Walt Disney Co. launched Mobile ESPN, the cell phone plan for the true sports fan. On December 31, 2006, however, it will discontinue service to all of its customers. Mobile ESPN issued a press release on September 28 notifying the sports world of the news. ESPN already has hold of televised sports through ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPNU, and ESPN Classic. Other media channels include ESPN Radio, ESPN the Magazine, and ESPN.com. With the launch of Mobile ESPN, the ESPN name and Disney tried to merge the sports and cellular phone markets into one.

According to the NY Times 9/29 article "Mobile ESPN to End Service Aimed at Sports Customers," Ken Belson divuldges that Disney initially invested $150 million into Mobile ESPN and a Disney-branded phone service. Executive VP of ESPN declined to state the exact amount of customers with Mobile ESPN or the amount of money already lost to this venture.

However, according to an article on Reuters.com,

The Walt Disney Co. will spend about $30 million to shut down its Mobile ESPN wireless telephone services

A bulk of this money will go to end contracts with phone subscribers and refund the amount of money customers spent on the special headsets needed for Mobile ESPN.

In order to save face with its existing customers, ESPN placed a letter from Mobile ESPN to its customers on the Mobile ESPN website. In this letter, ESPN assures the customers that it will attempt to continue their services but through existing nationwide carriers. This will also be a good way to recoup some of the sunk costs in creating the technology for Mobile ESPN. Also in the letter is an offer to its customers that will allow them break their contract at any time between now and Mobile ESPN's termintation and not pay a termination.
Finally the letter ends with a personalized touch,

We have truly valued your business and apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause. We look forward to serviing you in the future.

All and all this was the next logical step for ESPN to take on in the sports world. Their success or anticipated success could have been the result of faulty marketing research results. More than likely there is a market out their for this technology but not an entire cell phone network. This technology will eventually be purchased by another carrier and the world can have all the instant sports news, scores, and stats they can handle.