Best Practices in Sports Marketing

The business side of sports marketing that I am pursuing is representing basketball players that play overseas and in the NBA. I am going to discuss the best practices in sports marketing. A concept that I learned earlier in EBMS masters program is the law of contraction. Ian McClurg lists narrowing your focus as the number one practice in his blog entry for the best marketing practices in sports organizations (2010). The law of contraction means that I should narrow my focus. A prime example of a successful company that narrowed their focus is Starbucks. The main focus of Starbucks is coffee. The sport that I am focusing on as a sports agent is basketball. I want to make as many connections as I can to give my clients’ the best opportunity to succeed.

In order to gain contacts in the sports world it is important to create opportunities for yourself. A great way to create opportunities for yourself is through social networking. I made an important contact in Lee Melchionni through facebook. Mr. Melchionni is well connected in the sports agent industry and is currently working for Waserman Media Group. Mr. Melchionni explained to me that it is important to stay up to date on the new technologies and always think of ways to improve your marketing techniques. Social networking is a great way to gather a following for your clients. I feel that it is important to be a creator on the social technographics ladder. The creator will publish blogs, web pages and videos. The blogs and the You Tube will be an effective way to keep my clients followers up to date on their progress. Twitter, blogger, facebook and You Tube are social networking sites that allow you to promote your business. Major sports groups meet on networking websites like Linked In. Social networking is a cost effective way to market your business.

The next best sports practice that Mr. McClurg discusses is the value of the organization. The value of my organization will be based on the concepts of hard work, dedication and discipline. The clients’ that I choose to represent will develop those three qualities. My goal as a sports agency is to build my agency’s reputation through my clients’ satisfaction. A great way for me to maximize my clients’ salary potential is through market research. It is important that I find out the salaries of other basketball players whose talent compares to my client. The most important information that I need to gather through my market research is how my client benefits the team that I am negotiating with. It is important to conduct market research of all of the NBA teams because each team has different needs. Therefore, my clients’ would get their maximum salary based on the market research that I conducted. The best practices in sports marketing are narrowing your focus, social networking, building a good reputation with your clients and well-documented market research.

Reference:

http://www.sportsmarketing20.com/profiles/blogs/marketing-best-practices-for

CBS and Turner NCAA tournament deal

A major deal in broadcasting that was just finalized is the NCAA tournament is being held on CBS, TBS, TNT, and TRUTV. The broadcasting deal is for 14 years and 10.8 billion dollars (Flint 2010). My goal throughout this masters program is to run my own sports agency. I felt that the NCAA tournament expanding to four networks is major news in the basketball world. This is meaningful news for me because I want to represent basketball players that play overseas and in the NBA. 2011 will be the first time in 73 years that CBS will not have the complete television coverage of the NCAA tournament. The key aspect of the television deal is that it

allows student athletes on the division one level to gain more exposure. This helps me see more players play and find a player that can play overseas or in the NBA. All the NCAA tournament games will be on television, which will be more exciting for the fans. The main objection that people have about the new broadcasting deal is that a majority of the games will be on cable. My suggestion for people that do not have cable and want to watch all of the NCAA tournament games is to go to a friends house that has cable.

The agreement between Turner and CBS begins next year and expires in 2024. More NCAA tournament coverage means the NCAA tournament will be worth more money. The television stations are rewarded with 771 million dollars in revenue from advertisers and subscribers (Sandomir&Thamel 2010). The revenue ensures student athletes across all three NCAA divisions will be supported in a broad range of championship opportunities and scholarships for divsion1 and division 2. The money earned by the NCAA tournament will help students in 23 sports compete and learn. CBS will have final four games through the year 2016. After 2016, TBS and CBS will alternate championship games. Turner is very excited to broadcast NCAA tournament games because of the tournaments rich tradition.

The reason that CBS gave up their full coverage of the NCAA tournament is the costs of covering the games were beginning to outweigh the benefits. Therefore, sharing the load with Turner, CBS can hold on to a big chunk of marquee games with fewer financial risks. The television deal pushed the NCAA tournament to 68 teams. Three more teams mean three more teams will be happy on selection Sunday. I liked the idea of 96 teams making the tournament, which would make more money for the television networks

CBS Sports, Turner Boradcasting, NCAA reach 14-year agreement Retrieved from

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/042210aaa.html

Flint, J. (2010). CBS cuts in Turner on NCAA basketball tournament, LA Times retrieved from:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/23/business/la-fi-ct-turner-20100423

Sandomir, R&Thamel, P (2010) TV deal NCAA tournament closer to 68 team tournament retrieved from;

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/sports/ncaabasketball/23ncaa.html

Gilbert Arenas Controversy

A recent conflict that made national headlines is the Gilbert Arenas gun incident. The incident was caused by a card debt that Mr. Arenas owed Javaris Crittenton. Mr. Arenas owed Mr. Crittenton 25,000 dollars from the card game. The argument between Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton started 2 days before the gun incident, where they were arguing about the debt on the team plane (Perez 2010). Mr. Arenas was found with 3 guns in the Washington Wizards lockeroom. This was not Mr. Arenas first incident in breaking the law. In 2003, Mr. Arenas plead no contest to a misdemeanor for possessing a concealed weapon and driving without a license (Aldridge 2010). The Gilbert Arenas conflict has to be the biggest conflict in the last five years. Other major sports conflicts in the NBA were the Pacers- Pistons brawl and the Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case. Those two incidents were huge but happened over five years ago.

The gun incident has all the drama to be considered a major sports conflict. It involved NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas along with the illegal activity of bringing a weapon into the lockeroom. The incident is so serious that the Washington Wizards have the right to void the rest of Arenas contract. Normally NBA contracts are guaranteed unless a player commits a felony or is an embarrassment to the team. Arenas also carried the firearms in Washington D.C., where the president of the United States resides.

No one was physically hurt during the clash between Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton. Therefore, how should Mr. Arenas be punished for bringing guns into the lockeroom? The NBA responded by kicking Mr. Arenas out the NBA for a year. The main question is; should Mr. Arenas be banned from the NBA for life? Kevin Balistreri, a High School teacher from Miami wants Mr. Arenas banned for life. Mr. Balistreri wrote that guns have no place in a sports lockeroom (2010). Teammates of Mr. Arenas agreed with Mr. Balistreri comments in saying that the lockeroom is sacred and you are suppose to feel safe in there (Aldridge 2010). Mr. Balistreri builds up a legit case against Mr. Arenas explaining that he is role model and it is inexcusable for him to bring guns into the lockeroom. He understands the scope of gun violence and the devastating effect it has on countless lives. The NBA needs to send a message to kids that gun violence is no laughing matter. Mr. Arenas is a millionaire who acted like a thug, while there is children grow up playing basketball on the streets of their neighborhoods that are in constant fear of gun violence.

I was personally associated with a gun violence incident took the life of one of my friends. His name was Ty Wallace and he was a teammate of mine at Arcadia University. Mr. Wallace was the cousin of NBA superstar Rasheed Wallace. Mr. Wallace was a good friend of mine who died in a drug-busting incident with undercover cops who shot Mr. Wallace to death after he had pulled out a gun. Mr. Wallace was a great teammate and friend and this incident was the precedence of gun violence. I agree with Mr. Balistreri’s comments that this incident should be taken very seriously. The aftermath of Gilbert Arenas bringing guns into the lockeroom left no one hurt, just a story that made national headlines.

Mr. Arenas punishment is serving a 30-day sentence in a halfway house and two years of supervised probation. Other punishment for Mr. Arenas includes 400 hours of community service and donating 5 thousand dollars to victims of violent crimes along with being suspended for the entire NBA season by commissioner David Stern. The punishment for Mr. Arenas is debatable by many different points of views and that is what makes Mr. Arenas infamous gun incident the biggest sports conflict in the last five years.

References

Aldridge, D. (2010). Arenas Faces Serious Consequences in alleged gun incident retrieved from: http://www.nba.com/2010/news/01/01/wizards.arenas/index.html

Balistreri, K. (2010) Kick Gilbert Arenas out the NBA: Retrieved from EBSCO on April22, 2010.

Perez, A. (2010). Gilbert Arenas sentenced to 30 days in halfway house: Retrieved from:

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/03/26/gilbert-arenas-sentenced-to-30-days-in-halfway-house/

Marcus Jordan shoe controversy

Marcus Jordan is the son of the famous Michael Jordan. A recent controversy is Marcus Jordan wearing Nike Air Jordan’s while playing basketball at University of Central Florida. The issue at hand is that UCF is sponsored by Adidas. Adidas sponsors all of the sports at UCF. Now there was an exception to the rule in which a kicker got to wear a different brand of shoe because the shoe did not fit properly. (Povtak 2009) My question is why is it a big deal that Marcus Jordan wears his father’s shoes if the kicker got to wear a different pair of shoes. Plus Jordan agreed to wear Adidas for the rest of his uniform.

Marcus Jordan was told by UCF that he would be an exception to rule when he was being recruited by UCF. In an article by Nike Depaula, Jordan explains that he has a high level of respect for Adidas (2009). Jordan explained that wearing the Jordan brand shoes had an importance to his family. The result was that Adidas cut off the contract with UCF because Marcus Jordan story hit the national stage. The decision of Marcus Jordan to wear the Jordan brand shoes cost them 2 million dollars a year according to Povtak (2009).

The reason that this story became national is because he is the son of Michael Jordan. I feel that if Adidas allows a major name like Jordan to wear his own brand of shoes then other student athletes will think it is okay to wear there own brand of shoes. The reality of the situation is that there is a substantial amount of money involved in Adidas contract with UCF. I do not disagree with adidas decision to stop the contract with UCF. The reason that I do not disagree with Adidas is because they had a contract with UCF and UCF broke the rules. Marcus Jordan was in a catch 22 situation because he is the son of Michael Jordan and his dad has his own shoe brand. If Marcus did not wear his fathers shoes, it would hurt his family and be a bad business decision for Michael Jordan.

I think the pressure put on Jordan was unfair. According to Tim Dahlberg this issue could have been easily ignored (2009). If Adidas had ignored this issue they would still have the contract with UCF. Marcus Jordan was willing to wear all Adidas apparel just not wear Adidas shoes. The UCF coach had brought Marcus Jordan to put their school on a national map. It is also not Jordans fault because he was up front in honoring his father’s legacy. This controversy comes from the fact that Nike made his father a very rich man and wearing any other shoes would be disrespectful to his family (Dahlberg 2009).

Marcus’s father Michael did the same thing in the Olympic games. Based on Michael Jordan’s success and personality he has a protected property right in their name. It allowed Michael to protect and control the use of his identity for commercial purposes. Jordan had opted out the NBA license agreement. In the 1992 Olympic games Jordan put a flag over the Reebok logo of their basketball warm up suits (Conrad 2008). I do not feel that Marcus Jordan was wrong for supporting his family legacy for which his dad worked so hard to build. Adidas could have ignored that Marcus Jordan did not wear their shoe brand and that he was willing to wear the rest of the Adidas equipment. The controversy ended with UCF signing a five-year contract with Nike (Depaula 2009).

References

Conrad, M (2008). The Business of Sports: A Primer for Journalists. Routledge. Mahwah, NJ.

Dahlberg, T (2009). Marcus Jordan just wants to be like Mike and wear his Nike sneakers. Retrieved from http://blog.taragana.com/sports/2009/11/07/marcus-jordan-just-wants-to-be-like-mike-and-wear-his-nike-sneakers-44261/

DePaula, N (2009). UCF &Nike Agree To 5 Year Deal. Retrieved from http://solecollector.com/live/all/ucf-nike-agree-to-5-year-deal/

Povtak, T. (2009). Marcus Jordan won’t wear Adidas. Retrieved from http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/marcus-jordan-wont-wear-adidas-at-ucf/

Lee Melchionni Interview

Leadership Portfolio Interview

The person that I interviewed was Lee Melchionni. I became very interested in interviewing Mr. Melchionni when I read that he was a sports agent in an article under the sports agent blog. I was reading the article on B.J. Armstrong, a former basketball player who became an agent. I was excited to read about Lee Melchionni because he came from the area that I live in and knew people that I knew. Mr. Melchionni played basketball for Duke University, a very recognizable division one school. Mr. Melchionni works at Wasserman Media group in Los Angeles, California. The Wasserman media group is run by Art Tellem whose company represents 10 NBA players. The Wasserman Media Group also represents other sports like baseball, BMX, Broadcasting, football/soccer, golf, rugby, snowboard, surf, and women sports. Wasserman Media Group played a major role in the NBA’s association with the T-mobile.

I was able to get in touch with Mr. Melchionni through facebook. I asked Mr. Melchionni for a friend request and then sent him an email. In the email, I introduced myself as a former college basketball player that was interested in becoming a sports agent. I also told him that I was currently teaching basketball with Jay Jameson at Total Body Fitness. I was very excited about getting the opportunity to make a major contact like Lee Melchionni. I asked Mr. Melchionni seven different questions like why he wanted to become a sports agent and if it was an advantage being a former basketball player. I was surprised by Mr. Melchionni response to my question. He told me that he had no intention of becoming a sports agent. His eyes were opened up when Arn Tellem came to Duke his senior year. Mr. Melchionni had dinner with him and Bob Myers while they were at Duke. Mr. Tellem was there to recruit his teammates Shelden Williams and JJ Redick. Mr. Melchionni got a job playing basketball in Italy through a European Agent. He was given an opportunity to work with the Wasserman Media Group when Mr. Tellem called him and offered him an opportunity to work with his agency. Mr. Melchionni said he knew his future was in business and not in basketball. I played division three basketball and I knew that my future was in the business side of basketball and not on the basketball court. I was like Mr. Melchionni and did not plan on becoming a sports agent. I had a year and a half of sales experience and I realized that I was a good salesman. I was inspired to become a sports agent when my friend Jason Hall and Corey Rich asked me if I could represent them when they got to the professional level of basketball. This is what inspired me to want be a sports agent.

I remember learning in business storytelling and brand development the law of contraction. The next question that I asked Mr. Melchionni was if he was going to be a sports agent for just basketball players or any sport. His response was that he just works on the basketball side of the company. Mr. Melchionni told me that he wants to expand in the sports representation as he grows and learn. I like the law of contraction in which I would focus on one sport, which is basketball. The reason that I feel the most comfortable working with basketball players is because I am very knowledgeable about the game of basketball and I have a passion for the game. I believe I can develop my clients’ into better basketball players and helping my clients’ with whatever they need. The next question that I asked him was their any specific credentials in becoming a sports agent. He told me that there are no real credentials to become a certified NBA player agent. Mr. Melchionni told me that you have to pay your dues every year and cannot be a felon. He told me the exact requirements are on the NBPA website. I was glad to hear that from Mr. Melchionni because I want to run my own basketball business along with representing professional basketball players. I am getting practice right now by booking basketball camps for my friend Corey Rich to speak.

The next thing I wanted to know from Mr. Melchionni was what part of the job did you find most satisfying and most challenging. He told me that it is rewarding to watch a client succeed on and off the court as a result of the guidance that you provide them as a sports agent. This is the part of the job that enticed me because I enjoy helping people that want to be successful. Mr. Melchionni explained to me that you want to ensure that your client only has to worry about performing on the basketball court. He told me the most challenging part of the job is being on call essentially 24/7/365 days a year but it beats a real job. That is what makes me very interested in representing basketball players because I want to have a job that is spontaneous and that I thoroughly enjoy.

Then I asked Mr. Melchionni the most important question about trying to break into the field. He told me that the sports agent business is very hard to break into. I understood that this was the case when I worked on getting an interview with Andre Buck. Mr. Buck is a local sports agent in the area that I live in. Mr. Melchionni explained to me that players are the lifeblood of the business and in order to be a successful agent you must be able to sign and retain players. The best way to retain your clients’ is to do an excellent job representing your clients’ to where the client you represent is more than satisfied with the service that you provide them. Then you can get more clients’ by building a great reputation of satisfaction from your other clients.’ Mr. Melchionni’s advice to me was obtaining a graduate degree of some kind and ad value to a sports agency in any way possible. After proving your worth to the senior people in the company you might get a chance to start working with players and grow individually. His advice relates to the first law in the 48 laws of power, which is to never outshine the master. I learned that I must be humble and hard working to prove my worth to other senior people who have proven their worth. He advised me to be persistent, send my resume, call people, make connections and most importantly use people I know. I realized that if I want to be a successful sports agent bad enough that I can do it.

I can use my basketball background at Arcadia University to my advantage in landing an internship with a specific company. Mr. Melchionni told me that playing at Duke University was a great asset in landing a job at Wasserman Media Group. He told me the most important qualities in being a sports agent is having a great personality and being able to connect with other people. Mr. Melchionni’s advice goes along with Ken Lehner advice which an ability to sell your self to the company and then being able to sell your self to the clients.’ I believe that I have the enthusiasm and the energy and natural willingness to help people, which gives me an edge in becoming a great sports agent. However, I need to pay my dues like Mr. Melchionni explained to me. I am gaining good experience right now by making connections through facebook, linked in, twitter and blogger and obtaining my graduate degree. I am also learning the nuances of the basketball business by working with Jay Jameson basketball.

Steroid Era in Baseball: Top story of the Decade

The biggest story in the last decade is the steroid era in baseball. The steroid era made the homeruns going out at a fast rate then ever. The most swirling controversy came when Barry Bonds was setting all kinds of homerun records like the most homeruns in a season with 73 and the most homeruns of all time. I remember the hype was bigger for Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire chasing the single season homerun record of Roger Maris. The homerun record has stood so long that it was almost legendary when Mark McGwire broke the record.

The steroid era in baseball mostly affects student-athletes. The reason that I say that is because younger athletes look at professional athletes as mentors. The steroids users in baseball are setting a bad example for up and coming athletes. Financially, the steroid era put a lot of people in the seats. Everyone wanted to see the game when Barry Bonds broke the all time homerun record. Mr. Bonds reputation dropped quickly when his name was associated with steroids. No one likes a cheater according to Josh Feinberg article on student athletes perceptions of athletes who cheat. Mr. Feinberg relates the students attitudes to the perception of students cheating in school (2009). The problem with the steroid era in baseball is that the players were getting away with using steroids for a long time because the fans were packing the seats to see the homeruns being hit at a rapid rate.

As a former student athlete, I feel that baseball needs to punish the superstar player who took steroids by not letting them into the hall of fame. Jim Bunning, a former baseball player turned announcer furthers my argument by saying major league baseball needs to set an example for children and young athletes not to use steroids as a way to get ahead of the competition (Schlesinger 2009). There is no place for cheaters in the hall of fame when the previous baseball players set their records through honest hard work. That is the message that needs to be sent to students across the country that great achievements are accomplished through hard work, determination, and desire. As a former student athlete, I realize that they put a lot of pressure on you to perform and that is why athletes choose to have an edge like steroids. Athletes need to start thinking of the long run and not the instant boost that steroids give the athletes. I realized in life that the harder you have to work to get something the more fulfilling it becomes. I hope the athletes of the future will understand that cheating will only help them in the short run but will hurt them badly in the long run of their life.

References

Schlesinger, R (2009). Steroids, Baseball and the Hall of Fame. Retrieved from

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2009/07/26/steroids-baseball-and-the-hall-of-fame.html

Feinberg, J. (2009). College students’ Perceptions of Athletes Who Cheat: The Role of performance and History. Journal of sports behavior. Retrieved March 18, 2010 from EBSCO host database

Video to top stories of the decade

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1368367744

Filling the Seats in a Down Economy

There are many creative ways in filling in the seats in a downward economy. The article that I read “Taking attendance: Facilities Find Creative Ways to Fill seats in a Down Economy” asserts great ideas and examples of how to fill the seats in a stadium or a theatre despite the bad economy. I found statements in the book “The Business of Sports very interesting in how fans think about their team. Mark Conrad who expressed points of view like psychological reasons why fans are loyal to their team wrote the book. Conrad explained that an average fan is loyal to their team because the fan is benefiting through entertainment, escape, eustress, aesthetic, family, self-esteem, and group affiliation (2009). I realized what Conrad was saying was true from being a sports fan myself. I am a fan of the Dallas Cowboys and it seems like sometimes the football team comes before my life. I always make time to watch the football game no matter how busy I am in my life. Now the reason that the subject of fan loyalty is so important is because they are the target audience that will decide if the seats are filled on a regular basis. Sports are a unique business because people are paying their hard earned money in order to fulfill their emotional and psychological needs rather than the necessities of life. When the economy is bad you would think that people would just buy things that they had to have versus the luxury of going to a sports event to cheer on their team.

There is a lot of money to be made in the sports industry or in any facility. Money to be made from a facility includes concessions, parking, naming rights of the stadium, and luxury seating. An example of a profitable stadium is the Dallas Cowboys Stadium where the team is profitable because of television time and loyal fans. A major part of a stadium is having exclusive advertizing where only one product of a similar type is marketed at that facility. The most important thing that I got from the article is making sure the fans really enjoy the experience at the stadium or facility. I remember watching a Dallas Cowboys game and the fans got the experience of watching the game in 3D in the second half of the game. Technology is constantly changing which helps make the experience better for the fans and facilities working hard to market their teams. New technology includes social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, blogger, and Linked In. Each of these websites allows teams to post updated scores for their fans to keep up with their teams despite their busy schedules. The teams also use these networking sites to promote their special days like dollar dog days, which attracts more fans. I noticed after the New Orleans Saints won the super bowl, the first thing they gave credit to was the support of the city of New Orleans and their greats fans which made the fans of New Orleans feel as they played a large role in the Saints winning the Super Bowl. The bottom line is that the fans want to make sure that they are getting good value out of the money they are paying.

References

Conrad, M. (2006). The Business of Sports: A Primer for Journalists. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Fall, S. (2009). Taking Attendance: Facilities find creative ways to fill sears in a down economy. Retrieved from:

http://www.iaam.org/Facility_manager/pages/2009_Jun_July/feature_3.htm