In combat sports, such as MMA and boxing, what brings in the Pay-Per-View (PPV) dollars and attention is not necessarily the sport, but the fighter. For some, the fight itself is more than two people fighting; it’s the visual embodiment on many of the fighter’s struggles, and an example where there is a true winner and loser. It is a fact that interesting fighters draw more money than boring fighters. Fighters with huge followings generate huge PPV numbers, which is the real genius behind Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s “Money” persona.
The strength of the NFL brand carries over to teams and individuals
This past weekend the NFL showed that it is still King Kong in the sports world. The league held their seven round draft at Radio City Music Hall over the course of three days, with the first round being on Thursday in primetime, the second and third round on Friday, and the remaining rounds Saturday. There are two important ways to look at the draft, from the team/player perspective, and the league perspective.
One of the most intriguing teams of this new baseball season was the Miami Marlins. Other than the addition of Jose Reyes, the Miami Marlins have been completing one of the most ambitious rebranding strategies in recent memory.
The Miami Marlins, formerly known as the Florida Marlins, was a team that was a little stale with a logo that made me think of old men on a fishing boat off the coast of Florida. The new logo, now specifically tied with Miami, is a huge improvement on a really unattractive team. Even non-baseball fans I know tuned in to watch the first game of the season to see the finishing touches of rebranding. The biggest difference to some sports fans is that they can like the Miami Marlins on a casual level, something they couldn’t do with the Florida Marlins. Continue reading
Nike has officially taken over as the official apparel supplier to the NFL. Perhaps best known in the football world for making ridiculous college uniforms, Nike has always been one to be on the cutting edge of style and function. Many people were afraid that Nike would try to completely overhaul the NFL’s uniforms. They were afraid Nike would make uniforms however they wanted regardless of what the NFL or its teams thought (insert maniacal laugh). In actuality, the Nike jerseys are pretty impressive and fit completely with previous brands.
With Peyton Manning’s recent arrival to the Denver Broncos, the only thing that we were certain of as sports fans was that Tebow would be a huge storyline. To argue in any way, shape, or form that Tebow should get any quarterback reps over Peyton Manning is ridiculous, seeing as Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play.
The only thing to be sure of is that Tim Tebow’s move to the Jets means that Tebow is only going to be bigger than ever. Here are the storylines that have come up in the past week since Tebow’s arrival in New York:
Shaq and Howard are alike in so many ways, outside of arguing over who is Superman.
After a trade deadline that was incredibly active for a few teams, such as the Portland Trailblazers, one of the stories that still stands out is Dwight Howard’s. Dwight Howard tried to force a trade since the beginning of the season out of Orlando, but the Magic refused to deal him. In a startling chain of events Howard decided to commit to not only the rest of the season, but also the 2012-2013 season.
One of the most startling aspects of Dwight Howard’s trade requests was some confessions that he made about wanting to have a career outside of basketball. Howard was a part of a few television shows in the offseason and also had a cameo appearance in Just Wright, a film starring rap artist Common and Queen Latifah. Apparently, Dwight Howard wants to be more than just an athlete.
Peyton Manning was released this week by the Indianapolis Colts in order to avoid a $28 million payday to the quarterback. Manning has been arguably the best quarterback of the last 10 years but has suffered from neck surgeries this year, which held him out of last season. The Colts fell apart and finished with 2 wins. On the bright side, the Colts are now able to draft the best quarterback to come out of college in the past 15 years, Andrew Luck.
Everyone is aware of the occasional alternate uniform among teams. From time to time there are retro uniforms from glory years of old and sometimes there are just really cool color combinations (such as the Miami Marlins orange uniforms). However, rarely is there a uniform that is created to specifically target a demographic. The NBA is one of the only leagues to embrace different cultures on the jerseys themselves with their Noche Latina promotions.
If you don’t know who Jeremy Lin is by now, you haven’t been near a phone, TV, or a computer for two weeks. The star player for the New York Knicks has been embraced by the city and his performances have launched himself to international popularity. It is now common for watch parties in China to start at 2 and 3 in the morning so that they can watch him play. Lin’s sustained success has shown that he is not just a flash in the pan, but will have staying power in the NBA. Now the question becomes how should he be branded for long-term success.
Chad Ochocinco has developed a distinct brand, which has resulted in many endorsements, two television shows, and a strong fan base despite on-field performance. But branding isn't reserved for the elite athletes.
Never before has there been such saturation in the marketplace for sports. ESPN has six channels where a fan can watch sports at any time and now anyone can get on their smart phone and follow their favorite athletes on twitter at all times. The relevance of the 24/7 sports consuming cycle doesn’t mean that sport has to be marketed to people, but that athletes have to be able to market themselves to people to get attention. To become well-known, and to ensure success beyond the field in what has become an attention market, an athlete needs to create a brand for him or herself, no matter what his or her level of play happens to be. There are plenty of great athletes, but there’s a lack of interesting athletes, which is why it has never been more important for athletes to develop an individual brand and brand strategy.
