Does Winning Lead to Money and Support in Sports?

The success of the season created a lot of good buzz around the idea of building a new Viking's stadium, but will this week's great loss hurt the team's stadium support? Last weekend was a momentous weekend of the Vikings in more ways than one. Besides the devastating loss on Sunday, last Friday a team of execs proposed a new idea for the Viking's stadium which seeks federal funding.

The Minnesota Vikings have stated that regardless of Saint's game outcome, they are pushing forward with the new stadium project. "If nothing else, the last several weeks - indeed the entire dramatic season - reminds our state leaders and all Minnesotans how fortunate we are to have an NFL team," Vikings Stadium Executive, Lester Bagley said.

Legislators are still cool to the idea of a new stadium during a time of budget deficits. The team says they're pushing the project as an economic development in a tough economy, which will create thousands of jobs.

I go back and forth on how I feel about the new Viking's stadium topic. I really like having the Vikings in Minnesota (even if they continue to have the Charlie Brown/Lucy/football syndrome), but on the other hand, I think the Metrodome isn't that old and should be used a little longer.

Looking at it with my PR background, the Vikings are doing things right (except for winning) and have the ball in their court since their contract will run out soon. "It is clear that in order to retain the Vikings for the next generation in Minnesota, we have to resolve this stadium issue," Bagley said. Here are a couple recommendations I believe could help come to a conclusion and build public stadium support:

-Continue to explain all of the economic perks that will come with a new stadium. Give an estimated number of jobs and revenue a new stadium will bring.

-Continue to state that the Vikings will leave if Minnesota does not give them the stadium they've been asking for now over a decade.

-Propose other ways to pay for a new stadium besides tax payer's money. (Corporate sponsorship, federal funding, team fundraising, etc.)

-The team needs to build its PR. Prepare Vikings Owner, Zigi Wilf, Coach Brad Childress, players, etc to do public announcements on the topic, stating why it's important and needed. Have these icons make more public appearances doing public service, sighing autographs or just shaking hands at events.

-Continue to play well next season!

I'm not trying to say I believe winning this past Sunday's game and going to the Super Bowl would have guaranteed the team a new stadium. Despite everything, a brand new stadium would be a tough sell to legislators in this economy. However, I don't believe everything lawmakers say on the topic. I know if the Vikings would have continued to win this season the team would have helped the support for their new stadium greatly. If you have any new suggestions/ideas on what you would like to see from the Vikings in order to gain your support or dollars, please send them my way.

Will The New York Times' Paywall Help to Avoid Collapse?

It appears The New York Times have found a solution to the 'online news reader only' problem. Last week, The New York Times announced that it would erect a paywall in order to help collect from news readers who only get their news online from their website. Their idea is neat because the paywall will get the frequent readers to pay for The New York Times content, but not the new, visiting readers.

This plan is called a 'metered-model,' will call for people who visit the website (nytimes.com) a undetermined amount of times per month to pay an undetermined fee, excepting those who currently subscribe to the weekly print paper, including those who only get it on Sunday. Not knowing how much The New York Times will charge, I'm curious to know if it will cure the problem newspapers are having.

I say yes. Currently, The New York Times (nytimes.com) has 17 million unique visitors per month which allow them to have high ad prices. Since they are taking their time, and getting this high-tech program to separate new and old visitors they can still keep those good ad sales up, attract new readers and hopefully charge those who want to keep coming back.

The print journalism industry has gone through a tough time in recent years and has needed to make some changes in order to survive. Is this the solution or will this only decrease readership? Now, I'm curious to see how many other newspapers will take on this approach. Further, if it works for The New York Times, how fast it will take over the print newspaper websites. Lastly, as a social media user, I wonder how this will affect linkage to The New York Times page and articles. In another release last week, The New York Times made it clear that they are aware of this reality, stating that its metered model would allow it to still "stay connected to a search-driven Web." It's smart that they are on top of this because this aspect is equally as important to its survival as publication income. In order to stay afloat, the site must continue to be part of the large online conversation.

NBC's Poor PR : Conan O'Brien reaches deal to exit `Tonight'; deal includes severance for staff

It's officially official now. In a $45 million deal, NBC and Conan O'Brien finally reached a resolution to the issues surrounding O'Brien's contract to host The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Under terms of an agreement that was signed earlier today, NBC and O'Brien will settle their contractual obligations and the network will release O'Brien from his contract, freeing him to pursue other opportunities after September 1, 2010. O'Brien will get more than 33 million and the rest will go to his 200 staff in severance. O'Brien's last show on The Tonight Show will be this Friday, January 22.

NBC stated that Jay Leno will return as host of The Tonight Show at its regular time starting March 1st. NBC Universal Entertainment's chairman released this statement:

"We're pleased that Jay Leno is returning to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years. He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television."

NBC should be embarrassed about the nightmare they've created. This controversy has started a ton of bad press and public relations for the entire network. First, they should have given O'Brien more time. Especially after most of the people involved uprooted their lives and moved across the country for this opportunity. Most businesses take over a year to really get going; O'Brien only had seven months! Second, the network is spending millions to break O'Brien's contract. This is such a waste for the company and shows very poor leadership. I think that NBC's chairman should resign should resign when this mess is over. Also, NBC doesn't have any 'big' shows on right now; they need some better programming. NBC could be blowing this whole situation out of proportion because of their bigger problem - poor ratings across the board. Third, Leno's current show is just bad and needs a lot of work to get back to up to the quality it was at before and ratings for that matter. Also, Leno hasn't been saying much about the matter; I think that's pretty smart. He's in a tough spot because he should support NBC for giving him a job, but at the same time, shouldn't show too much support in fear of showing agreement with their terrible process. I'm curious to see how Leno does when he returns in March, I will be stunned if he is successful.

I think that Conan's doing an awesome job handling the whole situation. His jokes about NBC are very funny and creative, yet tactful. NBC claims that O'Brien's argument to demand severance for his staff is a 'PR-ploy,' but regardless is smart. I think he's doing a great job building an audience to move to another network and start a new show and want to wish him the best.

Issues Surrounding Coaches Comments of Vonn’s Weight Could Have Been Avoided

Recently, Austrian media reported that coaches discussing downhill skier Lindsey Vonn, the reigning downhill and overall World Cup champion, said she would have an advantage in speed events because she was carrying additional weight. This is incredibly tacky, and I do not believe that this comment would have been made had Vonn not been a woman.

According to The Associated Press, Vonn said the comments didn't weigh on her but served as motivation when she won a trio of World Cup races, dominating three days of speed racing in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, this month.

Last week in a teleconference, Von said that she takes pride in being fit and fast and "if weight were the key to success in ski racing, then everyone would be stuffing their faces with food. ...I just think it's pretty ridiculous and it definitely irritated me." Vonn said.

I thought it was interesting that Vonn put more blame on the journalists than the coaches who actually made the comments. "But, you know, I think in all fairness, I think it was an exaggeration on the journalists' part on the comments of the Austrian coaches, ...the Austrian coaches actually apologized to me," Vonn added. Why was this exaggerated though? Truthfully, because it was an extreme comment that the journalists' knew would start debate and controversy sells.

Even though there have been great leaps in equal rights, this shows that there is still a stigma surrounding women athletes compared to male athletes. But, in this rise of feminine power - I'm not surprised this statement was taken and blasted through the media.

Twin Cities station, WCCO interviewed U of M Sports Scientist, Nicole LaVoi on this topic. LaVoi said when it comes to female athletes, many people talk about how they look rather than what they actually do. "The critique wasn't, 'Oh, she looks muscular and fit and ready to do her best.' It was, 'Oh, she looks a little heavier.'" LaVoi said it becomes an issue when you consider how many times you hear the same types of comments directed at male athletes. You don't often hear people saying of Bode Miller, "He's looking a little heavy this year, maybe that will help him go faster," said LaVoi.

I think this issue could have been avoided if the Austrian coaches had been media trained better. Any publicist or rep would know what words or comments should be avoided. However, in the end I think the coaches did a good job apologizing to Vonn for their comments.

Despite skiing with a bruised left lower arm Vonn hurt in a crash during last month's giant slalom race in Lienz, Austria, Vonn won two downhills and a Super-G at the beginning of December. That raised her total to 28 victories, putting her at No. 2 on the all-time list of American skiers, three titles behind Bode Miller. I'm glad to see that this is not affecting her ability or attitude.

Can you use a celebrity’s photo without their permission?

Last Wednesday, a larger-than-life President Barack Obama became a presidential pitchman on a Times Square billboard that used his photo without permission.

Outerwear company, Weatherproof, used a recent news photo of the president in front of the Great Wall in Badaling, China, wearing one of their coats for their advertisement, with the tagline "A Leader In Style." This rose questions of the need for celebrity permission.

The photo was taken by Charles Dharapak of The Associated Press and the company purchased the right to use it from AP Images, the news gathering organization's commercial photo arm. The AP agreement with Weatherproof required the company to seek any necessary clearances, said a spokesman for The AP. However, Weatherproof did not seek permission from the White House, nor does it believe it was necessary to do so since the billboard does not say Obama endorses the product.

At the same time, animal-rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, recently debuted a new ad campaign featuring Michelle Obama, and also did not ask for the first lady's consent. Those ads are appearing in Washington's Metro stations, magazines and PETA's Web site.

The way I look at it, the ad has potential to be effective with consumers because the president and first lady both carry considerable fashion credibility. However, it's a risk because passers-by may get so caught up with the image and not notice the brand name. Overall, I disagree with the usage of the photo, but think the ad/marketing idea is brilliant. Right now there are no strict laws or punishment against the use of the photo and besides the press it's getting from the ad placement, it's getting a whole lot more by this debate's media coverage.

The Last Decade in a Nutshell

When I think back on the last decade two things come to mind: war on terror and technology. The CBS News announcement that 'Google' won top word of our nameless past decade (in front of "9/11," "green," "blog," "text," and "war on terror") spurred me to think about what really big did happen in the news over the past ten years.

Top ten stories of the decade according to Associated Content News:

1. September 11th, 2001: This day changed the way Americans live forever. It impacted our economy, security and the way we travel. It was the beginning of the 'war on terror' we're still fighting today. Also, I'm almost sure this day was the first time I started to hear the words 'terrorism' and 'terrorist' on the news. Now, we hear it every day.
2. Wars in Afghanistan & Iraq: News programs cover this on a daily basis. Many Americans have served time or given their lives in this quest. Right after 9/11 majority of Americans supported going into these wars, but as time has gone on support has dropped. This war is different than any other war we've been in. The war is so far away for many of us. As in previous wars, Americans were asked to serve in the military or work in an industry on behalf of the war. Now, most of us just see a glimpse of it on TV. Also, 'war on terror,' is very undefined. It means that we don't really know who we're fighting against, many are just ordinary citizens, not military people.
3. President Barack Obama's Election: In November of 2008, the U.S. public elected their first African-American President. It was an election of many firsts besides this and it got more coverage and interest than any other. Women took a large step in politics as well. Hillary Clinton was the Democratic Party's choice right behind Barack and Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, was chosen for Senator McCain's running mate.
4. U.S. Supreme Court Decides 2000 Election for George W. Bush: Five (Conservative) Supreme Court justices terminated Florida's vote recount and gave the "appointed presidency" to Bush. They supported federal power over Florida's state rights and asserted that Bush's "equal protection" civil rights would have been violated if the recount continued. This drastically hurt the Supreme Court's creditability.
5. Globalization and Near Depression: The economy has been down most of this decade. The news is reporting high unemployment rates all the time, interest rates from banks are down and therefore so is spending. The big manufacturing cities in the U.S. along with the small towns have all been suffering. At the same time, globalization is increasing. Companies are working internationally more and more. You're behind if you aren't! Lastly, the 'green environmental movement' has begun in the last decade. People and corporations are making more moves to downsize pollution after scientists worldwide stated global warming would place the planet at risk if we don't cut down on our carbon emissions.
6. "Googleization": It's hard to believe, but most of us didn't even know what Google was ten years ago. Social media sites such as: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have all started up in the last decade. Since, majority of news outlets and corporations use the Internet and social networking sites to communicate with their public. Computers and the Internet are all just becoming a way of life for us and the older generations are feeling a left out because most of them still do not have even a clue how to use one!
7. National Health care/insurance reform: This discussion will continue into the next decade. Health Care's been on the rise and has left many Americans without insurance. Recently, more compromise since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
8. Health care research: In 2003, scientists mapped out the human genome. Researchers have continued to make progress in finding genetic variations that could unlock huge doors toward treating diseases. Stem-cell research has continued to emerge as a related issue.
9. Hurricane Katrina: This devastating hurricane that hit in late August 2005 hit New Orleans and a lot of the Gulf Coast. This are still not fixed up completely today. Media was criticized for portraying an unequal society.
10. Y-2-K: Remember this?! Forecasters talked about this for weeks before the new year and predicted that once the clocked ticked over to the new millennium, everything would be thrown off. It caused so much buzz that people stocked up on food and water because they were afraid of what would happen. Well, nothing happen!

Top Stories of 2009 according to The Associated Press:

1. THE ECONOMY
2. OBAMA INAUGURATION
3. HEALTH CARE:
4. AUTO INDUSTRY
5. SWINE FLU
6. AFGHANISTAN
7. MICHAEL JACKSON DIES
8. FORT HOOD RAMPAGE
9. EDWARD KENNEDY DIES
10. MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON

The Associated Press stated that their research began before the Tiger Wood's scandal enveloped.

What's Going on With Rebranding?

The trendy retailer giant, Target, has made some big changes in its marketing by going warehouse. Alongside their fashionable items, in the part of the store normally used for seasonal merchandise, the retailer has stacked hulking packages of bottled water and paper towels on pallets. Shelves are lined with supersize jugs of laundry detergent and bulk-size packages of batteries. Shoppers can dig through bins of $1 neon-colored flip flops and packs of athletic socks for $7.

Target believes that right now consumers are focused more on the price of toothpaste than buying a new bedroom lamp. The marketing plan is all part of a seven-week promotion, "The Great Save," started showing up in stores over the weekend. It's one of the retailer's boldest moves yet to signal to recession-battered consumers. Recently, Target's profits have plunged and they want to compete with warehouse stores like Costco and Sam's Club, which they believe have taken a lot of shopper's wallets in the past year. This just may work for them because they can differentiate themselves by not charging membership fees. I just know that Target walks a thin line. They need to be careful they don't change their stylish brand too much otherwise it could hurt them the other way.

When I read this story, I found it very funny because of the marketing changes their large competitor, Walmart made this summer. July 1st, 2009 Walmart recreated their very dry, hard logo and image into something that looks more organic and friendly. Their logo and name traditionally was all in capital letters and hyphenated with a star. Now, the name is capitalized, but the rest is lower case letters, no hyphen and there is a sunburst at the end of the name. Inside the store, changes have been made to make Walmart stores look less 'warehousey' and more department storish. There was no real reason for the change, but it coincided nicely with complaints about their environmental policies and court cases involving their labor laws.

Does rebranding work? I guess time will tell. As a marketer I believe that when you create a brand, you should stay true to it in order to properly 'build' it. However, if you can't survive as is, you must make a change. It's interesting that both of these similar retailers are taking on traits of the other to make more profit. This may cause concern for both of their traditional customers because they may not feel as comfortable going to something that 'feels' different than what they're use to. The coming year(s) will tell which company markets better; stays true to who they are and is able to pick up the other's customers along the way.

The Power of the Internet

As I look back on the past decade I believe the Internet and technology improvements or changes in the business (and personal) world will be what it's most remembered for. The Internet has changed the way business outreach is done completely in the last decade. It has created another outlet for organizations and corporations to advertise in and social media has created a totally new way for them to communicate with their target publics.

A month before the Super Bowl, CBS released that only four TV advertisement placements are still open, but one of the NFL's biggest supporters, PepsiCo, announced that 23 years they are dropping their sponsorship. Pepsi plans to shift its marketing budget to less costly digital venues, such as Facebook and other Internet social networking sites.

This shows just how the Internet is reshaping companies marketing techniques by offering them less expensive ways to convey their messages to customers. It seems that even though Super Bowl ads are made for TV, they aren't traditional television ads. It appears that companies buying Super Bowl ads are using that ad as a starting point to other PR and marketing opportunities. Companies will create their ads with the intention and hope for conversation on the Internet long after the game on ranking sites, blogs, twitter, etc.

In a time of companies slashing jobs and government bailouts to automakers, fearful of criticism for misused financial priorities, the Internet offers much cheaper outreach compared to the Super Bowl advertisements. However, of course this type of publicity is uncontrolled and can turnout negative instead of positive.

This trend in corporate outreach has caused marketing advisers to rethink their game. A read about a small marketing agency in the Twin Cities, Three Deep Marketing, that has mastered the ability to measure online website trafficking. The agency's popularity has really grown because of their success advising small to large companies on how to enhance their online marketing efforts. Their strategy is to figure out what consumers do when they view a company's website. They research and trace where somebody clicks, what they viewed, see if they filled out a form and figure out if they bought anything from the site. From this information they report and advise what a company should do to better utilize their website. I believe this trend will really grow.

The Super Bowl is not in distress to find corporate sponsorship - I don't want you to worry. Since PepsiCo decided to drop out, Korean Automaker Hyundai has moved up (since the networks offer the best placements to loyal sponsors.) Plus, there are still many big name sponsors creating ads for this year such as: Hollywood Studios, Cocoa-Cola, Doritos, Hyundai, Honda and Audi, Internet job sites CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com and Anheuser-Busch. I just believe that the coming decade will bring about many more changes and improvements online which will make it even more important to the business world.