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Why Lockouts Are Bad PR

Friday, November 18th, 2011

The National Basketball Players Association announced this week it had rejected the latest offer regarding its collective bargaining agreement and now it will be up to the courts to decide the fate of this year’s NBA season. Like the NFL lockout earlier this year, the NBA and the Players Association are arguing about who should get the biggest piece of the pie. When are professional sports going to learn that these lockouts are a huge PR nightmare? Not only are they losing fans and affecting thousands that depend on the business of the games, but in this oversaturated sports landscape, where is the guarantee that everyone will come back when they do return?

And this is coming from a huge NBA fan. I grew up on the San Antonio Spurs and spent several sleepless nights in Boston rooting for my team during the NBA’s last lockout season when the Spurs won their first Championship.

A fellow PR colleague asked me recently, “Who will care if the NBA doesn’t return?” And that’s the key question. Even die-hard NBA fan Bill Simmons told the SportsBusiness Journal’s “Sports Media & Technology” Conference attendees last week that he doesn’t think anyone will care if the lockout gets settled. Simmons continued saying, “You’ve got pro football and college. You have the holidays coming up. Nobody is going around thinking ‘I can’t believe the NBA’s not here.’ ” And he’s one of the sport’s biggest proponents.

And while I disagree with Simmons that fans simply don’t care (ask the thousands in the seven NBA-only markets like San Antonio if they care), I do think he’s got a point that with so many other sports options, will consumers truly miss the NBA? Probably not. They will find other ways to spend the money they would’ve otherwise spent on tickets, concessions and merchandise. And that’s where the NBA and NBPA have a PR crisis on their hands. The NBA is one of the best-marketed sports leagues in the world and has done so much to build up its brand globally and the brands of its players. Yet, it is willing to put all that at risk. And for what? Billions of dollars that they can’t figure out how to divvy up? A 50/50 split isn’t fair? Try explaining that to your average fan who is struggling to pay his or her mortgage or find a job. That’s not an easy sell. Not when this is the third sports lockout in the past six years and by now, everyone has lost sympathy for professional athletes and team owners.

While personally I’ll be sad if there isn’t an NBA season, the true losers in this scenario aren’t the players or the team owners, but the thousands of arena workers, local businesses and team staff that have no say in the lockout and who are affected by this decision. They are the ones who do truly care about the lockout because for them, it’s their livelihood.

Tell us what you think: Do you think fans will come back to the NBA? Why?

Posted by Courtney Megliola | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

Tagged: branding, Courtney Megliola, lockout, NBA, NBPA, PR, Public Relations, San Antonio Spurs, sports, sports business

NFL needs to stay engaged to its base

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Watching the back & forth between the NFL and NFLPA is like watching your parents fight. And then tell you they are getting a divorce. Except this fight and potential separation is over $9 billion in annual revenue.

The real fight involves billionaire owners, sponsors and networks and millionaire players. But the collateral damage is everyone else. Beyond the fans, the real losers in a lockout scenario are the thousands who depend on the game, from game day staff and concession workers to the local sports bars that depend on big Sunday crowds. You know, the same folks already hurting from the recession.

I saw first-hand how a lockout affects these people when I worked with the Boston Bruins during the 2004-2005 lockout. As a team, you can’t contact players or use them for any marketing initiatives, which makes it tough to stay relevant. Without games, a third of your staff doesn’t have any work. But the Bruins developed a community service program called “The Black & Gold Give Back” that paid its part-time workers for doing community service during a three-month period. They did things like hosting free skating sessions. The concept was to take care of your own, but it was also a way for the organization to stay relevant in the minds of its audiences – employees, ticket holders and the media.

Some markets will have an easier time than others in getting fans to return after the ugly mess is settled. To make sure they do, NFL teams better follow a route similar to the Bruins. They can start with obvious gestures like hosting Pop Warner games at their stadiums on Sundays, supporting worthy community initiatives, and discounting tickets for the first games back. But the bold, dedicated campaign must carry forth three messages: “We are sorry. We do not take your support for granted. We will make it up to you.” And then hope the product hasn’t been damaged forever.

Posted by Courtney Megliola | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

Tagged: Boston Bruins, fans, lockout, NFL, NFLPA, sports

Gifts that Keep Giving

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Last night’s Red Sox game marked the 500th consecutive sellout at Fenway – continuing a league record the Sox set in 2008. As a gesture of gratitude to the fans, the Red Sox bestowed gifts upon fans in sections of the park throughout the game. Fans received gift certificates for gas, coffee, pizza and various other items provided by Sox sponsors. But perhaps the most visible gift of the evening was one that proved an unexpected hit among fans – tape measures. Bright yellow, 25′ Stanley Fat Max tape measures were handed out to an entire section of the park. The results were unique, fun and, perhaps much to the surprise of Stanley Tools, received some serious television air time during the game and in post-game coverage.

Fans immediately began stretching the wide yellow tape measures out as high as they could (which was pretty high in some cases), and the results were visible throughout the park and became the immediate focus of television cameras.

It’s worth noting that, aside from being aimed at a core demo of men 25-54, the unique selling point of the Fat Max is that its width allows extension of the tape further than standard tape measures. Even if tape measures have little to do with baseball, this was a perfect demonstration of the product to the perfect target, with impressions propelled through mass media. Luck or marketing genius? Whichever, the desired effect was achieved. Never underestimate the power of human ingenuity.

Posted by Steve Angel | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

Tagged: branding, promotion, sponsorship, sports, stanley

When Sports Sponsorships Deliver More Than Consumers

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

When people talk about companies that sponsor sports, the focus is often how it affects the bottom line and whether it attracts consumers. But reaching consumers is just one goal in an overall strategy involving sports sponsorship. Today’s New York Times has a great story on how NASCAR sponsors have found ways to generate more business by working with other NASCAR sponsors. It’s not a revolutionary idea; it’s what other sports leagues – including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL – have done when they host annual sponsorship forums. The Times story sheds much-needed light for the public, shareholders and maybe even Congress on why spending on sports is not always a “misuse of funds” or a “boondoggle” for corporate executives. (more…)