So the NCAA is long gone. Texas was ousted, something that was inevitable, and all the hooplah of the tournament and all other shenanigans are gone. Simply said, it was disappointing for yet another Texas team to be ousted. Why are these feelings as a sports fan so relevant? Well as many people do besides me, fans create affiliations with their teams/schools and feel their hardship. How does this work from a marketing standpoint?
I came across my friend Candace Lee's blog about Nike and its Air Jordan Brand commercials. The blog discussed the NCAA Tournament and the commercials that were aired during the tournament. This time, a time when CBS decides to air nothing but basketball games even at the expense of the local news broadcast. I am a huge college basketball fan and love that CBS decides to air all of these games. I'm sure it also gives marketing professionals, brands, and companies to air numerous ads in the hopes that they will create sales or brand awareness.
Candace mentioned the ad that features Carmelo Anthony and the Syracuse Orange as they defeated Texas. The ad mentions the exact date, and highlights of the game. Did this bring back bad memories? Yes it did. Was it effective? Yes it was. With every team that wins, there is a team that loses. So the commercial did frustrate me because Texas happened to lose that game, but at the same time it brought back memories of why I love college basketball. The game of college basketball is built around the fact that any team can win the tournament. Every year there is a "Cinderella" team that comes from nowhere to wreak havoc on the "Major Programs". This is why I love the tournament. The commercials just added to this in that they provided a nostalgic moment at which I was brought back to certain times when I was exposed to certain clips.
Candace then went on to mention that she didn't like the Ray Allen ad. While I agree with her that the ad was ineffective because it didn't provide the same nostalgic moment that I had with other ads, I do feel that it was effective. Ray Allen is a part of the Jordan Brand team. He wears Jordan shoes and at one point in his career was considered to be the "heir" to Jordan. He is also the star of one of the greatest basketball movies, starring as Jesus Shuttleworth alongside Denzel Washington in "He Got Game". Therefore, I felt it was very effective because it touched on something. These great games that we see in the NCAA Tournament are reflective of the future stars that we will see in the NBA. However I do feel they could have done a better job in making the game more relevant. Maybe that game was his highest scoring in his college career. Maybe that game meant the difference between making it to the "Big Dance", and being sent to the dreaded NIT tournament. Therefore, I believe that the ad was good, but could have been more effective and in line with the other Jordan Brand ads.
All in all, I can't wait until next March, the greatest month of sports.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Crossfit - Forging Elite Fitness
The percentage of obese Americans has grown from 13% to 31% in the past 40 years. This alarming statistic has widened the market for products and services to possibly reduce this growing trend. People want to be fit and healthy, but many of us are stuck in a rut of monotonous “globo” gym fitness routines and boring workouts. Some of us are also burdened by our own lack of knowledge of fitness and healthy eating habits. Many have tried to tap into this largely saturated market through products they claim work. However, many have grown weary of these products and feel that none work.
Thesis: Crossfit is a relatively new fitness regimen that is gaining wide acclaim throughout the fitness community. Through the use of marketing, I want consumers to realize the benefits of Crossfit and gain motivation to participate.
My background in fitness
Years of lifting weights (style)
Athletic background (years playing basketball)/teaching at basketball camps
Time spent doing Crossfit
Experience as a trainer
Crossfit – What is Crossfit? (Source: Crossfit Journal) (Source: myself (Level 1 Certified Crossfit Trainer)
I. Background of Crossfit – How it started
Definition of Fitness
II. Fundamental ideologies behind Crossfit
Constantly varied, functional movements, at high intensity
Definition of intensity as defined by Crossfit
III. Nutrition element of Crossfit
Paleolithic diet
Zone diet
Paleo-zone diet
IV. Training Crossfit
My experiences both as an athlete and trainer
V. 2009 Crossfit Games and other local Crossfit competitions
Current market situation
“Globo” gyms –
Gold’s gym, World Gym, Bally’s, 24 Hour Fitness…
What these companies do and whom they cater to.
P90X –
What P90X is
Other Fitness/diet programs
Different fad diets
“Magazine” workouts
Application to Consumer (source: surveys, data research)
What is the consumer looking for when thinking about exercise and nutrition
How can Crossfit be that for the consumer?
A look at what Crossfit HQ is doing now?
Differentiation and association becoming key
How Crossfit is different
Consumer perceptions of Crossfit
Crossfit Results
Crossfit Community
Marketing myself
Using Crossfit to market myself for the summer as a trainer
Differentiation by association
Developing a Crossfit community
Thesis: Crossfit is a relatively new fitness regimen that is gaining wide acclaim throughout the fitness community. Through the use of marketing, I want consumers to realize the benefits of Crossfit and gain motivation to participate.
My background in fitness
Years of lifting weights (style)
Athletic background (years playing basketball)/teaching at basketball camps
Time spent doing Crossfit
Experience as a trainer
Crossfit – What is Crossfit? (Source: Crossfit Journal) (Source: myself (Level 1 Certified Crossfit Trainer)
I. Background of Crossfit – How it started
Definition of Fitness
II. Fundamental ideologies behind Crossfit
Constantly varied, functional movements, at high intensity
Definition of intensity as defined by Crossfit
III. Nutrition element of Crossfit
Paleolithic diet
Zone diet
Paleo-zone diet
IV. Training Crossfit
My experiences both as an athlete and trainer
V. 2009 Crossfit Games and other local Crossfit competitions
Current market situation
“Globo” gyms –
Gold’s gym, World Gym, Bally’s, 24 Hour Fitness…
What these companies do and whom they cater to.
P90X –
What P90X is
Other Fitness/diet programs
Different fad diets
“Magazine” workouts
Application to Consumer (source: surveys, data research)
What is the consumer looking for when thinking about exercise and nutrition
How can Crossfit be that for the consumer?
A look at what Crossfit HQ is doing now?
Differentiation and association becoming key
How Crossfit is different
Consumer perceptions of Crossfit
Crossfit Results
Crossfit Community
Marketing myself
Using Crossfit to market myself for the summer as a trainer
Differentiation by association
Developing a Crossfit community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
At the buzzer! Swish!
Three seconds left, and the clock is ticking. Fake left, fake right and there are only three seconds left on the clock; he dribbles left and pulls up for the game winning shot.
The scenario played out every March. Cinderellas, Mid-Majors, upsets, blowouts, lottery pick, buzzer beater, Selection Sunday, conference championships, seedings, local pools, Bracketology, bracket, and diaper dandy. All these and many more are some of the words that can be heard during March. Even those that aren’t avid sports fans will fill out a bracket. Some will pick teams based on color, some on research, and some will just check to see what picks our President made and they will copy those. How does a sport like college basketball consumer the American consumer audience for such a short period of time? How have the words March Madness affected the insights of consumers?
Being that I love sports, I was never really amazed at the draw of the NCAA Tournament. It was just the culmination of every of sport in that we would eventually crown a champion. However, it had a different feel. I can always remember laying in bed watching 8 games in a row. I’d watch each of these games without even knowing any player on the team, but each game was important for my bracket. All picks would lead to the immortality of beating your friends in the local pool that was made. Everyone thought they knew how to pick the upsets. In fact, because the games usually fall just after Spring Break, I constantly found myself making picks based upon many different factors. I began to think of myself as a college basketball Bracketologist. I thought I could dissect games and pick a winner.
It’s March Madness! Every game matters, and on any day anyone can win, but how does this apply to consumers. Well because the NCAA Tournament has become a big part for almost everyone, even those who don’t follow sports.
How does this relate to consumers? Well it consumes then. The reason I’m writing this blog is because I began to notice how many businesses take “March Madness” and use it to sell their product. A nice salon was advertising “March Madness” prices. I saw local car dealerships advertising their “slashed March Madness pricing”. It seems every company tries to do their own take on “March Madness”. How does this affect consumers? It just reinforces the brand “March Madness”, which in the beginning was a reference to the volatility of the NCAA Tournament. Every year a Cinderella almost wins the Championship. Every year there are upsets and other wild results to this month of sporting events. Every year there are teams that make me pull my hair out because they are bracket busters. All this excitement reinforces the brand “March Madness”. How do those that have never experienced a college basketball game reinforce the brand?
The brand no longer represents college basketball. After writing this blog, I have found that while the words “March Madness” originated because of college basketball, they have come to take on this other meaning; A meaning that evokes feelings of spring time. This in turn represents slashed prices and good deals. So as a consumer I’m happy, but as a sports fan I’m a little disappointed. I want everyone to be able to enjoy March Madness for what it is. The greatest month of sports.
The scenario played out every March. Cinderellas, Mid-Majors, upsets, blowouts, lottery pick, buzzer beater, Selection Sunday, conference championships, seedings, local pools, Bracketology, bracket, and diaper dandy. All these and many more are some of the words that can be heard during March. Even those that aren’t avid sports fans will fill out a bracket. Some will pick teams based on color, some on research, and some will just check to see what picks our President made and they will copy those. How does a sport like college basketball consumer the American consumer audience for such a short period of time? How have the words March Madness affected the insights of consumers?
Being that I love sports, I was never really amazed at the draw of the NCAA Tournament. It was just the culmination of every of sport in that we would eventually crown a champion. However, it had a different feel. I can always remember laying in bed watching 8 games in a row. I’d watch each of these games without even knowing any player on the team, but each game was important for my bracket. All picks would lead to the immortality of beating your friends in the local pool that was made. Everyone thought they knew how to pick the upsets. In fact, because the games usually fall just after Spring Break, I constantly found myself making picks based upon many different factors. I began to think of myself as a college basketball Bracketologist. I thought I could dissect games and pick a winner.
It’s March Madness! Every game matters, and on any day anyone can win, but how does this apply to consumers. Well because the NCAA Tournament has become a big part for almost everyone, even those who don’t follow sports.
How does this relate to consumers? Well it consumes then. The reason I’m writing this blog is because I began to notice how many businesses take “March Madness” and use it to sell their product. A nice salon was advertising “March Madness” prices. I saw local car dealerships advertising their “slashed March Madness pricing”. It seems every company tries to do their own take on “March Madness”. How does this affect consumers? It just reinforces the brand “March Madness”, which in the beginning was a reference to the volatility of the NCAA Tournament. Every year a Cinderella almost wins the Championship. Every year there are upsets and other wild results to this month of sporting events. Every year there are teams that make me pull my hair out because they are bracket busters. All this excitement reinforces the brand “March Madness”. How do those that have never experienced a college basketball game reinforce the brand?
The brand no longer represents college basketball. After writing this blog, I have found that while the words “March Madness” originated because of college basketball, they have come to take on this other meaning; A meaning that evokes feelings of spring time. This in turn represents slashed prices and good deals. So as a consumer I’m happy, but as a sports fan I’m a little disappointed. I want everyone to be able to enjoy March Madness for what it is. The greatest month of sports.
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