With the NBA's All-Star weekend wrapped up it is official that the second half of the season is underway. The first half of the year presented both NBA fans and Cavs fans with a lot to think and talk about. This season has seen many interesting things like the emergence of Jeremy Lin, the Heat's Big Three and the Thunder's dominance in their conferences, as well as the Lakers adapting to life under new head coach Mike Brown. But even with all of these big name teams having so much success, Cleveland has had an interesting and eventful first half as well.
The first half of the season has seen the Cavaliers finish with a 13-19 record which lands them in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs have definitely seen their fair share of up's and down's so far but I think so far Cleveland fans have to feel pretty positive about the results of this team. The Cavs have had some huge wins against teams like New York, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles Clippers, and Indiana. They have also received setbacks from bad teams such as New Orleans, New Jersey, and twice to Toronto. So far the Cavs have exceeded expectations but there is still a long way to go. It would be great to finish the season with a lottery pick but I think if Cleveland can finish with 25 wins it would be a success. Even with the shortened 66 game schedule this season, the Cavs are still on pace to have more wins then their 19 from last year. Hopefully the young players they've acquired over the last few years can continue to grow and lead the Cavs to the playoffs soon!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Class Blog: Bill Veeck
After researching the great Bill Veeck, it is very apparent that he was a promotional genius. The biggest thing that Bill Veeck did to make him great at promoting his teams and products was how innovative he was and how amazing he was at thinking outside the box. Bill thought up promotions that were anywhere from being offensive, to fun, to just plain weird.
Of all the great promotions Bill Veeck created during his major league career with the White Sox and Indians, I think his best and most creative promotion was with his minor league team, the Charleston Riverdogs. The promotion he created in July of 2002 was called "Nobody Night." This promotion sounds completely silly because at first thought it is obviously a loss taken by his organization if no one attends the game. What made this a great promotion was that just by announcing he was doing this gave his team a ton of publicity. Minor league teams do not get publicity on a regular basis. With this promotion Veeck successfully got his Riverdogs in papers and magazines everywhere. This was simply FREE advertising that he created through this promotion. Another important aspect of this promotion was that he actually created a great buzz outside the stadium. He simply locked out the fans until the game was official after the 6th inning and let everyone in after that. The article said he had tons of people outside the stadium that he sold tons of concessions to as well as letting them watch on big screens outside the stadium. Despite all of this he even got his team into the Guinness Book of World Records for lowest attendance. All of these worked great for a minor league team and had to be considered a huge success for his team.
Of all the great promotions Bill Veeck created during his major league career with the White Sox and Indians, I think his best and most creative promotion was with his minor league team, the Charleston Riverdogs. The promotion he created in July of 2002 was called "Nobody Night." This promotion sounds completely silly because at first thought it is obviously a loss taken by his organization if no one attends the game. What made this a great promotion was that just by announcing he was doing this gave his team a ton of publicity. Minor league teams do not get publicity on a regular basis. With this promotion Veeck successfully got his Riverdogs in papers and magazines everywhere. This was simply FREE advertising that he created through this promotion. Another important aspect of this promotion was that he actually created a great buzz outside the stadium. He simply locked out the fans until the game was official after the 6th inning and let everyone in after that. The article said he had tons of people outside the stadium that he sold tons of concessions to as well as letting them watch on big screens outside the stadium. Despite all of this he even got his team into the Guinness Book of World Records for lowest attendance. All of these worked great for a minor league team and had to be considered a huge success for his team.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Fan Blog: Lebron Back to Cleveland?
Anyone who has watched sports television this past week has more than likely heard about Lebron James' most recent comments regarding Cleveland. Lebron James has emerged as one of the most popular athletes on the planet. Because of this, his departure from Cleveland and now his annual returns to Cleveland are becoming national news. This past week he was making his third appearance in Cleveland since the infamous departure. When asked by a reporter about a possible return to Cleveland he stated, "I think it would be great, it would be fun to play in front of these fans again." Later in the interview he went on to say, "I had a lot of fun times here. You can't predict the future. Hopefully you continue to stay healthy. I'm here as a Miami player and I'm happy where I am now but I don't rule that out in any sense. If I decide to come back, hopefully the fans will accept me."
Needless to say, these comments have created quite the stir within the sporting world. There has been much discussion over whether these comments were out of line for him to say, and more importantly, whether or not there is some truth to his return to Cleveland. It will be two more seasons before James has a chance to opt out of his contract and explore the possibility of returning or looking elsewhere. Many people think he is just trying to regain some of his popularity but I really do think there is some truth to what he said. Lebron's image has taken a huge hit since he left Cleveland and along with that I think has come a lot of regret. Miami Heats' fans have been lacking even with the crazy talent they have there. Miami even had to use a "Fan Up Miami" promotion last season because they were having so much trouble selling out games. Even when they do, everyone isn't in their seats until halfway through the first and second halfs. Nothing against Miami fans but this is completely different than what Lebron is used to in comparison to Cleveland. In Lebron's time in Cleveland he was literally treated as if he owned the city. He gave the city a certain buzz and he could do no wrong. Since he was from Northeast Ohio, Cleveland sports fans viewed him as their own homegrown product, therefore felt an interesting attachment to him. This is something that he can never achieve outside of Cleveland.
I don't know how much to actually read in between the lines on these comments but for those Cavs fans who would like to see Lebron back in Cleveland, this cannot be viewed as bad news. I think there is a decent chance he could return but I really do think things will have to change with current Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert. Whether he stays in Miami, returns to Cleveland, or explores other opportunities, it will without a doubt be an eventful and interesting time when James has the chance to opt out. I am sure rumors will swirl like crazy between now and then and it will be very interesting to see how everything turns out.
Needless to say, these comments have created quite the stir within the sporting world. There has been much discussion over whether these comments were out of line for him to say, and more importantly, whether or not there is some truth to his return to Cleveland. It will be two more seasons before James has a chance to opt out of his contract and explore the possibility of returning or looking elsewhere. Many people think he is just trying to regain some of his popularity but I really do think there is some truth to what he said. Lebron's image has taken a huge hit since he left Cleveland and along with that I think has come a lot of regret. Miami Heats' fans have been lacking even with the crazy talent they have there. Miami even had to use a "Fan Up Miami" promotion last season because they were having so much trouble selling out games. Even when they do, everyone isn't in their seats until halfway through the first and second halfs. Nothing against Miami fans but this is completely different than what Lebron is used to in comparison to Cleveland. In Lebron's time in Cleveland he was literally treated as if he owned the city. He gave the city a certain buzz and he could do no wrong. Since he was from Northeast Ohio, Cleveland sports fans viewed him as their own homegrown product, therefore felt an interesting attachment to him. This is something that he can never achieve outside of Cleveland.
I don't know how much to actually read in between the lines on these comments but for those Cavs fans who would like to see Lebron back in Cleveland, this cannot be viewed as bad news. I think there is a decent chance he could return but I really do think things will have to change with current Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert. Whether he stays in Miami, returns to Cleveland, or explores other opportunities, it will without a doubt be an eventful and interesting time when James has the chance to opt out. I am sure rumors will swirl like crazy between now and then and it will be very interesting to see how everything turns out.
Class Blog: Marketing Ticket Prices
This weeks blog presented us with the question of whether we would rather sell 10,000 tickets at a cost of $2.00 per ticket or 1,000 tickets at $20 per ticket. In my personal opinion I think this is a rather simple answer. Just like in any industry, you want to gain a wide customer base and residual customers. With selling tickets to 10,000 people rather than 1,000 you do just that. This is a great opportunity for your team to gain a very large fanbase if you would choose that option. Another huge advantage of selling that amount of tickets for only $2.00 rather than for $20.00 is that you get a reputation for having good value as a sports organization. This will help build a certain rapport with the customer base because they will trust you as well as your product. This great price as well as the amount of 10,000 tickets you sold will absolutely build a large, repeat customer base. These 10,000 customers will be able to tell many others about the great deal of $2.00 per ticket in comparison to the low amount of people that could or even would spread the word of $20 tickets.Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Class Blog: Super Bowl
As everyone already knows, the Super Bowl is the day that every major company showcases their new commercials for the year. It creates great exposure for their product because of the insane amount of people watching the game. But besides the commercials, there is plenty of other, more subtle advertising going on during the Super Bowl.
One major form of advertising I noticed was the Reebok logo on the teams uniforms. What better way to advertise then to put it right on the players. This doesn't straight out tell the viewers to buy Reebok equipment, but tons of people must think the uniforms look cool. This gets other teams such as colleges and high schools to contact Reebok and see what they can do for their own school.
Another advertising I noticed was the Verizon Wireless logo on the scoreboard. They only showed the scoreboard about two times during the game but both times I saw that logo on both sides of it. This ad wasn't so much for the viewers at home but rather for the fans in attendance.
The last one I noticed was probably the biggest one that I saw outside of the commercials. The entire halftime show was called the "Bridgestone Halftime Show." It seems odd that a company that manufactures tires would sponsor a halftime show that contained Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and Cee-Lo Green, but with the amount of people watching, it really doesn't need to make sense. I am almost 100% certain the Bridgestone had major hits on their website immediately following that halftime show.
What all this tells me is that it doesn't matter when or where you advertise during the Super Bowl. All it boils down to is that the Super Bowl is a marketers dream. It creates the rare opportunity for a company to showcase their product to one of the largest audiences possible and actually have the audience intrigued in the commercial itself. I mean after all, isn't that half the reason why people watch the Super Bowl anymore?
One major form of advertising I noticed was the Reebok logo on the teams uniforms. What better way to advertise then to put it right on the players. This doesn't straight out tell the viewers to buy Reebok equipment, but tons of people must think the uniforms look cool. This gets other teams such as colleges and high schools to contact Reebok and see what they can do for their own school.
Another advertising I noticed was the Verizon Wireless logo on the scoreboard. They only showed the scoreboard about two times during the game but both times I saw that logo on both sides of it. This ad wasn't so much for the viewers at home but rather for the fans in attendance.
The last one I noticed was probably the biggest one that I saw outside of the commercials. The entire halftime show was called the "Bridgestone Halftime Show." It seems odd that a company that manufactures tires would sponsor a halftime show that contained Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and Cee-Lo Green, but with the amount of people watching, it really doesn't need to make sense. I am almost 100% certain the Bridgestone had major hits on their website immediately following that halftime show.
What all this tells me is that it doesn't matter when or where you advertise during the Super Bowl. All it boils down to is that the Super Bowl is a marketers dream. It creates the rare opportunity for a company to showcase their product to one of the largest audiences possible and actually have the audience intrigued in the commercial itself. I mean after all, isn't that half the reason why people watch the Super Bowl anymore?
Fan Blog: Behind the Building of the 2012 Cavs
So many things go into making a team. It seems like a simple enough thing to do. Make a few trades, draft good players, save money where you can, and hope the end product is satisfactory to your fans. But like many things, it's a whole lot more complex than it seems. There are so many factors that go into a team. Salary cap, luxury taxes, trade exceptions, drafts, trades, free agency, and much more. In this blog post, I am going to give a brief background on how this years team came to be.
Draft:
- Daniel (Boobie) Gibson was drafted 42nd overall by the Cavs in the 2006 NBA Draft. He went to college at the University of Texas and has become a key addition for the Cavs during his time in Cleveland. He is rather small for the NBA but his shooting ability has kept him a fan favorite in Cleveland.
- Christian Eyenga was drafted 30th overall by Cleveland in the 2009 NBA Draft. Eyenga ia 22 years old and is an athletic Small Forward from the Congo. He has great leaping ability and has become a good role player for the Cavs.
- Kyrie Irving was drafted number 1 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. This draft pick was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade earlier in 2011. Irving attended Duke University for one season. Although his time has been rather short here in Cleveland, he is making a name for himself and showing the league that he will be a force in years to come.
- Tristan Thompson was selected number 3 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. He attended the University of Texas and is just a meir 20 years old. His long, lanky figure promises to be a great asset to Cleveland on the defensive end moving into the future.
Trades:
- Anderson Varejao was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2004 but then traded to the Cavs for Tony Battie and two second round picks. Varejao is from Brazil and has become a major fan favorite in Cleveland during his seven years playing with the club.
- Antawn Jamison is a 13 year NBA veteran who found his way to the Cavs by way of a three team trade in 2010 between the Cavs, Washington Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers. The Cavs had to give up a first round pick and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and received Jamison and Sebastian Telfair.
- In the summer of 2010, the Cavs traded for two players that are currently on the roster from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cleveland gave Minnesota their 2013 second round pick as well as Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair. In exchange, Cleveland got center, Ryan Hollins and point guard, Ramon Sessions.
- During a midseason trade in 2011, the Cavs acquired two current players in a trade with the Boston Celtics. Cleveland received both Semih Erden, a center from Turkey, as well as Luke Harangody, a young power forward from Notre Dame. Boston got Cleveland's second round pick for that year.
- Omri Casspi is a tall small forward who was acquired in a trade from Sacramento to Cleveland in 2011. Cleveland received Casspi and Sacramento's first round pick for 2012 and gave the Kings JJ Hickson.
Free Agents:
- Anthony Parker was claimed out of free agency by the Cavs in 2009. Parker had been released by the Toronto Raptors the prior year. He is an 8 year veteran out of Bradley University.
- Alonzo Gee was claimed by Cleveland out of free agency in 2010. He played overseas for a year before returning to the Cavs in 2011. Gee is a 24 year old small forward who attended University of Alabama.
- Samardo Samuels was claimed from free agency by Cleveland after being released from the Bulls in 2010. Samuels signed a 3 year deal with the Cavs and is currently playing backup Center for them. He is a 2 year NBA player out of University of Louisville.
- Ben Uzoh became an undrafted free agent in 2011. He was picked up by the Cavs to be a shooting guard off the bench. He has not yet seen much playing time but is still just a rookie from Tulsa University.
As you can see, this team was not acquired over night. It has taken many different acquisitions and I think the Cavalier front office has to be proud of the direction they are taking. Hopefully within a few short years, all their hard work will have paid off!
Draft:
- Daniel (Boobie) Gibson was drafted 42nd overall by the Cavs in the 2006 NBA Draft. He went to college at the University of Texas and has become a key addition for the Cavs during his time in Cleveland. He is rather small for the NBA but his shooting ability has kept him a fan favorite in Cleveland.
- Christian Eyenga was drafted 30th overall by Cleveland in the 2009 NBA Draft. Eyenga ia 22 years old and is an athletic Small Forward from the Congo. He has great leaping ability and has become a good role player for the Cavs.
- Kyrie Irving was drafted number 1 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. This draft pick was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade earlier in 2011. Irving attended Duke University for one season. Although his time has been rather short here in Cleveland, he is making a name for himself and showing the league that he will be a force in years to come.
- Tristan Thompson was selected number 3 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. He attended the University of Texas and is just a meir 20 years old. His long, lanky figure promises to be a great asset to Cleveland on the defensive end moving into the future.
Trades:
- Anderson Varejao was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2004 but then traded to the Cavs for Tony Battie and two second round picks. Varejao is from Brazil and has become a major fan favorite in Cleveland during his seven years playing with the club.
- Antawn Jamison is a 13 year NBA veteran who found his way to the Cavs by way of a three team trade in 2010 between the Cavs, Washington Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers. The Cavs had to give up a first round pick and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and received Jamison and Sebastian Telfair.
- In the summer of 2010, the Cavs traded for two players that are currently on the roster from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cleveland gave Minnesota their 2013 second round pick as well as Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair. In exchange, Cleveland got center, Ryan Hollins and point guard, Ramon Sessions.
- During a midseason trade in 2011, the Cavs acquired two current players in a trade with the Boston Celtics. Cleveland received both Semih Erden, a center from Turkey, as well as Luke Harangody, a young power forward from Notre Dame. Boston got Cleveland's second round pick for that year.
- Omri Casspi is a tall small forward who was acquired in a trade from Sacramento to Cleveland in 2011. Cleveland received Casspi and Sacramento's first round pick for 2012 and gave the Kings JJ Hickson.
Free Agents:
- Anthony Parker was claimed out of free agency by the Cavs in 2009. Parker had been released by the Toronto Raptors the prior year. He is an 8 year veteran out of Bradley University.
- Alonzo Gee was claimed by Cleveland out of free agency in 2010. He played overseas for a year before returning to the Cavs in 2011. Gee is a 24 year old small forward who attended University of Alabama.
- Samardo Samuels was claimed from free agency by Cleveland after being released from the Bulls in 2010. Samuels signed a 3 year deal with the Cavs and is currently playing backup Center for them. He is a 2 year NBA player out of University of Louisville.
- Ben Uzoh became an undrafted free agent in 2011. He was picked up by the Cavs to be a shooting guard off the bench. He has not yet seen much playing time but is still just a rookie from Tulsa University.
As you can see, this team was not acquired over night. It has taken many different acquisitions and I think the Cavalier front office has to be proud of the direction they are taking. Hopefully within a few short years, all their hard work will have paid off!
Class Blog: Sport Product Life Cycle
The class blog for this past week was to give background information on an Athletic/Sports company and dive a little deeper into what the company is all about. The company I chose for this is Callaway Golf Company. To the average sports fan, Callaway may not be a household name. Keeping themselves restricted to one sport is the main cause of this but by no means do I think they need to expand to other areas.
Callaway is considered the world's largest maker of golf clubs. If any of you have ever watched a PGA event, there is no doubt in my mind that you have seen Callaway products in use. Callaway produces a wide range of golf products including clubs, balls, tees, apparel, shoes, gloves, and golf bags. Callaway is based in Carlsbad, California and was founded in 1982. Callaway began publicly trading their companies shares on the NYSE in 1992 and by 1997 they boasted a market capitalization of 3 billion dollars. Their net profit in 2010 was 967.7 million dollars and they are continuing to grow today.
There is actually a lot of competition in the golf world between companies such as Callaway, TaylorMade, Cleveland Golf, Nike Golf, and many more. With all this competition, Callaway has to gain a competitive advantage any way they can. The way they accomplish this is through sponsorships. Callaway does a great job of sponsoring athletes with their biggest cash cow being Phil Mickelson. Other huge stars Callaway has are Stuart Appleby, Ernie Els, Arnold Palmer, and even Justin Timberlake. They have numerous more sponsorships that are not nearly as recongizable nor as profitable as these individuals and in the marketing world they are labeled as question marks and dogs. Callaway is doing a great job growing their business and getting their name out there. Phil Mickelson just won this past weekends Pro-Am at Pebble Beach to continue carrying the Callaway name with pride.
Callaway is considered the world's largest maker of golf clubs. If any of you have ever watched a PGA event, there is no doubt in my mind that you have seen Callaway products in use. Callaway produces a wide range of golf products including clubs, balls, tees, apparel, shoes, gloves, and golf bags. Callaway is based in Carlsbad, California and was founded in 1982. Callaway began publicly trading their companies shares on the NYSE in 1992 and by 1997 they boasted a market capitalization of 3 billion dollars. Their net profit in 2010 was 967.7 million dollars and they are continuing to grow today.
There is actually a lot of competition in the golf world between companies such as Callaway, TaylorMade, Cleveland Golf, Nike Golf, and many more. With all this competition, Callaway has to gain a competitive advantage any way they can. The way they accomplish this is through sponsorships. Callaway does a great job of sponsoring athletes with their biggest cash cow being Phil Mickelson. Other huge stars Callaway has are Stuart Appleby, Ernie Els, Arnold Palmer, and even Justin Timberlake. They have numerous more sponsorships that are not nearly as recongizable nor as profitable as these individuals and in the marketing world they are labeled as question marks and dogs. Callaway is doing a great job growing their business and getting their name out there. Phil Mickelson just won this past weekends Pro-Am at Pebble Beach to continue carrying the Callaway name with pride.
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