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HOPE-LE$$ SOLO:
HOW GOALIE LOST
MILLIONS IN
ENDORSEMENTS
July 17, 2011 (New York) Team U.S.A. superstar goalie Hope Solo's failure to stop Japan in the penalty
kick portion of the FIFA World Cup Finals cost her tens of millions of dollars in endorsements. Solo would have supplanted
Mia Hamm as the most popular female soccer player in U.S. history. And as a result, she would have reaped millions.
We would have called her "Hope-More" but I guess we'll just have to call her "Hope-Less."
The U.S. Soccer team was poised to beat Japan in the final game of the FIFA World Cup Championship but squandered
the lead twice. After the extended play/overtime session ended in a deadlock, the match entered the penalty kick phase.
In the penalty kick phase, arguably, the biggest star is the goalie. Hope Solo was already the most prominent player
on the team, and if she stopped Japan from scoring (or at least scoring less than Team U.S.A.), most of the credit would have
gone to her. It was Hope Solo's opportunity to be the Shero.
Unfortunately, Solo came up short, and a
very determined and resillient Japanese team won. Solo would have become the U.S.'s preeminent female athlete overnight.
Advertisers would have been lining up. A few experts said she was missing out on a few million. I beg to differ.
If she has competent representation, she lost tens of millions of dollars.
Smart representation would have said this
to potential advertisers: "Hope Solo is going to endorse only five products/services. Her qualities are strength,
reliability & dependability, quickness, alertness, intelligence, poise, perserverance, and beauty. We will be seeking
endorsements from the following 25 categories: cosmetics, shampoo, paper towels, tires, fitness equipment, detergent, cereal,
quick service restaurants (Applebees, Red Lobster, Ihop, and Subways), insurance, banks, tablets, mobile phones, automobiles,toothpaste,
facial cream, lady shavers, body wash, hair coloring, beverages, video games, panty shields, sanitary napkins, underwear,
and lotion." Her representation would have solicited at least three companies in each category which would mean
that she would have at least 75 suitors. To exponentially increase Solo's leverage as an endorser, her representation
would have included the names of every company solicited in the letter. This would send a message to Goodyear that they
(Goodyear) are not only competing with Michelin, they are competing against iPad, Head & Shoulders, Range Rover, etc.,
since she is only going to accept five endorsement deals. Each deal would be for at least three years at the minimum
of $3 million annually. That's at least $15 million per year.
Some might argue that these figures seems
farfectched. Certainly not. If the U.S. soccer team wins, Hope Solo now has at least 2 million followers on Twitter
and FaceBook by week's end. In a month, double it. Advertisers know what those numbers could mean for their
products/services. She has a good, clean image which, as Kyle Greene says, "allows you (the advertiser in this
case) to sleep at night." You don't have to worry about her being stopped for DWI, getting in a bar room brawl,
making homophobic comments, sexually assaulting someone, etc. She allows you to "sleep at night." Advertisers
don't want the headaches. Why do you think Floyd Mayweather can't get endorsement deals? He did have one
with HP, but they pulled those ads. They want to sleep at night. Advertisers don't want scandal. Michael
Phelps may have surpassed Tiger Woods in endorsement money if he hadn't "bonged" his way to infamy. Hines
Ward just lost endorsements that he didn't even know were coming due to his recent DWI. Kyle Greene says that advertisers
want to "rest easy" not "rest hard." Hope Solo is going to let the advertiser hit the pillow and
"rest easy" unlike Athlete X who calls the advertiser collect at 3 a.m. from jail.
Hope
springs nocturnal peace of mind. But Hope will get Less because her Solo performance fell
short in the big moment.
THE SWEETEST HANGOVER
LEAD STORY
TYSON MUST CAPITALIZE ON HANGOVER 2 POPULARITY
May 28, 2011 (New York) The film franchise, "The Hangover" debuts this weekend and promises
to be a box-office smash. Mike Tyson gives one of the film's must-see performances, and he needs to seize the moment
the way he "seized" opponents.
Despite his past indiscretions, Tyson has a mysterious charm fueled by his "nerd-like"
vocal quality, naivete, and willingness to express unfiltered thoughts which contrast with what many perceive as his "menacing"
exterior. This "mysterious charm" if marketed adroitly, can get Tyson other movie roles and oodles of product
endorsements--even his own talkshow (don't laugh--a Mike Tyson talkshow would be an instant hit on late night. He'll
ask anyone, anything!).
Here are some ideas. As long as Mike Tyson plays Mike Tyson, he will provide instant
comic relief in any movie. It's not rocket science, just put him in situations where he is not expected to be seen,
and you've got a funny moment. For example, Tyson on a long supermarket line; Tyson at a carwash; Tyson at the opera;
Tyson in a continuing education real estate class; or Tyson at a PTA meeting. (I just asked my wife for an example
and she said, "Mike Tyson in the Garden section at Home Depot"--yeah, that's funny.) Any place that "regular" people
go where upon seeing him you'd ask, "What's he doing here?" constitutes funny. Every time.
Levi's and Wrangler market their jeans as the "everyday" man's man pants--but they would
be smart to have Tyson as a pitchman. A "Man's Man" line or a "Big Guy" line would do well with Tyson as an endorser.
It seems crazy but so did Betty White doing a Snickers commercial seem odd. It works, and it could be very funny.
(I can't give the details on how to pull this off because there are industry people who monitor my articles to get ideas.)
A "Cook Like Mike" cooking show would do fabulous. Mike would cook "easy" dishes
with two or three celebrities on every show preparing meals together. The idea is to create odd groupings like: Tyson,
Senator John McCain, and Will Ferrell. The idea is to create a Three Stooges atmosphere in the kitchen. It's
about the ineptness, the chaos, the humor, and the meal never coming out well. Here are some
other guests: Judge Judy, Jamie Foxx, Bill Clinton, Justin Bieber, Eddie Murphy, Aretha Franklin, Bill O'Reilly, Venus &
Serena Williams, Will Smith, Barbara Walters, Chris Tucker, Taylor Swift, Derek Jeter, Flavor Flav--(can you see Mike Tyson,
Donald Trump, and Flavor Flav in the kitchen? How do you spell "spinoff"?).
People love laughing at celebrities. And as long as the celebrities don't lose
any style point and have a sense of humor, they'll get a boost to their "Q Ratings."
Just got a brilliant idea from the amazing Kyle Greene: When Tyson is cooking chicken,
he deadpans into the camera and says, "We're using Tyson chicken." The Tyson Chicken logo is shown--it's a shameless
and blameless plug. But funny, very funny.
Tyson could also peddle tires, paper towels, lawn mowers, paint products, blenders, tablets/pda's,
cereal, soup air conditioners, soft drinks, and Grills (sorry George Foreman).
As long as he stays "clean" and avoids controversy, Tyson could eclipse his ring earnings
(over $300 million) by leaps and bounds.
This has the potential to be the Sweetest Hangover (hommage to Diana Ross).
WHO'S THE MAN?
JORDAN VS. JAMES: BATTLE OF THE BRANDS
May 27, 2011 (New York) Scottie Pippen set it off when he declared that Lebron is better than Michael.
And maybe Pippen's not as crazy as people think--in the "on the court" debate. However, the bigger and better battle
is "off the court."
So who is the Man: Jordan or James? Lebron wants to be the billionaire athlete. He was
looking to supplant Tiger who had similar aspirations. Unfortunately, Tiger's (uh hmm) "putter" landed him in the "gutter."
Between his not winning anymore and the irreparable damage done to his reputation, Woods being a billion-dollar athlete is
remote at best.
The Jordan product line went from "hot" to "brand" to "icon" to "institution." But for the
purposes of the discussion, let's define the terms.
"Hot"--temporary high appeal. "Brand" (the term is used recklessly; very few people or entities
reach this status; Lady Ga Ga is moving towards brand status--she's not there yet due to longevity; she's way past hot, but
not brand status yet!)--reputation, recognition, association, and influence. "Icon" (think Beatles, Elvis, Marilyn,
Frank Sinatra, and Ali)--the "brand" becoming stronger exponentially and still being relevant 50+ years later. "Institution"--world
changer affecting various industries and movements (think Oprah).
With that backdrop, Jordan is an "Institution." The Jordan "movement" continues to mushroom.
There is a generation buying Jordan products who don't really know him. They buy the footwear and apparel--just because!
It's like saying you're going to make copies on the "Xerox" machine when the copier is a Canon, HP, or Lexmark make
& model. Xerox is the product brand, not the product itself. You have people who buy Jordan sneakers, and
people who buy sneakers that just happen to be Jordans.
Lebron is not even a brand. He doesn't pass the "reputation" criterion. Infamy
doesn't cut it. He's well known (recognizable)--internationally. People associate him readily with basketball,
but he is far from monumentally influential (that's two criteria he doesn't pass).
"Air Jordan" was a brilliant marketing campaign that was the benificary of perfect timing.
Air Jordan's became hot, stayed hot, and then became the norm. Lebron does not have a "signature" product, at least
not yet.
If the Heat win, Lebron will be flooded with endorsement offers. He must choose wisely.
The product/service must "jibe" with his character, temperment, accomplishment, style, look, and trajectory. The product/service
must be him. It must be an extension of his personna. It must be his essence. Like what spinach is to Popeye.
Spinach makes Popeye who he is. The product/service must be who Lebron is.
It was thought that "Air Jordans" made Jordan who he was as a player, and the sneaker fit the aforementioned
compatability factors, (i.e., character, temperment, style, look, and trajectory). That's what Bron-Bron needs.
So, who's the better player on-the-court? It's debatable. It depends on how you
define better (e.g., physical skills, championships, competitiveness, etc.). But off-the-court, no contest. Jordan
is the brand and the man.
FOR THE THREE BIG SPORTS, THE "NUMB-ERS" DON'T LIE
BASEBALL SHOULD FACE FACTS AND USE FACEBOOK
May 26, 2011 (New York) Back in the day, we used to say, "If you're slow, you blow."
Here are the numbers for the NBA, NFL, and MLB respectively: 8.6 million, 3.1 million, and 400,000.
Those stats reflect the Facebook following for the big three sports. If you include the UFC
and NHL, the numbers are 5.3 million and 1.6 million respectively. Baseball is suffering under Commissioner Bud Selig.
You can point to higher attendance figures all you want. You measure an executive (or anyone for that matter) based
on how well s/he can maximize their advantage.
Baseball is America's pasttime. You get no credit for higher attendance and television ratings
when the sport has numerous advantages over the other sports. Goodell is also to be blamed for having a paltry three
million Facebook followers for America's most popular sport. But the main culprit here is baseball.
In 2011, for Major League Baseball to have only 400,000 followers is shameful. Bud Selig may
have never turned on a computer in his life and may have never heard of Twitter, but that does not absolve him. Too
many key business decisions are made by people who are disconnected to the happenings of today, and this is a primary example.
Selig can't get younger. He may not even be able to "think" younger. But what he can do is hire "younger."
If basketball can have 8.6 million, baseball should have at least 15 million, and football should have 20 million.
Many private and public sector companies realize the importance of social media, particularly in
marketing. Somebody needs to tell Selig that baseball has lost ground in the urban areas and will be the first of the
big three sports to be adversely affected by soccer (real football), because soccer is coming hard. And lacrosse is
coming harder.
Baseball has always been the most quirky of the major sports and has more "characters." And
when a baseball player is wholesome (think Derek Jeter), he can be marketed more successfully than any of the athletes in
basketball and football. It's just something about baseball. Right now, Curtis Granderson has the right stuff
to make baseball a "hip" sport again, particularly in the inner cities. Baseball uses him in some inner city outreach
programs, but their (baseball's) use of him is like their use of Facebook. (Do I need to quote the numbers again?)
The answer is simple, either Selig needs to get "hip" or he needs to surround himself with "hip"
people. Being "numb" to the power of social media will lead to lower "numb-ers" across the board. Somebody tell
Selig to "Face Facts" and use "Facebook."
NO WAY, JOSE!
ADVERTISERS NOT ON THE BAUTISTA BANDWAGON
May 24, 2011 (New York) He has a bushel full of homeruns and is
on pace to finish with more Chris Berman "Back, Back, Backs" than Barry Bonds did in a single season.
Last year may have been a fluke, but this year he'll have 20+ homers before June 1. The homerun
is the signature hit in baseball. Always has been. But now, if someone has too many homeruns, suspicions abound.
"Is he clean?" "How is he beating the tests?" "Is his body changing?"
Unfortunately for Jose Bautista, standout player for the Toronto Bluejays, he has hit too many homeruns
in too few games. Advertisers are reluctant to sign him to any major endorsement deals because of the "elephant" no
"dinosaur" in the room--steroids.
In Bautista's first six seasons, he hit a total of 74 homers. Last year he hit 54. This
year he is on pace to shatter last year's personal best. Those stats surely raise more than a few eyebrows. This
puts him in an awkward position. What is he supposed to do--stop hitting homeruns? But, every time he hits a homerun,
the suspicions mount, and mount, and mount.
No advertiser will touch him for now. Talk about paying for the "sins of the father."
Upon realizing that he is losing millions in endorsements, (and provided he is clean), his agent should have him submit
to the most stringent testing for performance enhancement drugs. It's the only way to instill confidence in the advertisers.
And, it may be the only way to get them on the Bautista Bandwagon.
DURANT IS LEADING THE (BACK) PACK
May 20, 2011 (New York) It ain't about the shoes; it's about the
backpack. That's what NBA all-star Kevin Durant has been sporting to press conferences, and backpacks, if marketed correctly,
can be more lucrative than sneakers.
Durant is the unassuming, bring-him-home-to-meet-Mama, laidback, non-tattooed, unpierced,
anti-thug. He signed a long-term deal to stay--in all places--Oklahoma. In 2007, Durant turned down a $70 million
offer from Adidas to roll with Nike who gave him $60 million. (Lesson for Yankees: "Top dog doesn't pay top dollar!"
see New England Patriots, or ask Kristian Greene.)
Nike already has several signature backpacks, but the KD III line of backpacks has
the potential to be the company's biggest "maker money" (not money maker). Durant became a strategic product pitch-person
(an SP3) by causing a stir at post-game press conferences that were viewed by many because the Thunder-Grizzlies series was
m.s.t. (must see tv). This exposure prompted questions by media types and fans alike, "What's in his backpack?"
This free publicity/promotion gives the KD III backpacks serious "Maurice-mentum" (as in Mo Cheeks, get it? Hommage to Sports
Channel, Ryan Lee), and there should be a rush to get them out sooner than June.
Durant's good-guy image and guy-good [sic] behavior allows advertisers and company
execs to "chill" at night. You don't have to worry about him piling up DWI's, engaging in bar room brawls, shoplifting
like Lohan, shooting himself in the leg, tweeting foolishness, or being busted for smoking maria & juana.
Now, what Nike must do is "bundle" it. You're in college, middle or high school--you
get the backpack, the matching sneakers, the cap, the hoodie, and socks. When you change your socks and sneakers, guess
what? You change your backpack. It's about accessorizing. That's how you pitch it. Make it into a
fashion statement, especially for the female consumer. (The KD III for Ladies Only Signature Backpacks.)
You can make the backpack appeal to urban dwellers (code for Black kids) or surban
dwellers (code for White kids). By the way, if you market it correctly, "orange" kids will sport it too!
And if Nike is really smart, they'll cross promote it with an iPad, smartphone, energy drink, headphones, video
gamer, etc., anything that you could or would fit in your backpack.
These backpacks should retail from $30 to $100. And with this audience having
a need to have multiple backpacks, shooooottt!!!
Athletes today realize that product endorsement is where the real money is. Charles
Barkley is a more prominent endorser now than when he was when playing. Durant, Bron-Bron, Wade, Melo, D. Howard, are
the under 30 b-ballers who are trying to lead the pack. Durant has a shot at overtaking all of them.
Lesson to all: Sometimes in life, you lead from the back(pack).
GOT MILK?
KIA "MILKS" BLAKE GRIFFIN'S DUNK
May 15, 2011 (New York) It's been 12 weeks and one day. February
19, 2011 was the date of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest where Los Angeles Clipper rookie standout, Blake Griffin, flew over a Kia
automobile, caught a pass from then teammate Baron Davis, and "posterized" the automobile with a spectacular dunk. And,
of course, Blake won the contest--but more importantly that dunk continues to be relevant.
Relevant because Kia Motors was smart enough to use that dunk as part of its ad campaign. Relevant
because the ad is still in heavy rotation that will not subside until the NBA Finals concludes. Relevant because the
dunk will be a heavy topic of conversation during the next Slam Dunk Contest (whenever it actually occurs because of a looming
lockout).
The marketing ramifications are huge. That historic dunk was the first of its kind to fully
incorporate product placement. The floodgates are open, and going forward, dunk contests will never be the same.
Advertisers will cozy up to contestants in the next dunk contest to get them to incorporate the product/service as a prop--and
a part--of the dunks. At least, that's the smart think to do.
Why wouldn't T-Mobile urge Dwight Howard to dunk and tweet? Why wouldn't Sprite nudge Lebron
to sip some sprite before a high flying, 360, take no prisoners, off the wall, outta the arena, Julian Boyd punk dunk?
And why wouldn't Kia grease Blake's palms with some "greenery" (a.k.a., money) so that he'll defend his title and use the
Kia prop again?
We call this, Milkin' It. So to the would-be advertisers for the next Slam Dunk Contest we ask
one question: Got Milk?
SWEET TO TWEET: UFC'S DANA WHITE PROVIDES INCENTIVES FOR FIGHTERS
WHO TWEET
May 14, 2011 (New York) Talk about providing incentive, UFC President,
Dana White, continues to not break, but obliterate the rules. While most commissioners, leagues presidents, and team
owners hold their collective breaths every time a player tweets, Dana White not only encourages tweeting, he'll pay UFC fighters
to tweet.
According to the Sports Business Journal, White said, “fighters
will receive bonuses for adding Twitter followers and writing creative tweets,” while addressing an enthusiastic crowd
at the UFC's Fighter Summit held in Las Vegas.
The reason MMA will eventually overtake professional boxing is the consolidation of MMA leagues, vested
interest in "growing the sport," and dynamic leadership.
Tweeting has damaged careers, caused endorsements to be pulled, and resulted in athletes going from
being famous to being infamous (see Rashard Mendenhall as the most recent example). More than a few athletes have fallen
into the trap of "Tweet first and Think Second" and not followed the old axiom "Think before you Tweet."
The "money" will be allocated based on the following criteria: (1) number of followers; (2) number
of new followers; (3) percentage increase; and (4) creative tweets. The cash will be awarded every quarter. Three
fighters from each category will receive $5,000. If we allow math to serve us, that's $60,000 per quarter or $240,000
annually.
The buzz generated from the tweets makes this a sound investment and brilliant strategy by White who
is a "Tweet-asaurus" in his own right. As of this writing, White has 8,181 tweets, follows 192, and 1,430, 205 followers--and
those numbers will increase within sixty seconds. The numbers suggest that White is leading by example.
UFC boasts approximately 300 fighters. By June 1, 2012, one year after implementation, if the
average fighter has 10,000 loyal followers on twitter, the total followership will be 3,000,000. Not bad. And
that number will increase exponentially by June 2013.
White has a history of embracing "the unusual" and thumbing his nose at convention. UFC 129
had over 800,000 pay-per-view buys. That's not far behind what the average Pacquiao fight does in ppv buys. If
I am pro boxing, I am troubled by those numbers.
Our advice to White would be to set up an orientation. The fighters should: (1) refrain
from ethnic, racial, or homophobic slurs; (2) avoid discussing religion, politics, and personal finances; and (3) never
disparage the UFC or Dana White. Twitter is a double-edged sword and must be wielded deftly.
This campaign begins in earnest on June 1. Seems that the UFC fighters must include
"thumb" exercises as part of their workouts. But, if they become proficient, the bonus money makes it, "Sweet to
Tweet."
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