Call Me a Purist

Call Me a Purist

Yeah, call me a purist…which seems to not fit with what I have been doing most of my life…sports marketing.  I recall back in the early 1980s when I was charged with finding new revenue sources and generating income for the PGA of America.  Ultimately, my strategy was to try to develop a way to generate identity programs that would benefit the sponsors AND generate revenue for the PGA as tastefully as possible.  For better or worse, we created a lot of programs that generated millions of dollars over the next few years.  If you recall, I told the story previously about the advertising in the bottom of the cup in the greens…yes, we passed on that one!

Since then I have watched sports marketing become a huge business.  Golf held out for so many years and logos on golf apparel typically was found only on a sleeve and/or left chest.  More recently, however, I have seen the proliferation of logos on collars, both sleeves, back of the shirt (I will admit, I did that myself in 1995 for our company), and both sides of the chest.  Now golfers are beginning to look more like NASCAR drivers.

Think about it…at the end of every NASCAR race, the driver is escorted to the presentation area where he is surrounded by the media and the smiling blonde from Sprint and chokes down a refreshing beverage, albeit one of his endorsements…all the while thanking the dozen or more sponsors on his car and firesuit.  But, over the years, we have become accustomed to it.  And, no one seems to be offended by it.

So far, the rest of sports has remained fairly pure…no major advertising on football jerseys or baseball uniforms other than the identifying mark of the manufacturer like Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, or Majestic.  But maybe things are changing.  I just learned that the NBA has approved a measure that will allow teams to place logos on jerseys in 2013.  With that, everyone else will begin to follow suit….how can they leave all that money on the table?  The New York Yankees with a CitiBank logo; or, the New Orleans Saints with a Tobasco image on the jersey…wow!  Jerry Jones will probably be the first!

We have been helping high schools generate revenue through special programs and for now prep teams appear safe from all the current commercialization.  A rule mandated by the National Federation of State High School Associations restricts placement of advertising on uniforms, which, from a purist perspective makes me happy.  Seems somewhat of an oxymoron for a marketing guy to support that mandate, but some things are left better as they are.  Heck, I wish golfers weren’t placing logos all over themselves, but I do understand the tremendous money available today.  I hardly ever wear a golf shirt with a logo anymore...just a personal preference.

The Sports Marketing Company specializes in finding ways to help schools offset costs by creating revenue programs that can be done tastefully and create community interest and corporate relationships with the school districts.  I believe strongly in what we do for the schools, not because of my marketing background, but because we help fill a need at a time when it is getting more difficult for schools to fund athletic programs.  So, anything we can do to help offset costs for other elements helps along the way.

With approximately 500 million fans across the United States, high school sports marketing is an incredible vehicle for corporate America to reach buyers of their products.  We don’t want to turn schools into crazy over-laden advertising mediums, but we know we can help high schools and districts make valuable strides to meet needs and add to the enjoyment of fans attending games, whether it is at a football stadium or small sports arena.

One of my favorite television programs over the past few years was Friday Night Lights.  I enjoyed the stories and the trials of “big-time football” in small town Dillon, Texas.  What a little marketing could have done to help the East Dillon bunch…broke my heart when I saw Coach Taylor walk onto that grassless field at East Dillon…broken down seats, goal posts barely standing…and no equipment for players.  Heck, he hardly had enough players to make a team.  Were this a real case scenario, it is just what we do. We know how to help both sides win, by establishing a viable advertising medium for the sponsorship for the company and a resulting revenue program for the school.

It’s all about good taste.  Having been involved in more than $50 million in programs since I started, I believe I have been able to keep a solid perspective on that since I sold my first sponsorship back in 1982.  Time will only tell where sports marketing will be in the future.