Hard Liquor + Basketball = Revenue

Apparently the NBA has recently lifted an 18 year long ban on advertising hard alcohol during the games in an effort to raise revenues during this economic downturn.  It is following the lead of MLB, NHL, and NASCAR and  20 of the 30 teams have already signed with hard liquor sponsors. Since beer is already in use for advertising at the games, what's the difference of having hard liquor joining the campaign?   I think this could be positive for the NBA in attracting more sponsors for their games.  Let's face it, alcohol is everywhere now, and why not use it to your advantage? It's just advertisements.  But does that make it ok? Is it the right look for the NBA? Or for any sports teams for that matter.  Personally, I do not think it is a good idea to have sports teams promoting alcohol.  Many young kids watch these games and will see that the NBA supports this and will think its ok. If this happened 20 years ago, fans would be in an outrage against the any sports team for even thinking about advertising alcohol.  But i think that in today's day and age, these kinds of advertisements are inevitable and will ultimately be a positive campaign for the NBA in producing much needed revenue.

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/61168

White Sox and Obama Unite!

I thought this was really cool: the White Sox has designed a new hat in suppot for Barack Obama's inaguration called the 'First Fan'. They have also put a huge sign on the front of their stadium stating "Congratulations President Barack Obama!". I think this is a wonderful marketing idea. Obviously there millions of Obama supporters out there, and by having this baseball team actively support our new president, people will automatically gain support for the White Sox (unless they don't like Obama, which is ridiculous because he's awesome!) It's like marketing by association; Obama is is the brand name and is being associated with the White Sox, which will bring more interest and support from people who were never before interested in baseball. If nothing else, Obama fans will be paying closer attention to the White Sox because of this whole marketing scheme. The hat actually looks pretty cool and stylish too. I mean, I don't really pay attention to baseball at all but I am fan of Obama, so when i saw this hat and what the White Sox have done to show their support for Obama, I immediatly became interested and read more about it. See? The White Sox marketing strategy has already worked on me.

take a look for yourself! click belowwww
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Celebrating-Barack-Obama-s-Inauguration-basebal;_ylt=AlFHx1hnaCiLbBQmGfg3Jqs5nYcB?urn=mlb,135561

Sports Marketing in a Weakened Economy

I found an article about how marketers are trying to re-vamp the falling fan attendance for many major sporting events.  The lower number of attendees to these events have fallen as a result of the worsening economy, mounting job loses, and uncertainty in world markets.  Many people simply cannot afford to spend the money as they have in the past on recreation and entertainment.  Marketers have implemented a number of strategies to reel the consumer back into the stadium seats.  Some teams have introduced the buy-now-pay-later offer that lures ticket-holders to go to games without paying until a later date.  Others have tried the buy-one-get-one-free season ticket offer, or giving back 10% of a season ticket purchase in the form of a gas card, or simply slashing the season ticket prices.  On top of the lowering amounts of ticket purchases is the fact that many teams are in the process of building brand new stadiums to house their home teams that cost in the millions of dollars.  Teams are finding it difficult to sell their most exclusive sponsorships: naming rights to the stadiums, which would bring in a lot of needed money.  It's sad to see teams and fans alike going through such rough times, but with the lower ticket prices, some fans will still be able to enjoy a night out with their favorite teams.