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TagsBY JOE FAVORITO
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING
Rarely has the New York media gone so ga-ga over one event has happened this past week, when the New York area was awarded the Super Bowl. With the game still four years away, the hype and craziness seen by so many this week will subside and the question will remain, will it bring a big name to the outside of the Stadium and for how much?
The real brand value to landing a Super Bowl may actually not be in that one game, but in the value of what other doors it will open. It is highly doubtful that one event will endorse a mega-million dollar sponsor – maybe it will help the Jets sell a few more PSL's with the lure of season subs having the potential of getting in the lottery for seats for the Super Bowl – but for a naming sponsor probably not.
Some of the real value in the Stadium is not just in the 20 NFL dates but also in events like this week's Bon Jovi concert and in the other mega-events that will pull not just football fans but entertainment fans to the venue.
The other value that has now been unlocked with the Super Bowl is the door opener for the rest of the sports world to come a knockin'. Will World Cup, maybe even the Olympics in the future, Army-Navy and other elite football (if the new Yankee Stadium Bowl is a success why not another in a better football venue across the river?) come to the new venue? Why not. Those events will bring a diverse, potentially international consumer to the table that could attract yet another international sponsor like the aborted deal with Allianz, or like the Nets deal with Barclay's for the Brooklyn arena.Also when looking at the deals, can the pieces of a naming deal be better than the overall name itself? Yankee Stadium may never have entertained a new naming deal because of its brand value, but its top tier stadium sponsors like Bank of America and others may just add up to more overall income, diverse income, than a one time overall stadium deal.
The brand equity examples that are being stockpiled by those doing the selling went up this past week no question. Seton Hall, in their best days at the Meadowlands for hoops, sold more season tickets with the lure of an NCAA Regional ticket tied together than any winning season ever could.
The NCAAs went away, ticket renewals dropped. On a larger scale, that's what happened with the Super Bowl announcement this week – the pot for those thinking about getting in and getting exposure just got sweeter.
The other obstacle in the Stadium naming deal is the ambush. While events are more ambush savvy now than ever before, the amount of media one could invest in to ambush a title sponsor in a big game has grown exponentially over the years. Also with an open air stadium no one controls the sky or the air, so the ability to ambush mobily or through aerial advertising – outside of a massive flight ban in the most heavily trafficked corridor in the world – also presents a problem for a partner coming in focused just on Super Bowl.
Also in the ambush front, could a current competitor who is not an NFL licensee come in and scoop up the name of the stadium as part of a long-term strategy? That will also involve complications and clauses built in to any agreement, because the league itself could present an anti-ambush credo to the teams for a title sponsor. Anheuser-Busch just shelled out millions for a new NFL deal to start next year, could MillerCoors now go in and buy the stadium naming rights deal for a 2013 ambush? Highly unlikely but it is a possibility and a roadblock in the sales process.
So there are many challenges for the seller, even with a big chip put in place this past week by the NFL. Yes rejoice football fans, who by then may be sitting home watching the game in 3D in the warmth of their living rooms while top tier sponsors freeze watching old time championship football in January.
The temperature may be cold, but hopefully the announcement helps put a little heat in the sales and branding process for the new place. The game yes will be an intriguing get, but what's more intriguing is the other doors that may have been opened.
Joe Favorito has over 23 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. Visit him at JoeFavorito.com.
