What does HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ do for the N.Y. Jets?

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

We are in the world's largest media market, with at least two of everything clamoring for attention and each team brand searching for its own spot. Some like the Yankees, Rangers and Giants, are iconic institutions held in the public trust, which can endure bad times, bad players and sometime-troubled ownership. They have fan loyalty and brand status beyond most other organizations in sport.

Some like the Knicks seem to endure in spite of their drama and issues, and in many ways thrive off that drama, at least for the short term. Then there are the Nets, the Jets, the Devils, the Red Bulls and the Islanders, who have solid followings but always seem to lag behind the others in the marketplace on a consistent basis, and constantly work at growing their place with the casual fan.

It is many times that the last group becomes the loudest voice, the innovator, the one willing to take a chance to succeed. The Nets make more noise as a brand than anyone, anywhere, in the hope of shaking loose recognition and value. The Devils are looking to continue growing market share and have made perhaps the biggest strides in that area recently.

Then there are the Jets, who will take to their new-shared stadium against the iconic Giants Monday night for the first time. The team is continually looking for new inroads to grow brand and gain market share and have become a franchise that has been praised for innovation, even as they look to fill their final swaths of Personal Seat Licenses. That latest step in brand building began on Wednesday night with the first showing of HBO's "Hard Knocks." The team has taken its share of criticism for opening up their doors to all the access that HBO needs. It is an intrusion and a distraction that may make many question what the brand value is.

However the Jets remain a team — even under a bright spotlight in New York — still needing to define a brand. Rex Ryan as a coach (even with way too many F bombs dropped on Wednesday) is still looking to define his role more clearly in the media, and the team has a great number of new faces to show not just in New York, but to a larger audience as well. The team also has a large number of brand partners who may continue to question the high value of sponsorship vs. its ROI, and dropping each and every brand into a high profile show may be invaluable to them. Even taking away the fact that the show can be an outright recruitment tool for public sentiment in the Darrelle Revis issue, the benefits of a team looking to move up in the landscape may outweigh the negatives.

Does winning override all branding in a league like the NFL? Tough to say today. Winning is always the goal, but using every tool to identify with a casual fan in today's environment is critical as well. The format of the show is certainly not for every team. The Giants do not fit "Hard Knocks." The Packers probably do not fit "Hard Knocks." The Jets, even with their success last year, may just fit. Is it a distraction? Only those involved know for sure. Is it too much exposure for a team and a staff that could backfire as the brutal season unfolds? Tough to tell at this stage.

However if you are a brand spending money with the Jets, or a casual fan looking to know more after a near Super Bowl season, or a die-hard fan who wants every bit of access possible, then the Jets are speaking to you. It is risky, but it was not decided in a vacuum, and the Jets are hoping risk in short term exposure is shown as reward in dollars, fan loyalty and wins down the line.

That's what all those tuning in are hoping for anyway.

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.