This is the first blog I have ever written, and I have to say it was a great experience. Thank you Dr. Machin for pushing our boundaries in the course. She has done an excellent job of forcing us (students) out of our MBA comfort zone in order to better understand marketing. It has been an excellent way to cap off marketing.
In terms of the NFL, I will honestly look at the games very differently. I now notice the little pins or banners that hang in the background. I also appreciate the linkage that they are attempting to create. In my mind, the NFL will continue to be the leading sport in America, and I think they have the ability to grow their fan base here through new innovations, as well as contend for overseas fans.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Thursday, December 18, 2014
NFL's Continuos Innovation
How do you continue to innovate a game that has been relatively the same for over a century? Ask the NFL, they can practically showcase Nathan Furr and Jeff Dyer's concepts from The Innovator's Method.
Once again, I believe the NFL can continually quick test its ideas across the 32 teams. Each team acts as its own profit and loss center, and thus each has it's own ability to market and grow. The big advantage of this is the NFL can see what actions or ideas are working in one area and begin to move them to another.
For instance, in 1974 the Pittsburgh Steeler fans created the idea of the Terrible Towel. This simple little rag became a symbol for the team to rally behind. Now, you can go to every single NFL stadium and purchase one of these towels. Similarly, the NFL had been started as a sports business, not necessarily a pop culture venue. In 1991, after years of most folks tuning out of the NFL halftime show, the league booked New Kids On The Block, a young boy band to perform during halftime. Halftime ratings nearly doubled, and with the ratings came the advertising revenue. This year the league even had a discussion about having the artist pay to perform at halftime.
Recently, the NFL has begun to look into finding new innovative ways to keep viewers watching. They understand that a younger generation does not necessarily want an expensive cable package, nor do they want to sit in a room with a bunch of their friends watching the game on a 50 inch television. Instead, they have pushed and marketed games to be broadcast through cell phones and tablets. Aside from streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, no other sport or entertainment platform provides all of their programing through mobile devices. The important part is the NFL is actively listening to consumers across the board and can rely on metrics provided by a variety of sources. Not every industry has this benefit and perhaps this is why the NFL can be a leader in entertainment innovation.
So what is next? The NFL needs to continue to push its boundaries, as highlighted by Furr and Dyer, companies need to explore new boundaries to gain larger insights. If I were in charge of the NFL innovation, I would begin to develop partnerships with some of the newest visual technologies, such as Oculus Rift, which is currently designed as a virtual reality headset. Instead of being in a room, Oculus Rift transfers the user into the projected environment. It is very realistic and has generated plenty of humorous moments to the users.
Watching the Super Bowl became a reason to invest in a brand new larger television, I don't see why it can't be the reason to invest in a product like Oculus Rift.
Where ever the NFL goes, it had the opportunity to increase its fan base. And as we've seen each of these innovations continues to drive fan allegiance, and that creates more profit for the NFL.
Once again, I believe the NFL can continually quick test its ideas across the 32 teams. Each team acts as its own profit and loss center, and thus each has it's own ability to market and grow. The big advantage of this is the NFL can see what actions or ideas are working in one area and begin to move them to another.
For instance, in 1974 the Pittsburgh Steeler fans created the idea of the Terrible Towel. This simple little rag became a symbol for the team to rally behind. Now, you can go to every single NFL stadium and purchase one of these towels. Similarly, the NFL had been started as a sports business, not necessarily a pop culture venue. In 1991, after years of most folks tuning out of the NFL halftime show, the league booked New Kids On The Block, a young boy band to perform during halftime. Halftime ratings nearly doubled, and with the ratings came the advertising revenue. This year the league even had a discussion about having the artist pay to perform at halftime.
Recently, the NFL has begun to look into finding new innovative ways to keep viewers watching. They understand that a younger generation does not necessarily want an expensive cable package, nor do they want to sit in a room with a bunch of their friends watching the game on a 50 inch television. Instead, they have pushed and marketed games to be broadcast through cell phones and tablets. Aside from streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, no other sport or entertainment platform provides all of their programing through mobile devices. The important part is the NFL is actively listening to consumers across the board and can rely on metrics provided by a variety of sources. Not every industry has this benefit and perhaps this is why the NFL can be a leader in entertainment innovation.
So what is next? The NFL needs to continue to push its boundaries, as highlighted by Furr and Dyer, companies need to explore new boundaries to gain larger insights. If I were in charge of the NFL innovation, I would begin to develop partnerships with some of the newest visual technologies, such as Oculus Rift, which is currently designed as a virtual reality headset. Instead of being in a room, Oculus Rift transfers the user into the projected environment. It is very realistic and has generated plenty of humorous moments to the users.
Watching the Super Bowl became a reason to invest in a brand new larger television, I don't see why it can't be the reason to invest in a product like Oculus Rift.
Where ever the NFL goes, it had the opportunity to increase its fan base. And as we've seen each of these innovations continues to drive fan allegiance, and that creates more profit for the NFL.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Does the NFL Use Hypothesis Driven Testing?
While entrepreneurs look to the conversion funnel for the lifetime value of consumers, it is not unlikely to think that the NFL does the same. Local NFL teams do this all the time: they find a way to change people to fans, and fans into super fans. With each effort, the team is drawing a stronger connection and increasing the lifetime value of a consumer. Just look at the obituary section of most newspapers and you will find at least one person highlights their fandom of an NFL team. This unfortunately morbid anecdote provides some insight into how the NFL can create a passionate fan base.
As Thomas Eisenmann, Eric Ries, and Sarah Dillard highlight in their article Hypothesis Driven Entrepreneurship: The Lean Startup companies must test and then invest. This is no different for every local NFL team. Each team comes to the draft hoping to find their next franchise player that can lead them to a Super Bowl, but, in reality, most teams settle for good players. Instead of just ending the testing there, the teams continue to measure how individuals players should be marketed. They track jersey sales or appearance to team-sponsored events, and they gauge the fan feedback on individual players. All of this leads teams to identify their superstars: the best player(s) on or off the field.
For instance, Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys has been a good tight-end. He is not necessarily an NFL superstar in terms of his game performance, however, his off-the-field activities have made him a Cowboys franchise player. He started his own Jason Witten SCORE foundation, which has donated to fans across Texas as well as his home state of Tennessee. These activities make his jersey one of the highest selling jerseys for the Cowboys. Similarly, Devon Still of the Cincinnati Bengals is an average on-the-field player but he has a powerful off-the-field story. This year Devon's daughter was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma stage 4 cancer, in response Devon shaved his head and has refused to grow his hair back or play in the NFL until she is out of the hospital. The Bengals organization understood the impact that Still had on his community and organization and instead of penalizing Still, they rewarded his unselfish actions by continue to pay a portion of his contract, as well as offer his jersey to the public. They also stated that for ever Devon Still jersey sold, they would donate the proceeds to pediatric cancer research: in one month, over $1 million dollars worth of Still's jerseys were sold. In fact, his jersey was the 9th leading jersey this year despite the fact he hasn't touched a football once for the Bengals.
By tracking the trends of the consumers, the NFL gains a greater understanding into how each team or player could and should be marketed to the fans. Throughout this entire marketing process and story telling, the NFL can track the Eisenmann, Ries, and Dillard's conversion funnel to measure how people go from an outsider, to a fan, and ultimately someone who writes they were a fan in their obituary.
As Thomas Eisenmann, Eric Ries, and Sarah Dillard highlight in their article Hypothesis Driven Entrepreneurship: The Lean Startup companies must test and then invest. This is no different for every local NFL team. Each team comes to the draft hoping to find their next franchise player that can lead them to a Super Bowl, but, in reality, most teams settle for good players. Instead of just ending the testing there, the teams continue to measure how individuals players should be marketed. They track jersey sales or appearance to team-sponsored events, and they gauge the fan feedback on individual players. All of this leads teams to identify their superstars: the best player(s) on or off the field.
For instance, Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys has been a good tight-end. He is not necessarily an NFL superstar in terms of his game performance, however, his off-the-field activities have made him a Cowboys franchise player. He started his own Jason Witten SCORE foundation, which has donated to fans across Texas as well as his home state of Tennessee. These activities make his jersey one of the highest selling jerseys for the Cowboys. Similarly, Devon Still of the Cincinnati Bengals is an average on-the-field player but he has a powerful off-the-field story. This year Devon's daughter was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma stage 4 cancer, in response Devon shaved his head and has refused to grow his hair back or play in the NFL until she is out of the hospital. The Bengals organization understood the impact that Still had on his community and organization and instead of penalizing Still, they rewarded his unselfish actions by continue to pay a portion of his contract, as well as offer his jersey to the public. They also stated that for ever Devon Still jersey sold, they would donate the proceeds to pediatric cancer research: in one month, over $1 million dollars worth of Still's jerseys were sold. In fact, his jersey was the 9th leading jersey this year despite the fact he hasn't touched a football once for the Bengals.
By tracking the trends of the consumers, the NFL gains a greater understanding into how each team or player could and should be marketed to the fans. Throughout this entire marketing process and story telling, the NFL can track the Eisenmann, Ries, and Dillard's conversion funnel to measure how people go from an outsider, to a fan, and ultimately someone who writes they were a fan in their obituary.
Monday, December 15, 2014
The NFL and its Social Responsbility
This year has probably provided the greatest test for the NFL. The 2014-2015 season started off on a rocky position by issuing stern yet agreed upon suspensions for players who failed to pass drug tests and one very weak suspension for a domestic assault case. The one assault case, with Ray Rice, soon grew to 5 other assault cases and one public case of child abuse from another star player, Adrian Peterson. These quickly put the NFL on the defensive. I believe that while the NFL has good intentions, it is not a proactive socially responsible organization.
On the NFL's Values Page they provide their Mission and Values statement:
To present the National Football League and its teams at a level that attracts the broadest audience and makes NFL football the best sports entertainment in the world.
To achieve our mission, we will constantly challenge ourselves to improve and be guided by these values:Integrity, Performance and Teamwork, Tradition and Innovation, Diversity, and Learning.
Each value has several subcategories and provides more details but these 5 statements in particular struck me:
While they have the mechanisms to listen to the groundswell, they are not proactive enough to lead be the leader on all ethical dealings as they highlight in their missions and values. If the NFL wanted to be the social leader, they would need to not only monitor their fans but the reaction of the general public. In my opinion, this is asking too much for a sports organization.
On the NFL's Values Page they provide their Mission and Values statement:
To present the National Football League and its teams at a level that attracts the broadest audience and makes NFL football the best sports entertainment in the world.
To achieve our mission, we will constantly challenge ourselves to improve and be guided by these values:Integrity, Performance and Teamwork, Tradition and Innovation, Diversity, and Learning.
Each value has several subcategories and provides more details but these 5 statements in particular struck me:
- We are ethical in all of our dealings with fans, clubs, business partners, and each other.
- We follow through on our words with action. We are honest and direct.
- We set the highest standards and challenge ourselves to keep improving.
- We are accountable for our results and consistently measure our progress.
- We make smart and informed business decisions.
While they have the mechanisms to listen to the groundswell, they are not proactive enough to lead be the leader on all ethical dealings as they highlight in their missions and values. If the NFL wanted to be the social leader, they would need to not only monitor their fans but the reaction of the general public. In my opinion, this is asking too much for a sports organization.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Drawing the Porter Connection
In an earlier posting I shared some quick information about what I perceived to be a portion of the NFL's Porter Value Chain. The NFL does so much that it would be hard to examine every single operation across the 32 teams but I feel I found an opportunity to help the NFL.
In a Monday night game, New York Giant's player, Odell Beckham, ran towards the end zone as Giant's quarterback, Eli Manning, threw a pass over and behind Beckham. Instead of missing the pass, Beckham did the amazing, and reached back to catch the ball with THREE fingers. While Odell is a talent player, his gloves had a great impact on his ability to deliver. Here is Skip Bayless and Steven A Smith debating the catch:
No offense to Odell, but if the NFL can design a glove to catch a ball traveling over 40 mph behind your head, with three fingers, then I think they can use their performance enhancements to increase safety. For instance, if the NFL designed helmets to better protect their players' brains. Here is one area where the research has begun:
Magnets for Your Helmet
This may be the strongest area for drawing CSR into the actual product that the NFL produces: its players. If the NFL had the ability to reduce the head injuries and traumas current players face then it would help the organization across the board. First, it would allow current players to continue playing longer throughout their career. Great players in their prime, like Troy Aikman and Lawrence Taylor, have had their career cut short because of brain damage. Fans were sad to see them exit the field early. A safer helmet may have kept them on the field, which would have then continued to build strong fan bases around superstars. Second, the NFL relies on getting new players into the system, however, people like President Obama have come out in opposition to the NFL, feeling that the game is too dangerous. If a safer helmet could help protect younger brains then more parents may be open to their children playing the game, which either leads to the future stars or at least engaged fans who remember playing the game as a child. Third, safer helmets would help them with their former players, many who have issues or disabilities from their time playing the game. In fact, they have an active suit against the NFL seeking financial assistance because of the damages done/injuries endured while they played. Creating a safer helmet would reduce the risks of these lawsuits. It would also allow these players to continue to live a functioning life where they can meet their fans after they have exited the game. Those later in life meetings would draw fans and players together with a total focus on the game of football, and this would help them generate more fans and revenue.
I believe over the next few years the NFL will take a stronger stance on their individual player safety. We have already seen it with the rules that have been implemented, the next step is for the technology to match the rules. If this happens, the NFL would align their CSR with financially positive strategies.
In a Monday night game, New York Giant's player, Odell Beckham, ran towards the end zone as Giant's quarterback, Eli Manning, threw a pass over and behind Beckham. Instead of missing the pass, Beckham did the amazing, and reached back to catch the ball with THREE fingers. While Odell is a talent player, his gloves had a great impact on his ability to deliver. Here is Skip Bayless and Steven A Smith debating the catch:
No offense to Odell, but if the NFL can design a glove to catch a ball traveling over 40 mph behind your head, with three fingers, then I think they can use their performance enhancements to increase safety. For instance, if the NFL designed helmets to better protect their players' brains. Here is one area where the research has begun:
Magnets for Your Helmet
This may be the strongest area for drawing CSR into the actual product that the NFL produces: its players. If the NFL had the ability to reduce the head injuries and traumas current players face then it would help the organization across the board. First, it would allow current players to continue playing longer throughout their career. Great players in their prime, like Troy Aikman and Lawrence Taylor, have had their career cut short because of brain damage. Fans were sad to see them exit the field early. A safer helmet may have kept them on the field, which would have then continued to build strong fan bases around superstars. Second, the NFL relies on getting new players into the system, however, people like President Obama have come out in opposition to the NFL, feeling that the game is too dangerous. If a safer helmet could help protect younger brains then more parents may be open to their children playing the game, which either leads to the future stars or at least engaged fans who remember playing the game as a child. Third, safer helmets would help them with their former players, many who have issues or disabilities from their time playing the game. In fact, they have an active suit against the NFL seeking financial assistance because of the damages done/injuries endured while they played. Creating a safer helmet would reduce the risks of these lawsuits. It would also allow these players to continue to live a functioning life where they can meet their fans after they have exited the game. Those later in life meetings would draw fans and players together with a total focus on the game of football, and this would help them generate more fans and revenue.
I believe over the next few years the NFL will take a stronger stance on their individual player safety. We have already seen it with the rules that have been implemented, the next step is for the technology to match the rules. If this happens, the NFL would align their CSR with financially positive strategies.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Outside of the NFL - To College Football, Army - Navy
I know my blog has primarily focused on the NFL, however, today I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the 115th Army-Navy football game up in Baltimore. I had never attended one of these games nor had I watched on on TV. So needless to say, I was shocked at the level of pageantry and tradition that occurred during the game. One thing stuck out to me as I watched the game and the associated sponsorships: Chevy trucks knew how to leverage CSR for their benefit.
First, as I walked towards the stadium, the entrances were lined with demos from different Army and Navy companies. Whether it was a new tank, or the latest stealth speed boat, the military highlighted their newest technologies and different ways to help our soldiers in the field. This external exhibit event was sponsored by Chevy. Chevy's logo was on almost every tent. Additionally, at the beginning of the exhibit and throughout the concourse Chevy trucks were positioned with different people offering free swag to those who walked by. It drew a nice connection that the military and those individuals who served had Chevy's support but this alone was not the true CSR effort.
At the end of the first quarter, the former CEO of Chevrolet (who was also a Naval Academy graduate) invited a spouse and her daughter onto the field to represent the families of the soldiers serving overseas. After a quick speech, the young lady and her daughter were surprised by the CEO with keys to a brand new Chevy truck in thanks for their sacrifice. The surprise did not end there. As you can see in the video, the young lady's spouse was hidden in the back of the truck. He snuck out of the back and surprised his family. After he appeared, there was not a dry eye in the stadium.
Chevy had taken the chance to fly a soldier back from overseas and so he could surprise his family. In doing so, Chevy recreated the experience many soldiers have faced. That couple created an emotional link between the Army-Navy fans, many of whom have experienced this feeling, and Chevy trucks. Given the reaction from the crowd, I am pretty sure more than a few people will go out or have gone out to buy Chevy trucks. This was a perfect example of using CSR to help increase a brand and expand sales.
On a personal note, below is a photo of me with my Team PHDL teammates:
First, as I walked towards the stadium, the entrances were lined with demos from different Army and Navy companies. Whether it was a new tank, or the latest stealth speed boat, the military highlighted their newest technologies and different ways to help our soldiers in the field. This external exhibit event was sponsored by Chevy. Chevy's logo was on almost every tent. Additionally, at the beginning of the exhibit and throughout the concourse Chevy trucks were positioned with different people offering free swag to those who walked by. It drew a nice connection that the military and those individuals who served had Chevy's support but this alone was not the true CSR effort.
At the end of the first quarter, the former CEO of Chevrolet (who was also a Naval Academy graduate) invited a spouse and her daughter onto the field to represent the families of the soldiers serving overseas. After a quick speech, the young lady and her daughter were surprised by the CEO with keys to a brand new Chevy truck in thanks for their sacrifice. The surprise did not end there. As you can see in the video, the young lady's spouse was hidden in the back of the truck. He snuck out of the back and surprised his family. After he appeared, there was not a dry eye in the stadium.
Chevy had taken the chance to fly a soldier back from overseas and so he could surprise his family. In doing so, Chevy recreated the experience many soldiers have faced. That couple created an emotional link between the Army-Navy fans, many of whom have experienced this feeling, and Chevy trucks. Given the reaction from the crowd, I am pretty sure more than a few people will go out or have gone out to buy Chevy trucks. This was a perfect example of using CSR to help increase a brand and expand sales.
On a personal note, below is a photo of me with my Team PHDL teammates:
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Using Porter's Value Chain for the NFL
Michael Porter his concept of measuring how different activities across a firm can impact the value and profitability of a firm. I have taken his model and framed some of the many activities which the NFL draws its value upon. See the image below:
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