SPORTS AT 3PM...

Cool Blogs that I visit irregularly...

1. How can you lead a successful career by having a 4-hour workweek?? 
Sounds like a joke, right?
Here's the answer...Again, it's all about innovative thinking...
CLICK HERE...

2. Another innovative approach in brand-building process...
From the traditional 2-D brands to a 5-Dimensional Brands...
Buckle up, people...
CLICK HERE...

3. Here's the original email I had exchanged with with the author of this blog...
(his reply first)...He's another INNOVATOR in Sales and Marketing fields...
CLICK HERE...

Andrew,

Thanks for reading! Take a look at my lens:

http://www.squidoo.com/seth

and you'll find the best I have to offer...

On Dec 19, 2007, at 1:27 PM, Joon-Seo Andrew Choi wrote:

Hello there...

Love your blog.

Just a quick question. I am trying to put together a new biz dev class (sport-skewed)

for my grad students. I have looked at a number of MBA-type traditional textbooks.

on sales and biz dev but nothing is really clicking. Any new approach or suggestions

from you would be appreciated. Any literature from your stable? Thanks.

Andrew

 

 

J. Andrew Choi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Graduate Sport Management Program
University of San Francisco

4. The author of one of my favorite books..."Rules for Revolutionnaires"...
One of my ex-Nike bosses got me the book when I left the company in '99...
THE BLOG...

WHO IS THIS "GUY"??

Me and my brand stories...

At one point in my life, I felt like my everyday livelihood was so dependent upon and inundated by brand marketing concepts that I wished to escape from them all. So, what do I do?? I conceive the birth of my brand called "UnBrand" back in late 90's. Our purchasing patterns became so dominated by brand equity, brand identity, brand reputation, and brand knowledge (wait, how many "brand concepts" do we have?) that we were literally paying so much EXTRA price for the PERCEIVED VALUE of these brands...

Can we all afford some of these over-priced branded goods? (How ironic this is coming from someone who spent his entire professional life on creating  brand equity...). I've seen people commit crimes to buy THE brands they wanted...Look no further than the parking lot scenes at the famed Woodbury Premium Outlet Shops in Woodbury, NY and they ship shoppers in chartered buses every hour from all over the upstate NY and the neighboring cities. It's a testament to how we've become inseparably attached to BRANDS and how marketers have successfully made the branding into an art form over the years.

My "solution" at the time was to EMANCIPATE us from these "brand handcuffs"...but how??
Why don't I create patches or (crazy-glued) stickers (of all sizes) that just has the word "Un" (as in
"UnBrand") and sell these stickers or patches as my primary product. The message behind my "UnBrand"? - A mutiny by the little people against these top-echelon, over-priced brands. All we'll ever need is this "UnBrand" patch and it will free us (or "UnBrand" us) from our impossible-to-afford, hardly necessary consumption of branded products. Hey, this was a product-category buster!!! I didn't have to sell a single t-shirt but ALL THE EXISTING PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD could potentially belong to my "UnBrand" brand.!! I can go after mass audience with this concept, connect with them, and make some money, right??

All my friends and colleagues had thought it was a brilliant idea. Of course, they were mostly brand marketing people. Why didn't I pursue it more aggressively?? Well, I ran into an ethical dilemma...
While I knew I had to evangelize average consumers and "sell" the unbrand-yourself theme, I knew deep inside that all I was back at doing was to create yet another BRAND and eventually CAGE my consumers again with the same old brand management strategies and tactics...

Who knows what would have happen had I ran with it? The biggest proponent of the UnBrand concept was my older brother. To this day one of his email address is "unbrand@_______.com" and he's registered the domain name www.unbrand.com under our both names which we still own. Interestingly, over the years, we've been inquired several times about the possibility of selling this domain name, so I guess the vision was not restricted to a couple of brothers... :-)

Long story short... this week's marketing class will be on BRANDS and I am very excited about it...
For those of you who are genuinely interested in this topic or a career in this area, here are some good links that you want to bookmark and visit occasionally...
BRANDWEEk Link

Also, here's a link to Business Week's BEST GLOBAL BRANDS page...
CLICK FOR THE BEST GLOBAL BRANDS (Business Week also has a decent Brand Equity Section).

Notice that most of these winners are consistently top vote-getters
for the MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES in the world category as well.
What is the link?? How about "consumer or brand EXPERIENCE" for an answer??

Remember the first exercise in our marketing class?? "What is the brand that you are now??"
Hopefully, by the end of this week, you'll have better understanding of
and more appreciation for all our BRAND stories...

Have a good week...

Sport Marketing - Week 4 Powerpoint

Here's the Powerpoint on the Integrated Marketing Communication that
you'd need for next week. Have fun.

Download imc_lecturefinal.ppt

An Open Question to the students...

Hello, everyone...

I'm brewing an idea that I am going to share with my fellow faculty
next week and would love to hear your thoughts on it prior to.

It is an exciting time for the USF SM Program as the faculty and staff
are preparing to put together Implementation Plan that will hopefully
shape the long-term viability of our Program for the next 5-7 years.
We're considering many changes, small and big, to be implemented
to BETTER SERVE the needs of our students.

Personally, I'd like to maximize this opportunity and put a marketing
spin to it as well, incorporating a new message to be sent out to the
internal and external audiences of our Program. Specifically, I'm hoping to
develop a simple Integrated Marketing Communication that
will hopefully augment the perceptual effects of some of the changes
that we are considering to make.

I'd like you to vote or comment on your favorite "message" or "tagline"
from the pool of options listed below. This is not a formal survey
nor is it guaranteed it to be signed off by the USF Leadership team,
but I'd like to get a feel for your reaction if we were to do something like this
in the near future. I'd like to have some student feedback to work with rather
than to present this idea as a singular voice of a faculty.
Please remember this is still very much a "covert" operation and would
like to keep it that way until the "timing is proper" (borrowed from Canseco's
interview on the ABC's Night line las tnight :-)
Your comments or posts will be highly appreciated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If we were to adopt a marketing "tagline" (ex. "Just Do It" for Nike) in all
of our future internal and external communication (ex. USF SM merchandise goods,
letterheads, biz card, website, alumni correspondence, advertising on SBJ...etc),
what would be your favorite tagline from the below list?
If you have other neat ideas, please do not hesitate to share. THANK YOU.

1. USF Sport Management - The premier GRADUATE Program

Punctuate the new rigor and standards the way a graduate program should.

2. USF Sport Management Program - "Not your everyday sport experience..."

Highlight the unique learning experience in the heart of San Francisco

3. USF Sport Management Program - "Game On."

Emphasize the sport-centric atmosphere and rigorous curriculum.

4. USF Sport Management Program - "For serious business leaders in sport." ( or "where Business leaders in sport are nurtured")

Focus on the heightened rigor and tighetend target audience.

5. USF Sport Management Program - "Your career in sport business starts here."

Again, emphasis on the career-oriented grad students (our strength in alumni network)

6. USF Sport Management Program - "Educating the minds and hearts of tommorrow's sport leaders..."

USF MIssion Statement massaged little bit to fit to the sport context.

7. USF Sport Management Program - "Innovate, Motivate, Educate."

No need to remind our sport theme. The simlicity could give an "all-business" impression.

A big comeback for "Dead-Tree Medium"??

Ten years ago, we all thought that the print media was a dying breed.
Internet media made the acquisition of information so easy, accessible,
and FREE!!!  The newspaper or magazine consumption has continued to wane,
but this Wharton article argues that the print media is making a strong comeback.

With email spams invading our inbox on hourly basis, what was once thought
as a break-through medium for "personalized, one-on-one communication
platform" has now become a nightmare of sort in our everyday lives.
Yes, we've come a full-circle.

Now, when we receive in the mail a letter that
sounds like that the sender KNOWS something personal about me, it's a pleasant
surprise, not to mention a rarity.
If we receive an email that sounds like it knows something personal about me?
We get fearful!! "How the hell did this guy get access to my private information?
Does he/she have my Social Security Number too??  Holy crap, I'm screwed..."
THAT, IN A NUTSHELL, IS THE BASIS UPON WHICH THE COMEBACK OF PRINT MEDIA
IS MADE - the proliferation of irrelevant, impersonal, and irresponsible digital emails.

As a marketer, you have three tactical choices - (1) Keep pursuing the POSITIVE benefits
of digital communication, (2) Go back to the old "relational" print medium, or
(3)Combine little of both. Whatever you decide to do, the key is to ACQUIRE
as thorough and accurate DATA on your consumers as you possibly can.
That's where the power of marketing research comes in...

LISTEN, OBSERVE, and KNOW about your consumers...

CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE... (Offers some great new marketing concepts such as "Variable Data Printing"  , "Cross Channel Marketing" or "Integrated Proximity Messaging")

A tug of war over the future of media...

READ THE WHARTON ARTICLE FIRST...

I've posted link to an interesting article here that I came across this week from
the Wharton Business School newsletters. It talks about the future
of media - "Amateurs"  vs. "Experts" websites, OR,
the User-Generated Content (UGC), such as My Space, You Tube,
or blogs, vs traditional media powerhouses like the New York Times.
One cannot disregard one over the other for a number of issues -
credibility, cost-efficiency, or unique exposure to personal POV's...etc.

The trend now seems to be moving towards a hybrid approach   
that embraces both professional and amateur content. The million-dollar
question for the emerging UGC is on its business model. Yes, the Internet
advertising market has grown considerably compared to 10 years ago, but
is that a sustainable business model? Lots of media experts do not think so.

I've met at least three aspiring entrepreneurs in the last 12 months who
were interested in starting a sport-themed social networking website. They all
involved some sort of UGC, so the driving traffic won't be a big issue, but
is that enough to sustain your business?? I've consulted a buddy of mine
from college who actually developed himself AOL's Instant Messaging
system awhile ago and has since moved to business side of AOL (now with
Advertising.com as a senior executive).  Here's his take on the investment prospect
on sport social networking website (an unfiltered email reply :-) :

"Hey guys! Can't believe you think Talid and I were bigger drinkers than you two.... :)
Anyhow from the attached fact sheet, it isn't clear what the business model is, is just pageviews monetized by ads? If so, the sports vertical is a pretty good vertical, but by no means the most lucrative one from an ad $$ perspective since there is a lot of sports page supply out there.  Also user generated content is generally monetized at a much lower rate than premium editorial content.  So its great they want fans to post unfiltered comments, but most advertisers don't want to appear next to those comments.

They would have to generate a LOT of page views to make substantial money in my mind and the field does seem pretty crowded (although I'm not a sports fan, so I can't really tell).   In general I think the trend is to be more judicious about acquisitions so perspective acquirers will look a this company's ability to make money, not just drive traffic.

All in all, based on this, it seems pretty risky to me. Now if you know the management team and they have a good track record and have done this before, that could make the difference.

Hope this helps,

-Eric

READ ERIC's BIO

An alternate business model is to create these small and cool software that enhances the user-experiences at these already-established social networking sites (Facebook and MySpace...etc), such as Widget, Fun Wall, Travel Map, or even the Poll that I've used on this blog.
You initially offer them for free but come back with a paid subscription offer for more sophisticated
product or service.

For all you sport-entrepreneurs out there, your first and foremost responsibility is to MAKE MONEY!
If you just have a ton of ideas to make a really cool website, you should be a marketer, not
an entrepreneur. You may be able to create a social networking website or any other
form of UGC with absolutely off-the-charts contents, but if you don't know how to convert
them to PROFITS, you will be recognized as everything else BUT a successful entrepreneur.

Don't lose sight of the fact that, as an entrepreneur, you are out there to make money
for yourself first and foremost. If you want to do the "right thing" while making a lot of
money, you might bump into several ethical as well as cultural hurdles along the way.
Think of it this way - philanthropy will come once you have money.

In my opinion, being a successful business person and a successful entrepreneur is
completely separate. You can be the most successful Chief Marketing
Officer ever at Pepsi Co and enjoy your luxury-box perks at the Super Bowl
but you'll never be called an entrepreneur. By the same token, you may be
squeezed into a coach seat on a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong and selling
the next innovative shoe strings that nobody knows about, but at the end of the day,
if you're making more money than what you used to in a corporate cubicle,
you've succeeded as an entrepreneur.

There are GREAT IDEAS and then there are GREAT IDEAS THAT MAKE MONEY
- the difference is night and day...

"Open Your Ears..."

In case you didn't know, Samsung is a Korean conglomerate that pretty
much "shakes and bakes" the Korean economy...Hundreds of subsidiary companies
and as many CEO's within the Samsung Group...I have a distinct pleasure of
playing golf with one of the CEO's tomorrow who's visiting the Silicon Valley...

My first encounter with him was a daunting one as he always carries at least
7-8 entourage when he travels... (His company's annual revenue runs roughly
around $5 Billion, so you can imagine what a powerful man he is...)
Spend 10 minutes listening to him talk and you know what charisma and
conviction he carries himself with...you're inevitably drawn to the man and
can see what all the hype is all about...I've grown to respect him
as a CEO but more so as a man...He's one cool dude...

One of the most memorable sound-bytes I got from him was about
"how to move people's hearts..." and here's what he had to say...

"It is often your ears, and NOT your mouths, that moves people to
open up their hearts to you...
The great Genghis Kahn, a tireless expansionist and
the founder of the Mongolian Empire, also said that
it's his ears that made him a wiser man...
Open your ears first and listen to
what they have to say
if you want them to open their hearts to you..."

He has an Engineering degree but this quote is taken right out of Marketing 101
textbook, no?? :-)  Indeed, Marketing and Management are considered
two distinct academic and business disciplines, but at the end of the day,
EVERY business area is all about CONNECTING WITH and MOVING PEOPLE...
and to do so, we all need to be a good listener...

(My daughter in Kindergarten always talks about being a good listener
is the best accolade that one gets from her teachers...Some things
never get old, I suppose... :-)

Promotional ideas...

In Week 3 of our Sport Marketing class, we will spend some time
going over the concept of PROMOTION (as in one of the 4 P's)...
All promotions have to stay closely in sync with your strategic
direction while ultimately contribute to achieving each of your
Marketing objectives. That's why brainstorming for bold and creative
promotions takes a ton of time and critiquing among your
group mates. Someone has to play the role of Devil's Advocate
and keep asking CONSTRUCTIVE questions to iron out the kinks.

(PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL OF YOUR PEERS' IDEAS IN THE PROCESS -
COMING UP WITH ORIGINAL IDEAS IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
DON'T SAY SOMEONE'S IDEA "WON'T WORK", BUT TALK ABOUT
HOW TO "MAKE IT WORK BETTER". HOW YOU USE YOUR WORDS
CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR TEAM-CHEMISTRY.)

Please check out this website that posts a lot of successful as well as
unsuccessful promotions in the past ans find some inspirations
for the UNTHINKABLE. Remember that you'll be encouraged to
push the envelope and come up with killer ideas. If you settle for
"been there, done that" kind of promotional ideas for a class
project (where failure doesn't translate to career-jeopardizing consequences),
you'll have ZERO incentives or COURAGE to do the unthinkable
when you hit the big leagues.

Don't be comfortable with settling
for complacency or the "SAFE" options here at USF. You learn from
making mistakes, taking (calculated) chances, and WILL GROW as a marketer...

CLICK HERE FOR "PROMO MAGAZINE"

CNBC special report: Swoosh! Inside Nike

In case you had missed this recent feature story by Darren Rovell...
Never seen what Phil Knight looks like?
Click Here for the article and video clips!

Enjoy it...

Breaking News: Cassie hits one out!!!

Kudos to Cassie Zebisch (Cohort 9S) for sharing this cool product placement idea!!
We talked in class about the emergence of Brand or Product Integrated Contents (ex.
"Budweiser Hot Seat" on Sports Center) or Embedded Advertising as an alternate
option to Tivo'd out commercials. Here's a similar concept only through musical lyrics.

Check out this website - Click here for Music Product Placement
Make sure to browse through all sections of the website for samples and
video clip from CNBC.

Thanks, Cassie, for the great information!!