Blog

Professional sports are a steadfast subject for nearly all news outlets. Whether there is information about players, scandals, or recent stats, the news is filled with sports-related banter. Unfortunately, sports teams and their members rarely have a say in what is reported and what ends up being published, thus affecting how their brand is advertised in the public eye. While players can use outlets, such as Twitter or Facebook, this only gives them a small space to clarify previously said information or to generate their own, new content.

After his recent retirement, Derek Jeter decided to create The Players’ Tribune, a forum that allows professional athletes to talk to their publics and to discuss what they find important. Professional athletes are free to create first-person stories, podcasts, and videos, along with other forms of content about what they consider reader worthy at that moment.

Athletes can use this forum as a means of self-advertising, which is described as “the act or practice of calling public attention to one’s product, service, or need.” By having control of what is said or promoted, this forum is offering athletes the ability to control their message to their target public: fans and media. This new publication has given traditional sports marketing a different twist that could change how athletes market and advertise their brands. With the help of AOL for distribution, SiriusXM for a radio show, and Porsche for advertising, The Players’ Tribune has multiple outlets to share the stories of these professional athletes.

By advertising with successful brands like AOL, Sirius XM, and Porsche, the contributors of The Players’ Tribune are now associating their brand with the images of these established companies. This affects the brand image of the professional athletes in a positive way, because readers already have an idea of how these popular brands represent themselves. If Derek Jeter had chosen to advertise with brands that were less popular, they might not have helped The Players’ Tribune in a positive way.

Four months later, The Players’ Tribune is gaining participation from all types of athletes that represent different sports. So far the publication has featured posts by Russell Wilson, Kobe Bryant, Danica Patrick, and many other professional athletes. Some guest writers have even taken it upon themselves to write again after their first pieces were published.

While traditional media will still have validity, The Players’ Tribune will offer an unbiased, reporter-free option for sports fans everywhere to read. Professional athletes are now able to use a reliable source to build and promote their own brands without other influences.

Do you think that The Players’ Tribune will gain a big enough following to become a primary provider of sports news?

– Hannah Rodgers, Kaitlyn Russell, Anna Joy Zima

Good afternoon and happy Monday,

As many of you may know the Swimming and Diving CAA Conference Championship meet concluded this past Saturday. Unfortunately the Seahawks were unable to continue the winning tradition that spanned 13 straight years. However, the basketball team seems to have generated a strong push towards the Championship. This week we will be analyzing the impact that advertising has directly on sports in terms of sponsorship, promotion, commercials, and other aspects.

Every University has at least one athletic apparel brand that sponsors that school’s athletic teams. The UNCW Seahawks are sponsored by Adidas. There is steady competition to gain recognition, produce quality products, and have high brand recall between Adidas and Nike, but, over the past decade, Adidas has become an established brand among sports addicts. Adidas has displayed significant change in their campaigns in the past, and is definitely gaining sufficient recognition for their efforts. In one of the most recent advertisements released by Adidas, “Take It,” they showcase professional and ordinary soccer, basketball, and football players in the head of ‘battle,’ which conveys Adidas ability to make ordinary players seem professional and professional players even greater.

According to AdAge in the week of February 15 – 21st, the advertisement below was ranked the highest and best YouTube Brand Video based on VidIQ’s rating system.

Using Lavidge’s and Steiner’s hierarchy of effects model, this advertisement can be viewed as a persuasive message aimed at making YOU choose Adidas over any of their competitors. The steps in this model include: awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and purchase. As you may have noticed, Adidas is dedicated to making their brand visible; the three stripes on cleats, pants, and jerseys are ways to make the consumer associate that symbol with their product. This assists the second step, knowledge. If consumers are not aware of what a company is selling, or if they do not ensure their advertisement is easily identified with, the chances of a consumer running to a competing brand is high. Adidas also provides their three-stripe symbol alongside professional athletes and everyday athletes (the targeted viewer of the advertisement) in hopes to encourage a customer’s support or “liking” of their product. Adidas also uses the styling, materials, and colors of their products to produce a sense of preference for consumers. When the consumers see the visual and colorfully astounding apparel that the athletes in the commercials are wearing, they become “convinced” that this is the brand they want. Once they have been convinced, all they have to do is buy the gear. This is the easiest step due to the availability of the internet directly to the consumer and viewer of the commercial. Therefore, they complete the cycle of steps and Adidas prospers.

Adidas is not the first to use this method in advertisements, in fact most brands use this method to produce effective campaigns, but they have been one of the most successful players in the game. Against powerhouses like Nike and Under Armour, Adidas has classified themselves among the elite in sports apparel and college sponsorship sales. The attention to detail, and more importantly attention to the presentation and delivery of a brand message can determine a brand’s loyalty or the brand’s downfall.

– Colby Cummings, Connor Gold, Chase Seymour

I’m sure that many of you have seen this commercial before. And if you haven’t, I’m warning you… it is graphic. It went viral for a little while last year, some calling it hilarious and others appalling. Either way, it will leave you saying “well, that escalated quickly.” Check it out:

Although it is still up for debate whether that commercial is effective or disturbing, it is interesting to compare this to the PSA’s we send youth in the United States. It is safe to say that they are slightly more tame than the ad you viewed above. Take this LeBron James stay in school PSA for example.

Which do you think is more effective on teens? Statistics paired with celebrities, or a fun road trip paired with sudden explosives? Let us know what you think!\

-Spencer Brenes, James Cronberger, Jill Jardine

The Chinese New Year was celebrated February 19 and the National Basketball Association took advantage of a global marketing opportunity. The NBA understands the importance of global marketing and has been able to expand their brand to countries outside of the United States —  something some other sports fall short of doing. Because one of the NBA’s biggest international market resides in China, they took the opportunity to incorporate one of the country’s largest cultural events.

The commercial features James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Jeremy Lin of the Los Angeles Lakers and the mascot for the Chicago Bulls. The NBA specifically chose these players and teams because of their affiliation with the international brand. All three teams have international players on their roster. Not to mention, Jeremy Lin is the first Chinese-American professional basketball player. The NBA also outfitted the players in special uniforms with Chinese writing on their team jerseys.

The ad is also accompanied by a record 56 live games broadcasted in Greater China, a donation of 1,600 basketballs to elementary schools in China and a giving initiative to feed underprivileged communities in China. This campaign is a great example of a brand striving for authenticity and consistency through all of their integrated marketing strategies. From using Chinese dialogue in their campaign to donating to Chinese citizens, there are no obvious inconsistencies throughout the campaign.

What else do you think the NBA could do to enhance their already impressive global marketing?

– Nick Bolick, Olivia Sadler & Patrick Wagner

It is no secret that America is a culture that values commodities. As a country we are constantly updating to the newest form of technology and fashion. For example, as soon as a new iPhone is released, an older model phone suddenly becomes inadequate. America is ranked third by Insider Monkey on the list of technologically advanced countries, and in 2014 New York City took first place in the rankings of fashionable cities determined through the Global Language Monitor. The rankings are determined by tracking buzzwords associated with fashion all around the world. We wanted to see where these fashion trends originated, so we compiled a list of top designer to see where they originated and how they fit in with Global Language Monitor’s results.

Burberry – Basingstoke, United Kingdom

Calvin Klein- New York City

Chanel- Paris, France

Dior- Paris, France

DKNY – New York City

Gucci- Florence, Italy

Kate Spade- New York City

Prada – Milan, Italy

Valentino – Rome, Italy

Vera Wang – New York City

Fashion is one of the top markets in the world, but its primary form of advertising is discreater than most other commodities. Fashion advertisements, especially for designer brands, take place in magazines. These advertisements fit in with the context of the magazines, so it doesn’t stand out as an advertisement. Outside of magazine advertisements, fashion trends and designers are spread through word of mouth marketing. Whether it’s between friends or through a celebrity statement about what they are wearing, it’s typically a hot topic of discussion. Designer brands have an element of exclusivity that other industries don’t have. For example, celebrities and pop-culture figures are always in attendance at fashion week. Since celebrities and pop-culture is looked up to in our society the trends being showcased at fashion week tend to catch on quickly. It’s hard to tell which city is the leader in the fashion industry through observation, but it is clear America, France, and Italy will continue to compete to be the most fashionable country in the world.

-Kelli Hall, Mallory Brayman, Morgan McCleaf

Most people can name an advertisement or two that has caused controversy in the United States. Most recently, Go Daddy had to pull their Superbowl advertising because of the controversy in created.

Controversial ads don’t just exist in America. In Australia, KFC is currently experiencing backlash from ad they released as part of their “KFC cricket survival guide” series. In the advertisement, a white male is surrounded by spirited Caribbean fans and he offers them fried chicken.

Even though this was an Australian advertisement, it was widely criticized by people in the United States. According to the Guardian, some Americans believe that the ad is racist because it is a reminder of the old and outdated negative connotation that African Americans love fried chicken.

This ad raises an important issue about being culturally insensitive across borders. The target audience for this ad was Australians who love Cricket, yet many Americans took offense to it. In this global world that we live in, advertisers can no longer assume that only their desired target audience will see the advertisement.

Geert Hofstede concluded that there are four crucial ways to compare cultures.  One the ways is known as power distance, which is defined as “the extent to which the less powerful members of society accept that power is distributed unequally.” America has a small distance, which means that we believe in equal rights and “liberty and justice for all.”  Americans easily took offense to this ad because of the long and unsettling history of our past how we now see ourselves as a low power distance society. KFC is an American based company, and they should have been more culturally aware of the various dimensions that make up a variety of diverse cultures.

KFC claims that this ad has been “misinterpreted” by people in the U.S. What’s important is that in our technology-driven world, advertisements can transcend borders and be misinterpreted in other cultures. With a global company, such as KFC, it’s important to recognize the connotations of images and content used in any advertisement. They need to be aware of the various dimensions that make up different cultures so that their advertisements are not taken offensively.

Do you think it is just a misinterpretation or is it a culturally insensitive ad?

-Anna Joy Zima, Kaitlin Russell, Hannah Rodgers

Happy Monday readers!

We hope everyone enjoyed watching Neil Patrick Harris and the Oscars last night. Congratulations to Birdman for winning best picture! Anyways, moving forward. Have you ever traveled abroad to a different country and looked around at the advertising around you? We know that many of us travel to go on adventures and move away from our televisions, cell phones, and clutter of advertising that surrounds us at home, but think about it; If you have traveled, didn’t you realize that the advertising was actually quite different?! This brings us to our topic of the week. International advertising.

Picture us in Australia. If you have been there before than consider yourself a lucky person. It’s beautiful. Australia is a very unique country and continent when it comes to its advertisements and media.  What’s so unique? If you have visited Australia, then you may have noticed that there is no advertising for cigarettes. Well that’s normal for us here in America too, but Australia hasn’t had any sort of smoking commercial since 1965, when all cigarette advertising was banned. Fifty years has gone by, and now Australia has finally allowed anti-smoking commercials to be aired.

Announced on The Guardian , in 2012 Australia became the world’s first country to regulate packaging laws on their cigarettes. Cigarette boxes now contain a very vulgar picture of a disease that is caused by smoking with the brand name at the bottom in small letters. Cigarette companies tried suing, but failed against the federal government. Now the cigarette companies have to deal with billboards and anti-smoking commercials, which have the potential to ruin purchasing habits and crush business overall.

Australia decided to air anti-smoking commercials and change the packaging, hoping to decrease smoking rates in Australia. Australia’s media is subconsciously relying on George Gerbner’s Cultivation theory, which states that people, who regularly watch television in moderate to heavy amounts will ultimately believe the reality portrayed on television; therefore, Australia’s media is hoping that the vulgar and obscene commercials and images will resonate with tobacco buyers and ultimately eliminate smoking habits. The commercials are working. According to the Cancer Council NSW, smoking has decreased significantly from 24% of adults to almost 13%!

Tell us about your past travel experiences below. We would love to hear more differences in advertising while abroad.

-Colby Cummings, Connor Gold, Chase Seymour