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As one season starts for a star-crossed franchise (the Washington Nationals) and one ended (The New York Islanders) it is interesting to look at the messages sent to fans by the actions of the team. This weekend, the Nats benched and fined one of their young, marketable players, Elijah Dukes, for showing up a few …

Often times colleges in mid or low mid major positions will look to take risk in order to shock the system into a new level. The hiring of coaches, the jump to a new division or a new league, an aggressive marketing campaign all usually revolve around the elusive grab for both attention and the …

The NHL postseason begins in earnest this week, falling at a good time after the Masters, just ahead of the NBA playoffs, before the NFL Draft and following the hype of opening day for baseball. It also helps to have many of the major markets where hockey has a strong brand presence…New York, Chicago, Boston, …

We haven’t hit upon all that is minor league baseball in a while, so it seems fitting with Mother's Day not that far away that we should start things off with our hometown Brooklyn Cyclones and their just announced promo for moms current and those future fans, with Bellies and Baseball Night, a salute to …

Prior to the drop in the economy, major brands were making smart spends across all platforms to find ways to activate and grow marketshare with the growing Hispanic audience in North America. Like the female decisionmakes, the Hispanic audience has become more powerful and more brand loyal in the past five years than ever before, …

One of the biggest reasons to have a strong communications leader in a company that has a public face is in times of crisis. Keeping everyone on track, following the flow of information, working with public authorities and media who may not be familiar with your situation or practices, and having the organization speak with …

A few recent instances have come up which show when sports or entertainment brands can test the waters to see what is acceptable for their fans and more importantly, their business partners. First was the UFC. CEO Dana White has done a phenomonal job of building that property to as close to mainstream as MMA …

We have often talked about the new ways NASCAR has derived in a down economy to reach the consumer and work with their partners. This week brought another series of innovations, the biggest of which is a new education module tied into science to reach students who love invention and innovation, but may never have …

The celebrity endorsement world is always a tricky one, especially in times where every move and every dollar is being scrutinized as it is today. David Schwab's First Call blog this week had a good look at the marketability of some athletes like LeBron James and Shawn Johnson, and why they can be successful as …

As the Final Four plays out this weekend in Detroit, the nation's oldest college hoops tournament, the NIT, will have already wrapped up with a semi-final and final in New York. While it seems there is little need or interest in the third or fourth college tournaments now being played…one of which may have a …