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Marketing and Sponsorship

Execs Discuss Marketing Power Of Athletes, Establishing Connections Between Fans

History has shown that athletes "can sell products" and create the "connections between brand and consumer that contemporary companies consider key to success," according to a Fashion & Styles article written by Rachel Arthur of the N.Y. TIMES. Tommy Hilfiger Chief Brand & Marketing Officer Avery Baker said that sales of the brand's underwear after signing tennis player Rafael Nadal in August "doubled year-over-year that month, and saw sales of men's accessories, including underwear," jump 50% during the same period. Many brands are "targeting mass-market sports to access a broader set of consumers -- soccer, with its estimated 3.5 billion global fans, is one of them." MediaCom Head of Sport & Entertainment Misha Sher said, "You wouldn't traditionally associate football fans with luxury. But rather than focusing on existing niche audiences that can already afford luxury product, these brands are now aligning with sports that can help them target the next generation of consumers." Tag Heuer CEO Jean Claude Biver said that soccer "simultaneously reaches existing customers, future customers and the customers that will never buy from you." Biver: "It's really important to talk to all three. Everyone knows Ferrari, but how many people buy one each year? That is what we want to achieve." Sher added, "There are huge opportunities with the rising middle classes in developing markets with tens of millions of potential new customers ready to be engaged." Digital content has also "helped these partnerships to evolve." Baker said, "We can now tell the story in a much more authentic way than we used to with traditional media, and really amplify our messaging." Fans and so-called influencers generated 78% of the social media buzz "surrounding the Nadal introduction," and just 22% came from the brand. Havas Media Senior VP/Strategy & Innovation Tom Goodwin said, "Digital has created more oxygen for things to develop. But that can be both good and bad. It can be an environment to thrive, or a place that accelerates the demise, so it makes it even more important that brands are thinking about the right sport" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/10).

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NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

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