Came upon the scene
As fresh as Listerine
Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo! 
--  From “Damn Yankees”

When it comes to blown opportunities, Major League Baseball’s marketing team continues to be the overwhelming leader in professional sports.  It’s not even close. The latest example of a colossal failure to take advantage of a much-needed opportunity comes Tuesday night when baseball presents its “Midsummer Classic,” the all-star game.
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I propose a toast.  So if everyone who’s following The Tournament would please lift your glasses. Here’s to the astonishing trio of Cinderellas who shredded just about everyone’s bracket, but had us cheering for them as they did it.  Northern Iowa, St. Mary’s and Cornell did more than merely make this year’s edition of the Madness one of the best ever. They also silenced the talk about expanding the field.  Hopefully....read the rest of this post»

In our office, hockey is a topic of discussion about as often as ice fishing.  Probably less.  Even though Memphis has a minor league hockey team, seldom does the subject come up. But today, hockey, along with the closing ceremony at the Olympics, was just about all anyone could talk about.  Most likely, this was pretty much the case in offices and coffee shops everywhere in the country.   ...read the rest of this post»

Evidently, not everything the National Football League touches turns to gold.  It‘s surprising, considering when it comes to marketing, few do it better than the NFL.  Look at what they’ve managed to do. They took meaningless late-summer exhibitions, renamed them “pre-season” games; got them on TV and now even those glorified scrimmages are drawing crowds and making money.  They have turned their championship game into one of the biggest days of the year.  Think about it: next to Christmas, New Year’s and the Fourth of July, is there a bigger day in this country than Super Bowl Sunday? The entire nation shuts down and, along with much of the rest of the world, watches.  And when it comes to NFL gear, forget about a recession. Everything from hats to hoodies continues to sell like crazy....read the rest of this post»

Peter Shankman, who might be called the face of social media, was in Memphis earlier this month, courtesy of the city’s Public Relations Society of America chapter. For many who are seriously involved in social media, this was a major happening. Something akin to the arrival of a rock star. And he was here to talk about his favorite subject. 

Credited by PR Week magazine as the person who is “redefining the art of networking,” Shankman was funny, entertaining and thought-provoking. ...read the rest of this post»

During the month of October, the National Football League wrapped itself in pink. It was a great look.

If you don’t think real men wear pink, you weren’t watching NFL games the past four weeks. Players were wearing everything from hot-pink gloves to cleats. Coaches added pink to their sideline attire. Even the refs had pink wrist bands. At different stadiums, pink ribbons were stenciled on the field while the legs of the goal posts were covered in pink. 

Pretty in pink? Far better than that.

Titan's pink-gloved Chris Johnson runs against the Colts. Photo credit: Donn Jones

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