Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

CRAVE blog: Sweet vs Savory,Who beat the buzzer?

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

Eloise Longobardi

“I don’t really like food.” – Have you ever heard someone say that? I sure haven’t! I definitely enjoy a good meal, but would I consider myself a “foodie” or someone with a “well developed palette?” – Absolutely not! Therefore being a judge in our March HomeMadeness competition was a perfect afternoon event to be a part of. The annual MSL New York event isn’t about the newest, trendiest flavors and combinations, but rather about comfort food with a twist. It’s about introducing family and personal favorites to the office to see who tops the competition for a year’s worth of bragging rights.

I had the privilege of tasting Courtney Ryder’s “Cheesy Cha Cha Chicken Enchiladas” vs. Ali Tadeu’s “Tadeu’s Titillating Truffles” in the first round and then Guinevere Habersham’s “Sweet ‘n Savory Chili” vs. Niki Chakravarthy’s “Spiked Nutella Zucotto” in the second round.  About 9 out of 10 times I will pick savory over sweet but for this match-up I picked 1 and 1 – I’ll let you make the decision on which ones I picked as a winner.

I will tell you that I appreciated the simplicity of these recipes. One’s that you can make for dinner quickly but still fill up your belly while satisfying your taste buds. I think it’s important to take ideas and make them your own – you don’t have to follow the rules all the time and things don’t have to be perfect to be good.

In the end, Niki Chakravarthy’s Spiked Nutella Zucotto and Courtney Ryder’s Cheesy Cha Cha Chicken Enchiladas took the honors in this round, and were then pitted against one another in the semi-finals. Ultimately, sweet took top honors with the Nutella Zucotto not only trumping the enchiladas, but against Brian William’s Hoagie Dip in the final as well! While the savory dishes more than held their own with comforting flavors and flawless presentation, the rich, choclatey dish prevailed as the Grand Champion.

It was fascinating to learn about where these recipes came from – were they family secrets passed down from generation to generation? Maybe just ideas they came up with themselves? Or were they just a go-to meal for their family? No matter what the reason they all took time, effort and some creativity but in the end they were all just, simply put, really good! They were all foods I would make at home and serve to my husband. Nothing was too over the top and they could all be made with stuff I already have in my kitchen.

In my opinion cooking a good meal doesn’t have to involve a ton of pots and pans or loads of ingredients you can’t pronounce – it could even come right out of a box. A good meal is one that you take pride in, have a couple laughs over while eating and doesn’t include any leftovers. I can say for sure that there were no leftovers from what I tasted at the 2012 MSL March HomeMadeness!

Eloise Longobardi is an Account Executive at MSL New York working on P&G’s Family Care brands – including  Bounty paper towels, Puffs facial tissues and Charmin toilet paper. With six years of experience in non-profit and consumer public relations, Eloise has developed expertise in the men’s and women’s lifestyle categories.

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How The NFL Offers Scores Through Conversation Marketing

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Kyle Farnham, Managing Director, MSL Atlanta

With the 2012 NFL Draft taking place in New York City this week, I can’t help but marvel at the countless hours of coverage and conversation there is leading up to this event. With its new primetime weeknight kickoff, the annual draft has become even more of a must-watch event for NFL fans.

The NFL Draft is Thursday, April 26 through Saturday, April 28.

From heated debates about who should be the number one pick to speculation about this year’s sixth-round sleeper, the NFL draft generates hours of conversation before the commissioner even takes the stage. Last year’s event drew a record 42 million viewers for the three days of coverage, and there’s no reason to think this year’s audience won’t be the biggest in draft history. 

It seems that the interest in and anticipation for the NFL season starts earlier each year. It’s the sports world’s equivalent to the holiday shopping season. What does the NFL do to stimulate so much conversation about the league? Why do so many people start talking about professional football six months before the opening kickoff?  And, more importantly, what lessons can marketers learn from the NFL’s conversation-creating marketing efforts?

The NFL inspires intense conversation, even during the off season.

In addition to the NFL Draft, the NFL leverages eight events, activities and assets to spark and sustain conversation about the league leading up to and throughout the season. Here’s an outline of these activities along with a key insight – or extra point – to help companies score big points in the age of conversation marketing:

1. NFL Scouting Combine: It all starts with the NFL Scouting Combine in March.  The league has turned the once private workouts of the top college players into a showcase that allows fans to salivate over their strength, scrutinize every inch of their vertical jump and speculate about their future in the league. 

Extra Point:  Offering audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the making of your next product builds anticipation and strengthens their connection to the product before it ever hits the shelves.

2. Training Camp: HBO’s popular football reality show Hard Knocks invites fans to travel to training camp and offers an all-access look at how players and coaches prepare for the upcoming season.  Now in its seventh season, the program is a reminder to marketers that consumers are fascinated with seeing things they don’t normally get to see.  

Extra Point: Making the invisible visible by giving your consumers an inside-the-huddle, first person look at what makes your company tick creates curiosity and builds trust.

3. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony: This annual event has become a pre-season milestone at the end of summer.  Perfectly timed a few weeks before the season starts, the event drives conversation about the greatest players and teams in league history and serves as the stage for the pre-season kick-off game.  

Extra Point: In an age when marketers are obsessed with coming up with something new, brand heritage is often overlooked and under leveraged. Unleashing powerful marketing programs that creatively link your past to your present strengthens bonds with consumers and gives them a way to celebrate and validate their passion for the brand.

4. Fantasy Football: Fantasy Football lets any fan be a general manager and coach. The explosive growth and popularity of fantasy football, which now boasts 32 million players and generates more then $1 billion in revenue each year, has fundamentally changed the way fans follow the sport.  It’s hard to find a fantasy footballer that doesn’t love to talk about his or her fantasy team, or in many cases, teams. 

Extra Point: Shifting audiences from spectators to participants captures enthusiasm, ensures brand buy-in and builds loyalty by letting consumers call the plays; some of the most popular social media platforms offer consumers similar opportunities to be a part of your brand experience.

5. The NFL Network: All football, all the time, the NFL Network is a true football fan’s utopia.  Born out of the insight that fans are hungry for relevant content year-round, the NFL Network is now in 60 million homes and continues to grow. 

Extra Point: Creating and leveraging your own channels and producing your own content gives you control over your brand’s message and story. Identify content that resonates with your key audiences and focus more on getting the message out via owned channels versus earned.

6. NFL Sunday Ticket: Sunday Ticket allows fans to follow their favorite team from any city and “travel” to any and every NFL game from the comfort of their favorite chair. 

Extra Point:  Build programs that offer audiences on-demand access to the information and content they want – anywhere, anytime.

7. Women’s Apparel: As part of a league wide strategy, women’s product licensees have exploded in the past 12 months. With women making up 44 percent of its fan base, the NFL began the NFL Women’s Apparel: Fit For You marketing campaign last year to promote licensed merchandise, including everything from handbags and nail polish to bracelets and team apparel. Today, it’s the league’s fastest growing business.

Extra Point: It’s no secret that when in comes to PR and marketing efforts one size does not fit all. The NFL reminds us that customization of products, programs and messaging drives brand affinity and plenty of conversation.

8. Super Bowl: The NFL has turned the Super Bowl into a national holiday.  It is America’s single most-watched event.  Last year’s Super Bowl was the most watched program in U.S. television history, drawing more than 111 million viewers. The season-long debate of who’s going to make it to the Super Bowl creates countless hours of conversation in bars, on talk radio and blogs. 

Extra Point: Flipping the paradigm and ending your campaign with a splash rather than starting it that way builds momentum, increases the frequency of the conversation and lengthens the engagement with your audiences. (Don’t be afraid to celebrate success – the NFL does every year to much aplomb, even when the participating teams don’t turn out to be from the country’s biggest metropolitan markets. Great products deserve recognition).

While not every product or brand is as avidly followed as an NFL team and the NFL season, public relations and marketing pros looking to succeed in the conversation age would benefit from taking a closer look at the NFL marketing playbook. The NFL is one organization that is scoring a lot of points in building the always-on, multi-channel conversation.

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Big Boundless Lessons from the Super Bowl

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

It’s been a few weeks already since the game of all games. The excitement on New York’s lower Broadway has been replaced by the dying fervor of a few stray Occupiers. Indianapolis has gone back to being the enjoyable mid-western town many of us know so well. Brandon Jacobs has taken has taken to the mat for Spike! TV. Linsanity and a dog show have replaced the Giants on the New York sports pages. And, Connecticutites have even stopped trying to figure out on what side of Main Street the Maginot Line of Sports is drawn.

But now it’s payoff time! MSL New York has won that Big Boundless Bet over Schwartz MSL Boston after the Giant’s exhilarating and epic win over the Patriots.

That means Dave Close will be leading a delegation from his Boston-based team to New York on February 23 to host the promised Happy Hour for the NY office and perhaps a little business as well. Joining Dave will be Meghan Gross, Carol McGarry and, perhaps, a few more colleagues still chatting up their Patriot pride with the random absence of the letter R.

Dave Close is Managing Director of Schwartz MSL Boston

This “Big Boundless Bet” was inspired by our company credo to “Be Boundless” in all we do. Now that we’ve had the time to reflect on the big game, can we extract some learning and from the game and apply it to our place in the world? As a former business development guy, I know a bit about the game of winning and losing, so here’s my take.

IT TAKES A TEAM TO WIN. So obvious, right? Just ask Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen who made the point clearer than anyone could have hoped. On her mobile device immediately after the game, she called out her husband’s receivers for their dropped passes. “My husband cannot (profanity properly deleted) throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time,” she said in an elevator somewhere at the stadium. So true. No matter what team you root for, you have to agree with Gisele.

DON’T SET YOURSELF UP AS CLEOPATRA. Well, when you make a grand entrance as the queen of all queens, you need to actually be the belle of the ball. Madonna entered as the all-time regent and dramatically departed in a puff of smoke. But was the content in between as interesting? Was this coronation appropriate? Or, was Madonna just another ego-driven, royal pretender? Seems like her royal rights were superseded just days later by another more important songstress. That was fast.

Madonna as short-lived Queen of Pop?

GRIND IT OUT. The way the Giants worked hard for every yard they gained is worth noting. Success did not ever come easy to this team. Every victory was hard-fought. After beating the Falcons, the march to the Super Bowl demanded victories over the best of the best in the NFL — the Packers, the 49ers and the Patriots. The Patriots can make a similar claim about grinding out victories. Just ask the Cowboys and the Ravens. Victory goes to those who toil and labor. Work is always hard, no doubt about it.

Grinding it out. Winning is hard work.

MOMENTUM IS POWERFUL AND PAINFUL. The Giants had won five games in a row and Patriots had won 10 games in a row. As consecutive victories mount up, the excitement builds. You are invincible! You expect to win! You “will” yourself to victory! But, then, you start to worry. The mind game changes. When will it end? Will it be today? Will I be the cause? Jitters impacts performance. You don’t need to remind Patriot fans what happens next. Just mention the number 18. Better take the mind games off the field.

FROM FAILED TO HERO IN SIX WEEKS OR LESS. What’s that about Tom Coughlin? Time is a wonderful weapon. Time leads to changing circumstances, new opportunities and new pathways to success. Hanging in there with clients, in new business will pay off. Taking no for an answer never will.

HISTORY DOES REPEAT. Yes it does! To change the result, you need to change the circumstances, the players, the momentum and your unlucky socks. Otherwise, the formula seems to set, the mind games start and your old socks become concrete. (See above.)

TAKE PAUSE AND CELEBRATE. The best part of the Big Boundless Bet is it brings us closer together. We enjoyed the fun (or the pain). But, at the end of the day, the team in New York will get to meet the team in Boston and together we can build a BIG BOUNDLESS BUSINESS.

Here’s to you, Patriot Pat. Thanks for the beer and pretzels. Maybe some day we’ll return the favor (hopefully not!).

Patriot Pat

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When Politics, Advocacy, and Social Media Collide

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Stephanie Smith, North American Director of Media Serivces

Watching Susan G. Komen Foundation–Planned Parenthood story unfold over the last 48 hours has been a fascinating study in crisis communications, politics, and the power of social media.

It is the perfect storm of issues.
-The politicization of health issues in an increasingly divided government.
-An organization making a decision fundamentally at odds with the beliefs of its core advocates.
-The swift torrent of outrage in social media.
-Savvy reactive strategy to leverage the controversy.

Wherever you may fall on the political spectrum, the last two days have provided a window into how quickly public sentiment is voiced now and how communication strategy in turn has to evolve. Facebook, Twitter and other social media have played an increasing role in the narrative of major stories–that’s not surprising to anyone in the public relations industry. But the size, scope and swiftness of the online reaction to Komen’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood has been simply stunning. The flatfooted response from Komen seems to indicate that leaders at the non-profit had no idea the online and then real world backlash would be so immediate and forceful. In this era where social media is the ultimate sounding board and forum, people vote their dissatisfaction. Instantly.

It should be noted that the battle between these two non-profit giants is not exclusive to the left; this type of conflict could have arisen between two organizations on the right side of the political spectrum just as easily. The fundamental issue here is that two non-profits, ostensibly with similar values, ended up very much at odds.

Planned Parenthood-sponsored hashtag.

Planned Parenthood’s savviness.
The attempted demonization of Planned Parenthood has been underway for quite some time, and ironically the Komen decision has emboldened Planned Parenthood’s advocates in a way that attacks from opponents have not. Planned Parenthood’s handling of this controversy from a communications POV is spot on, taking to social media, emailing their supporters with fundraising requests, and engaging like-minded politicians such as Mike Bloomberg. Planned Parenthood has portrayed itself as the David in this David and Goliath story, and has savvily shaped the narrative to reinforce public sentiment in its favor. It is a case study in effective crisis communications.

Damage done.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Susan G. Komen Foundation. In attempting to recover, CEO Nancy Brinker has given changing explanations to justify the pulling of funds to Planned Parenthood. Komen now faces an uphill battle–creating a consistent message strategy and trying to allay the outrage from supporters. Management could choose to stick with their decision and simply withstand the criticism, hoping the controversy will simply wane. But the perception of having given in to what is a politically motivated issue is taking a severe toll on the organization. Brands, who account for millions in donations to Komen, may pull back, concerned that the organization is playing politics and has become tainted in the minds of consumers. Consumer boycotts are also likely to damage Komen’s fundraising efforts further.

Know your customer.
What is at the core of this controversy is that the Komen foundation either fundamentally forgot or misunderstood the beliefs and values of their core advocates. It’s critically important that a brand understands who its core customers are, who its advocates are, and what values they align with. By moving away from its core values, Komen has alienated a substantial percentage of their stakeholders. If Komen is going to stand for different values moving forward, then they will need to build a new base of support. In the meantime, Komen will become the cautionary tale for any major organization or brand.

Stephanie Smith is senior vice president, North American director of media services at MSL New York. She joined MSL New York from ABC News where she was a long-time network news producer who covered a wide-range of breaking news and feature stories for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “Good Morning America” and “Nightline.”

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OUR BIG BOUNDLESS BET!

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

History is filled with epic feuds: Hamilton-Burr, the Hatfields-McCoys, but none so great as New York-Boston. The rivalry is legendary.

So, how does a company like MSLGROUP Americas come to terms with network collaboration when it has offices in competing cities for one of the biggest sports contests in the world?

David Tyree at the heart of it all!

This week, the MSLGROUP Americas “Together Works Better” internal agency award winners were announced. But, as the New York Giants and the New England Patriots take to their final practices, the competitive sarcasm is gaining steam at MSL New York and Schwartz MSL Boston. On this issue, together we’re not.

So, MSL New York extended a “transparent” challenge to its colleagues up at Schwartz MSL Boston, a wager as to whose team will win this epic rematch from 2008. Boston leaders Meghan Gross and Dave Close agreed.

At stake: the office from the losing city will send a delegation to host a victory happy hour for the other. Now that’s “boundless collaboration” with some honest competitive pride shining through. This “Big Boundless Bet” was inspired by our company credo to “Be Boundless” in all we do.

Now, how about some boundless cheering for our teams? Read below as Peter Gau of MSL New York and Dave Close of Schwartz MSL Boston share their perspectives on the game.

The Giants Will Rock

by Peter Gau, Senior Account Executive, MSL New York

My name is Peter Gau of the New York office and I’m certain the Giants are going to win the Super Bowl.

For you Patriots fans who will be stalking my Facebook to make a dartboard from my headshot or lighting up my Twitter with colorful tweets, I sincerely do apologize in advance for boring you with this. In fact, I wanted to do something more interactive like post a funny video to Noovoo, but Belichick took all my extra tapes.

Eli Manning and I live in the same wonderful town of Hoboken, NJ – and we have a lot more in common than you may think. For example, we both wear the #10 jersey each Sunday. Our apartments also share the same view of the greatest city in the world and coincidentally our firm’s FLAGSHIP office location, New York City.

But enough about me, and more on why the Giants are going to win the Super Bowl. The Giants are going to win the Super Bowl because I am planning on taking a sick day Monday. Seriously though, history tends to repeat itself and what better way to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the famous “Helmet Catch” than with a victory parade in the Big Apple.

The Giants are going ‘All In’ and quite frankly they have nothing to lose. Nobody expected them to make the playoffs, let alone reach the Super Bowl. But they did and as a result, salsa dancing studios in the tri-state area are experiencing a 50 percent increase in enrollment, according to a survey I made up for this post.

Note to our colleagues in Boston: Wherever you watch the Giants emerge victorious this Sunday, don’t forget to wash the wings sauce off your hands before reaching for a Puffs (client) to wipe away your tears.

Enjoy the game.

Peter Gau is a senior account executive in the MSL New York corporate practice . He has more than six years of experience working with clients in financial services, technology, healthcare, accounting, insurance and shipping and logistics. His current responsibilities include providing media relations support and account management duties on Citi ThankYou Rewards and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

The Patriots Will Restore the Natural Order

by Dave Close, Managing Director, Schwartz MSL Boston

Until I was 22 I lived within sight of the New York skyline and the Giants were my team. Then I moved to Boston and slowly switched my allegiance to the Patriots, which was not an easy thing to do during the Patriots’ long tenure as the doormat of the NFL. But eventually my loyalty was rewarded with the team’s 10 years of consistent success – success that will culminate in their fourth Super Bowl win this Sunday. The reasons have nothing to do with talent and everything to do with fate. (Well, maybe something to do with talent, too).

Four years ago, when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl in the last few moments through the divine intervention of David Tyree’s circus catch, it tore a hole in the fabric of the universe. 19-0 was the normal and natural course of events – this abomination tilted the universe on its axis, and if you consider the generally negative world events of the past four years, you can see the result.

In nature, eventually, ORDER IS RESTORED. The current state of events cannot last, and it will not. The Patriots’ win this Sunday will complete and correct a chain of events that was supposed to end four years ago. The natural order of football will be restored and we’ll all be relieved and happier. The song will end with a pleasing major chord, not the dissonant and disturbing chord that’s been echoing through space since the last Giants/Patriots Super Bowl.

It has nothing to do with Brady, Gronk, Welker, Wilfork or Belichick. They are merely the pieces in a cosmic chess match that will end appropriately on a field in Indiana, and save the planet.

Dave Close is managing director of Schwartz MSL Boston. Dave has been leading communications campaigns in the technology industry since 1981. During the early 1980s, he was a writer and editor at World Information Systems, Inc. He joined Schwartz Communications in 1994 and sometimes goes by the pseudonym, “Pat Patriot.”

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