Andy Boyer

Blog

  • An Email from Mark Cuban to David Stern

    So, here’s the email I’d love to see from Mark Cuban to David Stern…..

    To: kingdavid@nba.com
    From: mark.cuban@dallsmavs.com
    Subject: WTF?

    David:

    Hey long time no talk.  I really miss our meetings in New York where we talk fines.  It’s my fault – I’ve been busy with the kid and all.  Hopefully I’ll be more feisty in 2009 and get to see you a little more.  

    But anyway, quick question for you.  We’re in the middle of the most fascinating "End of season" in NBA History, at least in the West.  We could have NINE 50-win teams out here this year.  It should be the golden age of NBA Basketball West of the Mississippi River.  But when I opened ESPN.com this morning, the lead NBA Story was "E-mails suggest Sonics were thinking OKC in ’07."

    Now, I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but………………….. WTF?!?!?!? 

    Ok, look, I know Clay Bennett is an oil guy and oil is like $2000 a barrel right now.  And I can’t disagree that having some oil money would be good for the league.  Look how well it worked for the English Premier League when they got that Russian Oil Baron, Abromovich.  Now Chelsea’s payroll makes the Yankees look like the Devil Rays.  Win-win all around, except for all the former KGB agents walking around Stamford Bridge these days and that goofy radiation murder.

    But I digress.

    I need to have a heart-to-heart with you about part of this whole Sonics hijacking.  I mean, let’s look at this on its surface.

    • We lose market #12 for market #50
    • We leave the entire Pacific NW to Portland
    • Our Northwest Division now has a team whose natural rival is Dallas.
    • We could be embroiled in a 3 year lame duck situation, where attendance falls to 254 people a game.
    • We gut a team with a 41 year tradition.
    • We have to induct Gary Payton into the Hall of Fame in a Miami Heat jersey.

    I could go on and on. But I think you get the point.

    EXCEPT……….this whole thing now has you in an awkward situation.  You see, dear Mr. Bennett has forced you into a corner.  I read all of those emails the Seattle Times and  ESPN published.  Not pretty.

    So, from what I gather, one of two things happened: 

    1) Clay-Clay and you have some kind of buddy-buddy thing going on, where you and he basically lie through your teeth all day long.  Which makes of you guys both liars, and I’m not sure how I feel about paying big fines to a liar.  Plus, you would be willingly letting a dishonest ownership group into our little clique.  I’m not sure how I feel about guys with more money than me looking for ways to screw me over.  Especially when they are under the watch of another guy who wants to screw me over.

    2) OR – Clay-Clay lied to you about this whole Seattle stadium situation.  I know from experience, you don’t screw with King David.  So, I would expect you to fine or punish Clay-Clay the same way you would if any of us tried to pull something.  I mean, you went ballistic over the Kevin McHale / Joe Smith deal, and he was lying to make his team BETTER (at least he thought he was.)  If Clay-Clay really lied to you, well, you better nail him to the wall, because there are 31 other sneaky owners in this league, and we can smell weakness.  Wait till my spin machine gets going if I find out lying to David Stern is not a capital offense, but one that is remedied with a simple apology.

    BTW, that wasn’t a threat.  The point is, we have a problem.  Either you and Bennett are be the slimiest people alive, which makes me question my investment in the NBA.  Or Bennett is a liar that is going to go unpunished, which makes me wonder why I get so skewered by you.  I mean, I’ve said a lot of inflammatory things, but they are all TRUE! I questioned the integrity of your refs, you fined me, and your ref ended up in jail for fixing games.  Shouldn’t I get my money back?  I mean, you fined me for being right!  And now we have this Oklahoma yahoo running around telling you lies.  If he doesn’t get punished, well, then I just have to wonder about this whole thing.

    Maybe I’m just bitter about Dirk’s injury, but I am really concerned about this whole situation.  I haven’t even asked about how you could possibly ignore the desire of Steve Freaking Ballmer to join the NBA.  Good god!  He’s like the 6th richest guy in the world.  Why the hell wouldn’t we BEG for Steve to join our club?  A guy with lots of money who knows nothing about sports.  HELLO!?!?!? It’s like letting a blind samaratan sit down at a poker table.  C’mon man…This is the kind of money the NBA needs.  Clean, technology money from a global titan.  You want to expand internationally?  I think Steve might know one or two heads of state.  This guy is going to be CEO of Microsoft in 4 months.  The man has some pull.

    In conclusion, I hope I haven’t said anything that will cost me another check.  But really, we need to talk about this before we look any stupider as a league.  I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but oil guys are only slightly ahead of steroid dealers and Iranian prime ministers in popularity contests right now.  And the country is in a recession.  Is this really the time to bully a bunch of unemployed people who just lost their houses, to buy a stadium for an oil tycoon while 50% of their kids aren’t graduating high school? Maybe we need to look around and pay attention to what is happening around the rest of the country….I’m just saying….maybe we can think of a way to show why we’re such a smart league, and not a bunch of billionaire morons.

    Regards,

    Mark Cuban 

     

  • Mickey Mouse Marketing

    So, I was down in LA this past weekend for the wedding of an old college friend.  A beautiful beach ceremony and a long day filled with great people who know how to have an even better time.  So on Sunday, we had a day to kill and were looking to do something that would be much less destructive on our livers.  And suddenly, we were in Disneyland.

    Now you may laugh, as I did when we were heading there.  Disneyland?  What a cliche.  Do the rides even still work? 

    But for the purposes of a marketing blog, Disneyland could not be a greater case study, and it’s time we all took a quick look at their marketing machine to pick up a few tips.

    So, think about Disneyland as an amazing trendsetter back 50 plus years ago.  But today, their image has morphed into one of family entertainment.  Somehow along the way they realized they could not compete on a basis of building the world’s greatest roller coasters every 3 years, so they took their established product line and expanded it to the next generation.

    I remember being much much younger and seeing Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn, Pirates, plus all the tried and true Disney characters like Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto.  Well now you walk around Disneyland and those same rides are still appealing to dads and moms in my generation, while their kids are all over the newer characters walking around and the Buzz Lightyear ride. 

    You see this devotion from Yankees and Red Sox fans. Disneyland has doen such a great job of being cross-generational, that the revenue stream can almost be considered recurring.  The brand loyalty is just amazing.

    But what are some other aspects of this marketing plan:

    • Price:  $66 for a day at the park.  Spendy, yes, but you get 10 hours versus the 3 you get at a football game.   And for families who live in LA, spending $129 for a year long pass is almost a gimme.
    • Product: Realistically, in those 10 hours you are on rides for about 20-30 minutes.  But the detail is in the way they hide you in buildings and give you things to look at while you are waiting in line.  Very few people walking around the park leave with images of long lines.  And those 20-30 minutes are packed with cool stuff.
    • Place: Close enough to a major destination that you randomly pick up folks like me.  Far enough away that you need to spend all day there.  Tons of hotels across the street, and for some reason $11 for parking if you drive there doesn’t seem ridiculous.
    • Promotion: The brand is ubiquitous.  Every Disney movie promotes a Disney theme park which promotes another movie.

    So since this post has taken no real shape or form, here are a few fun Disney facts we learned from riding with a Disney employee on his day off.

    • Disneyland can hold 70,000 people, at which point they stop letting people in.
    • Total # of "Cast members" is about 5,000.
    • Every ride in Disneyland has at least one "Hidden Mickey," meaning if you look hard enough, you can see a Mickey Mouse face in every ride.  True story – this guy showed us the one in the Indiana Jones ride.
    • The Disney Pillars (in this order) are Saftey, Courtesy, Showmanship, Efficiency.
    • Best time to go is late January and February.  It’s the only time when all kids are in school, and all parents are paying off Christmas debt.  The park is empty.
    • People do get hurt in rides.  What they do is shut the ride down, tell everyone it’s broken, get the paramedics in quickly and quietly.
    • There is also quite the underground city which includes a full cafeteria, and other rooms for cast members.

    And now here’s something else I found amazing.  I’d estimate the crowd was 30-40% Hispanic.  Remember, this is LA.  Yet Disneyland does not have a single sign in Spanish.  This is a park wher Safety, Courtesy and Efficiency are three main pillars, and they are making it difficult for a sizeable percentage of their audience to understand what they need to do onthe rides.  i couldn’t decide if the company is telling Hispanic Americans to learn English, or if the company is just too ignorant to realize how much of their audience base may not be English speaking.  I can’t believe it’s the latter.

    Anyway, I had a blast there, despite the prices, the lines and the amount of strollers that were trying to knee cap me.  There’s just something about the Disney model that works.  They aren’t the best rides, it isn’t the cheapest thing to do, it isn’t the most convenient place to get to, and you have to wait around a lot.  But it’s great.  So there must be something to learn from them.   

  • Looking for fun startups?

    killer.jpgHere’s a neat little web site that you can get lost in for a few hours if you aren’t careful.

    KillerStartups.com says they review 30+ sites a day, so that database gets pretty big pretty quickly.  The site prolies a wide range of companies, from the goofy to the geeky, and they mostly accentuate the positive.  After all, no start-up isperfect, but you have to root for someone willing to throw it all out on the line like that.  Plus, it doesn’t look like you need a +$10k a month PR firm, work at a VC firm or be a close friend of Michael Arrington to be profiled on KillerStartups.com, so it’s almost like the "anti-TechCrunch."

     

  • Dickipedia – Wikipedia with humor

    I love when I run across something hilarious with a Google Page Rank of 1.  It makes me feel as if I have found something before anyone else.  Such is the case with Dickipedia.

    Word of warning – If you start reading this site, you may not stop laughing for a few days.  Take in small doses…   

  • Join Team “No Runner Left Behind” at the Beat the Bridge Run

    btb02.JPGIn the 2007 Beat the Bridge Run, our small but dedicated 10 man team got 90% of us across the bridge in time (full story here.) While that’s pretty good, that is still leaving one behind and we don’t want to do that in 2008.

    If you didn’t join us last year, you missed out on a fun Sunday morning.  So now’s your chance to join the 2008 team.  It should be a blast again.  I mean, I hate running more than just about anything (except eggs) and I manage to get through this 5 miles and immediately start looking forward to next year’s race.

    It’s easy to join "No Runner Left Behind."  Just find one of the links I’ve conveniently dropped all over the post.  A few clicks later, you’re on the squad.  6 weeks left – better start training.

  • Here’s a Business Plan I’d Like to See

    Check out Trapster.  According to the site..

    "When you see a (speed) trap, report it by pressing a button on your phone, or calling a toll free number. Other user’s phones will alert them as they approach the trap. Trapster™ learns the credibility of traps based on how many users agree. It also learns the credibility of each user, over time."

    If it works, cool.  But I’d love to see the biz plan, who funded it and what their valuation was. 

  • People, You Cannot Control Social Media

    One of my favorite things to watch is when businesses choose to ignore a technology or shift in human behavior, and honestly believe that if they ignore it well enough, it will simply go away.

    We saw this in the music industry, where executives refused to believe that anyone would rather listen to thousands of songs on a device the size of a credit card rather than using a clunky cd player and devoting an entire wall for storing that same music. 

    The newspapers were no better, refusing to consider that carrying a dirty glob of paper with old news was less appealing than simply logging on to a computer and getting the freshest info. 

    This makes a story Garrett found even more humorous.  The Chicago Sun Times has some sports columnists who occasionally draw the ire of their readers.  Jay Mariotti is one such columnist.  Apparently, people were responding to his articles in a negative way, so the Sun Times made the decision to stop allowing readers to comment on his columns.  You can almost hear the conversation, "Well if we turn off the technology that allows readers to write negative things about Jay, then no one can write anything negative, and we won’t have to worry about it anymore. Problem solved!"

    Except of course, that it’s 2008 and the world doesn’t work like that anymore.  Maybe in 1970 that was a good idea.  But nature abhors a vacuum, so if people want to write negative things about Jay Mariotti, and the Sun Times won’t let it happen on their site, the people will find a new home for their vents.

    And they have, thanks to crosstown rival, the Chicago Tribune, who have geniusly embraced Social Media by developing a forum where readers can post comments about Jay Mariotti. And for that matter, other Sun Times writers. 

    And guess what, two giant ads on the page.

    So, you have one paper pretending that taking away the voice of the people would be helpful.   And you have a other that is profiting on the idea of letting people have their say.  By foolishly thinking you can control the voice of the people, you lose all control of the situation, because now you can’t even moderate out the particularly distasteful ones.  And your competitor gets the ad money. 

    Lesson to be learned here: No one has 100% approval rating.  The only way to have any control of the situation is to let the people speak on your turf.  

  • How Would You Market the MLS?

    mls_logo.gifOk, marketers: Here’s your project.

    • A sport with huge appeal to a small niche audience
    • One brand name that is more powerful than the league itself
    • A product that is sub-par in quality in comparisons to similar products in other countries
    • In other countries, history and tradition are built on rivalry and proximity, which your league does not have
    • Established round-the-calendar competition from 5 mega-sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, NCAA FF, NCAA BB) and 5 to 8 mini-sports (NHL, WNBA, Arena, UFC, Golf, Tennis, Boxing, Lacrosse)

    Now you see what the MLS is up against.  It’s the equivalent of a European-wide Basketball League trying to compete against soccer in England.

    But here’s the thing – For the first time in the 10 or 15 years the MLS has been around, I am actually aware that this is opening weekend.  I actually am somewhat interested in catching a few games.  I am going to be in LA and actually looked to see in the Galaxy or Chivas would be in town.  Why?  Several potential reasons.  Let me know if you can think of others.

    1. jozy.jpgSince Seattle is getting a team next year, i want to learn about the league.
    2. I’m growing tired of the other sports(?)
    3. I’m watching enough English League Soccer, that I recognize more players on more teams, some of whom who played in the MLS.
    4. I’m following the US National team enough, that I want to see them play a few times on their MLS teams.
    5. Fifa 08 for Xbox has consumed enough of my leisure time, that I want to see who these guys really are.

    Anyway, the point is that I am fully aware that this sport has HUGE marketing and logistical issues in front of it, but I am slowly coming around.  And really, I’m the sweet spot for their marketing.   A small % of the country would come watch them play in a high school stadium.  And you have a huge percentage of the country that wouldn’t watch if they served free beer and pizza all game long.  But people like me, who spend too much money on the Mariners, who irrationally go to a bar to watch a college basketball game, and don’t think it’s weird to take a charcoal grill out of a pickup truck when there is a restaurant right across the street, we’re the guys the MLS needs.  Sports fans – people who are there for the experience more than the result.  And I’m coming around, even though I know the product will not be as good as one I could see on channel 401.

    Anyway, MLS starts up this week.  Take a peek if you get a chance.  And if that doesn’t grab you, start with some EPL and Champions League Games on TV, or even better, at the George and Dragon.   

  • Does Youth Marketing = Long Term Sales

    NikePremierClub_03_black.jpgNow this may or may not have existed when I ws a kid, but today there are exclusive soccer academies for youth players, boys and girls.  I was talking to a parent of one of a player in one of these elite programs last week, and fascinated by all the expenses.  Monthly dues for coaches salaries, several hundred dollars for travel, and sveral hundred dollars for a complete kit.

    The kit is what made me laugh (in soccer a uniform is called a "kit").  Home and away jerseys and shorts, practice kits, 5 pair of socks, warm up gear, sweatshirt, jacket, bag, etc…and they all are NIKE.
     

    Furthermore, don’t even think about showing up onany field with your team in anything other than Nike.  Let’s say by chance, as you are putting your socks on, you rip a giant hole in the heel and toe.  So mom runs down to the local sporting good store to get you some new socks.  If they don’t have Nike socks, you will not get to play that day.  That goes for games and PRACTICE. No Nike, no play.  (Thankfully, for safety reasons, shoes are a player’s personal preference.)

    nikeball.jpgNow, I get what Nike is doing.  They must provide some equipment or something to the program, and in return, this academy becomes a running, shooting, tackling billboard all over the state.  But I have to wonder if it’s effective.  If kids see Nike as a "uniform" that they have to wear (and buy), is it the same as "choosing" to wear something?  When they get older, will they choose Nike because it is ubiquitous in their mind with "Soccer gear" or will they choose another brand that represents "going against the grain" and "not what your mom made you wear for soccer."  And the other teams, the ones who get beat 8-0 but this Nike wearing machine, does that leave them with a feeling that they want to wear Nike as well?  Or does it make them mad that Nike is sponsoring kids that aren’t them.  

    I’d love to see research into this.   

  • Are Seattleites Unfriendly?

    A close friend of mine who goes all the way back with me to our days in New Orleans, pointed out this blog posting from one of his wife’s regular reads, Misadventures in Malawi and Beyond. Here’s a quote:

    "Maybe it’s the weather

    One of the things that has been strange for us, but particularly hard for Jorge, is how strangers in Seattle aren’t very friendly. We don’t get out a lot, but when we do, we’re always surprised that people can walk straight past us, in our own neighborhood, and act as though they haven’t even noticed our existence.

    At first I thought Jorge was just making this phenomena up, but I’ve been testing it out lately. For the last two days, I’ve gone for a walk in a nearby park. I pass dozens of people, and I make a point of looking them in the eye and smiling as they pass by, and only about one in ten will smile back. Sometimes I get a curt nod. Mostly they pretend they haven’t seen me and continue walking."

    I think it’s an interesting sentiment, and one that backs up a reputation that Seattleites are "nice and polite, but not friendly." I don’t think we mean to be rude, but as a transplant from the south myself, I have always noticed that Seattle natives will tell you the exact restaurant you should go to, which park is best on Sundays, and what club to hit if you love live music, but they rarely say,"Come with us, we’re going out this weekend."  It’s a subtle but important difference between being nice and helpful, and showing real hospitality.

    Anyway, the point isn’t to bag on Seattle, but to maybe provide some reasons why this might be the case.  Here are the best defenses I can think of.

    1) We’re stuck up here in the top left corner of the country, and so the original settlers of Seattle really really really wanted to get away from everyone.  In fact, they went as far as they could go to get away.  So, I don’t think "social" is a real dominant gene in many of Seattle’s forefathers.

    2) This is a pretty nice area, so there are a lot of natives here that simply never leave.  This causes a ton of 3rd and 4th generation families, and folks who go to high school and college here, and who build careers off of family connections.  They all have established treasured friends and relationships, and it’s hard to come up with a reason to reach out to someone passing through town for a few years.

    3) A lot of the social activities up here are done best by yourself, or with a person you are close to.  Running, hiking, kayaking, camping, skiing, mountain climbing, etc…It’s hard to meet a neighbor for the first time and say, "I’m going to climb Rainier this weekend, want to come?"

    4) We have a ton of technology firms up here.  Developers and Programmers are brilliant, but might not exactly be the most socially adept folks.

    Of course, to the author’s point, it might just be the weather.  45 and raining is not the time to start up a conversation with a stranger in the park….Anyway, speak up Seattle.  Any other reasons that we shun strangers?