Blog 5 Slovacek

Parker Jenkins

Blog 5

Slovacek Sausage Sponsorship

“Let’s MEAT tonights contestants!” The immense crowds at Blue Bell Park roar with excitement as the fifth inning annual sausage race is announced to begin. Antsy in their seats, the passionate Aggie baseball fans cheer on their favorite pick of the three Slovacek's sausages: Summer sausage, Jalapeano sausage and the fan favorite Beefy sausage. Snook, Texas graciously shared The Slovacek Company with the rest of us in 1957, resulting in sausage enthusiasts from all over. Later, partnering with Texas A&M Baseball, The favored meat producers decided to creatively express their meats to the hot dog craving, baseball loving fan base while also providing mid-game refreshers by the now famously known Fifth Inning Sausage Races.  

Holding the spot as the 5th team in the country for the past two years, Aggie baseball has been attracting growing numbers to their seats. By engaging the baseball fans, the  Sausage Races increase the attention on the field. The company activated their sponsorship by slowly launching their meats around campus at smaller events such as Big Event. Formulating ways to increase their brand, by using Jalapeno sausage, Summer sausage and Beefy sausage as racing competitors allows an introduction to their meat produce. Slovacek's fifth inning races was finally a technique that produced positive results. Taking this method a step further, The Slovacek Company could potentially gain more revenue by taking polls before the fifth inning and passing out coupons to the lucky winners that guessed the champion sausage of that race. Also, the staff of this company could be present at the games, working hard to inform incoming fans and passing out lists of locations currently selling their products. Watching the advertisement every fifth inning, The Slovacek Company is expanding their name as the crowd itself expands. Its a tied ball game when it comes to the Sponsorship Title between Texas A&M baseball and The Slovacek Company. 

With the variety of yells, chants, hand gestures and other Olsen traditions, being involved in the action is almost impossible to escape. Adding to the ballpark amusement, Slovacek’s meat has added a spark through a game that gets the entire crowd excited about the last out in the top of the fifth inning.  A sponsorship should be emotional, relevant, immersive, efficient but most importantly, interactive and Slovacek does just that. Interacting the crowd with the ballgame essentially leads to higher percentages in interaction in the between inning trivias, games, and more. In The Slovacek Company’s case, they allow three of their most popular  flavor sausages to race around the bases. When the jumbotron shows these three competitors lined up at home plate the fans immediately react. Shouting out the name of which sausage they believe will reach back to home plate first, the Slovacek brand definitely creates certain favoritism for themselves. Interacting with the crowds has lead to the fan favorite: Beefy Sauasge. Twitter was even brought into the picture by having an account created for Beefy to interact even more with people who may not be present at the baseball games.  The upbeat music, bright colors and the quick process grasps the attention of the fans patiently waiting to see what the remainder of the inning will bring. 

Personally, attending an Aggie baseball game would not be complete without one of the delicious Slovacek hotdogs sold at Olsen Field’s concession stands. These hotdogs are a prime example of how Slovacek is using their products in the most efficient way possible for sponsorship. Having these products be sold within the field allows the fans and guests to have first hand experience in trying these flavorful sausages. By selling out at Olsen, Slovacek is gaining more business by providing samples of their meats. Although they only really advertise through a few number of organizations and events, they make every one of them count. However, I also feel as if it hurts the  company by only advertising at very few things. Since Slovacek is only a meat factory based company it limits people to only have their product at a major event such as a baseball game or big event. Slovacek is now a widely known popular brand around the Brazos that it’s almost a given that you’ll find someone cooking one of their meats at either their home or at a tailgate.

Sponsoring is the most effective way to progress a business. Boosting the visibility of your brand is the number one way for you to stay successful. I feel as though the way Slovacek goes about their sponsoring tactics is extremely smart. They discovered a way to connect with the Aggie baseball audience while also providing a way for the fans to taste their products through selling hotdogs within the concession stands. Slovacek partnering with Aggie baseball was a fantastic way to keep their business fresh and raise recognition. 

Play Ball Campaign

MLB “PLAY BALL” CAMPAIGN

Given the title America’s greatest pastime, baseball has not only been a traditionally loved sport, but also creates building blocks towards learning experiences within the players. Our country’s youth presents dominance when shaping our futures, thus giving us a strong belief that in addition to providing recreational fun, baseball also demands a healthy and nutritional lifestyle. Major League Baseball realized the connection between the fire built in young athletes hearts and the much needed motivational direction and crafted the idea to create their famous “Play Ball” campaign.

“Play Ball” was created by the MLB with the intentions to target young athletes that are beginning their baseball career to modify their lifestyles. Promoting a Lifestyle of Activity for Youth or the Play Ball campaign takes many different routes when it comes to marketing and promoting their initial idea behind the campaign. Through advertising in ballparks, during MLB game broadcasts, the creation of a mobile app, their website and many other ways, “Play Ball” had begun boosting baseball participation all over. Recently I have started coaching a Spring Little League baseball team. Working with the prime ages of 10 to 11 year-olds, I get the privilege of seeing the passion for the beautiful game in the attitudes of these kids at such a young age. It is truly a motivating experience and when I heard of MLB’s campaign, I couldn't help but to agree with their dedicated vision to educate today’s youth in all the different aspects and beauty that baseball has to offer starting right now, with their age groups. USA Baseball and the MLB came together to not only help the kids get active in participating in baseball, but, helping with coaches with little experience at providing the proper way to teach the game. The Play Ball coaching app provides hundreds of drills to use at practices, charts of what each age group should primarily focus on, and videos that demonstrate how each exercise should be done. Play Ball also allows parents to get their children involved in baseball-playing opportunities through an outlet called “Baseball Near You”. The parents use this tool by entering their zip-code and it shows them the closest league they can be apart of. There are over 10,000 leagues in the databases and they provide everything needed to know in signing their child up. 

As most major marketing campaigns, “Play Ball” is no exception in going through  the roller coaster to success. Kids all around the country idolize themselves to be like their favorite player, so, one example would be that MLB sent Miami Marlin Giancarlo Stanton to New York to promote the campaign by playing wiffle ball with the kids next to Yankee Stadium. Rob Manfred stated that kids can still play, develop their skills, and enjoy the game without having the essential items to play such as a uniform, two teams, and umpires. One of the biggest weaknesses is that MLB can’t get around to every teams city to spread awareness within the year. Especially the lower income cities such as Detroit and St. Petersburg. They are making efforts to improve that by giving free tickets to the game, and meeting players. So therefore they raise awareness for Play Ball and try to fill the seats for the game. 

Major League Baseball is beginning to partner with their clubs and outside organizations to fulfill their goal of reaching out to the kids to about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and provide encouragement for their aspiring dreams to play professional baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks and their head trainer hosted 50 kids at their field to discuss these issues. They divided them into groups to talk about eating right while also having fun by participating in baseball drills on the diamond. The main  focus was consuming fruits and vegetables, eating consistently throughout the day, keeping hydrated, eating healthy snacks like fruits or whole grains and getting enough fiber. Meyers, who is an executive of an advocate group for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities said “I think it's probably not foremost in their mind that what they're engaging in here is living out the message of PLAY, but you see in the kind of energy they're devoting to it, you see in the excitement they're feeling about it that what they want to do is be active.”  A similar situation happened with Elvis Andrus and the Texas Rangers. Elvis explained his path to the big leagues and how he felt intimidated by everyone else because he so much smaller than they were. When he signed with the Atlanta Braves at 16, he only weighed 160 pounds. Trying to give the sense that you're not always going to be the best or the biggest but to do everything you can do to give yourself the opportunity for success through having a healthy lifestyle. Ryan Rua, an outfielder of the Rangers added “At younger ages, you're always just excited to get out there and you're not really worried about your body. So these kids learning this at this age is going to benefit them.” 

Through the Play Ball campaign, and the different outlets such as “Baseball Near You”, Major League Baseball is engaging in every opportunity for kids in America to play the game while learning the keys to living a healthy life. 

Sources

Newman, M. (19 June, 2015) "MLB and USA Baseball Launch Play Ball." Major League Baseball. Retrieved from http://m.mlb.com/news/article/131434516/mlb-and-usa-baseball-launch-play-ball

Korona, C. (2 May, 2015) “Elvis Andrus, Rangers Join PLAY Campaign." Major League Baseball. Retrieved from http://m.mlb.com/news/article/121979242/elvis-andrus-rangers-join-play-campaign

Lichtenstein, A. (25 June, 2014) "PLAY Campaign Makes Stop at Chase Field." Major League Baseball. Retrieved from http://m.mlb.com/news/article/81619334/play-campaign-makes-stop-at-chase-field

Blog 3- Gatorade

Parker Jenkins

Blog 3

Gatorade Pyramid Blog

In 1965 the burning question was asked how to replenish athletes bodies with the necessary fluids that are lost during intense training and physical exertion. A team of scientist at the University of Florida answered this question in one word: Gatorade. Over the years Gatorade has established a familiar brand name and strong customer loyalty through their presence, relevance, performance, advantages, and bonding. 

Representatives of the Gatorade Company have made it their top priority to take this name brand and generate it into a revolutionary nutritional sports drink. With the help of interactions in social media, wide range of distributions, promotions and basic advertisement, the Gatorade name had slowly started to become present in events. Releasing their brand as sponsors and supplying well known sport teams with their products these nourishing drinks began taking over the athletic world. I have taken notice growing older that Gatorade has  become part of the game by the consistency of their products in the hands of the players, written on the coolers, displayed on the towels and advertised on the sidelines. While not stopping there, Gatorade’s hard work and dedication has landed their company in 80 different countries and has been officially named the number one used sports drink in all the major sports  leagues (hudson.edu). 

Gatorade offers an alternative route to gaining energy and endurance while also replenishing the carbohydrates and electrolytes that are typically lost during physical activity. By doing so, many athletes have found this sports drink becoming relevant in their exercise and training routines. From many testings such as sweat analysis patch, specific weight scale and specialized Gatorade formulas, these recipes are designed to measure and supervise an athlete’s hydration level in order to manage their right kind of recovery at the right time. This is extremely important in an athletes body due to the variety of workouts and repercussions exercised. Gatorade is constantly in process of expanding their business and tweaking their products in hopes of offering higher quality to meet the needs of their customers. 

With any successful idea, competitors are always soon to follow. With replacement drinks such as vitamin waters, sodas and energy drinks adding competition, Powerade has created the strongest rivalry. So the question is asked, what makes Gatorade better? Gatorade is designed for high-intensity activities and built to aid in sustainability. It provides the needed nutrients that other alternative sport drinks can’t offer in the amount that Gatorade is able to while also giving off an enjoyable taste. Through my personal experiences with my own teammates, I know Gatorade was always the preferred drink over Powerade and other nutrient    boosting drinks, not only just because they tasted better but because of the content included. Gatorade uses different sugar and mineral intakes at a healthier level when compared to their main competitor, ultimately giving Gatorade the upper hand in being the go-to performance drink. 

Sustaining energy, preventing dehydration, avoiding muscle cramping and the desirable taste are only a few of the major advantages to Gatorade (livestrong.com). Customer loyalty plays an immense role in Gatorade gaining their popularity. This loyalty was achieved by the consistency and benefits promised in advertisement following through within their products. 

When it had become discovered that an athlete would be able to consume not only a tasteful drink but a drink that could supply imperative fluid replacement, I know I wanted to jump on the Gatorade train! The convinces of this product are simply what their customers want and the  easily accessible Gatorade bottles deliver just that. 

As I had touched on before, Gatorade must credit all of their success to their customer loyalty. During a workout Gatorade encourages their customers to not only want a Gatorade to rehydrate but to feel they have earned a Gatorade. Multiple campaigns have been held to aid in a stronger understanding of this concept such as “Sweat It To Get It” and “Burn Some To Earn Some,” and it is through these campaigns the message is made simple and clear to comprehend (adweek.com). This holds their customers to a higher standard and produces a stronger more dedicated mind set, ultimately giving Gatorade a sense of a rewarding title. I don't know about you, but after a long and exhausting workout a cold, tasteful and healthy drink sounds more than appealing.

Not only do customers of Gatorade depend on their products, but they trust what they deliver. This brand has utilized their time and devotion to lift up Gatorade in the light they wish to be seen through their consumer’s eyes. If you ask me, the team of scientists at the University of Florida may have created the million dollar formula, but the brand of Gatorade itself has carried this company to advanced and superior limits. 

Works Cited

(n.d.).GATORADE HISTORY. Retrieved from http://www.hudson.edu/custom_users/mmtech/16969/16969/Gatorade_History.html

N/A (2014). What Are the Benefits of Gatorade? Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/280793-what-are-the-benefits-of-gatorade/

Nudd, T. (2014, August 14). Ad of the Day: Peyton Manning and Cam Newton Prank Store Customers for Gatorade. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-peyton-manning-and-cam-newton-prank-store-customers-gatorade-159559   

Rawlings SWOT Analysis

Parker Jenkins

SWOT Analysis for Rawlings 

Look good, feel good, play good!  Baseball players across the United States are extremely familiar with the sporting goods company, Rawlings. By proving their company’s loyalty to their consumers by providing the highest quality equipment, Rawlings has earned the label of the strongest selling baseball brand in North America. Founded in 1887 by brothers, George and Alfred Rawlings, this establishment was born in St. Louis. Listed below you will find my personal thoughts and comments to what I believe is the primary focal points this company thrives on. 

Strengths

• Recognizable name brand
• As the number one go-to baseball brand ranging from little league to professional ball, Rawlings has created a sense of popularity within their products. Created by George and Alfred Rawlings in 1887, the brothers have lead this stitching to it’s empire. 
• Endorsed by well-known athletes
• With the name of this brand becoming more in demand, Rawlings took it upon themselves to raise the bar by scoring the highest paid athlete, Alex Rodriguez, to sport their apparel. Mark Teixera and Derek Jeter were also only a few of the players in which Rawlings endorsed. 
• High quality gloves 
• This company has a strong suit especially in their gloves. The success is due to the extreme comfort and the top of the line leather utilized in the making of their 125 different types of gloves. 
• #1 Manufacture 
• Rawlings takes pride in holding the title as the strongest baseball equipment brand. With the high demand for their products, their costumers are the fuel to their fire. 
• New products
• The game of baseball is always changing. With new technology and performances constantly evolving, Rawlings has not skipped a beat in maintaining their status. By conforming their artifacts to meet the needs of their fans, this brand is kept refreshed and up to date. 

Weaknesses

• Expensive 
• Due to the desire to obtain their gear, Rawlings is forced to increase their pricing on all merchandise and equipment. While at first glance price tags may seem a bit steep, the quality proves you get what you pay for. 
• Lack of advertising
• By using well-known professional baseball players to sport their name, Rawlings is only familiarizing the familiar. This route of advertisement does not reach viewers outside of the baseball world. 
• Competitive market
• While Rawlings shows to be the most popular brand, there are many other successful baseball brands trailing behind them such as Wilson, Easton and TPX. To stay on top, Rawlings must keep on their toes and only enhance their products.
• Tied to North America
• With baseball expanding globally more and more every four years through the World Baseball Classic, Rawlings is limiting their business to only North America. By doing so, they are missing out in over seas marketing and transactions. 

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 Opportunities

• Expand market outside the United States
• Restricting customers out of our country is not allowing Rawlings to reach their full potential. If this brand were to extend to European/Asia countries, the revenue would inflate. 
• Constant growth
• Due to continuous development, Rawlings has the possibility to create merchandise that has never been touched before. While times are ever changing and greater needs are presenting themselves, enterprise has a large playing field in designing new commodities.
• Traditions
• Promotional events can increase Rawlings customer loyalty by offering a new line of gear to celebrate their anniversary. By creating new designs that will attract the buyer’s eyes, this will attract not only committed costumers but also new ones. 

Threats

• Alternative sporting goods companies
• TPX, Wilson, Nokona and Easton are only a few of the brands in this competitive market. This forces Rawlings to generate equipment that will stand out to the consumers. 
• Not strong in other sports
• While Rawlings has gear in different sports such as football, basketball, and soccer it is not as vigorous as it is in baseball. From being created specifically to meet the needs of the game of baseball, Rawlings has set their focus on becoming the primary brand for this sport.
• Economy
• With our economy constantly fluctuating, the company has had several financial setbacks. Because of this, consumers are not secure position to always be ready to purchase. 

Sources:

International Directory of Company Histories. (Vol. 24. St. James Press, 1999.) Rawlings Sporting Goods Co.,Inc. History. Retrieved from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/rawlings-sporting-goods-co-inc-history/ 

Garry. (2014, July 6) Top 10 Athlete Endorsement Earnings of 2014. Retrieved from http://sportschatplace.com/mlb-picks/2014/07/16/top-10-mlb-athletes-endorsement-earnings-in-2014

Blog 1- Reebok Marketing

FLASH, STYLE, RECOGNITION is what people want to be noticed by but they only get that satisfaction through only a couple of athletic brands. Reebok has certainly not been one of the go-to athletic brands that people shop for, and the company knows it. Reebok was and still is a very well known and successful company in India for numerous of years while Adidas was always runner up. It’s important to market your organization in order to be profitable. In every industry regardless of product someone and some company are challenging you and are doing they’re best to take you completely out of the market. To ensure that doesn't happen to your organization, you must spend money to make money. Do research on other branches, take surveys, explore all opportunities that could boost your brand above others. MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN. Although Reebok is the leader in marketing and sales in India, however, the roles were switched when it comes to North American success.

Nike is always the more popular brand when it comes to sports and the preferred choice of people so Reebok was consistently taking the hit and continued to make their most amount of profit in the India market. Adidas recognized this, and being more in demand than Reebok in America, Reebok sold their company as a subsidy to Adidas in 2006 for $3.8 billion and increased their market in the U.S. by 20 percent and was the only potential threat to Nike. Unfortunately the market for actual Reebok footwear dropped when they signed their brand over to Adidas in 2006. Since its acquisition by Adidas in 2006, Reebok's share of the U.S. sneaker market has fallen to about 2 percent from nearly 8 percent, per SportsOneSource. (Meanwhile, Nike's share has nearly doubled in the past decade to 60 percent). Meanwhile 

Reebok had a relatively strong marketing strategy until the 06 deal with Adidas. Since then, their marketing skills have evolved with being associated with Adidas and have made numerous acquisitions throughout their endorsements. Because people and fans like to have an identity with a sports team or with their favorite player, Reebok signed big name athletes varying throughout each of the big 4 leagues in order maintain their relevance in the sports world. The company made deals with some of the most in demand athletes that represented their sport during their time of playing such as Curt Schilling, John Wall, Chad Ocho Cinco (also known as Chad Johnson), Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Andy Pettitte, Tim Lincecum, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, David Ortiz, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, and Donovan McNabb.

Reebok wasn't a top competitor in the merchandise market, so, they expanded their endorsements by chasing down celebrities and actors/actresses. One of the biggest change within the company was back in 2003 when Rebook made history by signing Jay-Z. It’s a different approach to the market because you usually are familiar with athletic brands being associated with athletes and sports teams, however with this idea they really made a huge impact on the entertainment business. I definitely think this unique strategy was an important step in gaining a new crowd of people to be interested in their products. Jay-Z was also the first non-athlete to score a deal for a line of sneakers from an athletic shoe company. 

Reebok has been a little flatlined over the recent years but they are fulfilling and a new marketing technique and pitch called “Be More Human” that casts the athletic apparel and footwear company as a coach, cheerleader and, the brand hopes, gear supplier to everyday athletes who embrace a "no pain, no gain" mentality to attain personal fulfillment. "We want to be peoples' partners in their journey," said Yan Martin, Reebok's vp, global brand communications. "This is a mission we've been on for years.” http://youtu.be/UDb-7DY3CjU. 

Cross fit has been in large part been an up and coming industry with a large market that offers several competitions throughout the year to showcase ones strength. Reebok ventured away from the professional sports aspect of marketing and sought to yet another new evolving strategy.

Reebok’s director of marketing explains that the new face of Reebok is more fitness rather than sport such as Nike, Under Armour. Oksman who has been the marketing director for Reebok for the last couple years calls Reebok the “industries best kept secret”  Oksman admitted that the brand “hasn’t really told anybody” about its relationship with CrossFit, which includes sponsorship of the CrossFit Games on ESPN, and co-branding on CrossFit outlets. “We have to surprise and delight. In some ways we’re a challenger brand and we have to be innovative to break through in the US market. We’re not number one in the market place.” 

Sources Cited

Gianatasio, D. (2015, February 24). Reebok is Quietly Emerging as a Challenger Brand to Contend with Athletic company is leveraging “tough fitness” movement to boost sales. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/reebok-quietly-emerging-challenger-brand-contend-163074

(2016, January 27) Reebok-Endorsers-Athletes Endorsed by Reebok. Retrieved from http://www.athletepromotions.com/reebok-endorsements.php

Faull, J. (2014, October 8). ’Reebok is the industry’s best kept secret,’ claims new US marketing chief. Retrieved from http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/10/08/reebok-industry-s-best-kept-secret-claims-new-us-marketing-chief