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January 21, 2009
EXCLUSIVE: NBA's Nets Employ Unique Marketing Strategy
NYSportsJournalism.com
Nets' marketing guru Brett Yormark just gets geniuser and geniuser every day.
The New Jersey Nets have initiated a program under which people in the team's partnership marketing department will spend a day working as an employee with one of the Nets' marketing partners. The program begins this week when a member of the Nets dons the role of a Goya employee. Next month, another Nets' employee will join Canon. The program, dubbed "A Day in the Life," is intended to have members of the Nets' partnership marketing unit better understand the day-to-day workings of companies that are aligned with the team. Among the potential jobs facing Nets' marketing personnel are going on a delivery truck route with a Budweiser distributor to see how its product is received at retail, joining an Aflac sales person on an out-of-office sales call or spending time at Vonage’s call center in New Jersey. Other Nets' partners include LG, Barclays, Toyota and McDonald's. “Especially in this economy, it’s crucial for us to engage with our partners to fully understand their entire business operation and how it runs on a day-to-day basis,” said Brett Yormark, president and CEO of New Jersey Nets Sports & Entertainment. “We want to know first-hand how they go to market and how they advertise, learn more about new product launches, and understand what obstacles they face everyday. This is in important way for our partnership marketing crew to think of new ideas to allow them to create additional value for our sponsors and to help drive their business.”
NoLandGrab: This sounds like something that Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott might dream up on The Office. Can't you just see Dwight and Stanley spending a day in the kitchen at Chili's? Seeing how the Bud delivery guy stacks those cases on the hand truck will surely help Nets' marketing staff place Anheuser-Busch's arena signage just so.
Seriously, with the Nets barely able to fill half their building, despite massive ticket giveaways and endless promotions, you'd think they'd want to concentrate on their own jobs rather than somebody else's.
Posted by eric at January 21, 2009 11:58 AM