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November 8, 2011
Brother's (Goal) Keeper
Pro sports team executives Brett and Michael Yormark play off each other to raise the bar for individual performance.
Success
by Don Yaeger
The Two-Sports-Marketing-Geniuses-are-Better-Than-One story has already been done to death, but lack of actual results can't keep the Doublespeak Twins down.
When New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark needs to find ways to creatively market his NBA team, he doesn’t have to look in the mirror… though sometimes it may seem that way. Often, he calls his brother Michael, the other half of the only identical twins running professional sports franchises in the United States.
The two, among the most innovative minds in their industry, share the same grueling schedule, the same philosophy for success—and the same face.
Brett, who also serves as president/CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, and Michael, president of the Florida Panthers hockey franchise, have been capturing the industry’s attention for more than a decade. Named to “Forty Under 40” lists in several high-profile magazines, the Yormark brothers, at 44, are the youngest to hold their positions in their respective leagues.
Since joining the Nets in 2005, Brett has helped bring about a 15 percent increase in ticket sales and a stunning increase of nearly 200 percent in team sponsorships. He also managed a deal with the Barclays banking and financial services company that includes a 20-year strategic marketing partnership and naming rights to the Barclays Center under construction and slated to open in 2012. Additionally, he secured a dozen other major sponsors for the Barclays Center before the first shovel struck dirt.
Actual numbers tell a different story. Since Yormark joined the Nets in 2005, attendance has deteriorated. Average attendance for the Nets last season was 6% lower than it was in 2005. And the Nets give away tons of tickets. The naming rights deal for the Barclays Center is reportedly half what Yormark claims it is. Then there's the bottom line: the Nets have hemorrhaged money during Yormark's tenure.
Michael faced the particular challenge of warming South Florida residents to the idea of a hockey team when he joined the organization in 2003. After taking over in 2007, he helped launch the team’s BankAtlantic Center toward becoming the fourth-highest revenue-producing arena in the country and increased suite sales by more than $2.5 million per year. The Panthers’ fan base continues to expand each season, as does BAC’s entertainment offerings, which now include the Sinatra Theatre and several high-end dining venues.
Um, wait a second. The Panthers went to the Stanley Cup finals in 1996, spurring plastic-rat tossing hockey mania. And when they moved into their current arena for the 1998-1999 season, they set a team record with average attendance of more than 18,500. They averaged 15,936 fans a game during 2003-04, Yormark's first season, and drew an average of 15,689 last season. That doesn't sound like the fan base continuing to expand each season.
If the Yormark twins have any real claim to marketing genius, it's in marketing themselves.
Posted by eric at November 8, 2011 10:48 PM