Adam Grossman

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

FlyQuest Showcases Partnership Value From Game Broadcasts Using B6A’s Partnership Scoreboard

Did our partnership assets reach the target audience or demographic? What is the broadcast media value of a jersey sponsorship? What is the impact on customer retention and acquisition? Those were the questions FlyQuest Sports was thinking about as the team headed into the 2018 North American League Championship Series (LCS) for League of Legends (LOL).

FlyQuest Showcases Partnership Value From Game Broadcasts Using B6A’s Partnership Scoreboard BY FLYQUEST AND BLOCK SIX ANALYTICS #block-fb44b3fa28041724fb4b .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-i
Adam Grossman

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Blockchain’s Potential Impact On Sports Media And Sponsorship

Even though we have Block in our name, Block Six Analytics is not a blockchain company. However, we do see blockchain technology impacting our business in ways that are likely to surprise many in the sports industry. More specifically, blockchain could alter sports media and sponsorship in counterintuitive ways.

Blockchain’s Potential Impact On Sports Media And Sponsorship BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-0071e5471e905d1220c8 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0
Adam Grossman

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

What Is Managed Should Be Measured In Sponsorship

Famed management consultant and professor Peter Drucker is arguably most well-known for the axiom, “What gets measured gets managed.” That is one reason why the results of a recent study of sports partnerships by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) are so surprising. The ANA found that only “37% of respondents reported having a standardized process for measuring their return on sponsorship.” So why are so few sponsorships being measured?

What Is Managed Should Be Measured In Sponsorship BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-69b26039646a15f07ab5 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px inset;

Applying Toilet Paper “Hoarding” Misconceptions To Sponsorship Valuation BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-9ec1c9ab1062cc1ed67f .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shado

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Applying Toilet Paper “Hoarding” Misconceptions To Sponsorship Valuation

What do changes in toilet paper consumption have to do with sponsorship? In past posts, we have highlighted the impact of data-driven decision making in helping to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. In particular, we used sponsorship valuation as the frame to understand the use of data and modeling on strategies employed by government officials and public health officials. Toilet paper consumption, however, enables us to use converse approach by taking a phenomenon from the coronavirus and applying it to sponsorship valuation.

NASCAR And iRacing Demonstrates Importance of Real Experiences Within Esports BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-3a65e043731308663d77 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

NASCAR And iRacing Demonstrates Importance of Real Experiences Within Esports

Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series last Sunday at a virtual Homestead-Miami racetrack created by the “sim racing game” company. The real winner, however, may be Esports experiences more generally given how “real” the iRacing event felt to NASCAR’s fans, media, and sponsors. The audience reaction to the race is some of the best news so far for a sports industry hit hard by the coronavirus.

Brady Should Deliver Value As A Free Agent Even If On-Field Performance Declines BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-3b9c463fe8c9937dbf08 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { b

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Brady Should Deliver Value As A Free Agent Even If On-Field Performance Declines

The biggest free agent news from the current National Football League offseason is that quarterback Tom Brady will no longer be playing for the New England Patriots. B6A’s Revenue Above Replacement (RAR) and Audience Inference Platform (AIP) demonstrate that Brady should deliver value for his new team even if his on-field performance declines.

Coronavirus Highlights The Importance Of Communicating Sponsorship Value BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-6a0ae75e4cdf359e8527 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shado

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Coronavirus Highlights The Importance Of Communicating Sponsorship Value

The coronavirus is already having a significant negative effect on the global economy. While a potential recession is negative for many reasons, the impact on sponsorships could be severe. To lessen any potential repercussions of an economic downturn, industry leaders must be able to determine and communicate the value that sponsorship provides to companies.

Savannah is Bananas For Dropping Sponsorship Revenue BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-6a0d1f46465f7be80e16 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px inset;

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Savannah is Bananas For Dropping Sponsorship Revenue

The Savannah Bananas announced this week that the team would be “dropping sponsors in an effort to make more money.” While this post will show why Block Six Analytics (B6A) strongly disagrees with the decision, the team’s choice does a highlight a perceived issue that ubiquitous sponsorship activations damage fans’ gameday experiences.

In Defense Against Senator Klobuchar Sports Marketing Slam BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-87258a270ca84e9130a2 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px i

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

In Defense Against Senator Klobuchar Sports Marketing Slam

In last night’s Democratic presidential primary debate, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar stated, “We’re not going to have a shortage on sports merchandising degrees, we’re gonna have a shortage on nurses and plumbers.” Klobuchar is wrong on both the substance and spirit of this critique, and we will use sports as the frame to show why this is the case.

NASCAR, Verizon, and Penn Gaming Demonstrate Value Of A New Integrated Partnership Model BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-a052c9b88faecafc0ec9 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper {

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

NASCAR, Verizon, and Penn Gaming Demonstrate Value Of A New Integrated Partnership Model

NASCAR announced a new partnership last week with Verizon to “upgrade wireless connectivity at 12 of its race tracks.” While the original focus appeared to be facilitating faster social media interactions, race updates, and interpersonal communication, the NASCAR-Verizon partnership’s largest beneficiary could be Penn National Gaming.

Giannis Is The Best Player, Lebron Is The Most Valuable Player BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-18cbd79471098ce90641 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Giannis Is The Best Player, Lebron Is The Most Valuable Player

The NBA All-Star game is typically a time when the media, fans, and sponsors start debating in earnest about the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). However, the MVP award is arguably one of biggest misnomers in sports in general and the NBA specifically. For example, Block Six Analytics (B6A) Revenue Above Replacement Model (RAR) has found that Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA’s best player and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is the NBA’s MVP.

Rovell Super Bowl Ad Poll Highlights Challenges With Polls, Surveys BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-54eb0d2c3a4c30f4cc04 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Rovell Super Bowl Ad Poll Highlights Challenges With Polls, Surveys

The Action Network’s Darren Rovell conducted a Twitter poll about Super Bowl ads after the game last Sunday. The text for the poll stated, “Companies spent approximately $460 million on advertising their products and services during Super Bowl ads tonight. Do you think you are now more likely to buy at least one of the products or services you saw?” Of Rovell’s two million+ followers, 16,186 votes were cast with 81% saying “No” and 19% saying “Yes”.   This would appear to be terrible news for the companies that spent the approximately $460 million in advertising for the Super Bowl. A deeper analysis, however, shows that the news is likely not as bad as it appears because of challenges with this poll’s validity specifically and survey work generally.

Presidential Politics Come To The Super Bowl BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-8fcc94195f0c4ee96237 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px inset;

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Presidential Politics Come To The Super Bowl

The presidential campaigns for both Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg will each spend $10 million for sixty seconds of commercials during the Super Bowl broadcast this Sunday. Many have asked why these campaigns would spend so much money during an event that does seem applicable to politics. A strategic analysis of these ad buys shows why these campaigns specifically will benefit from these investments.

Heat, Bucks Develop Data-Driven Platform Partnership To Drive Revenues BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-a5b13cba341b4c448537 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow:

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Heat, Bucks Develop Data-Driven Platform Partnership To Drive Revenue

In The Sports Strategist: Developing Leaders for a High-Performance Industry, my co-authors and I showed how teams in the same league are often on-court foes can and off-court friends. While they are both competing for the NBA Eastern Conference title this year, the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks demonstrate how sharing best practices and products can help both organizations maximize revenue generation through data analysis.

How Data-Driven Decision-Making Impacts Both Murder And Movies BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-5db327a0f9c69a30d9da .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

How Data-Driven Decision-Making Impacts Both Murder And Movies

When it comes to Chicago, movies, and murder, the only commonality many people will likely think of is Public Enemies – the film that features Johnny Depp playing notorious criminal John Dillinger. Both the city of Chicago and the movie studio Warner Bros., however, are now also using data-driven decision to address critical issues with these topics. More specifically, Chicago is using big data analysis to reduce its homicide rates while Warner Bros. is using artificial intelligence (AI) to better predict the success of its movies.

NY Jets Show How To Leverage Non-Endemic Influencers To Drive Fan Engagement BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-8dae1cc453cd39c4b7f6 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-s

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

NY Jets Show How To Leverage Non-Endemic Influencers To Drive Fan Engagement

Sports properties (typically leagues, teams, events, and / or athletes) often ask how they can attract non-endemic companies as corporate partners. One question they do not often ask is how sports properties can partner with non-endemic (or not directly related) influencers to better reach their own target audiences. While the problems appear dissimilar on the surface, there is a common answer to both questions. During the 2019 season, the New York Jets created and implemented a strategy to work with non-endemic influencers that maximized reach, targeted new and existing fans, and created organic content that maximized audience engagement.

Advertising Is Dead. Long Live Advertising! BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-4f1a747870b260d504f1 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px inset;

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Advertising Is Dead. Long Live Advertising!

The expression “the king is dead, long live the king!” has existed since 1422 and was originally “used to simultaneously announce the death of the previous monarch and assure the public of continuity by saluting the new monarch” While this started with the passing of the father of Charles VII in France, the phrase has been applied to in numerous contexts ranging from sports, business, politics, culture, arts, and food (among others) throughout the world in the centuries since in some form to this day. Advertising is no exception.

Hallmark Channel Controversy Highlights Growing Economic Importance Of LGBTQ Audience BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-d64233ad91c26496d997 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper {

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Hallmark Channel Controversy Highlights Growing Economic Importance Of LGBTQ Audience

The holiday season is typically the most wonderful time of the year for the Hallmark Channel (at least when it comes to its ratings). This year, however, the company is facing fallout from its controversial decision to stop airing ads from wedding-planning company Zola that include a lesbian couple kissing at a wedding ceremony. In response to the criticism, the Hallmark Channel reversed its decision and will “reinstate” the ads. Regardless of one’s stance on same-sex marriage or lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, or queer (LGBTQ) issues, Hallmark’s decision was arguably even worse from an economic perspective than it was from a public relations (PR) perspective.

Bud Light Seltzer Should Score With A Sports Asset Focused Campaign BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-d3af57ba0da880915f01 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Bud Light Seltzer Should Score With A Sports Asset Focused Campaign

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) announced that it will launch Bud Light Seltzer in January of 2020. Vice President - Partnerships, Beer Culture & Community Nick Kelly highlighted the company’s commitment to using sports assets as key part of the initial campaign earlier this week. A sports-based strategy has driven tangible success before for AB InBev. Bud Light Seltzer should potentially achieve greater revenue lifts for both intuitive and non-intuitive reasons.

TikTok Shows The Importance Of Translating Brand Metrics Into Revenue Goals BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-52204277c88436391e92 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-sh

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

TikTok Shows The Importance Of Translating Brand Metrics Into Revenue Goals

TikTok’s emergence as one of the fastest growing global social media platforms has created a new opportunity for sports marketers to engage with their targeted audiences. Yet, the core challenge facing sports industry leaders is a familiar one for those that have evaluated making new technology investments.

Airbnb, IOC Demonstrates Importance Of Authentic Engagement For Sports Properties BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-dba5066d0173eb198890 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper {

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Airbnb, IOC Demonstrates Importance Of Authentic Engagement For Sports Properties

One of the most common question we receive at Block Six Analytics (B6A) is what makes sports partnerships different than other advertising or marketing opportunities. While there are many ways to answer the question, one response is that fans do not frequently adhere to the perceived gender or ethnic norms associated with a specific sport. This presents unique opportunities for partners to target harder-to-reach demographics with engaging content in novel ways.

Is Influencer Marketing Dead If Instagram Hides Likes? BY ADAM GROSSMAN #block-ac0c32033aae404c6657 .social-icons-style-border .sqs-svg-icon--wrapper { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px inset

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Is Influencer Marketing Dead If Instagram Hides Likes?

Instagram announced that it will hide likes for “some users in the United States” beginning this week. This expands on previous tests the company has conducted internationally where Instagram makes likes data only available to account owners. In a recent post responding to these tests, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy at Octagon Meredith Kinsman asks “Will hiding ‘likes’ lead to the end of influencer marketing?” While Block Six Analytics (B6A) agrees with Kinsman that the answer is no, we do not fully agree on why this is the case.