Marketability of Manziel

Charlie Merry

Marketing Blog #14

Prof. Popovich

Johnny Manziel Marketability

 

            Football has become a national obsession in the United States. Football is by far the most popular sport with the NFL and college football programs bringing in lucrative amounts of revenue. Sports channels such as ESPN and the NFL network are covering the sport 365 days of the year. Fans tune in all year long and can’t get enough of the sport. One of the most anticipated days on the football schedule isn’t even during the season. Every May the NFL draft is held in New York City. College football’s best players attend the star studded event with hopes of fulfilling a lifelong dream. This year the draft has been garnering even more attention due to some notable players who have entered the draft. However, the most covered athlete this offseason has unquestionably been Johnny Manziel.

 

            Manziel is a quarterback from Texas who attended Texas A&M University for the past two years. Manziel made history his freshman year as he became the only freshman to ever win the Heisman trophy. The Heisman recognizes college football’s most outstanding player annually. Manziel had a similarly spectacular sophomore season and was one of the finalists for the Heisman. Manziel’s success was notable because of his small stature and brash attitude.

 

            Manziel made headlines throughout his college career for his flashy crew. World famous rapper Drake is affiliated with Manziel. Furthermore, he’s been seen attending events such as the NBA finals and partying in clubs with celebrities. Photos have surfaced with Manziel partying with Rob Gronkowski, Rick Ross, and Lebron James just to name a few. Controversy over his personal life has surfaced as he was in the midst of an autograph scandal. The NCAA prohibits athletes from making money off of their name. However, Manziel overcame these allegations and had another spectacular season.

 

            Now entering the NFL draft, Manziel has become one of America’s most marketable athletes. Nike recently signed Manziel to a multi-million dollar endorsement deal. Teams are considering drafting Manziel just because of how marketable he can be. Teams with poor attendance will become relevant instantly if they acquire him. Everyone seems to want a piece of Manziel and wants to capitalize on his popularity. This has shown me that it’s not just always about performance on the field. Professional teams clearly value the marketability of their athletes. Being a fan of the NFL, this was interesting to realize. Despite Manziel’s hard partying lifestyle, teams appear to be willing to pay him millions of dollars not just for his play, but for his brand. Manziel has shown how important good marketing can be in professional sports.

Marketing Saint Michael's

Charlie Merry

Blog# 13

Marketing

Prof. Popovich

Marketing Higher Education

 

                Going through High School it was assumed that College was something that’s necessary. If you wanted a career that produces a high salary, college needed to be in your future. However, I seem to see an increasing amount of people choosing alternative routes out of High School. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it can lead to increased happiness and perhaps a well-paying job. Furthermore, liberal arts schools such as Saint Michael’s are seeing lower enrollment numbers as a result of this. Saint Michael’s sees that there’s a decrease in demand. Students who are attending colleges these days seem to be specializing in something and opting out of a liberal arts education. Saint Michael’s needs to effectively market their brand if they want to solve this problem.

 

                There are many benefits of a liberal arts education. Liberal arts educations provide you with a multitude of skills and you become a well-balanced individual. Saint Michael’s needs to show the public why this is important and market why it’s important. Specializing in something can be profitable, but will it provide you with the skills necessary to be a life-long learner? Saint Mike’s needs to recognize this and market it to those in demand of a college education.

 

                Furthermore, Saint Michael’s can market their location as a selling point. Saint Mike’s is located near Burlington, Vermont. Burlington is recognized as a premier college town that has plenty of young night life. This is certainly attractive to prospective students as they want other students to connect with throughout their four years. Also, Saint Mike’s is nearby to plenty of great skiing in the northeast. Those students who like to ski will certainly find it attractive and Saint Mike’s should market these burgeoning opportunities to prospective students.

 

                Overall, Saint Michael’s needs to effectively market their strong points if they want to fight off declining enrollment numbers. We’ve seen how important effective marketing can be to any company or enterprise. Saint Michael’s is doing their best as it is. However, if they want to continue their steady enrollment they must step up their efforts in the future and the present.

New Shoes Simulation Review

Charlie Merry

Prof. Popovich

Blog #12

Marketing

New Shoes Simulation Review

            For the past few months our class has been involved with the New Shoes simulation. This simulation split our class up into separate groups of three or four students. Each group assumed the role of a shoe company that’s trying to sell their product in different markets. This simulation helped us further understand the financial side of marketing and how decisions are made. Furthermore, it helped us learn how to better work in a group environment. My group included John Mielke and Luke Barkowski and we worked together to make new decisions each period.

            Each week our group would usually have to make two decisions for two new periods. My group had to decide how much to spend on things such as advertising, consumer promotions, and market research. Also, we had to make decisions regarding our involvement in the foreign market and whether or not we should enter this market at all. There were a few disagreements during the simulation but our group worked through these problems in a democratic fashion. The New Shoes simulation wasn’t easy, and we sometimes made decisions that could have used more thought. However, we learned from the issues we encountered during the simulation used this information to make new decisions.

            Another aspect of the New Shoes simulation was the Excel spreadsheet portion. Excel is a program that allows users to input information and formulas into cells that will help produce answers on a large scale. Learning how to properly use Excel is an extremely important skill to have in today’s world of business. Many companies wouldn’t even consider hiring you if you don’t have a command over Excel. Throughout the New Shoes simulation we were supposed to be constantly inputting our information into a spreadsheet after each period’s decisions. Our group waited until the last second to complete our Excels. While I did learn a great deal about Excel, it would have definitely benefitted my group if we had completed our Excel’s earlier.

Overall, I thought that the New Shoes simulation was an important assignment that I learned a lot from. I didn’t feel as if it was too hard or too easy, but it found a good balance. There were some aspects of the simulation that I didn’t like. I thought that there might have been an overload of information in the simulation, making it hard to locate specific figures. Another problem was just finding enough time to make decisions before the 9PM cutoff time. Despite these problems, I thought that I learned a lot of relevant things from the New Shoes simulation.

Final Four Defends Brands

Charlie Merry

Marketing Blog

Prof. Popovich

Final Four Defends Brands

 

            Every year sports fans throughout the nation anxiously wait for March Madness to come around. March Madness is the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament that’s held annually throughout March. This tournament has become a huge spectacle and it attracts more viewers than any college sporting event during the year. Yesterday’s semi-final game attracted over 16 million viewers, more than Game 4 of the NBA Finals this past year. This undoubtedly attracts numerous brands and companies who want to become affiliated with this successful event. The NCAA partners up with these companies during the tournament and provides plenty of exposure.

 

            I’ve been watching March Madness as much as I can this year. I wouldn’t really consider myself as a huge college basketball fan, but I love watching these games unfold. Smaller schools who aren’t typically on television routinely give larger schools a run for their money. The David vs. Goliath tale is seen numerous times during the tournament. Anyways, this year I’ve been paying more attention to the advertisements and brand placement throughout the tournament. Sixteen companies are paying the NCAA hundreds of millions of dollars to be dubbed as official sponsors of March Madness. This may seem like an excessive amount of money, but due to the high viewership, these companies are getting massive amounts of exposure. The NCAA will go to great lengths to showcase these brands on the court.

 

            Many coaches and trainers in the tournament have received warnings for surprising reasons. Coaches who walk onto the court with specific brands of bottled water are quickly reprimanded. NCAA officials will quickly ask the offending parties to put their water into an official NCAA cup, instead of providing that water with free brand exposure. This may seem like a silly thing to do, but these companies are literally paying millions of dollars for the right to be showcased.

 

            March Madness is a marketing bonanza that rivals the Super Bowl. Everyone across the country is watching, even those who don’t care about college basketball. Even if you don’t care about college basketball, you likely filled out a bracket and will be more inclined to watch than before. March Madness is a great time for companies to advertise new products and unveil new product developments. Successfully showcasing your product through March Madness can produce a big time marketing win for your company.