PL & JMI Sports Sign Marketing Rights Agreement

First order of business is getting far away from Stadium and onto ESPN+.

Selling advertising on the back of the ticket stub must be known as "Nano sports marketing" in the industry. I benefitted from somebody's sales efforts back in the day when the stub contained a BOGO "buy one get one free large sandwich" at McDonalds coupon.

I used every coupon to get two grilled chicken sandwiches instead of one at some point during the weeks after the games. I went to a game this year and the stub contains an ad for a realtor on Cape Cod. Thanks to the realtor for supporting HC, but it wouldn't surprise me if no one ever buys or sells a house on the Cape due to that ad. There must have been more fans than just me who used the Mickey Dees coupon.

It would be nice if JMI can sell some corporate advertising that people can actually benefit from. It's a small thing but it is value added for the fan and elevates the game day experience for those frugal (cheap) fans who use coupons and discounts, a little bit more of an inducement to attend games and a thank you for those who buy tickets.

Then sell the Cape Cod realtor a sponsorship of mailings/emails that go out to fans from that neck of the woods.

One issue with these national agreements is the Pepsi partnership at HC. Pepsi is a fine company but this shuts out Polar beverages, headquartered a couple of blocks up Southbridge St.

You would think Father B. would use common sense and say we want to partner with Polar for all the logical benefits that collaborating with a very successful and profitable neighbor company would bring.

But maybe being part of a large group marketing contract prohibits that.

Another reason HC likes the campus-wide Pepsi deal is that Starbucks bottled drinks falls under the Pepsi umbrella.

Athletics also had a deal in place w/a local Dunkins franchisee to operate a space for all games in the Hart, but it got shot down further up the food chain due to other campus food & drink service relationships.

Strong relationship with an impressive alumna and a fine brand in Pepsi. However Polar leapfrogged the Holy Cross athletic facilities next door to invest millions a mile down the street for naming rights at Polar Park. I hope HC is cultivating good relations with Polar.

The "Polar Igloo" would be a fine name for an upgraded ice facility to qualify for Hockey East. And "Pepsi on Ice" would be a catchy name,too.

Not sure how long the PL's agreement is with CBSSN, but as long as that's in place ESPN+ will not happen. And I'm not entirely convinced that ESPN+ is necessarily a good thing. It's not as if they would send one of their crews to the Hart Center to produce a broadcast. The responsibility would still fall to the school. The only difference would be the ESPN+ logo on the scorebug and that the game would be behind a paywall.