What I find really odd is the lack of crossover between sponsors of USSoccer and MLS and WUSA. Stranger still is that MLS & Major League Baseball have more common "Official Sponsors" than MLS and USSoccer.
The biggest problem we'll have is to convince a radio station...any radio station,...to break its format to air any Earthquakes anything. Radio is getting less and less and less about local interest and more and more and more about corporate profit. Reduce operating costs by consolidating programming among a regional group of stations. Tighten the control on the programming so that there is less chance of a mistake and the consolidation being found out. Be safe, don't stretch. It's a malady that's plagued commercial radio for years...but the FCC's recent regulations regarding multiple ownership of stations in the same market exacerbated the situation. Now virtually all English-language radio stations are owned by ClearChannel, Susquehanna (as KNBR, et al, are), NewsCorp, Disney, or the 3 major networks. Local owners are disappearing by the bushelbasket. And even local owners are playing safe. There's still locally owned radio in San Jose. Empire Broadcasting which owns KLIV-AM and KRTY-FM are one of the last remaining dinosaurs. And I could swear I've heard John Shrader (once again hustling on the Quakes' behalf) talking to one of the reporters in the press box about his annual session begging with Empire GM Robert Kieve for Earthquakes airtime...and Kieve annually refuses to break his (inexpensive to operate) news format for the Quakes. Kieve only breaks his format annually for SJSU football...but no other SJSU events (even basketball is relegated to the campus radio station...no commercial radio for 3 years now). In the radio business we're fighting a fight we just can't win...not because we're fighting for soccer coverage, but we're fighting an entire way of doing business. So unless we find a sugar daddy who's willing to buy an AM radio station, upgrade it so it can be heard all over the Bay Area, and lose money out his ears on the venture, we're lost in the world of commerical radio. And if there is a sugar daddy out there that wants to buy us a station...let me know ASAP so I can submit my resume as program director!
Maybe we can just agree to disagree, but let me be clear about what I'm saying. I'm NOT saying that the local radio station should GIVE the Quakes any coverage. I AM saying is this: (And tune out now if you're tired of this crap, because this is just more of the same! ) ...that with a marketing partner such as McDonalds, or Putnam Toyota-Buick-Volvo-Cadillac-Hummer-LincolnMercury-Mazda-Jaguar for that matter, then the MLS and the partner, in concert with the radio station, can stage a marketing campaign that will be profitable for all sides. Here's how it would work. 1) HJ/CD (hamburger joint or car dealership) runs ad THEY WERE GOING TO RUN ANYWAY. Only the ads are updated to include the Quakes promotional element. (Radio Station is big winner, Quakes are big winner.) 2) Customer goes to HJ/CD to get Buy One Adult Tic Get 1 Kid Tic Free coupon. (Quakes are big winner)(HJ/CD is big winner) 3) Customer takes test drive or buys Meal Deal. (HJ/CD is big winner.) 4) Customer brings kids to Quakes match. (Quakes are big winner). 5) HJ/CD is allowed to have presence at stadium with promotional kiosk they have in storage anyway and minimum wage workers. (HJ/CD is winner) 6) Radio station is allowed to have promotional presence at stadium with on-air personality doing halftime entertainment and kiosk they have in storage anyway. Maybe do a live remote for the weather and traffic. (Radio station is winner) 7) Radio station gives Quakes some free one-minute promos, read live by station personalities. These promos were going to go for free anyways to the President's Counsel on Physical Fitness and Sports, at odd hours and when the radio station couldn't sell anything. (Quakes win, station wins with Quakes fans, perhaps HJ/CD gets mentioned and they win too.) (President's Counsel loses.) 8) It goes on and on. Notice, no one is spending any more money than they ALREADY ARE SPENDING. It just gets amplified through strategic alliances. That's what I'm talking about. That's what radio stations do for a living — putting together package deals for their advertisers. I think the Quakes do some of this anyway with some kiddie hip-hop station anyway. The only 2 missing links: (1) the HJ/CD, which would put some muscle behind the effort AND (2) an honest-to-god plan to put butts in the seats. Again, I know the FO is doing lots of good stuff behind the scenes, as is evidenced by the recent uptick in attendence. But I think their job would be a lot easier with a marketing alliance with a muscular partner that would force Sequehanna or Clear Channel to take the Quakes seriously.
Well said Bajoro. One question I would add is where is Nike is all this? They are the single biggest sponsor, and ad-wise while they show up in the program, and maybe a board along the sidelines, where's the big push? I would think that Nike would be all over marketing Landon and along with him, the Quakes. They're goiong to sell a whole lot more Landon Donovan jerseys while he's here than when he's in Europe. If he can help push US soccer over into the mainstream consciousness, they'd stand to be one of the biggest winners for years to come. There is a ton of cross-promotional things they could do. Don't get me wrong, I am glad to have their support, I'd just like to see them use their muscle to make some room for us at the watering trough. As a marketing partner, I DO think it's a resposnibility that they share...
That's a well-thought plan...but from the radio station's perspective...why should they participate? What do they have to gain from their participation in such an event...especially when we're only giving them exposure in front of a "small-ish" crowd of 10-12K? For a "big" station, we're small potatoes. For the Susquehanna (KNBR) group to take us seriously, we're going to have to put the cart before the horse...bring in bigger houses with more potential $$ spending listeners. Items #1-5 should be a season-long gimmee with Capitol Honda (they're already on board as a sponsor...though not as active in-stadium as in previous years...they used to sponsor Rally Run). But you still haven't sold me on a radio station's motivation to participate in items 6 & 7. What's in it for them? Sell me on that...
In this case, both. And if I hit the lotto sometime and start up KWAK, you'll be the first one I call.