Are Community Programs Overshadowing School Sports Values?

From day one, Home Team Marketing has had a singular focus of supporting school based sports. We have been and continue to be approached by organizations that are not affiliated with education based athletics and as an organization we have decided not to pursue these opportunities. The primary reason we have not entered into these partnerships is because we have a core belief that high school athletics/extracurricular is a fundamentally critical component to the educational experience across the United States (Yes I know I am talking WAY above my head with that last comment! But please feel free to let me know again with a comment below.) For a number of different reasons, we believe more kids playing/participating in more events/activities is a good thing.

Thanks to our partners at the Michigan High School Athletic Association for giving me permission to distribute, in its entirety, an article that appeared in their most recent Benchmarks magazine, which is their quarterly publication. The article is entitled "Are Community Youth Programs Overshadowing Sports Values?"

Through observation we have heard that this topic/issue is almost universal across the country.  From where HTM stands and with respect to what we do, when we discuss partnership opportunities with State Associations, we always look for opportunities for the partnership to not only financially support the respective Association/Federation, but ultimately to help make the experience better for the participants, their families and fans. In the sense of true partnership,  we are looking for that magic equation where 2 + 2 = 5, a synergy where the end result is greater than the parts. This is where high school is different from our largely commercial and professional contemporaries (yes they are peers - in many respects we are better.)

The partnership platform (including media partnerships!) that we are all creating every day has the opportunity to achieve results maybe greater than any of us have thought before. Our partners have tremendous resources and if tapped properly, can help elevate the role and benefits or participation and Universal support of School based sports. 

I will be speaking with some of our Association partners in the next few weeks and I will post specific examples of where we think this synergy is starting to take place.

Again much thanks to the MHSAA for allowing us to post this article!

Partnership Activation

by Lorien

Many sports marketing companies believe that once the sponsorship sale is completed, the work is done. On the contrary, in order to keep sustainable partnerships between our corporate partners and property clients, this is where the work begins. As Account Manager at Home Team Marketing, my focus every day is how we can exceed the expectations of our clients and to provide unique solutions for companies to access the millions of High School sports fans we represent. 

In order to keep longstanding partnerships, each event and season needs to have a new life and give clients another access point to their target audience; there are many resources available to see what new industry trends are. One I use all the time is a newsletter and website written by my friend, Brian Gainor, called Partnership Activation. HTM has also been highlighted in the newsletter, along with our partnership with Farmers Insurance and other clients. 

Please see link below – HTM is highlighted in the November 2009 and May 2009 issues. 

http://www.partnershipactivation.com/partnership-activation-20-news/

What is your favorite sponsorship activity or promotion??

"As School Sports Fall to Budget Cuts, The Boxing Ring Becomes a Refuge"

Great story in the NY Times.
Follow the link: For Ohio Students, Boxing Rings Become Refuges.

What is the Real Deal? High School Sports!

By Jake

Well I have been discussing this blog for quite some time, so I figured I just needed to get this up and going and hopefully it will take on a life of its own. Ideally this blog will create and foster a discussion about the sponsorship and financial support of school based sports across the United States. At the very least, this will be a forum that celebrates school based sports across the U.S. All of us at Home Team Marketing, now 40 people strong (we started with 4 ten years ago) feel a sense of appreciation because we get to travel all over the U.S. and take in high school athletic contests of varying sizes, skills, etc. We spend a lot of time sharing stories about a football game we were able to see in south Florida, on a muggy November night, or a girls basketball game in Northern Michigan, where we were praying for overtimes so as to not have to go back outside (notice that was plural overtimes). Through all the travels there are surprisingly a few constants, the absolute devotion that communities have for their local high school team, a passion for playing the game that exemplifies the best in competition, and teachers/coaches and administrators that have dedicated their lives to the development of young people. While there are certainly many more attributes I am missing, these three are the constants and it is why we love our job.

I could go on for a very long time about the benefits of HS sports and the special place it holds in this country's heart. I am hoping as this blog develops to have that opportunity. Equally I am hoping to learn from its readers and guest bloggers that we plan on inviting frequently - also every entry creates an open forum that you are invited and encouraged to contribute. One special section I plan on having is an “inside the deal” guest blog where we invite a representative from a State Association to share the details on a great deal that that they have developed for their respective Association. We will see how that idea develops as I know there is some sensitive information out there, but I trust we can find a happy middle ground where we don’t give away the farm, but provide a enough information to make it useful for all.

If there are discussion topics that you would like to see brought let me know, This is not going to be Home Team rekindling a great high school experience, we really want to discuss how partnerships can help achieve the mission of school based sports and help them flourish. By sharing best practices, and what we are seeing from companies in the marketplace, we are hoping this forum becomes a very valuable resource for those that care about HS Athletics now and into the future.

If you have gotten this far, Thank you! That is more than I expected (that will be another blog topic - managing clients' expectations). As I am sure you have figured it out now, the REAL DEAL is HS athletics.