A Wider Net

Chief Marketer comments that marketers should take note of how the Yankees, or more specifically, A-Rod and his agent Scott Boras managed to steal the Red Sox thunder by announcing A-Rod’s departure from the Yankees in the middle of the fourth and ultimately clinching game of the World Series. They knew that most diehard baseball fans were glued to the game and they took the opportunity to drop a media bomb despite the fact that it was clearly a day for the Red Sox and the Rockies to hold the limelight. Call it crass, call it dirty - but it sure was effective.

As a Red Sox fan, I was disgusted. I hope A-Rod ends up dealt to a baseball league in some war-torn drought-ridden bug-infested place where his stories no longer matter. Since he is the most valuable commodity in baseball, that obviously won’t happen. But as a brand, A-Rod certainly isn’t creating a positive impression. According to headlines since the game, Boras has managed to really anger Major League Baseball, Fox Broadcasting, and quite a large segment of fans. Diehard Red Sox fans have been rallying and chanting NOT to sign A-Rod.

As a baseball fan, I was (again) disgusted because it stole the limelight from the game’s premiere night. But I kind of also wish that some OTHER sport like Football had managed to pull eyes away from the World Series. Why? Because even though the game suffered it’s second worst ratings for a world series game in history, the league still hasn’t learned their lesson. The games are on TOO LATE for young (and future) fans, and the Sox Sleep Deprived all know what I’m talking about. So, let Football own the media - they understand how important fans are to a sport.

As a marketer I’m both impressed and dismayed. I sometimes wish this sort of thing didn’t work. “Timing is Everything” is a fundamental concept but spreading controversial news at just the right time seems downright dirty. I guess it totally depends on what side you’re on. I applauded Steve Jobs when he announced the iPod hundreds of miles away from CES, completely stealing the tech headlines for the week. I’m sure CES wasn’t too happy about that.

Footnote: Boras has publicly apologized and claimed this stunt was unintentional. Speaking of timing: I’d have to call that apology “too late”.