Athletes giving more off the field

Sometimes when you hear the salaries that pro athletes make,  you have to wonder what they do with all of that money. Some athletes though recognize that their talent gives them certain advantages. They want to give back to the people and communities that have helped them earn these mega salaries. 

In addition, the organizations they work for also want to show they are grateful for the fan support. They look for ways to work in the community during the season and especially in the off season when the players have more time. 

The Phillies Charities, Inc supports different charitable organizations in Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey and areas that surround the Phillies spring training in Florida. They host special fund raisers and charitable events to raise money for these causes. 

Some players also have started their own charitable efforts for causes that are near to their heart. Some examples are the Moyer Foundation that was started by Jamie Moyer and his wife Karen. They started Camp Erin. This is camp for children who are coping with the loss of loved ones. You can learn more at www.moyerfoundation.org.

Shane Victorino oversees the www.shanevictorinofoundation.org. This helps underprivileged youth in Philly and Shane’s home state of Hawaii. 

The Hamels Foundation was founded by Cole and Heidi Hamels. Their goal is to help with education in the US and also in Malawi Africa. www.thehamelsfoundation.org.

These are just some examples of why the people in Philadelphia area know their team is made up of real champions. 

You can follow me at www.twitter.com/sandeemiller or her at www.marketingdaze.com

MANNA gives you the chance to help support a good cause with tasty treats

This time of year is the time when most companies do a big push to get in last minute sales before the end of the year. They spend a great deal of money on advertising to drive sales. 

But during this holiday season and the frenzy of consumerism it’s easy to forget those that are dealing with life threatening illnesses. 

This is why MANNA which provides delicious and medically appropriate meals and nutritional support to those suffering in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area uses this time to sell their pies. The Pie in the Sky program has been running for 14 yrs.

Their goal is to pre-sell 10,000 cakes and pies that are available to be picked up before Thanksgiving. The program can raise $250,000 to support their efforts. 

Manna is looking for volunteers to not only help sort and deliver pies to pick up locations but you can also use social media to promote their sales efforts. 

You can use your facebook, twitter and other social sites to promote the program and let everyone know how to buy and pick up their treats. 

You can go to www.mannapies.org to learn what flavors are available, where you can pick up and how to share this with all of your friends. 

Check this out and share with everyone you know. The deadline to order is NOON on Friday November 19^th. You can pick up on Tuesday November 23^rd and Wednesday November 24^th. 

Spread the word about the sale, it’s the tastiest social media effort you will ever be lucky enough to join. 

You can follow me at www.twitter.com/sandeemiller or here at www.marketingdaze.com

Using athletes to sell your products

Let’s talk about using sports figures in your advertising. In honor of the World Series I’m going to focus on baseball players. I have to watch the commercials since my Phillies won’t be playing; the commercials are the only thing I care about at this point. 

One of the commercials that was running frequently during the playoffs for the NLCS and ALCS playoffs was with NY Yankees Joe Girardi and Mariano Rivera. 

The commercials are for Taco Bell and feature the coach taking away a taco that is too big for the customer to eat and instead he brings in Rivera as a sub to eat it for him. The commercial was running at the same time the Yankees were trying to win the ALCS against the Texas Rangers, but they ultimately lost. 

The commercial is cute but now that the Yankees are out of the running is it going to be worth airing. That can be the problem when you put a sport figure in and the team doesn’t perform. You have to decide if people will still be interested in the product if it’s endorsed by players who aren’t contenders anymore. 

The next challenge when you deal with athletes is that all their talent can be on the field and not acting. For the perfect example of that check out the series of commercials Comcast runs with Cole Hamels. He is a great pitcher who is also a World Series winner. Cole is athletic, talk and handsome but his commercials can be painful to watch. 

What do you think? Do you think athletes make you more or less likely to want to use the product?

You can follow me at www.twitter.com/sandeemiller or here at  www.marketingdaze.com

American Express and Glee look for ways to give back

How do you combine a major financial brand and popular television show to do good deeds? You start the American Express Members Project. 

The members’ project is being advertised with Fox’s Glee to encourage people to volunteer in their community. 

American Express is asking people to go to the site to look for opportunities and to learn about those in need. You can search the site based on issue/topic and see what is being done in your area. Or if you have something that you feel needs to be addressed, you have the option to create your own action to be considered. 

If you are able to volunteer you can see what groups are looking for help and learn more about the organization’s mission. If you can’t volunteer you can donate cash or vote for the charity that you feel is worthy of a donation from American Express. They will be giving 5 charities $1,000,000.

Glee has joined by asking people if they are a Shue or a Sue. There is a series of commercials where the show’s characters talk about how it can work. Will Schuster is working with the kids on projects to give back and the character Sue Sylvester comes in and tries to stop their efforts. It’s a fun way to use a popular show to deliver the message. 

Look at the site www.takepart.com/membersproject and see what deserving groups are in your area that could use your support. 

 

You can follow me at www.twitter.com/sandeemiller or www.marketingdaze.com

The scariest marketing you will ever see

I know some people get scared when they think about planning their marketing and advertising strategies. But if you are Eastern State Penitentiary then you’re in the perfect frame of mind to do it.

The prison has been on Fairmount Avenue since 1829 and has hosted famous prisoners like Al Capone and Willie Sutton. When it opened it was a model for prisons worldwide. It closed in 1971 and now stays open during the year giving tours. 

Starting in September and running to November 6th the prison hosts Terror Behind the Walls. Being able to visit the haunted prison is something that many are terrified to do to but at the same time they wouldn’t think of missing the experience.

The prison does a good job of promoting itself in the area. You can see their sponsors Regal Cinemas, LukOil and Halloween Adventure offering discount coupons. Other sponsors include the CW Philly, Kyw Radio and Philadelphia Weekly. 

The prison knows that they will bring a large group of people to the area so they partner with local restaurants who can take advantage of new customers that might not come to the neighborhood on a regular basis to provide dinner and haunted house tickets. Because the prison is located in an area that can be tight for parking they do offer you the ability to park at the zoo and take the Ghost bus to the prison. 

For tickets and more information you can go to www.easternstate.org. If you don’t have friends who want to go with you, don’t worry you won’t be alone, there are plenty of ghosts to keep you company.

You can follow me at www.twitter.com/sandeemiller or here at www.marketingdaze.com.