In this case study, students are exposed to the issue of stakeholder management through the lens of the National Football League (NFL), using a contemporary example of ambush marketing and player endorsement deals as the primary context. The case depicts nonfictitious events that involve players and their disdain for league policies regarding donning brands and products that violate exclusivity agreements the league has with other companies. After identifying the origins of the circumstances, the case profiles the three principal stakeholder groups involved (i.e., the players, the ambushed sponsor, and the focal organization) through their respective leaders (i.e., DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL players association, Bob Maresca, president of Bose Corporation, and Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL). Using fictitious commentary, the case culminates with the three actors utilizing the services of a sports consultancy firm as they work together to determine the best course of action. Learning objectives include understanding collegiality in a professional setting, and mitigating conflicting sponsorship strategies.
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Ambush by Dre: A Case Study of the National Football League and the Challenges Arising from Conflicting Sponsorship Strategies
Michael L. Naraine, Benoît Séguin, and Eric MacIntosh
California Streamin’: Developing an Integrated Social Media Strategy to Attract Fans to a New Streaming App
Lynley Ingerson, Michael L. Naraine, Nola Agha, and Daniel J. Pedroza
athletic departments, and leading the digital strategy for a couple West Coast professional sport franchises, Spinks has now donned this new role at NBC with a primary task of launching the organization’s new app, “My Teams”. Spinks and her team will need to meet urgently to discuss the development of
Using Data Analytics to Create a Digital Strategy That Drives Engagement and Views on Social Media
David Pierce and Geoffre Sherman
“front office” is demanding. After spending time contemplating what he can do differently and shifting strategy to no avail, Dan decides to reach out to a consulting firm for assistance in boosting the organization’s engagement and views on social media, app, and website. Consultants Step In You work for
A League to Call Their Own—Premier Rugby 7s: Developing a Digital Strategy to Engage New Fans
Brittany L. Jacobs, Brian Wendry, and Megan Nocivelli
last decade, and this made PR7s stand out from other emerging sport leagues. By installing equity as a key tenet of the league, Ms. Ortiz knew that this could be leveraged in marketing efforts and would also determine pieces of the overall digital strategy (see Appendix A ). Rugby 7s Having never
Live From Nassau Mausoleum: Reactive Strategies at a Major Sports Arena
Nicholas Hirshon and Craig Davis
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a sports and entertainment arena in Long Island, New York, encountered a public relations challenge in the 1990s. Nassau Coliseum, one of a few high-capacity venues in the New York metropolitan area, hosted the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League and concerts featuring headliners such as the Grateful Dead, New Kids on the Block, and Frank Sinatra. Nevertheless, the arena became a target for the world’s first all-sports radio station, WFAN 660 AM in New York City. WFAN hosts perpetuated the image of a dreary “Nassau Mausoleum” with dim lighting, long bathroom and concession lines, and a leaky roof. By placing students in the decision-making situation that confronted the Nassau Coliseum executives, this case explores various approaches to reputation management at sports venues.
Saving the Life of a National Sport Organization With Strategy and Governance
Milena M. Parent
Amanda Tsang looked across the conference table at Bill Fitzpatrick, the new Chair of the Board for Endurance Canada, the national sport organization (NSO) for the sport of endurance. “I’m taking a big gamble, here,” Bill said. “I don’t want to hire you as a crisis management or strategy consultant
Organizational Socialization in Professional Sport: The National Basketball Association’s Rookie Transition Program
Mark A. Beattie
relationships with colleagues ( Benson et al., 2016 ). There is no standard or uniform approach to socializing new organizational members. An organization’s socialization tactics—the programs and activities used to socialize newcomers—are dependent on the organization’s size, structure, culture, and strategies
An Age-Old Problem in Little League Baseball
Jess C. Dixon, Laura Chittle, and Sean Horton
The relative age effect (RAE) has become a well-studied consequence of organizations utilizing a cutoff date to establish age cohorts. Within this case study, students will explore and learn how to perform various statistical analyses (i.e., chi-square, effect sizes, standardized residuals) to determine whether the RAE exists among those who competed in the 2011 and 2012 Little League World Series (LLWS). Students will learn about the mission and history of Little League Baseball (LLB) and discuss potential changes and/or strategies that could be used by the organization to make the LLWS more inclusive. Furthermore, students can use the knowledge gained from this case study to critically analyze the current status of various other sport organizations to help develop potential strategies to ensure fairness and equality for all participating athletes.
Magine Snowboards
Jose Lam and Jacqueline Walsh
This case illustrates the challenges entrepreneurs experience as they try to guide a new venture to the commercialization stage in the entrepreneurial process. Steve Wheeler, Mike Maddock, and Marcel Savidon are three young entrepreneurs and friends who founded Magine Snowboards, a company focused on the manufacturing of snowboards. This case is set in January of 2012 as Steve Wheeler debates the next strategic step for the company. Magine has developed an innovative product—a snowboard that uses environmentally friendly and sustainable materials. The entrepreneurs have been able to start the business through bootstrapping. However, they now need to develop a strategy that can guide the company forward.
Investing in Sports Stocks: A Case of Sportfolio Management Inc.
Chris Chard
Jordan Bourne is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sportfolio Management Inc. (SMI), a small hedge fund operating out of Boston, Mass. SMI provides prudent and profitable investment management services to clients through active investment in publicly traded companies operating in sport-related business endeavors. By employing both “long” and “short” investment management strategies, Bourne’s objective is to achieve a positive rate of return in the Sportfolio for her valued clients. Assistance from the firm’s Investment Analysts is vital to meet this objective.
