As a fan of the NBA, specifically the Nets, the much awaited move from New Jersey to Brooklyn could not come soon enough. Moving into Brooklyn would do many things for the franchise, it would give us credibility among players as it’s in New York, the billion dollar Barclays Centre would be state of the art, and fan support would most likely go up.

Those were the three obvious benefits, but there were more. The team announced it would be completely rebranding itself, moving away from a look that not exactly cool or synonymous with success and adopting new colours, jerseys, and logo. Little did myself, and probably any Nets fan expect what exactly was coming. They would completely differentiate themselves from the brand in New Jersey.

Rap mogul Jay-Z helped design everything, and the result was breathtaking, not just on the eye but in the books. On the day they officially became the “Brooklyn Nets” they had more sales in one day, then they typically would in one season. In fact, this trend has continued as it’s currently the best apparel selling team right now.

Of course, having an international icon pushing the product doesn’t hurt…

It’s crazy how a new colour scheme and a move 30 miles down the road can completely revamp a franchise.

Image 1:https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/6983391122_5a17c9994c_n.jpg

Image 2: http://www.nbacircle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/JAY-Z-Brooklyn-Nets-Jersey.jpg

Before it was brought up in class, social enterprise was not something I was overly familiar with.  Upon learning more about it during the lecture, and subsequent video of Save on Meats I quested to delve into it further, and discover more, or at least other social enterprises around Canada.

Along the way I stumbled across this article, which presented not only tales of social enterprise but statistics and recent developments surrounding it as well.  A staggering one third of social enterprises operating in Canada have opened in the last two years. What would cause such a sharp rise in a short period of time? Well, just as we touched on in our class, MBA schools around Canada are trying to shape the budding minds of business students to put to use their business acumen to address social issues.

Also contributing to the sharp rise, is the availability of government and United Way grants for social enterprise. The example used in the article, St. John’s bakery has received $350,000 from the two since 2004. In that time, their profits have risen dramatically, spurring hope they will be self-sufficient in the near future.

Universities educating young minds on not only future self-interest, but societal interests, is a welcome evolution and should continue to spur changes for the good of all.

Image 1: http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&biw=1054&bih=655&tbm=isch&tbnid=zUHTmLaR_rtX8M:&imgrefurl=http://www.stjohnsbakery.com/&docid=HR_ekxyrndtD_M&imgurl=http://www.stjohnsbakery.com/media/img/sidebar/stjohns6.jpg&w=180&h=235&ei=5gyqUO-pF83zqAGc14GgBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=393&sig=102121070711547161704&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=111&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:72&tx=68&ty=68

Image2: http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/abe/migration_catalog/article4052285.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/WEB-sr-sustainability20rb1.jpg

Pat Owings created an interesting piece arguing that inbound marketing was the way of the future, as opposed to disruptive marketing. To first try and dissect the argument, I had to understand further exactly what each were. Disruptive marketing is self explanatory in that it’s advertising that appears in an unwanted place or situation(billboard, TV, mail) where as inbound marketing is advertising that one comes across, say though social media, a blog or a podcast.

Ready to change the channel

Relating the issue to myself, I would tend to agree with his theory. When it comes to disruptive marketing, I’m not sure I’ve ever paid much attention to it. The fact that they are so prevalent almost creates an immunity. Shows PVRd, ads skipped. Live sports? Turn to your buddy, check your texts,  or quickly check what’s happening around the league on your computer. Seemingly, that’s universal, with according to Owens’ blog, 86% of American reporting skipping or ignoring ads.

Inbound ads tend to be much more efficient for me. When I want to buy something or learn about something I search for it on the internet, be it a blog, social media or video, almost assuredly I will receive the information I want AND have learned about a new product(s), which is exactly what marketers want.

Image 1: http://www.volusion.com/demo/37408/upload/uploadedFiles/tv%20ads.jpg

Image 2: http://janefriedman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/blog2-1.jpeg

Mark Sha’s blog post on Toronto sports teams, and their success in the financial books compared to their lack of it on the court, is both interesting and thought provoking. He raises the notion that the owners of all three Toronto franchises, majorly Rogers Communications for all three clubs are only interested in the bottom line, and not team success. He then asks if this lack of success is down to a lack of hierarchical needs, or improper management. I believe the first bit to be true, but for the second question, I’d answer neither.

They have tried an array of approaches in hiring executives who they hand sole control of the team ranging from hiring sought after “rising executives”, to paying a premium to hire two general managers who were proven and highly  regarded(Brian Burke and Bryan Colangelo) to employing a young economics graduate who believes in the qualitative and innovative method of sabermetrics. Can upper management be to blame for lower managements failures? I believe that they have done the right thing in trusting in who they employed, and not simply firing them believing the savvy acumen that lead to past success has vanished. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and returning Toronto teams to prominence is no different. Time and money is prevalent, and now it’s up to the employees to pay back ownership.

Recently FC Barcelona announced it would continue its partnership with UNICEF, a prominent world wide charitable organization. The agreement stipulates that the club will continue to pay one and a half million euros a year for the right to dawn the UNICEF logo on their shirt.  FC Barcelona paying someone to be on their shirt illustrates just how devoted they are to helping the community, as the only other third party to appear on their shirt, Qatar Airways, pay 34.2 million euros a year for the right.

FC Barcelona’s demonstration of corporate social responsibility is imperative in today’s game as it continues evolving larger monetarily and in popularity. With so much attention being focused on the bottom line and clubs reaching new markets, it would be easy to forget the opportunity they have to promote and enrich social wellbeing. Having such a widespread stage to showcase a noble cause, is even more beneficial for charitable organizations as it is now on a stage that can be seen more or less anywhere in the world, and will reach demographics it might otherwise not have.Furthermore, this has spurred similar movements

, as other renowned clubs have joined in.

konyonglee explores just what McDonald’s does that makes it so endearing to seemingly everyone in every culture. He comes to the conclusion, that it is their innate ability to adapt to every market. I’d agree with that, and further suggest it is not just about the changes they make, but the familiarity they keep.

With its established brand recognition, one already knows what they’re getting when they enter a McDonald’s Restaurant. A quick, easy, tasty, and cheap meal that probably isn’t healthy(however hard they try to adapt to todays desire for health foods – ie introducing salad and yogurt). Those four aforementioned adjectives apply everywhere no matter the location. Personally, I’ve been in two of their franchises in China and Brazil, and even though the language on the menu differed the “experience” if you will, did not. Store layout, colours utilized, and general decor was constant in both places.

Such familiarity is endearing to many, which is why their adaptation to a diet within a specific culture is overshadowed by the continuity that is prevalent in every establishment no matter the culture.

Image 1: http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/photos/news/md/565956_1.jpg

Image 2: http://www.hawkblocker.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Hawkblocker-Chinese-McDonalds.jpg