WEEI/Red Sox/NESN Jimmy Fund Telethon

Photos courtesy of the Jimmy Fund Telethon website.

The WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Telethon, scheduled to be held this year from August 19-20th is perhaps, (as advertised as well) the most important work that WEEI, NESN, and the Red Sox do each year. The 35 - hour telethon raises money for Dana Farber cancer patients, and includes calls in to the WEEI radio station from researchers, doctors, nurses, parents of cancer patients, and patients themselves. As a listener to WEEI for a long time and someone who has heard the telethon on air the past couple of years, it is nothing short of an incredibly moving fundraiser. People with hearts of stone melt as well. As the telethon conveys, cancer touches just about everyone, and as a community, we need to support each other. Donating even a little bit of money helps. If George Steinbrenner can donate, so can each of us as individuals :)

The telethon, which is sponsored by the Red Sox, raises money for their signature charity of many, many years - the Jimmy Fund. The relationship of the Red Sox with the Jimmy Fund has been well-documented over the past several decades, with Johnny Pesky, Nomar Garciaparra, and other notable Sox players visiting kids over the years. Partnering with a charity is a no-brainer for an organization like the Red Sox - to whom much is given, much is asked in return. The awareness the Red Sox can generate is substantial, and they recognize that. "It takes more than courage to beat cancer" is the slogan of the event, and it is true. The financial backing must be there in order to make advances and eradicate this terrible disease. The Red Sox endorsement makes all the difference to attract attention and awareness to this event.

Kudos to the Red Sox for their continued philanthropic work - the Telethon is in its ninth year and has raised millions of dollars to date. Is anyone aware of other sports teams doing similar work? Let me know if so, I'd love to see what they do.

NESN's Sox Appeal

So I have admittedly praised a lot of the marketing, advertising and branding efforts of the Red Sox this season. Now, I thought I would mention a Sox program that didn't fare as well as they probably hoped - Sox Appeal. An article even appeared in the Boston Business Journal on it. Check out one of their advertisements in the Youtube video above. The reality show based on pairing Red Sox fans based on a few innings of a blind date at Fenway Park debuted in the summer of 2007 and followed up with a second and final season in 2008. NESN produced no shortage of advertising on their channel and website, and they seemingly had no problem casting the show. It was a neat idea at the peak of the popularity of not only reality shows, but dating ones as well. The episodes aired after Sox games (I believe,) and the NESN broadcast team did in-game promos as well, with admittedly humorous dialogue on how the taped show seemed to be going during the games.

Why did this series fail? I can think of a few possible reasons. Firt of all, NESN should have taken a closer look at the demographics of their viewers and the fans of baseball in general. Men and women spanning decades watch the Sox, and reality TV shows only appeal to a (I think small) percentage of the general TV viewing population. Red Sox Nation is not a niche-enough market to have broad appeal. People don't want to watch other fans go on dates, they just want to watch the games.

The content of the show itself was also a negative - having watched a few episodes, too many people on the show were very obviously there for the fame and recognition associated with it. People immediately pick can sense a disingenuous individual. Also, they didn't seem to pre-screen the dates. Other than the Red Sox, many of the couples had nothing else in common.

It would have been a great test show for off-season baseball, not during the season. However, I will give the NESN production team props for the name of the series - Sox Appeal is nothing short of clever. In addition, I applaud NESN and the Red Sox for trying something new - you cannot be afraid to fail!

RL

Running for a Great Cause

Recently, the Red Sox teamed up with Mass General Hospital in support of Iraq veterans and military members who returned home with PTSD, or varied other ailments. The event, Run to Home Base was advertised on NESN, in the Boston Globe, and proved to be very successful. The Red Sox and the Red Sox Foundation, their charity, did an amazing job of marketing the run - it ends at home plate in Fenway Park! Who wouldn't want to do that?! I would seriously have considered running the race and raising money that day if I weren't out of town that weekend.

However, my point on this topic is that not only did the Red Sox get creative with advertising their brand and linking it to a charity, they also chose something RELEVANT and TIMELY, which is key to engaging potential customers, viewers, readers, etc. My guess is few people do not know a story about an Iraq or Middle East soldier who returns and begins their life as a civilian again. How hard must that be. I was particularly moved by the piece in The Boston Globe, by Bella English that ran the week before the race. I actually went to high school with Jonathan and had no idea he served in Iraq, let alone how young he was at the time and what he has suffered with since his return. His sister's strength and determination to help her brother is no less inspiring than his story.

I applaud the Red Sox for their work for this cause, and hope it continues for many years. Way to go!

RL