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CU Medallion [58411]
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Here's how it works . . .
Nov 12, 2014, 11:19 AM
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Teams from the SEC have won a lot of championships in the past.
Many SEC teams have very large, loyal fan bases.
The media, not wanting to miss a business opportunity, understandably jumps on the SEC bandwagon, and the SEC gets tremendous media buzz and becomes a BRAND that is promoted above all of it's competition. Keep in mind, THE BRAND is not the same as the actual product.
As a result, fans and recruits are attracted to THE BRAND. Not much different than Coca-Cola, Budweiser, or Apple.
TV talking heads, sports "journalists", and POLL VOTERS are dazzled by the awesomeness of THE BRAND just like everybody else.
If all of those fans and recruits and tv people and polls say it's so, it must be so. It becomes accepted and internalized, and pretty much goes unchallenged, year-in, year-out. The power of THE BRAND has become such that unlike other competing brands, the SEC has automatic, permanent seats at the table, so to speak. THE BRAND starts to drive the product, and has the ability to distort the product's actual quality.
Unlike Coca-Cola, or even Apple, which has some product continuity and consistency that spans years and sometimes generations, college football literally puts a new product on the field every season, and one could argue, every week during the season. Yet, the power of THE BRAND transcends and mitigates this reality, and the consumer (fans, media, poll voters) assigns a value to the new product at the beginning of the season based on THE BRAND, with no way of knowing how good or bad the product actually is. We know that when we buy a Coke at the corner QT, it's gonna be exactly like the Coke we bought last week or last year or 5 years ago out of the machine at work. It doesn't work that way in college football. Just because a team was great for the last 10 years, it doesn't mean they will be worth a crap this year; that's why we play the game. Yet THE BRAND continues to have a head start at the beginning of every race. Even if THE BRAND stumbles along the way, or just isn't that fast, they are guaranteed to be among the first to the finish line due to the tremendous head start they get in every race, and in every leg of every race.
Most importantly, while college football is certainly a huge business, it is much more than that; it is part of something much bigger and more important. Reducing it or any part of it to nothing more than a BRAND while the fairness and integrity that is the foundation of any SPORT is watered down or outright ignored is a crime. You either get that or you don't.
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Legend [15800]
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Bulls-eye! it's the "disneyfication" of college football by
Nov 12, 2014, 11:44 AM
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ESecPN.
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Orange Blooded [2533]
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But the Q is...
Nov 12, 2014, 11:47 AM
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How did the BRAND become the BRAND?
Secondly, the BRAND must not be working well in the playoff selections. FSU - with a strong BRAND, as strong as any, just got knocked to #3. TCU and Oregon, who are non-SEC BRANDS, are in. What gives?
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Legend [15800]
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It appears that the CFP Committee has it's own bias...
Nov 12, 2014, 11:55 AM
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or schizophrenia.
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CU Medallion [58411]
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I explained how the branding came about.
Nov 12, 2014, 11:57 AM
[ in reply to But the Q is... ] |
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THE BRAND's ultimate influence with THE COMMITTEE remains to be seen.
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CU Guru [1149]
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+1***
Nov 12, 2014, 11:50 AM
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The SEC has history. They were powerhouses before, so they hyped them up, starting about 15 years ago
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CU Guru [1929]
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Re: Here's how it works . . .
Nov 12, 2014, 11:51 AM
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Another way of saying this is simply...perception is more important than reality.
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All-In [30593]
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so what is reality?***
Nov 12, 2014, 12:00 PM
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CU Medallion [64575]
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Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.***
Nov 12, 2014, 12:08 PM
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110%er [5964]
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So what you're saying is...
Nov 12, 2014, 12:06 PM
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SCAR is the Crystal Pepsi of the SEC?
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CU Medallion [58411]
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I'm glad somebody got it.
Nov 12, 2014, 12:09 PM
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110%er [5964]
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It's pretty simple actually.
Nov 12, 2014, 12:39 PM
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Even the biggest, most influential BRANDS have products that flop. Crystal Pepsi was something new, something different, it didn't have any history but it had to be good right, I mean look at the BRAND, Pepsi. They pushed it hard, gave it tons of publicity, he!!, it even had a Van Halen song to go with it. But after awhile people realized it sucked, sales dropped and it was pulled off the shelves. Pepsi thrives today because of their BRAND but Crystal Pepsi faded into obscurity.
Sometimes something sucks so bad that even the most powerful BRANDS can't help it.
I totally get what you're saying.
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CU Guru [1497]
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Yes, yes, yes!
Nov 12, 2014, 12:08 PM
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I was just thinking this same thing as they led up to the "Big Reveal" last night.
You look at maps where college football is the most popular, it's predominantly the Southeast and a bit around Nebraska, Texas/Oklahoma, and a small pocket in the Pacific Northwest (due to Oregon's recent success)
In any revenue based business (ESPN, via Disney knows how to make money) you cater to your proven base for success. The old 80/20 rule applies here as well, they know where their viewers live and sell that to advertisers.
Why else do you think the CFP reveal show is scheduled for a sleepy Tuesday night? They know they have the ratings for Monday night locked up with the NFL crowd... They could do it anytime after Saturday if they wanted. It's all about ratings and ESPN is getting all of the college football diehards' eyeballs, like it or not.
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110%er [9056]
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And this year it includes their Eastern Division........
Nov 12, 2014, 12:13 PM
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even though the Eastern division really isn't worth a #### overall. True, there are several national powers in the Western division but the media acts like the whole SEC is one big powerhouse from top to bottom.
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All-TigerNet [14488]
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Bravo...well said!
Nov 12, 2014, 12:59 PM
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Post of the Year, perhaps?
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Hall of Famer [24753]
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Nice summation. You can rest the case.***
Nov 12, 2014, 1:04 PM
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CU Guru [1095]
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Here ye, Here ye!!***
Nov 12, 2014, 1:21 PM
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Legend [18663]
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Is that kind of like Hear ye, Hear ye ?***
Nov 12, 2014, 1:34 PM
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CU Guru [1095]
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Similar, but not quite the same. So yes, your observation
Nov 12, 2014, 2:03 PM
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would be absolutely correct.
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All-In [32490]
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Excellent post *****
Nov 12, 2014, 1:27 PM
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110%er [6474]
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Re: Here's how it works . . .
Nov 12, 2014, 1:52 PM
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Agreed. Our "brand" would be much better if the other ACC schools could put some rear ends in stadium seats. Us, FSU, Louisville have respectable stadiums and pack them out. The others? It is embarrassing to watch Miami play in an empty stadium. Duke, Wake, not much better.
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Orange Blooded [1051]
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Re: Here's how it works . . .
Nov 12, 2014, 2:55 PM
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the acc IS what makes clemson's brand worse.
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CU Guru [1149]
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So what***
Nov 12, 2014, 6:14 PM
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Do we do about it?
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110%er [7148]
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eventually the truth will be known, I guarantee it.***
Nov 12, 2014, 6:23 PM
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110%er [6057]
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Just discussed your post on tonight's show.
Nov 12, 2014, 6:46 PM
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Check out the podcast when it comes out later tonight.
http://www.ClemsonSportsTalk.com
Thanks!
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CU Medallion [58411]
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Dang - I'm honored, and a bit embarrassed, but thanks!
Nov 12, 2014, 6:49 PM
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I will listen for sure.
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Recruit [88]
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Smiling making the Bigs--nice!***
Nov 12, 2014, 8:19 PM
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