As a professor, I am always trying to read as much as I can about social media, PR, and strategic communications.
I have gotten a chance to read a new book that not only connected with me as a professor, but transported me back to the time when I was a student-athlete and evaluated how my two teams (Florida and USC) did in terms of branding themselves as teams.
The new book is by Jeremy Darlow, who is a marketing and branding professional at Adidas and worked for other university athletic programs like Notre Dame, UCLA, and Michigan. I will forgive Jeremy for working at ND and UCLA (What can I say? I’m a USC alum – Fight On! :)).
So, how did I get connected to Jeremy? I have to thank Samantha Hughey (a #FrebergAlum and UofL Graduate Student in the Department of Communication) for first bringing this book to my attention and raving about Jeremy to me first. Samantha is the interim coordinator for Louisville Athletics, and is also working with Adidas as an intern. She had a chance to go to Adidas in Portland in the fall and talked about all of the great things Adidas and Jeremy were doing. Thanks for passing this along to me again, Samantha!
So, fast forward to just a few weeks ago, I had a chance to connect with Jeremy via Twitter and got a chance to chat with him about his new book “Brands Win Championships.” I was extremely impressed with Jeremy’s energy, professionalism, and enthusiasm to help professors. This was awesome to hear and I was really excited to jump in and start reading his book. We had a great email/Twitter conversation back and forth – Jeremy is really dedicated to helping others, especially professors, which I greatly appreciate!
The thing that I really do think makes Jeremy’s book stand out for a professor is the fact it is endorsed by both practitioners and academics – which is where the field is going and it is refreshing to see this here in this particular book.
I really do appreciate how Jeremy gets straight to the point with clear perspectives of where the field is going, and what brands (athletic teams in this case) need to be aware of. Here were some of the highlights and themes I got from Jeremy’s book:
Recommendations from the best of the best across fields and professions
If you look at who has quotes about the book, it’s pretty much a who’s who in sports, sports PR, marketing, and PR and social media. I was excited to see fellow sports and social media colleagues listed here as well as fellow professors I have worked with. Always awesome to see what other leading professionals have to say here.
Importance of having a strong reputation
I really liked the early chapter focusing on reputation – I wish this was in place when I was a student-athlete back in high school and in college. This is a must read for coaches, athletes, and students who want to work in this industry. I was a firm believer in establishing a proactive reputation as a track and field athlete, and there were really no resources out there for athletes on this topic. I got this insight from my parents and my Dad (who was my coach in track and field).
Understanding the media mix
I also think the point Jeremy has in addressing the media mix is a good starter – the field is moving into a PESO model format, which I think sports teams, brands, and associated sports and marketing professionals are aware of and have to adapt their messages to reflect these points.
The summary of each chapter is an infographic – this is genius! We are all visual learners, and what a great way to showcase the summary in a way that is memorable for the students. Great idea here, Jeremy!
Simple, relevant, quick and consistent stories are the key to success
It all comes down to the story – what story does the individual college programs have? What is their vision statement and what is their history like? The more people are able to relate to your story, the more connected they are to your brand. I think this was very important. As I reflect of my time as a student-athlete, this is where USC in my opinion shined for me. They reminded you each and every day of the fact whenever you are putting on your uniform, you are part of their history, tradition, and family. As a professor, I see my students coming in with their own perspectives and insights on what it means to be part of the UofL family. Louisville First, Cardinals Forever is our motto.
Mixture of inspired quotes and applied situations
I am a big fan of quotes, and Jeremy has quotes throughout his book that showcases the range and impact we can bring to one particular area (branding for athletics) from a variety of different professionals and resources. Whether it is from advertising greats like David Ogilvy to Seth Godin to even Rachel Zoe. If you are able to take an idea from another field and apply it into your own situation, that is genius. This is one of the things I was able to take away from reading parts of this book by Jeremy.
New strategies to consider and applied in strategic campaigns
One of the things I really enjoyed about this book were the fresh takes (based on experience and shared personal stories from Jeremy) about what brands and sports teams could do to take their game up to the next level. One is to work with your rival – that’s something we do not see every day.
I also appreciated the fact Jeremy shared his stories and takes on various social media platforms and how they are being used at Adidas as well as in key campaigns that were launched over the last couple of years. This is a good insight to take and share with students so they can a different perspective of how social media is used and applied in a specific industry and with a particular brand. The specific case studies mentioned in the book (ex. Texas A&M) does present a new light into the complex and integrated branding campaign that ties in not just social media, but also IMC, PR, Marketing, and even Reputation Management.
Summary
Overall, I think this is a book that professors who teach strategic communications, PR, Marketing, and social media need to read and share with their students. It was a refreshing read. I do think this is not only a must read for professors, but for students and young professionals who want to get into the field of branding and understanding the current landscape and what is to be expected of them to reach key audiences.
I have shared with my social media class here at UofL about this book because so many of my students are either majoring in sports marketing or are doing a minor in it while majoring in Communication. I’d recommend it to both graduate and undergraduate students who want to not only go into sports, but also strategic communications.
Make sure to check out the website for the book as well as order the book off of Amazon here as well! Also, make sure to connect with Jeremy on Twitter as well.
Special thanks again to Jeremy for the connection on social media, and congratulations on an insightful, relevant, and great book!
Hope you all are having a great day.
Best Wishes,
