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Mike Tyson at event holding a branded product with his photo being taken.

How Does an Athlete’s Presence Enhance an Event?

With the use of social media and technology, an athlete’s appearance at an event can open many doors for both the athlete and attendees. When one books an athlete for an event, there is more to it than simply snapping a picture with the athlete and placing a fresh ball and sharpie in front of them to sign.

Nowadays, people are seeking to turn encounters into potential partnerships at every chance they can get. For example, in attendance may be the founder of a newly launched company hoping to seize the day and request a picture with the athlete while holding the product.

Such an encounter can open doors for collaborations and potential ambassadorships or investment deals between the two. In a different vein, booking athletes to attend your events set the tone for the evening. Such an appearance notifies the guest that the event is upscale and if the intention for the athlete is beyond the scope of entertainment, attendees will know that the evening is meant for networking and forging connections with established, high profile individuals seeking out new business opportunities.

On a different note, booking athletic appearances at an event can be solely for entertainment purposes such as meeting the athlete in a more intimate setting and conversing with them about their best moments and plays.

Needless to say, upscale events without a celebrity athlete in attendance adds a sense of mediocrity to an event with potential.

Empty baseball field full of fans.

Is a Subway Series in October Imminent?

Per Vegas Insider, the Yankees and the Mets have the third and fourth best odds to win the MLB World Series respectively. The last time we saw such a thing was 2000, with the Yankees triumphing over the Mets. But what would a Subway Series ring mean to each team and what could such a contest mean for the city of New York?

First examining the Yankees, who have not won a world series since their inaugural season in their new stadium in 2009, the Yankees star Aaron Judge is an impending free agent following the completion of this season. Yet with Judge’s exceptional performance in the season thus far, he is expected to demand a whopping $300 million contract. If he were to play a key role in the Yankees winning another ring, his demands may exceed that already astronomical number. The Yankees believe that in addition to Aaron Judge, the rest of their roster has what it takes to win the series this year. According to Sports Illustrated, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole asserted, “ We have the guys in the room to do it..”, expressing his confidence in his teammates. Yankees fans would be pleased with another ring as they started off the season strong with a 9 and 11 game win streak in the first half of the season despite a mid-August slump. The 2010’s was the second decade ever in which the Yankees since they were established that they failed to bring home a ring, and many lifelong Yankee fans are used to watching them win.

Outside of Yankee Stadium.

As for the Mets, whose most recent world series victory was in 1986, many of them are looking for redemption since a disappointing 2015 world series loss to the Royals. The Mets’ strategy to make it to the end of October is newly acquired Daniel Vogelbach. While Vogelbach’s appearance isn’t typical for a ballplayer in terms of physique, he is known for his wild success at the plate versus right-handed pitchers. Not only that, his batting average and on-base percentage have increased since joining the Mets. In addition, the Mets’ lineup includes big-name players Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor who together account for 70 home runs as of mid-August. Safe to say, the Mets have a lineup capable of cruising past their biggest obstacle, the Dodgers in the upcoming Playoffs.

The last two years have been rough for the city that never sleeps as most of its residents have taken off to Florida as the pandemic raged. Not only did NYC residents flee southward, but many businesses also relocated their headquarters to Florida as well. Many storefronts in the city read “available for rent” and a surge in crime has left many fearful of a subway commute to work. Suffice it to say, the city is not what it used to be. If the Yankees and Mets face off in the World Series, a sense of life and celebration will return to the Big Apple. Many bars and restaurants will hold watch parties with fans of both teams in attendance. A parade down Broadway with thousands rejoicing will compel many newly dubbed Floridians to rethink their choice in what has become “the New York Exodus”. If the Yankees and Mets make it to the series, the city that never sleeps will have a new sense of awakening.

Empty basketball court.

What LeBron James’ New Contract Means On and Off the Court

NBA Superstar Lebron James made headlines yet again as his agent, Rich Paul, announced that James resigned with the Lakers for a record-setting two-year deal worth $97.1M. Such a contract makes him the highest-earning player in NBA history with over half a billion dollars in earnings thus far. James, with four NBA rings, four MVP awards, and an 18-time all-star is arguably one of the greatest to play basketball.

Yet James’ success isn’t only on the court. LeBron’s endorsement deal with Nike brings in $600M to Nike annually, making him an indispensable asset to Nike. Furthermore, his other endorsements run the gamut, from AT&T, and Coca-Cola to Beats Electronics and Kia Motors. These additional promotions made him the first athlete to earn $ 1 billion whilst still an active competitor. Fortunately, James’ earnings enable him to be a notably charitable figure.

One year after he was drafted to the NBA, James founded the Lebron Family Foundation, which raises funds for The Boys and Girls Club of America, After-School All-Stars, the Children’s Defense Fund, Gabriel’s Angel Foundation, and ONEXONE. In addition to those charities, James made headlines after his founding of the I Promise School, which he built for children at risk in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He’s also donated money to help send kids to college and purchase school supplies, and bicycles and aided them in accessing computers. So after his new deal with the Lakers, it is evident that the public will see more of James’ communal and business endeavors in a matter of time.

What is Brand Marketing - Eli Lunzer Productions Blog Featured Image

What is Brand Marketing?

Picture this: you just completed the final production stage for your company. You spent months brainstorming what your service should look like, where it will be available, what to name your company, how the company will function, and your company is ready to launch.

Now, you are faced with the critical task of branding your company. It is up to you to channel vital brand marketing strategies to ensure that your company will be a success.

Brand marketing is attaching a personality to your company. This can be manifested in the name of the company, logo, appearance of colors used on the product and website, it is the company’s overall expression.

The goal of brand marketing is to create a base of life long customers that will repeatedly use your company. Companies go about brand marketing in different ways, as articulated by Ali Berg of 99designs.com. Apple, for example, brands themselves by conveying that their company is a movement.

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Nike, when branding, acts as though they are telling a story through their advertisement. McDonald’s has had almost the same brand personality for six decades, associating their brand with happiness. By having a consistent personality attached to themselves, McDonald’s have been easily recognizable and unforgettable, two very important aspects of brand marketing.

In order to begin a company’s persona, you must be able to identify the goals of the company. Ask yourself the following:

  • What is my brand striving to accomplish?
  • Does my brand possess any competitive advantage that we can inform potential customers or clients about?
  • What would I want to know about my company if I were a customer?

Once you brainstorm the necessary responses, you will combine them into an aesthetic that will be used for your logo, website and other visuals that you may use.

Once you have a personality for your company, make it known to others. Establish a social media presence where you showcase your company and what it does. If your company produces tangible items, sponsor an item to be given out at an event to gain exposure and allow people to test out the product. If your company has a storefront, offer a promotion for first-time customers or clients.

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Finally, it is paramount that your customers are not one and done.

Once you launch as a brand, get a feel for whether people are satisfied with it. If they are not, be open to any and all feedback on how to make it more desirable. If people are satisfied, keep doing what you’re doing and ensure that your company’s brand is steady and consistent. If you follow these brand marketing tips, your brand is destined to entice clients and customers to your company.

How Event Sponsorships Play a Pivotal Role In Marketing - Eli Lunzer Productions Blog Featured Image

How Event Sponsorships Can Play a Pivotal Role In Marketing

A common misconception about a company sponsoring an event is that the company is simply funding the event with no return. However, event sponsorships are key marketing methods that many brands take advantage of.

Firstly, when a company becomes a sponsor of an event, that company is forging a continuous relationship with the event hosts. In addition to that, a company sponsoring an event provides themselves with great exposure opportunities such as announcing the sponsorships, media coverage, and a direct connection to those in attendance. Sometimes, their product is sold at the event, giving the attendees a chance to interact with the product as well as the sponsor company gaining more sales.

Often, sponsorships don’t go unnoticed as sponsored companies have visible signs of their sponsorships plastered on the walls, decks and screens at the event. Moreover, sponsorships can be in the form of an event within the event, such as raffling off a product, which often takes place at charity events, or, a competition to win the product, which usually takes place at sporting events.

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While it seems obvious that it’s beneficial for events to gather sponsors, having many sponsors gives events the opportunity to take the next step and make their event more memorable.

Capitalizing off sponsors and taking your event to the next level reflects nicely on both the event host and the sponsors. Whether it be a sporting event or a charity event, sponsors give the event a more flexible budget, providing more room for creativity and engagement within the event, a win-win for both the sponsor and event host.

Sponsorships are also lucrative for the up-and-coming and lesser-known brands. In doing so, these brands are showcasing themselves, and associating themselves with more established brands at the same time, increasing their credibility. Likewise, an attendee of an event will accumulate a greater trust in a new brand when it is associated with an already well-known name.

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While an event host clearly gains a monetary advantage from having companies sponsor their event, another benefit of having a brand sponsor your event is that the brand can help raise awareness about the event. In turn, if a company sponsors an event that has media coverage, often the media will acknowledge the sponsorships, giving company exposure to viewers.

Overall, both event hosts and sponsors gain from sponsorships, as the event host has more funds to enhance the event, and the sponsor attains visibility and credibility simultaneously.

Gifting Lounges; What You Need to Know and How To Use Them - Eli Lunzer Productions Blog Featured Image

Gifting Lounges; What You Need to Know and How To Use Them

Every company has a competitor: Coca-Cola has Pepsi, Microsoft has Apple, Ford has Chevy and Amazon has Walmart. Among these companies, there are a multitude of celebrities promoting the company; basketball star Lebron James promotes Coca-Cola, while soccer phenom Lionel Messi promotes Pepsi. Even companies outside the Fortune 500 range are vying to become household names and to get a celebrity, whether it be a singer, athlete, or moviestar to become affiliated with the brand.

Enter the gifting lounges. These lounges are the ultimate way for companies to expose celebrities and high profile individuals to their products. By sponsoring items to be showcased and distributed at these lounges, celebrities have the opportunity to interact with the product and get to know it on a personal level. A body spray placed in front of them can be sprayed onto their wrists and the celebrity can choose the preferred fragrance to drop into his or her bag. An array of wallets are in boxes on the table and the celeb can open up a few boxes to select the wallet of choice.

How about jeans? The celeb can choose the color, stretch out the material and get a feel for the product. That’s the whole purpose of the gifting lounge, let the celeb guest get a feel for the product.

Through gifting lounges, a celeb guest can fall in love with a product and such an interaction can open many doors for both the celeb guest and the brand. The celebrity may even see potential and be compelled to invest in the company as well.

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Alternatively, the gifting lounge coordinators will inform the company that the celeb guest was intrigued by their sponsored product and the company will reach out to the celebrity guest with a proposal.

All of these opportunities come due to the celebrity guest interacting with gifting lounge products. And companies are not hesitant to sponsor products to be displayed and disseminated at the gifting lounges. While the celeb attendees are perfectly able to afford the products given at gifting lounges, companies are eager to have pictures of them checking out the product, as these lounges are key marketing opportunities for the company.

Forbes.com notes that specifically up-and-coming companies are the ones most ambitious to have their items be a part of gifting lounges. The article notes that following the celebrities’ interactions with the item, sales tend to increase as the average person can get influenced by an impressed celebrity.

Another incentive that the companies have for participating as sponsors in gifting lounges is for companies to receive photos of the celebrities with their products. The companies can upload those onto their social media pages for thousands of followers to see, thereby conveying celebrity use prior to hiring a celebrity to pose with their products.

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There are many critics of gifting lounges, though. Often they assert that celebrities want to be paid for attending gifting lounges, and that the gifting lounge market has become too saturated, that a gifting lounge does not guarantee success. However, it is up to the producers of the gifting lounge to ensure that the items showcased and sponsored grab the attention of the celeb guests.

In addition, the right way to ensure success of a gifting lounge and to avoid the term, “saturation” is to maintain exclusivity of the lounge. Such methods include not publicly disclosing the venue to keep the guests on their toes. Other methods of maintaining exclusivity is through screening which products are a part of the gifting lounge and having a slim list of attendees so that they can give the product sufficient attention and to avoid unwanted or uninvited attendees.

When conducted properly, gifting lounges are the premium way for brands to expose their products and simultaneously connect celebrities to the products.

How to Optimize Your Event in a Post Covid World - Eli Lunzer Productions Featured Image

How to Optimize Your Event in a Post Covid World

As fears of Covid are dying down, more people are attending events and gatherings than ever before. Unlike the last 2 years, where photos of small scaled events are filled with masked selfies, socially distant weddings with chairs spaced apart and the like, we are embarking on an era where people are hungry to attend events once again and feel a sense of normalcy. However, normalcy is overrated, and new innovations allow for enhanced experiences at events. Below is a comprehensive list of ideas that you can do to take your event to the next level.

1. Drone dancing

This feature will wow guests who very likely have never heard of such a thing. A group of people stand on a platform while a drone or camera circles them as they dance, forming a slo-mo video capturing the moment.

2. It’s all about the drinks

Almost every party has drinks, but not every party has a cool drinking experience. From a mixologist to rechargeable bottle lights that illuminate the bottle, to shot syringes, guzzle buddies (turn your beer bottle into an elegant glass), make your guest remember the experience as much as the drink!

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3. Photo booth

While many have heard of this before, its time to revamp your camera roll filled with too many masked pics. A photobooth is a great way to highlight the night with fun poses and accessory photos.

4. Themes! Themes! Themes!

People have gotten dressed up for events before and they’ll do it again. Make this one memorable by having your event themed to perfection. This can be in the form of a dress code such as a white party, glow in the dark, country themed, movie themed, a mask ball, paradise-esq, Hollywood themed and the like. Theming your event will mark its individuality.

5. No cell phones allowed

While this might seem antithetical to the purpose of making it a night to remember, such a rule marks the exclusivity of the event. Those not in attendance cannot rely on social media for what they missed and will attain a sense of FOMO, too!

6. Decor is key

Whether you set a theme or not, the look of the venue is instrumental and will most likely reflect the experience. This can be manifested in proper lighting, intricate sculptures and figures, room setup and more.

7. Engage the guests

Make the guests feel a part of the evening. Whether it’s a large screen showcasing their photos being taken, or activities on site, nothing will give the guests a sense of belonging more than this.

8. Music

While every party plays music, there are many ways to diversify this part of the night. Silent disco,karaoke, song requests and musical guests are among the many ways you can spice up your music game at your next event.

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9. Your venue is only as good as your menu

There’s no point in optimizing your venue if your guests go hungry. Let your guests have a say by sending out a survey where guests can vote on preferred drinks, hors d’oeuvres, main course options and other tasty treats.

10. Swag ‘N Merch

Take the event home with you by customizing giveaways such as accessories, apparel, and luxury gifts.

2021 NBA Preseason Roundup - Eli Lunzer Blog Featured Image UPD

2021 NBA Preseason Roundup

The NBA announced its regular-season schedule today and they are bringing in something special.

This season marks the 75th anniversary of the NBA and they have an entire slate planned of games involving teams who have been more than historically involved with the development of the league we know today.

Moving back to the normal 82 game schedule starting around mid-October, the newly crowned champion Bucks will be hosting Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets. The Bucks eliminated the Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals in a stunning fashion. This is coming up after a Gold-Medal summer for KD, Jrue Holiday, Kris Middleton, as well as Devin Booker, of the Phoenix Suns, who the Bucks beat in the Finals to score the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Putting aside their NBA differences and early chemistry/coaching struggles, Team USA figured it out and proved we are primed for a very exciting NBA season.

What To Expect

Going into this upcoming season, according to many NBA execs and coaches, there is a new king(s) on the throne as for who is crowned the Best Player in the NBA.

After holding the title for more years than we can remember, LeBron James is no longer considered to be number 1. Instead, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant were tied with the most number 1 votes. This will certainly add fuel to LeBron’s fire and the retirement community that everyone has bestowed upon the Lakers this season. It is championship or bust time for the James era Lakers and I know everyone cannot wait for these heavyweight matchups throughout the year.

Also earlier this week they announced the Christmas Day schedule.

“Christmas Day will feature five games across ESPN and ABC on Saturday, Dec. 25: Hawks at Knicks (12 p.m. ET, ESPN); Celtics at Bucks (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC); Warriors at Suns (5 p.m. ET, ABC); Nets at Lakers (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN); and Mavericks at Utah Jazz (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).”

5 Athlete Marketing Campaign Ideas - Eli Lunzer Blog Featured Image UPD

5 Athlete Marketing Campaign Ideas

Have an athlete do an “Instagram Take Over” for your brand

A take over allows athletes to show a journey through their lifestyle. Often including consistent updates of what they are doing throughout their day or special event.

Do an Instagram Live with the athlete and a lucky customer

Set up a real-time 1 on 1 connection between a fan and athlete to create a space for dialogue through this fun and genuine face to face experience.

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Have an athlete show your product as part of their daily routine, (showing them wearing, eating, cooking, drinking, training, or grooming with your brand)

Open up a channel for more exposure and likeness for your brand. Place your brand to be showcased in any part of a professional athlete’s day through social media.

Start a TikTok  with an athlete

TikTok is a short video app that is growing exponentially, promoting the creation of videos of people dancing, speaking, and much more. Add an athlete to gather more attention with a fun twist.

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Partner with an active or retired athlete to create content for you

Partnering with a former or current athlete to create content provides the ability to tailor make any media to the liking and benefit of both parties.

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Knicks Would Be Dumb To Pass on Wiseman

Whenever the NBA resumes, the Knicks will still not be a good basketball team. RJ Barrett may develop in time but he was not the savior some thought he might be. He was not terrible. He averaged 14.3 points a game and 2.6 assists. His numbers would have been hire if not for the Morris signing.

The troubling stats were Barrett hit just over 60 % of his free throws and he should be able to get more than five rebounds a game. he needs to show more of a killer instinct. The brightest spot for the Knicks was Mitchell Robinson with seven boards and two blocks a game and showing some great defense. the problem is he is not a great offensive threat. Sure, we’ve seen video of his shooting from the outside that’s just pick-up games.

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The Knicks need to use the draft to get an impact player. Conventional wisdom says the Knicks finally must get a point guard to solidify the offense after a triumvirate of point guards couldn’t do much of anything. The problem is outside of Lamello Ball there is no game changer when it comes to the point guard position.

Some have shown flashes of greatness. Cole Anthony started off well but got injured and the Knicks have had enough of injuries. It must have hurt to see a somehow healthy (though it likely wont last) Kristaps Porzingis lighting up the scoreboard with Luka Doncic for the Mavs. Some argue that Wiseman isn’t needed because the Knicks already have Robinson.

Well, for the Spurs, Tim Duncan and David Robinson worked well together. Not saying either of these two are anywhere near the level of those players who will be in the Hall of Fame, but it’s high time the Knicks took a big swing. Sure, Wiseman only played a few games for Memphis but the potential is there. Why not have two trees in the forest?

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The Knicks need a point guard but in this draft, sadly, there is not superstar ball hander to take them to the playoffs. they can still pursue an impact point guard through a trade if if Robinson and Wiseman cant work well together. Also, Wiseman will likely play with a chip on his shoulder due to his suspension following only a couple of games at Memphis.

If Barrett can improve his outside shot he should see a lot of open jumpers with Robinson and Wiseman. Wiseman could also serve as insurance should Mitchell be involved in a trade. As it stands now, Mitchell is a very solid player but his offense is still limited to dunks and out-backs. Should he get a shot, the Knicks draft Wiseman and see Barrett improve, they’d be moving in the right direction and though they wouldn’t be a playoff team yet, they’d start to make some noise. Bring in a great point guard with Barrett, Wiseman and Robins.