The New York Yankees is the most recognizable team and logo in sports across the world. Whether you’re in the heart of New York, across the country in Los Angeles or across the World in Japan, Asia, or Africa, everyone seems to know the New York Yankees and the interlocking NY logo. Why is that? And how have the Yankees marketed their brand and company so well?
1923 was the year that the New York Yankees started to become the Yankees who are so well known today. It was back then that “The Yankees quickly became a marketable brand, as fans flocked to see them play (over one million attended games in 1920) and they did not have to wait long for success. Players including Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Joe DiMaggio helped achieve a number of World Series titles by 1939, including four straight World Series crowns 1936–39. This success continued; the team won five consecutive titles 1949–53. Despite the 1950s proving to be another successful period, after winning the World Series in 1962, the Yankees then went until 1977 before securing another one.” The Yankees’ huge success and championship winnings back in the 1920’s was also the beginning of the brand, recognition and eventual marketing of the famous New York Yankees.
Fast forward to the 1970’s when George M. Steinbrenner purchased the team and turned the Yankees, on and off the field, into the “Evil Empire.” “In January 1973, Cleveland-based shipping magnate George Steinbrenner purchased the franchise from CBS for $10 million. In 1974, Steinbrenner started a process of big spending on free agency by signing some star players who had become free agents.” Between the late ‘70s and early ‘90s the Yankees were one of the worst teams in baseball. Despite this the Yankees brand was still alive because of their previous grand history and success.
The Yankees brand and logo have become so famous that they are able to go into different industries and have their logo sell for them. “Fragrance is about to enter a whole new ball game with the creation of a New York Yankees scent masterbrand. Launching at the end of April in Macy's stores in the New York metropolitan area, at Yankees Stadium and online, the men's and women's scents will later expand to additional department stores domestically and in multiple international markets, said Tom Butkiewicz, chief executive officer and managing partner of The Cloudbreak Group, of the deal inked between his firm, Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees to create the prestige fragrance duo.” The Yankees also have a smart marketing plan, for example they launched a new fragrance after winning the World Series in 2009. Once winning the World Series after a nine year drought for the team, the Yankees gained even more fans, more sponsors asmore companies wanted to do business with the team.
“Despite periods with limited on-field success, the Yankees have remained a highly marketable brand. This has only been strengthened in the increasingly globalized and commercial world in which modern sport now operates. Not only is the Yankees brand successful for the franchise; it also helps the finances of other teams in MLB.” While some Yankee-haters might never want to admit it, the Yankees are good for baseball and the league. “More than 25 percent of MLB-licensed merchandise that is sold is typically associated with the New York Yankees. The royalties then get shared evenly among the 30 MLB teams; in 2009, this totaled $433 million, with the Yankees contributing $125 million.”
In more recent years since the early 2000’s baseball teams have been able to make television deals with local networks, resulting in teams’ having more money and higher payrolls. Now this made the Yankees an even stronger powerhouse when it came to free agency. Strikinga deal with their own regional sports network, the Yankees Entertainment Sports Network (YES NETWORK), took the Yankees to a whole different level financially as well aswith marketing and branding. “The fledgling Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is talking to ad agencies about its marketing needs as it prepares for a spring 2002 launch, sources said. Six to eight shops have been contacted, and the New York client will soon cut to three finalists-based chiefly on case histories and chemistry meetings, said sources. That cut could come as early as next week.”
Other teams such as the Boston Red Sox, the New York Mets, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, just to name a few, also have deals with their own regional sports networks, giving them the ability to have an influx of financial gain and compete financially with the New York Yankees. “Television money is driving the sport’s top line growth. In 2014, broadcasting and cable money accounted for $2.88 billion, or 37% of baseball’s $7.86 billion of revenue. Just five years earlier, television proceeds were $1.73 billion, or 29% of the sport’s $5.91 billion of revenue. During the past five years, mega cable deals for the Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have kicked in, and last season MLB began new national broadcasting deals with ESPN, Fox and TBS that will pay a total of $12.4 billion over eight years–more than double the previous contracts.”
2015 Estimated Total Payroll
1
|
$276,008,625
| ||
2
|
$215,962,857
| ||
3
|
$172,742,250
| ||
4
|
$172,666,066
| ||
5
|
$171,821,277
| ||
6
|
$162,736,157
| ||
7
|
$154,832,483
| ||
8
|
$140,901,040
| ||
9
|
$138,882,500
| ||
10
|
$124,516,300
|
“The New York Yankees are worth the most, $3.2 billion, The Los Angeles Dodgers, worth $2.4 billion, land in second place three years after Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the team and Dodger Stadium for $2 billion from Frank McCourt. The Dodgers raked in more than $120 million in local television money last season, the most in baseball, as part of the team’s 25-year, $8.35 billion deal with Time Warner Cable. The team also leads MLB in attendance, with 3.78 million fans coming through the turnstiles during the regular season. The San Francisco Giants had the biggest year-over-year gain, doubling in value, to $2 billion. The Giants’ three World Series titles over the past five seasons have helped the team nearly double revenue, to $387 million.”
It’s not all good in Yankee-land! Along with the Yankees’ good publicity, recognition and fans comes bad publicityand other fans who absolutely despise the Yankees. But the list above shows the Yankees are number two in payrolls and their rivals, the Red Sox, are number four. Why so much hate and focus about the Yankee payroll? With revenue sharing and television deals, why do the Yankees still have the stigma of hatred and wealth? Other teams like the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Giants, are making the money too. How these teams among others choose to spend their money is what differs from the Yankees. I understand that small market teams don’t have the money that the Yankees do. Even so, small market teams can still be successful in the league. For example, the Pirates are on the rise and the Royals made the World Series last season, while the big ‘evil rich empire’ is on the downfall and haven’t made the playoffs in the last two seasons.
So why do the Yankees have such a bad and good reputation among fans and the league? What do you believe makes the Yankees brand and marketing?
Work Cited
McMains, Andrew. "Yanks Taking Pitches." Yanks Taking Pitches. Pro Quest- Eastern Edition, 22 Oct. 2001. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com.libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu%2Fdocview%2F212682883%3Fpq-origsite%3Dsummon>.
"MLB Team Cash Tracker." Http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/cash/. N.p., n.d.Web.<http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spotrac.com%2Fmlb%2Fcash%2F>.
Naughton, Julie. "Yankees' New Pitch: Fragrance Masterbrand." Yankees' New Pitch: Fragrance Masterbrand. Pro Quest, 17 Feb. 2012. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com.libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu%2Fdocview%2F926418888%3Fpq-origsite%3Dsummon>.
Ozanian, Mike. "MLB Worth $36 Billion As Team Values Hit Record $1.2 Billion Average." MLB Worth $36 Billion As Team Values Hit Record $1.2 Billion Average. Forbes, 25 Mar. 2015. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmikeozanian%2F2015%2F03%2F25%2Fmlb-worth-36-billion-as-team-values-hit-record-1-2-billion-average%2F>.
Umstead, Thomas R., and Mike Farrell. "Hindery Says 'YES' to Yankees Network." Hindery Says 'YES' to Yankees Network. Multichannel News, 17 Sept. 2001. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com.libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu%2Fdocview%2F219857835%3Fpq-origsite%3Dsummon>.
Megan Maher
ReplyDeleteI think that the Yankees have such a huge reputation, good or bad, within the league because they are the most well-known baseball teams in the world. As a result of that, they are going to get their fair share of lovers and haters. But either way they are still getting money. It’s like we discussed last week, the Kardashians are probably one of the most hated families in America. But they are still making millions of dollars because everyone wants to know what they are doing and then comment about it, thus keeping them in the news. It’s the same with the Yankees; they are worth $3.2 billion, the most in the MLB, because they know how to market themselves to both the fans and the “haters” of the team (Ozanian 2015).
The Yankees are able to market their brand by not just showing off their star players, but their logo as well. Like Michael said, they are creating fragrances and have the logo everywhere to keep everyone interested in the team. Not only that but with more technology than every before with, “…more than 70 million people consumed sports on either their smartphones or computer in the third quarter of 2014” (Nielsen.com 2015). You would think that after hearing the fact that people have been watching game more and more on the their smartphones, that the Yankees presence online would be just as high. But according to Kurt Badenhausen, he says that, “…but the contrast between elite soccer clubs and top American teams is vast. Barcelona (69 million), Real (67 million) and United (53 million) have the three biggest Facebook followings among sports teams” (2014). But the Yankees do have the most Facebook followers for a non-soccer team with 8 million (Badenhausen 2014).
So it looks like the Yankees need to step up their social media game if they are to gain as much following as one of the elite soccer teams from Europe. While the Yankees are probably the most well known American team, a lot more people seem to be invested in soccer, even from countries where baseball is prevalent. But that doesn’t mean the team isn’t smart about how they market themselves since they clearly make enough money to have their own sports network and pay for big name players as well. This is probably why they have such a good reputation with many of the fans in the league. The Yankees can give fans a network that caters specifically to the Yankees and everything they do. Not to mention the fact they have a brand new stadium, a train station to go along with it, and enough branding that fans can go to almost any store in New York and find Yankee gear.
Honestly, I think the only bad reputation comes from their high payroll that allows them to get the best players in the world. Or the way they dealt with Alex Rodriguez. Or it comes from the non-fans of the team, like Boston Red Sox. But in any case, no matter what they Yankees will do, they will continue to gain fans and gain money as they have been doing since the beginning.
Works Cited
Badenhausen, K. (2014, July 16). The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2014. Forbes.
Nielson.com. (2015, February 5). The Year in Sports: Digital Steps Up to the Plate. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
Ozanian, M. (2015, March 25). MLB Worth $36 Billion As Team Values Hit Record $1.2 Billion Average. Forbes.
As a die-hard New York Yankee fan, the obvious reason to why there is so much hatred towards the Yankees is simple. They are the most dominant sports franchise in this history of professional American sports. Look at Lebron James right now. He is by far the best player in the NBA but also is the most hated player. But when people see him in person they act like he’s God instead of heckling at him like they do when watching him on TV. Unless it’s your team winning, people and fans tend to hate on those who are striving. Right now is a terrible time to be a New York Sports fan, unless of course you like hockey. Look at football, baseball and basketball. All the teams from New York have had back-to-back awful seasons but one thing remains, The New York Yankees are still an historic franchise. The world’s greatest team in the world’s greatest city, I’ve never put it into perspective like that but now I can see why people get so JEALOUS (RED SOX FANS)….
ReplyDelete“The Yankees are the most valuable non-soccer team in the world with a worth of $2.5 billion. TV is driving the value of the Bronx Bombers” (Badenhausen). Soccer is clearly the most watched, celebrated however you want to put it sport in the world. If baseball were praised as much as soccer globally the numbers would be even more shocking. I think a major part of creating a franchise is obvious, winning. No one has done that more than the Yankees. Winning championships is what makes a team memorable and also raises their value each time they win. Baseball was deemed America’s Pastime and was the sport for educated, well-dressed men and women. I understand the Yankees haven’t been that good over the last 15 years but it’s the nostalgia that makes them worth so much. Every time they play in New York a fan or Yankee hater has the opportunity to come to one of the biggest cities in the world, to one of the nicest stadiums in the world, to see the most decorated team in the history of the sport play. New York is the city to come to if you want to make the big bucks and watch superstars play. The most populated city in the US over the last 20 years is NYC. It only makes sense that they would acquire the most fans and recognition; they’re the largest market team. Imagine if there was only one NY baseball team also? That’s right; The Met’s also occupy a substantial amount of fans from New York, which also helps lower the amount of revenue the Yankee could be making. Last year, The team raked in over $100 million in local television rights payments, and Derek Jeter’s last season in pinstripes goosed ticket and merchandise sales” (Ozanian). There comes a higher price also when it’s the last season for the Yankee Captain. Derek Jeter is the Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle of our New York Yankee generation and it just makes sense to why they accumulate so much revenue from merchandise and television.
If you’re not a Yankee fan I don’t expect you to agree with me. You probably think the Yankees buy all their talent and spend money just to win blah blah blah. Well when you’re the most famous, well-liked, supported, richest team in the league what the hell do you expect to happen? Save the money! Sign cheap crappy players! How about no? How about go out there every year, try to get the best players possible, and try to win another World Series.
Works Cited
Ozanian, Mike. "MLB Worth $36 Billion As Team Values Hit Record $1.2 Billion Average." MLB Worth $36 Billion As Team Values Hit Record $1.2 Billion Average. Forbes, 25 Mar. 2015. Web. .
Badenhausen. "The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2014." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
I don't know if this is frowned upon, however, I have zero interest in baseball, I don't even know a fraction of the the rules regarding the sport, and I have been to one Yankee game in my lifetime (and I think I went strictly for the hotdogs). BUT - I still wear a Yankee hat when I'm having a bad hair day. I think that statement right there proves Michael's entire point.
ReplyDeleteThe New York Yankee's reputation is not just "good" or "bad", it is also iconic. The state of New York's reputation is iconic. People from all of the world know and respect New York (most of the time). The fact that the Yankee's are based out of New York is just another reason why their impact is so heavy. Not only do the Yankees market their brand by being timeless and iconic, but also by their presence and appearance. They hail from one of the nicest stadiums in the world, one of the biggest cities in the world. Their record of star players and legends are through the roof.
Last year when Derek Jeter retired, there were multiple tactics that the media used to look back on his career, and is love for New York. It allowed him to express his gratitude for his fans, and expose his highlights from his career. For example: the famous gatorade commercial. When I watched that commercial I got chills, I felt sad for the team, and I knew that this was a special time for New York. It had nothing to do with me, I'm not from New York, I didn't grow up with Derek Jeter being my childhood idol, and I don't care about baseball; but it still struck somewhat of a chord in me. This was all thanks to the marketing geniuses at Gatorade. People from all over the country respected Derek Jeter's career, and it made him that much more famous because he was a New York Yankee.
The Yankee brand will receive it's fair share of lovers and haters, but that is anything that is in the public eye. Of course there are going to be people who absolutely despise the Yankees - but this is sports! Sports are created for people to choose sides. The Yankees have one of the biggest rivalries in the world with the Boston Red Sox. But who's worth more? The Yankees. Why? "Sports teams are not resting on their riches. They are searching for the next goldmine with new streaming services and daily fantasy games. Baseball is pouring resources into its digital and technology arm, MLB Advanced Media, which is equally owned by MLB’s 30 teams and has been valued at $10 billion" (Forbes 2015). Look at that, "streaming new services, pouring recourses into digital and technology arm."
In the Nielsen article, he discusses the phenomenon with digital viewing, which is clearly helping the MLB world, as discussed in Forbes. "The on-the-go convenience of a smartphone is a perfect fit for the dynamic, fast-paced world of sports. A collective 72.3 million Americans consumed a staggering 7.1 billion minutes of sports content in October 2014 alone, and those numbers will only continue to grow. From October 2012 to 2014, the average user increased their monthly time spent on mobile sports content by 35% (Nielsen Sports Media Report)." MLB At Bat is he second largest top app by total minutes. This is huge for the Yankees and the sport of Baseball in general.
Even though I am a sad excuse for a Baseball fan, I think the Yankees are the most timeless, legendary teams in American history, and it has a lot to do with the way they market themselves. I don't think their success will ever plummet for as long as American sports are still relevant.
WORK CITED:
Kurt Badenhausen. "The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2015." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
"2014 Year in Sports Media Report." Nielsen.com. Accessed 29 March 2015. Web.