Knicks fire up star power for TV spots in big marketing push

By JOHN LOMBARDO
Staff writer

Published October 03, 2005 : Page 06
The New York Knicks are doubling their marketing budget to $2 million this season to drive business in what has become a more competitive market for the franchise.

“We have challenges,” said Anucha Sanders, senior vice president of marketing for the Knicks. “We have a lot of new players and a new coach, and we need to get out there and market aggressively. We are spending considerably more than in the past, and it’s imperative [to] break through the clutter.”



At the heart of the team’s marketing plan is a campaign being rolled out this week tagged “Knicks Fans Know,” anchored by six TV commercials directed by Spike Lee, who is one of several celebrities featured in the spots.

New York agency SS+K helped create the campaign. Other celebrities in the effort are John McEnroe and actor Jerry Ferrara from HBO’s “Entourage.”

Despite a league-leading $104 million payroll, the 2004-05 Knicks again failed to make the playoffs, marking the third time in the last four seasons for the franchise.

The Knicks overall averaged 19,516 fans per game last season, up 1.8 percent from 2003-04.

The return of the NHL puts two teams, the New York Rangers and Islanders, back in play during the Knicks’ season. The Knicks also find themselves competing more heavily in the New York City market with the New Jersey Nets, a team that under owner Bruce Ratner has beefed up its marketing efforts.

The Nets, who plan to move to Brooklyn in 2008, are working to draw business to the Meadowlands from Manhattan. Efforts include a billboard ad campaign in Manhattan and opening a Nets ticket office in Times Square.

The Knicks have noticed. Part of their increased marketing targets fans who might be feeling left behind by the Nets.

“We can do a better job marketing in the boroughs and in New Jersey,” Sanders said. “We are cognizant of what the Nets are doing, and we will capitalize on fans in New Jersey.”

Sanders would not disclose the team’s sponsorship renewal rate.

No Knicks fan should EVER feel "left behind by the Nets" about anything. Damn right they better boost that marketing budget! Those fans in NJ aren't as important as the main fan base right here in the city.

With all the improvements made to our roster (including the coach), there shouldn't be much of a problem putting the Nets back in their rightful place- below the Knicks in every aspect.

nice! I would love to see more Knick fans and less Net fans in NJ like it used to be!

$2mil in marketing is a smart investment. We will always have the upper hand with the NY fan base. Its critical that we be better than the Nets in the next few years if we want to monopolize the fans in the area. Ideally, it becomes a Lakers-Clippers hierarchy - where the Nets get stuck with the Clipper's stereotpye while we stay the dominant team in the area.

Posted by Nalod:

Posted by HARDCOREKNICKSFAN:

No Knicks fan should EVER feel "left behind by the Nets" about anything. Damn right they better boost that marketing budget! Those fans in NJ aren't as important as the main fan base right here in the city.

With all the improvements made to our roster (including the coach), there shouldn't be much of a problem putting the Nets back in their rightful place- below the Knicks in every aspect.

No rivalry, no big games that matter. Beating the nets by 20 a few times a game will lose all its lustre. There fan base melts away and there will be no body for you to smack back down! That would be no fun, would it?

... then I'd have to hunt Nets fans down under the same swamp rocks they hid under 5+ years ago, before the planets and moons became misaligned.

Maybe this year some new rivalries will start, or be renewed. We'll soon be reminding Indy and Miami who's boss too.