23 Jun

The SWAG in the NBA Draft

Posted in NBA, News, Promotional Products on 23.06.16 by John Meloche

The NBA draft is tonight! All the anticipation, excitement, and anxiety is going to be coming to an end. If you’re as big as a basketball fan as I am, you probably won’t be able to take your eyes away from the screen. But while you’re watching the draft, keep an eye out on all the swag being featured.

The NBA draft is a place of hopes and dreams. It serves as the starting point for many illustrious careers. What the league does so well, is capture all the angst, joy, and happiness of the draft in swag. While the draft hat may seem negligible at times, it’s really the opposite. That hat seizes the exact feeling that draftees have. That mix of uneasiness and enthusiasm that you’re likely never going to experience again. Those hats serve as a tangible introduction for many hopeful careers. That is something that’s irreplaceable, and thus is an invaluable item for every player.

Years of swag use has given this hat an above worldly meaning and really symbolizes a player’s hopes and dreams. The draft hat is the tangible recreation of what every NBA draftee wants: a chance to live out their dream. So good luck to all the draftees and embrace your NBA swag, that little hat is going to become a big part of your life very soon.

tags: , , , ,

Comments Off on The SWAG in the NBA Draft

20 Jun

The Marketing Behind the NBA Championships

Posted in NBA, News, Promotional Products on 20.06.16 by John Meloche

Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers on their championship. It was a great series and had one of the best game seven’s in NBA history.

Last week I talked about the Stanley Cup and all the promotional marketing that takes place within that championship. Well the same applies to the NBA championship. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lebron happier than after he donned his NBA champions hat and t-shirt. Just like the Stanley Cup championships, these promotional items become more than simple clothing items. They become engraved in the moment. They’re walking proof that you’re a champion. All the blood, sweat, tears, and hype that go into winning a championship all resonate within these items. Like the NHL, the NBA has been able to create immense value out of these promotional items.

Not only does that value translate into happiness for the victors, but it also translates into sales. After Golden States won the championship last year, Golden State jersey and merchandise sales skyrocketed. This was seen throughout all of this year as according to NBA.com Steph Curry’s jersey sales had passed Lebron’s. Not only that but Golden State merchandise sales had surpassed Cleveland’s amount and became the most popular team merchandise. These augmented Golden state sales, then contributed to producing the largest Black Friday and Cyber Monday figures for NBAstore.com as their combined sales had been up 20% from the previous year.

The NBA championships have served as a great host for promoting merchandise. The league has done a great job of preserving the championship effort, determination, and memories all through these promotional merchandise. So congratulations Cleveland, wear those hats proud and remember how it all happened.

tags: , , , , ,

Comments Off on The Marketing Behind the NBA Championships

11 May

Learning How To Rebound From A Loss

Posted in NBA, News, Synergy Suggestions on 11.05.16 by John Meloche

Depositphotos_36087101_s-2015The Toronto Raptors lost quite the heartbreaker in Game 4 of their East Conference Semi-Finals showdown against the Miami Heat this past Monday. Having to be decided in overtime for the third time in the series, the game ended in a 94-87 loss. It was a hard one to swallow for Raptors fans who saw their beloved team lead for the majority of the game. With Game 5 back in Toronto tonight at 8 p.m., the tension amongst fans has arguably never been higher.

Perhaps, anxiety is a better word for it. The Raptors have taken their fans on quite the roller coaster ride throughout this postseason. It seems like they win games you think they’re going to lose and they lose games you think they’re going to win. One of the biggest problems the Raptors faced in the overtime period of Game 4 was a lack of rebounding. Tonight, they’ll have to rebound against the loss.

With the exuberant Toronto faithful backing them both inside and outside of the Air Canada Centre, there will certainly be no shortage of encouragement for the team. And, as always, the ups and downs of Toronto’s pro sports teams reminds us, here at Synergy Marketing, that businesses go through very similar ups and downs. And just like our favourite teams, they too must learn how to rebound from their losses.

What should business owners do to rebound from their losses?

It starts with accepting failure. Making excuses and not accepting the fact that you’ve failed is a great way to not learn from your mistakes. It’s important to carefully assess where you went wrong, admit it, accept it and discover ways to remedy the problem you encountered. Accepting failure is not giving up. It involves understanding that you can’t necessarily do things the way you first believed you would. Finding a new path will help you reach success quicker.

Jose Vasquez of HuffingtonPost.com insists that you accept your failures. “The first step is sometimes the hardest,” he writes, “Admitting you’ve failed is difficult even for the most mature, experienced entrepreneurs. True, you should never give up on something you truly believe in. But if you’re going to keep moving forward, at some point you have to acknowledge the walls that are blocking you.”

It’s also important to take responsibility for your actions. No one likes being the scapegoat. But sometimes, owning up to your “bads” can make or break the reputation you have with those who work for you and with you. Be honest about your missteps and take measures to apologize for them. This humbling of yourself will do you a lot more good than harm in the long run. It will help you to gain favour with those you may have disappointed and can earn you a second shot.

“Even if the failure wasn’t your fault, you have to take responsibility,” insists Vasquez, “It is now your job to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Brainstorm with your team, hold discussions, and be open — but take ownership of the failure and drive a new change.” He goes on to encourage mistake-makers to set new goals so that they can still make their businesses the successes they’ve always dreamed of.

Be sure to check back for tomorrow’s blog as we continue to examine ways in which you can help your business to rebound from a loss. And say it with us…Let’s Go Raptors!

tags: , , , , ,

Comments Off on Learning How To Rebound From A Loss

02 May

Raptors Make It To Second Round Of NBA Playoffs!

Posted in NBA, News on 02.05.16 by John Meloche

Baskeball isolated on a white background as a sports and fitness symbol of a team liesure activity playing with a leather ball dribbling and passing in competition tournaments.In the past, the Synergy Marketing Blog has happily commented on the successes of the professional sports teams that represent the city where we are headquartered. Our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors have given us a lot to celebrate (and even more to complain about) over the years, and usually, we enjoy discussing our views. Firstly, we often relate the ups and downs of a pro sports team to that of a company’s staff.

There are many similarities, of course. The most important similarity being that teamwork is a necessity in order for any business with several employees to flourish. Secondly, we just happen to employ a fair number of sports fans, here at Synergy Marketing. And some of the more superstitious ones think that – just maybe – blogging about our favourite teams brings them bad luck.

We certainly hope that isn’t the case today as we’d like to return to our trend of celebrating Toronto’s teams by offering the Toronto Raptors (and all of their amazing fans) special congratulations for making it into the second round of the NBA Playoffs last night! With their 89-84 Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers at the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors have booked their ticket against the Miami Heat – a series that begins tomorrow.

In the 21 seasons that the Toronto Raptors have been playing in the NBA, this is, astonishingly, only the second time in franchise history that the Raps have made it into the second round of the playoffs. The first time took place an incredible 15 years ago. Most fans will remember that season as the one when Vince Carter put up a jump shot at the buzzer in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers. It was a shot that would miss and end the Raptors’ hopes of a championship.

That isn’t to say that the Raptors were considered favourites to win it all in 2001. But with a superstar like Vince Carter at the helm during that time, Toronto’s young NBA team seemed destined for a better outcome. Fast forward a decade and half later and our city is now home to a team that has dominated the Atlantic Division for the past three years. The best team, by way of a regular season record, in Raptors history, this year’s squad appears primed to achieve greatness.

There are many fans, however, who remain sceptical that the Raptors have what it takes to do much damage in the postseason. And it’s hard to blame them. After all, the Raptors have been ousted in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons – seasons when they were favoured to beat their lower-seeded opponents. This year was no different. And yet the Raptors made things excruciatingly interesting during their series with the Pacers over the last week.

In one game they would dominate and in the next they would get dominated. They came back to win an incredible nail biter in Game 5, only to get blown out in Game 6. Prior to last night’s contest, the winner of Game 7 was anyone’s guess. Now, there is no guessing necessary. The Toronto Raptors are in the second round and still maintain home court advantage against the Heat as the #2 seeded team in the Eastern Conference.

Needless to say, there is a lot of excitement in Toronto right now. We’d also like to point out that the Toronto Maple Leafs have finally given fans something to cheer about as they won the first pick in this year’s NHL Draft Lottery. Here’s hoping that getting the #1 pick will be the beginning of a brand new era of dominance in Maple Leafs history. But in the meantime…Let’s Go Raptors!

tags: , , , , , ,

Comments Off on Raptors Make It To Second Round Of NBA Playoffs!