Many people who are sports fans often grouse about the ever-skyrocketing cost of attending a live game, whatever sport it may be. If one brings their spouse and say, two kids, to any major league sporting event, the cost is likely to be well over $100.

The New York Giants are one of many teams who have embraced the concept of Personal Seat Licenses (PSL’s).  PSL’s are a one-time payment for permanent control of a home game seat in a team’s stadium. In the Giants’ case, the purchase guarantees the owner’s right to purchase a season ticket, provides the purchaser with control of successorship of the tickets, a benefit now only available for direct family members. The PSL stays active on the condition that the season tickets are purchased annually.

The Giants recently had to engage in a delicate marketing strategy when it was announced some of the PSL’s at their new stadium, to be completed in 2010, would run upwards of $20,000, which caused much backlash and criticism among fans and the New York media.

One avenue the Giants used to market the new PSL’s was direct mail and e-mail. A letter mailed to current season ticket holders said the price of PSL’s was due to the $1.6 billion price tag of the new stadium, which the Giants are solely financing. The Giants said revenue from the PSL’s is needed to fund the construction, especially since they are not receiving any public financing to build it. In the case of many other recently built sports stadiums, voter-approved tax increases were used to partially fund the construction.

They also tried to convey sympathy about implementing the PSL’s. John Mara, the team’s owner, on the Giants Web site says, “We have spent months exploring our various options regarding the financing of the construction of the new stadium,” said Mara, “Given construction costs and NFL and lender requirements for paying down our debt, and after much thought and analysis, we decided this PSL program is necessary. All the net proceeds from the sale of PSLs will be used to fund construction of the new stadium.”

I think pointing out that the stadium will not be publicly financed, and conveying the idea that it was a gut-wrenching decision to implement PSL’s, can be a good marketing strategy for the team, in light of the fact some people will have to pay $20,000 just for the right to purchase season tickets. 

‘Tis the season to leverage the amped up presidential election coverage. We are seeing increased examples of companies using the hype to spotlight their products.

One of the latest to join this trend is my favorite Coke companion, Capitan Morgan. The rum brand has launched a Facebook page and event series around the Captain’s faux bid for a seat in the White House.

Using voting season to theme a campaign is nothing new, but due to the extended length of the primary season as well as the historical relevance of Obama’s candidacy, this year’s marketing hopefuls seem to be getting more mileage out of the ploy. I’ll be interested to see if there’s a tipping point in how much news and marketing the American consumer can handle. Check out our coverage next week for more on this trend.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that the US Postal Service could see a $2 billion loss this year as a result of “tough economic times.”

According to the story, Postmaster General John Potter spoke about the many challenges the USPS faces, including high fuel costs, at a convention of the National Association of Postmasters of the United States in St. Louis on Monday.

The AP reported that Potter said that the USPS needed to do more to “reduce bureaucracy, cut costs and embrace technology.”

For a feature I’m working on about digital out-of-home technology, I had the opportunity to speak to Barry Salzman, CEO of YCD Multimedia. Last week, I read a story in the Wall Street Journal which highlighted the company’s new facial recognition technology for in-store marketing — which some have likened to the futuristic technology featured in 2002’s Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise. The technology can identify customers’ approximate age and gender and then show in-store promotions for products that might appeal to them. It does sound a little creepy, to be honest, but Salzman pointed out that it’s only a small part of what the company offers and could work well in specific applications in which folks of different ages prefer different upsells, for example. The point of the latest in in-store media, he says, is “to give the shopper the information they need to make a decision in real time.”

Check out the entire feature in our September 8 issue!

First, widgets were on your desktop. Then online. Now, it looks like widgets will make their way to your TV set, courtesy of a new partnership between Yahoo and Intel. PC Magazine reported on Wednesday that the two companies have announced an initiative to bring a widget-based platform directly to your HDTV, in order to embed applications — and ads.

According to the article, which you can find at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2328498,00.asp, the partnership won endorsements from marketers such as Comcast and Disney at the recent Intel Developer Forum.

In June I wrote about Courvoisier opening pop-up shops in boutiques across the country for its “Find Greatness Within” campaign. Lately it seems these shops, some of which include cross-promotion with other major brands, are becoming more and more common, especially in the New York metro area.

According to Crain’s the United States Tennis Association is opening a temporary store in SoHo during dates surrounding the US Open (August 22 – September 10).

Additionally, mega-retailer Target, which had profits drop 7.6% in the second quarter, will open numerous “bullseye bodega” shops around the island in Midtown, Union Square, SoHo and the East Village during fashion week.

Gap’s flagship store on 5th Avenue is housing a pop-up shop for Paris-based brand, Collette from September 5 – October 6.

Finally, Virgin Megastore has opened a Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary store inside its Times Square location. The store within a store houses a mini-movie theater and will be open for seven weeks. The store opening coincides with Virgin’s $10 Sale, which will feature Warner Home Video DVDs for $10.

Keep your eyes peeled for more retailers looking to expand their customer base through this type of out-of-home initiative.

A recent New York Times article championed the growing number of adorable animal picture Web sites as a burgeoning empire that’s driving eyes and product sales off- and online.

The idea that the cute and cuddly sells is nothing new to direct marketers - in fact DMNews contributor Evan Bloom summed it up nicely in a June Direct Choice. He critiques a puppy adorned post card from the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

Choosing the right image often makes or breaks a campaign in the eyes of the consumer - the difference between identifying oneself within the target audience and being drawn in or losing interest can be an immediate first impression.

If you’d like your own chance to share a first impression of a recent campaign or marketing promotion, submit a Direct Choice idea to Bryan Yurcan. Kitten pictures are appreciated, but not required.

My first week living in to San Francisco in 2002, I attended a friend’s party where I met someone who worked for Google. If memory serves, this was around the time people started using the name of the search engine as a verb. Needless to say, the encounter left me as breathless as running into Dana Hersey of the Movie Loft in my hometown video store. The next day, I called my friend Susan in Massachusetts, telling her, “I just met someone who works for Google!” I remember her squealing—appropriately—in response to the news.

Six years later, the thrill of meeting someone who works for Google has subsided. I watch their domination of the search market with a skeptical eye, waiting for a crack to appear (as does much of the media).

And yet, I was not going to miss the opportunity to visit Google headquarters for the Google dance as I attended Search Engine Strategies in San Jose this week.

After a 20+ minute bus ride from the conference center, we arrived. First, a cheerful Google staff member asked me, “medium?” I nodded, overwhelmed, as she handed me a free T-shirt with the words “Google Dance 2008: Glow in the Dark.” Determined not to drink the Google Kool-Aid while I was there, I couldn’t help marveling at the free candy in bins! Beach volleyball! The Rock Star stage! Decorate your own cupcake! Yes, I’ll take a glow stick!

Looking for a bathroom that wasn’t portable, I wandered into an indoor space. I noticed a circle in front of the DJ booth and crowded in to watch what appeared to be an impromptu break dancing contest.

Occasionally, one attends a party where an overzealous guest starts spinning on the linoleum. But there seemed to be an abundance of talent in that circle and I started to wonder if Google had hired some dancers for the party—or if, more likely, break dancing lessons were another Google employee benefit along with the free food.

Finally finding my way to the bathroom, I encountered something more impressive than the break dancing. Google has what appeared to be Toto Washlets. Granted, I did not have the guts to try one out, but there was a little keypad next to the toilet with icons suggesting my hutch was correct.

“I will never,” I thought at that moment, “work in a place like this.” I comforted myself knowing that most people would have the same response.

I wandered outside, past the glowing dance floor and the Google community garden, and toward the bus waiting to take me back to San Jose. The night was still young, but I thought it best to leave before the Google spell started to break.

The US Postal Service is behind a new series of direct-to-internet webisodes called “Mark of the Eagle.” The first episode (which stars actual postal employees) was posted to YouTube earlier this month.

In the episode, a shredder, an Internet cord and a copy machine, among other office equipment, attack the employees of a company called Middleman Industries.

According to a USPS press release, the webisodes are part of a campaign challenging customers to “take a new look” at Priority Mail, Express Mail and ground packages as “economical and dependable delivery options.”

After a horrific attack on one of its buses in Canada, Greyhound is scrambling to remove a potentially offensive ad campaign it ran in that country.

This isn’t the first time a seemingly innocuous ad campaign will be rendered ironic by a shocking turn of events, and it won’t be the last. It’s impressive that Greyhound was able to catch the ads and begin the process of removing them so quickly. Today, the slightest missteps in advertising — no matter how unintentional — can be picked up quite quickly.