Creative companies have fashioned "Drink Responsibly" messages that both sell and warn about the product. A recent TV spot from Diageo's Captain Morgan rum, for example, showed two guys coming out of a sports bar, walking into a pizza place and ordering a pie. The counterman asks, "For here or to go?" "Delivery," they reply, followed by a scene in which the pizza man drives them and their pie home, with the message, "Always designate a driver. Drink responsibly."

If the sponsorship being considered is official status with one of the stick and ball sports, let's say MLB, it would be smart to enlarge that sponsorship domain to include Latino, Asian or even all foreign language rights.

It's bothersome that, for many, discounting appears to be the catch-all cure to attempt to win back consumers who have cut back on their sports-related spending. Discounting is difficult to wean oneself off of, with detrimental long-term effects. And our recent work asserts a more constructive and comprehensive definition of economic value, grounded in a set of social values particular to those adults that now represent the prime target for many of our products and services. Rather, the explanation reveals that the choice to spend elsewhere is often easier to justify from a total (not just economic) return on investment …

It's the 40th pennant for the Yankees, so you'd figure their odds of winning a World Series would be pretty good. But that's just sports. Winning fan loyalty, on the other hand, is a little different.