Calling all ACC fans — have you ever heard of Buster Sports? Maybe you will after Baltimore firm Warschawski PR gets a crack at it.

Raleigh, N. C.-based Buster Sports, an online tailgating and networking community for college football and basketball fans, selected Warschawski this week to build its brand on a national level. The site is relatively new (founded last year) but includes content from former college coaches and allows users to interact with those experts, which distinguishes it from other fan forums.

Looking at the roster of coaches, I’d like to see what the firm does with this cast. All highly touted coaches with accomplished careers, most didn’t end on a hot streak.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Tommy Bowden: 90-49 lifetime, won a conference title with Tulane University in 1998,  fired from Clemson University last season
• Tommy Tuberville: 110-60 lifetime, conference title with Auburn University in 2004, resigned from Auburn after last season
• Jim Donnan: 104-40 lifetime, Division I-AA National Championship with Marshall University in 1992, fired by University of Georgia president at end of 2000 season, now a broadcaster and most recently selected to the College Football Hall of Fame for his success at Marshall
• Terry Donahue: former UCLA coach who won four New Year’s Day Bowl games in a row (1983-1986), fired as the San Francisco 49ers general manager in 2005, now a football analyst
• Mike Gottfried: 75-56-4 lifetime (1978-89), ended career at University of Pittsburgh
• Dennis Franchione: 107-81 (Division I) lifetime, winner of eight conference championships and one divisional crown, resigned from Texas A&M in 2007 under controversy
• Glen Mason: 123-121-1 lifetime, three-time conference coach of the year winner, fired from University of Minnesota in 2007, now a football analyst.

Granted, most “former coaches” were probably fired from their last job. Otherwise they’d still be coaching. But given that most of these guys left after controversy or after a string of disappointments, I’d be interested to see if Warschawski plays upon that (if at all) given the coaches’ interaction with fans.

I for one, would like to have a few words with Donahue about my beloved 49ers…

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It may not look like it (OK, it doesn’t look like it), but Laurel Park has got some character. Or at least the marketing folks are having fun with the place.

On the thoroughbred track’s Facebook page, an album called “The Rody’s are Coming to Laurel Park on August 22″ highlights the new addition to the track’s “Picnic at the Park” day on Saturday. (A rody is that inflatable orange horse you see in the photo to the left. To view the rest of the album, click here.)

Laurel’s family event features rides, games, a petting zoo, face painting, a barn area, an Anne Arundel County Fire Department exhibit, crafts and picnic fare.

I highly encourage you to click through the photo album — at least half of the images had me giggling. And this kind of fun-loving spirit is one that many have been saying would be attractive to bring back to Maryland’s tracks, which for the most part are cacophonous reminders of days gone by.

At the Maryland Horse Forum earlier this month people talked about how to improve horse racing’s exposure. Cute stunts like this are an example of how that can be done.

The only problem is, I haven’t heard or seen ads for Laurel’s Picnic at the Park at all over the last few weeks. In fact, the only reason I know about it is because I read all the way to the bottom of a press release — the last two sentences mentioned the event.

If word isn’t spreading — beyond the close-knit horse racing community — about the nice things tracks are doing, it seems we need to  find a better way to advertise, before more money is spent on fun events that nobody knows about.

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So the Washington Nationals just signed San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg to a record-setting contract worth $15.1 million over four years, and the team’s next financial move is to practically give away game tickets for $1 a pop.

Makes sense to me.

Actually, sarcasm aside, it really does. The Nationals rank 14th of 16 National League teams in attendance with a total of 1.38 million fans so far this year. That’s a 22 percent decline from last year’s total through 59 games.

The $1 promotion is for Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, which will be preceded by an on-field news conference with Strasburg, the team’s No. 1 overall draft pick, and a Q&A session with fans. The Nats are offering at least 2,000 tickets at the discount price, and the park will open a whopping five-plus hours before game time (1:30 p.m.)

One, let’s face it — it’s not as if the team was going to sell this game out. The seats will probably be the nosebleeds, which run about $10 at the gate, so we’re talking about taking a $9 hit on tickets that probably weren’t going to be sold anyway.

Two, that pregame news conference and the extra ballpark hours will more than make up for any loss the team may take on the discounted seats in the form of concessions sales, namely beer and souvenirs. Folks will file in early to get a good view of the conference and of Strasburg, and once you’re in the park you’re trapped. And hey, it’s Friday night — need I say more?

Now, it’s not like the team’s going to make so much money Friday night that its paying a ridiculously high amount for an unproven player will seem justified…but it’s a pretty smart promotional play by the team’s marketing department nonetheless.

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An interesting story came my way this morning out of the Cyphers Agency in Annapolis. It seems the agency’s latest recruit was found almost entirely by using social media sites. And what division was she hired for? You guessed it, Cyphers’ new Word of Mouth division called Push-n-Pull.

The new account executive, Julianna Wittig, was a casualty in a mass layoff this spring, so she focused on managing her online presence (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) while updating her resume and looking for new opportunities. When she saw the opening at Cyphers, she found colleagues at the Baltimore Ad Club who knew of the agency and could give her feedback on the work environment and culture there.

In Annapolis, Darren Easton, the agency’s vice president and creative director, checked up on Wittig with friends and through networking sites to see if she’d be a good fit for the firm’s social media’s side.

“By the time the actual interview came to pass, Darren just looked at me and said I already know everything I need to know about you,” said Wittig in the agency’s account of the story.

I had a friend a while ago who was a really good worker and pretty normal in other social situations but she just imploded during interviews because she’d get really nervous. She told me of several occasions where she knows her nervousness lost her the job.

It’s well known that future employers may look at Facebook sites and any other online profiles interviewees have to judge whether they’d be a good fit. If hiring continues along this trend of using more social media, does that mean people like my friend won’t get burned as often by a poor interview?

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I’m probably the last person who needs to be told sporting events today are about WAY more than what’s happening on the field.

I never thought I would see this phrase in an article about Tiger Woods and other top golfers: “…he will undoubtedly wear white pants and a blue shirt with a white piping stripe, according to the clothing script provided to him…”

Ugh. I expect this from tennis. But golf? It’s pants and a polo, for crying out loud!

Fashion’s not my thing — but can I appreciate marketers seizing an opportunity and milking it for all it’s worth? Absolutely. And apparently, that is what’s going on with the PGA Tour and golfers Woods, Sergio Garcia, Lucas Glover and Kenny Perry.

With these guys on television for hours, their apparel sponsors have started telling them what to wear and coordinating the timing with new clothing releases in their retail stores.

“What Woods wears each day at every major championship this year has been scripted for him by his sponsor Nike since last summer,” wrote the New York Times. “To ensure that retailers have a new design or color modeled by Woods on their shelves this weekend, Nike had its first meetings about Woods’s 2009 British Open wardrobe 17 months ago.”

The same goes for the other guys. On Saturday at the British Open, Garcia will wear the white pants and blue shirt with white piping by Adidas, Perry a navy plaid print shirt and light khaki pants by Adidas and Glover will sport a bright yellow Nike shirt with gray pants.

“A single shirt worn by one of our athletes on a Sunday afternoon winning a tournament can raise sales 10 percent,” Tiss Dahan, senior director of global apparel at Adidas Golf, told the Times.

Pretty impressive. And since sports and fashion are two of the biggest money-making industries in the country, it’s something that was bound to happen.

But can we draw the line there? I don’t want to think about the implications of skin care products also getting in on the fun on the fairway. If I ever see Tiger Woods pull out a bottle of Olay sunscreen and start re-applying, I’m turning the channel.

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If you love tinsel, the smell of spruce and singing along to a crooning Bing Crosby, you don’t have to wait five more months to do it. The Bowie Baysox are hosting a Christmas in July fundraiser on July 25 featuring holiday music and decorations, a jersey auction and — of course — a special appearance by Santa Claus and his elves.

Once again, the Baysox are taking the field in custom-made jerseys to be auctioned off after the game with the proceeds benefiting the Salvation Army. The jerseys are green with red sleeves and red numbers on the front and back. Instead of the regular logo on the front, the festive smocks will sport a candy cane cradling the Baysox logo. The winning bidders can meet the players after the game to pose for photos with the player and have their jerseys signed.

But wait, there’s more — the video board will play holiday clips, the Brass of the Potomac will be staked out in front of Prince George’s Stadium playing Christmas music and fans get a free candy cane as they pass through the gates.

I think the candy cane put it over the top for me, how about you?

To check out more Baysox promos and fundraisers (including the search for the Golden Wieters Bobblehead Doll and Scot Van Pelt bobblehead night), visit www.baysox.com.

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Yesterday’s ninth-inning comeback from the Red Sox — one night after the Orioles executed a similar feat against them — highlighted what has become a theme for Baltimore this year: you never know which O’s squad you’re going to get.

The Orioles have been streaky this year, to say the least.  Seven-game losing streaks, five-game winning streaks. They blanked the Rays one night then allowed 11 runs the next. They were scoreless against the Yankees on May 8, then touched home plate 12 times the next night. More than half of their wins have come from runs scored in late innings.

I recently heard a radio ad highlighting the fact that the Orioles have been an exciting team to watch because you can’t count them out in the later innings. Last year, the O’s marketing team launched a tongue-and-cheek promotion around the team’s bad luck on Sundays. At that point, the Orioles had a 13-game losing streak at Camden Yards on Sundays and marketers launched a “You Win We Win” promotion on July 6 that promised to give fans a free ticket to a future, non “prime” game to fans in attendance that day if the O’s broke their Sunday streak.

From talking with fans, I get the sense that there isn’t really any ill will about the streakiness because most know it’s just a characteristic of a young squad.  That being the case, can you market this unpredictability? The radio commercial I mentioned touches on it, but I wonder if team marketers can take it a step further and design a promotion around the team’s come-from-behind drama they’ve frequently displayed at home.

For example, they could print up a bunch of $8 off and $9 off ticket coupons and have them ready to hand out after a game for an eighth- or ninth-inning comeback (making it clear to fans that the go-ahead run is scored in one of those innings for the promotion to take effect).

On the other hand, as the manager of a ball club, you want to see your team jump out early and hold on to the lead. Would a promotion like the one I mentioned be a conflict in philosophy?

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If you’re a AAA member, you’ve got a chance to rake in the discounts and freebies at this Friday’s Orioles game against the Nationals. AAA Mid-Atlantic is sponsoring Traffic Safety Night in which the organization will be staked out at Gate C offering traffic safety-related activities for fans.

I know, sounds boring, right? But check out the goodies:

• AAA members can purchase upper-reserve seats for $6.
• Half-price admission Friday at the Sports Legends Museum for AAA members.
• Fans 14 years old and younger get a gift.
• AAA members who swipe their membership card will receive a free tote bag.
• Adults requesting a free insurance price quote will receive a free AAA insulated reusable bag.
• Discounted AAA memberships ($50 Basic/$25 first additional member) will be for sale.

Not a bad night for $6 a seat — plus you could nab two reusable bags in case Baltimore ends up passing that tax on plastic checkout bags.

I wonder though, if this promotion benefits AAA more than it will the Orioles. Friday night games have averaged more than 31,000 in attendance this year — not bad considering what team we’re talking about here. Plus the Nationals games (the annual Battle of the Beltway) have traditionally been well attended here. I’m betting the auto club will gain a few more memberships tomorrow from passers by than the Orioles will gain in seats sold because of this particular promotion.

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OK, maybe it’s not the soap opera-esque love triangle that headline may have you think. But when I got the news release that Rawlings and Ripken Baseball Inc. are teaming up to produce a new line of training aids, the first thought that ran through my head was, “Hey, wait — didn’t Ripken Baseball just sign a deal with Under Armour a couple months ago?”

The nonprofit, a marketing and sales company headed by Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., signed an outfitter deal with the Under Armour in April that includes being the official uniform provider for Ripken Baseball (including three minor league franchises) and title sponsorship for all 25 Ripken youth baseball tournaments.

This week, Ripken Baseball (also based in Baltimore), announced it is launching the Rawlings Five Tool Training line. The line will focus on developing the skills needed to become a “five tool” player including hitting for power, hitting for average, speed, fielding and throwing. I imagine the training line will be sold at the Ripken Store, which recently launched online and is a little sparse in products at the moment.

OK, I know Under Armour is more the shoes and apparel company than it is gear. And to boot, Cal Ripken used Rawlings equipment his entire career so it’s a natural fit. But one of the big kickers for Under Armour teaming up with Ripken was that it makes it more visible to youths, a market it is trying to expand in. If the kids I’m marketing to are all turning around and buying a competitor’s training equipment, I don’t know how pleased I’d be about that.

What do you think? Is this a close call? Or am I just being petty?

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A recent study that analyzed data from more than 2 billion impressions has found that preroll video ads are 8 to 25 times more effective than in-banner ads, according to the Media Post.

(Preroll ads are commercials that air before your online video will play.)

The study was conducted by Web video company BBE and the effectiveness was measured by the click-through rates of both kinds of ads. Media Post also notes other studies that found that when compared with the “right content,” click-through rates for preroll ads can average as high as 80 or 90 percent.

I can see the logic in this — when I’m reading a story online, and a banner ad pops up I ignore it. If it’s the kind that pops up before you read a story, I might accidentally click through it while trying to bypass it, but that’s as close as I’ll ever get to acknowledging it. (This isn’t to say I don’t see the ads or that I NEVER click through…but it’s rare that I remember what I even saw five minutes later.)

On the other hand, I also watch some TV shows online and right now am catching up on the first four seasons of ABC’s “Lost.” (Some people paint their decks for their summer project, I watch 100 hours of television.) Anyway, I’ve been averaging about five or six episodes a week for the last month and for each episode, I’m forced to watch about four ads, one for each commercial break. I can always mute the computer or not watch — but they’re only 30 seconds long and I’m usually dying to see what happens next. So most times I sit through them so I can click on the “play” button the second the ad is done.

Off the top of my head, I can tell you that some of Lost’s sponsors are: Target, Listerine, Nicoderm CQ, Neosporin, Toyota and possibly Mazda…and I’m sure a couple more will come to mind after I file this post. For someone who watches television (except sports) almost exclusively via Tivo and DVR, the ad world has got me here and I applaud them for it.

In what kind of format do ads stick out in your mind? Where do you see the industry going to grab back the consumer’s attention?

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