Gold Star Chili Asks Customers to Weigh In on Bengals Sponsorship

Chad Johnson has finally been shipped out for cents on the dollar of what the Bengals could have gotten a few years ago.  JJ is now a Texan.  Carson is "retired."  Who's excited for the 2011 Cincinnati Bengals?

Now Gold Star Chili seems to be questioning their sponsorship as the "Official Chili of the Cincinnati Bengals," which not only allows the company to sell the product at PBS but also leverage the team for extensive marketing campaigns and promotional materials. 

In the 5 question survey, which you can take here, Gold Star cites some pretty convincing evidence that would lead one to beleive that the company's major sponsorship of the Bengals is likely not going to pay many dividends this season, including:

"ESPN rated the Bengals as the most poorly managed of 122 professional sports teams;

The Wall Street Journal's front page article rating the agreement between Hamilton County and the Bengals as the worst in professional sports for the community;

The recent arrest of marquee name players like Benson, Jones, et al;

The refusal of franchise quarterback Carson Palmer to play for the Bengals;

The recent publicity on the need to increase taxes on Hamilton County residents due to Bengals stadium costs; and

The Bengals' requests for an additional $8 million expenditure of taxpayer money for a new scoreboard and over $300,000 for a new replay system."

You can see he whole survey after the jump, and PLEASE take the survey here to express your thoughts on how Gold Star's sponsorship of the Bengals hurts their brand image.  This might just be a play by Gold Star to leaverage lower concession fees or a better deal with the Bengals or it could be used as evidence to get the team out of the sponsorship, but this is a big opportunity to show Gold Star how you really feel about the Bengals and try and make your voice heard where it counts - Mike Brown's wallet.

Introduction

Help Gold Star Chili asses the value of its Cincinnati Bengals Sponsorship.

As you are probably aware, Gold Star Chili has a sponsorship relationship with the Cincinnati Bengals and is recognized as the Official Chili of the Cincinnati Bengals. However, we are concerned about the amount of recent negative publicity about the team and its management and would like your opinion about this relationship.

Please take a few minutes to complete this brief 5 question survey to give us your feedback. We appreciate your time and your opinion.

Your friends at Gold Star Chili.

Considering:

ESPN rated the Bengals as the most poorly managed of 122 professional sports teams;

The Wall Street Journal's front page article rating the agreement between Hamilton County and the Bengals as the worst in professional sports for the community;

The recent arrest of marquee name players like Benson, Jones, et al;

The refusal of franchise quarterback Carson Palmer to play for the Bengals;

The recent publicity on the need to increase taxes on Hamilton County residents due to Bengals stadium costs; and

The Bengals' requests for an additional $8 million expenditure of taxpayer money for a new scoreboard and over $300,000 for a new replay system.

1. How do you view Gold Star Chili's sponsorship with the Bengals?

How do you view Gold Star Chili's sponsorship with the Bengals?   An asset for the Gold Star Chili brand A liability for the Gold Star Chili brand Neither an asset or a liability

2. As a result of Gold Star Chili's sponsorship of the Bengals, will your frequency of visits to our restaurants during the football season:

As a result of Gold Star Chili's sponsorship of the Bengals, will your frequency of visits to our restaurants during the football season:   Increase Decrease Sponsorship is not a factor in my visit frequency

3. Based on recent negative publicity about the Cincinnati Bengals, do you believe Gold Star Chili's sponsorship:

Based on recent negative publicity about the Cincinnati Bengals, do you believe Gold Star Chili's sponsorship:   Enhances Gold Star Chili's brand image Detracts from Gold Star Chili's brand image Neither enhances or detracts

4. Gold Star Chili has also been a regular advertiser during radio broadcasts of Cincinnati Bengals games. This season do you plan to listen to Bengals games on the radio:

Gold Star Chili has also been a regular advertiser during radio broadcasts of Cincinnati Bengals games. This season do you plan to listen to Bengals games on the radio:   More often than last season Less often than last season Same frequency as last season I don't listen to Bengals games on the radio

5. Please share any general comments you have about Gold Star Chili's sponsorship of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Comments

[luda]

where can you find the survey, other than the link?

i wanted to see if it was on their webpage but i couldn't find it?

[Brosef Stalin]

It was emailed to Gold Star's "eClub" members.

[Brent maxwell]

Pull your sponsorship. Mike brown will not care unti it hits his wallett

[Tyler from Cincy]

Took the survey to suggesting for them to pull their sponsorship. Any more surveys you need me to take to help the cause of Whodey Revolution, I am willing. Especially after another embarrassing offseason!

[Mike Brown gets 0 Gold Stars.]

Bengals make me want to vomit, Gold Star makes me want to diarrhea.

Gold Star can sponsor my daily bowel movements. I'll give a better price and they are still basically sponsoring the same thing.

[AM]

WDR - You should attempt to contact marketing executives at all of the Bengals major sponsors. If any other sponsors can be convinced to do some research on how their community reacts to Benglas sponsorship we may be able to have an effect. Every dime i can help take out of MBB's pokect is time well spent.

Maybe a project mayhem - you guys draft a general "why sponsorship hurts your brand letter" and give us a bunch of contacts & mailing addresses - WDR fans mail them out, i know i would send multiple.

[Dixonator]

I don't care what the motivation is by Gold Star to conduct this survey in such a blatant, public and manner in which it embarrasses Mike Brown, it's beautiful. And yes I took the survey and basically said ANYONE who supports Mike Brown in ANY way is an enemy to true Bengal fans. Pull your sponsorship! God this franchise wreaks of ineptitude. As they said of the Bengals on Mike and Mike this morning: "Complete disaster."
Your most humble and loyal servant,
Dixonator
P.S. I long for the relief death will bring!

[Brown Stain Bratty]

It says a lot when a fucking hot dog vender wishes to withhold their sponsorship. Props to Gold Star.

[J]

Just took the survey and politely told them that I refuse to support the Bengals financially as well as those who do financially support the team. Also that the community is growing more and more frustrated with the Bengals not only because of the losing, but because of things like the stadium issues.

The key to completing this survey is to be polite when responding to their "why" questions and to not sound rude, ignorant, etc.

J

[lovestosplooge]

Skyline is better. Just saying.

[FrzrBowl Survivor]

Completely agree with Brown Stain Bratty--- just completed the survey and respectfully provided my opinion from a business stand point. They will not take the results seriously if you are just basing your inputs on raw emotions.

[Charlie Howard, Vice President of Marketing, Gold Star Chili]

For the record...this is a survey that Gold Star Chili does every football season. This is nothing new and nothing more than basic due diligence; a brand gaining a better understanding of what its core customers are thinking. These are issues that are out there in the media and talked about daily, so it would be irresponsible for Gold Star to invest heavily in a sponsorship and not want to know how it affects our customers' decision-making and to what extend the sponsorship should be leveraged in our advertising and marketing initiatives.

For the record, Gold Star Chili has a long-term relationship with the Cincinnati Bengals and no plans to end the sponsorship. Thanks to all who took our ANNUAL survey.

[Adam]

Sounds like Charlie Howard got a WTF? call from Mikey Boy Brown and got scared Skyline might steal his sponsorship spot.

[SDJRJR]

"Rewarding bad behavior is never ideal. In this case, it would be detrimental to your brand. Partnering/advertising with Cincinnati-based Pure Romance would be better publicity than publicly linking your company to the Cincinnati Bengals. I say this as a life-long fan with closets full of who-dey gear. Please withhold sponsorship until the team makes decisions that support achievement, rather than complacency."

[J]

Well Charlie, we understand that you have a relationship with the Bengals, but as I said in my survey answers - I (and the vast majority of people on this site) refuse to financially support Mike Brown and those who financially support him. So that means you can count all of us as people who you will NOT be seeing in a Gold Star Chili restaurant. And while that might not be an extremely huge number of people, we are not alone and the city as a whole is growing more and more frustrated with the Bengals and their operations.

J

[TigerJ@w]

So Charlie, you state your questions in this manner every year? Why have we not heard of this before? If you continue to support this inept owner's ways than good luck getting people to come to your business. I know if you continue to support this man's ways than I will never buy your product ever again and I will tell my relatives that live all over the city and county to do the same. Yea, this may be only 10 to 20 people, but this is a start. Also, your ADs will not even be shown if the games are BLACKED OUT so who will see them? The only people who will see them will be the 20,000 SHEEP that continue to buy into MFB's ways that attend the games! Man, your business will surely pick up. LOL

[Skyline rocks]

Fuck you, Charlie.

[PaulBrownsBastardSon]

sponsoring the Bengals is like sponsoring Charlie Sheen or other similar car wrecks.

WTF.

[Penenvy]

I just ate Gold Star and I'm posting from my toilet while I shit all over the place. Gold star needs to wipe their collective ass with their Bengals sponsorship contract, like I'm about to do.

[5hi7h34d]

This article made it to Deadspin!

http://deadspin.com/5826032/even-the-chili-is-considering-cutting-ties-with-the-bengals

[Rob]

Forget over-paid sports teams. NOT WORTH IT.

[Hofbraunow]

"Help Gold Star Chili asses the value of its Cincinnati Bengals Sponsorship"

OK, what am I reading here, is it:

-----------------------------------------

Help! Gold Star Chili *ASSES* the value of its Cincinnati Bengals Sponsorship!

(evidently "ass" is also a verb, and Gold Star Chili has found a way to "ass" something, i.e. the value of its Cincinnati Bengals Sponsorship in this case, and, they need our help in the matter)

-----------------------------------

or, is it a dual imperative
(in classic newspaper headline style, no less):

--------------------------------

"Help Gold Star Chili *ASSES*, the value of its Cincinnati Bengals Sponsorship" ,

as in:

Help Gold Star Chili ASSES,
[ i.e "and also",
i.e. perhaps at the same time,
nay, maybe even by very definition]
the value of its Cincinnati Bengals Sponsorship

----------------------------------

And thus concludes today's dissertation on the writer's craft. Good Day to all of you, and happy dissertating, writing, and crafting (and craft brewing, and drinking).

[Sir Isaac "Fig" Newton]

And now, an exciting new discovery
in the world of mathematics,

introducing Charlie's Theorem:

Gold Star Chili ASSES = the value of its Cincinnati Bengals Sponsorship

[Sir Isaac "Fig (it's-not-like-you-all-haven't-been-thinking-it-anyway-where's-the-milk)" Newton]

btw, The above was posted by Sir Isaac "Fig (it's-not-like-you-all-haven't-been-thinking-it-anyway-where's-the-milk)" Newton

[Sir Isaac "Fig (it's-not-like-you-all-haven't-been-thinking-it-anyway-where's-the-milk)" Newton]

Also, don't bother fixing it Gold Star, too late;
I already have a screen shot of it...

To quote Peter Gabriel:

Don't you know you're going to "Shock The Survey Monkey" ?

[Hofbraunow]

I think Charlie made the survey, since he also spelled "extent" incorrectly, in his above 'damage-control' post, instead posting the word "extend"...which is a word (a verb in fact), but again is not the correct spelling of "extent", a noun (and object in this case) which is the word (and part-of-speech) demanded, by the context of the sentence in Charlie's "Hey-it's-just-an-annual-survey" post.

[Hofbraunow]

Is it *at all possible*, that Gold Star meant to use the word, which is the verb "assess", and not the plural noun, and/or "creative verb" they opted to use instead?

[Tbrock]

I live in Fl where gold star doesn't exist but I'll tell you what has 2 stores in Clearwater, SKYLINE CHILI baby! Love heading over there every few weeks to get the finest Cincinnati chili. I have no idea who this Charlie dude is but stfu! These guys are spot on, mike brown flipped out and you jackasses tried spinning your little survey as s.o.p. Bullshit! Now you look as we would all expect a leading bengals sponsor to appear; confused, embarassed....CLUELESS. I may be in the minority but I believe this just may be a perfect match of loser brands. Grab your gold star chili and come watch the bengals get their teeth kicked in! Now that sounds like a good time.

[Tbrock]

Charlie, pull some of those adv dollars in and invest in quality control. Your product tastes like it got spilled out of a cow's ass.

[connie]

Charlie, wtF? Why in the hell would you put together a survey if you already knew from the get go that Gold Star has "no plans to end the sponsorship"??????????????? Man now you have just ticked me off-- I just spent time taking your survey, and now for what? Your post....... aaaaarrrghhhhhh! And I am a PR person also! I can't believe that a PR person just said the stuff you said.

[Christian Louboutin Outlet]

After the severe famines that Ethiopia experienced in 1984-1985, the US set up a famine early warning system to anticipate possible famines and assist local policymakers in preventing them. This system as early as December of 2009 predicted food deficits and insecurity in East Africa. In March 2011, the warnings grew even more urgent, yet a state of emergency was not called

[True Religion Outlet Online]

Lasting love is supported best by principles, opinions, feelings, ethics, and morals that represent what is important to both people—and that both people are willing to make a priority. As I sit with couples who are fighting about an issue that seems so crucial at the time, I often say, “What’s more important, your relationship or being right?” They usually stop fighting, because what I am saying rings true.

[True Religion Outlet]

If only I had known that the solution was successful application of the skill and knowledge learned in the training. Setting expectations, observing staff and giving them feedback, and holding people accountable to demonstrate the expected behaviors were also important means to changing results. While I did focus on these things, I didn't do it enough.

[Bra]

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[mbt sale]

Outdoor dining is such an obvious plus for downtown.

[Vernon Patrick]

What are your business objectives with this sponsorship? I believe you have a long term deal with the Bengals, so this survey is simply a manner of which you collect data to help you justify your sponsorship purchase through (one metrix) this survey. You are doing your valuation of the sports property investment.

I think you have a distinct advantage here in that, the value of this sponsorship property could be low, keeping your ROI high, and your ROO effective. How I might employ your position is focus on activation to turn fan attitudes towards a positive outlook when connecting your brand to the Bengals. Find ways to build bridges with the fans despite the team's struggles. The sponsorship is just the conduit to build your own name into profits, earnings, positive community reflection, but only through your own investment of activation of your sponsorship partnership will you reach your goals and objectives.

I'm a pro (MSA) masters of sports administration student at Ohio University. I have owned my own sports sponsorship agency in Chicago for over 15 years. Hopefully we can connect in business.