Goodbye Regis Philbin. Your millions of fans will miss you.

As you leave, I became more impressed with the Regis Philbin Brand’s simple and powerful point that fostered strong,  positive connection with your fans, co-hosts Kathy Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa and guests for 28 years.

You described your point so well on your farewell show: “I just wanted to make people happy and make them feel better after they watched our show.”

That’s meaning that moves audiences, especially demonstrated by ratings in your final weeks.

Regis point was so strong and positive because it was easy for fans (and advertisers) to know, understand, believe, value and act upon – the values of your brand point.

Regis’ point also resonated with influencers like Mayor Bloomberg (who presented Regis with key to the city), Disney President Robert Iger (who presented a plague that now stands on the ABC New York studios), and those in attendance like Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer.

It was interesting that his farewell show also featured celebrities impersonating Regis – the sincerest form of flattery – and included Tom Hanks, Ted Koppel, Ben Affleck, Dana Carvey, Martin Short and Neil Patrick Harris.

I wish Regis well and hope you appreciate both the simplicity and power of his brand point.

How can you simplify and then empower your point?

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of our great American traditions.

We all know and understand the point of it – Native Americans sharing harvest with the Pilgrims in a feast of gratitude.

It’s a point that’s relevant and moves us. So, our strong traditions are like powerful brands.

I am using this post to thank you all for your support, advice, inspiration and friendship for all these years.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and here’s to growth and fulfillment for years ahead.

My brother- in- law Bill could care less about the NBA and its strike. He follows all other sports but finds the NBA irrelevant.

He is not alone. A sports marketing expert feels that the NBA may be irrelevant even in Chicago. That’s surprising where Michael Jordan reigned and the Bulls are led by the popular and talented home-grown Derrick Rose.(Chicago is a Bears town, which I learned 27 years ago).

Its irrelevance shouldn’t be surprising.

An ESPN Poll reports that the NBA places a distant fourth in popularity to the leader NFL. Pro football is favored by 24 to 6% by spectators. Baseball and college football place in between at 11% and almost 10% respectively.

Nonetheless, the NBA seems to overestimate its relevance, and will benefit from facing these issues that are eroding its brand:

1. Exposure – noone outside of major cities seems to know your players other than Kobe or LeBron.
2. Connection – owners and players are perceived as detached, clueless millionaires.
3. Likeability – where are the Magic Johnsons, Larry Birds and Michael Jordan personalities? Only three NBA players are ranked in top 10 of most famous athletes –  MJ (retired),  Kobe and Rose.
4. Selfish – LeBron is the penultimate example of this. He could leave but that way?
5. Oversaturation – the league plays from October to almost July, resulting fan fatigue and apathy.
6. Difference – same old plays. Dynamic dunks, but no spread or passing offenses.
7. Boring – playoffs equal wearing teams down, beating up and slowing play. No showcase there.

So, if they don’t play who cares? The NBA is really irrelevant or becoming that very fast.

Does your brand point have these relevance issues? Do you find it becoming irrelevant? How many of these problems are creeping into your business?

What are you doing to save it and more important, what are your customers and fans doing?

Breast cancer awareness month just ended.  Driven by the Susan B. Komen Foundation or Pink Inc., the cause is now a multibillion-dollar business, a marketing, merchandising and fund-raising initiative unmatched in scale. It includes pink-ribbon car tires, pink-ribbon clogs, pink eyelash curlers and much more.

The Komen Foundation is best non-for-profit for making its point – breast cancer awareness.  Here are the numbers supporting this important cause:

• Komen has raised many billions of dollars to urge women to get mammograms, as well as for treatment and research.
• It generated about $420 million in the 2010 fiscal year alone.  Komen spent about $141 million in fiscal 2010 on public health education, including awareness campaigns.
• It also spent about $75 million to finance medical research and about $67 million to pay for breast cancer screening and treatment.

Here is why Pink, Inc. is so successful at making its point:

1. Focus – breast cancer and nothing else is it concentration and its pink ribbon powerfully illustrates this mission.
2. Exposure – everyone knows and everyone sees it, especially NFL Fans.
3. Comprehension/understanding – people get it – Pink is simple and moving.
4. Meaning – this about helping a disease that connects many people.
5. Movement and value — a simple, motivation for positive action – detection and treatment.
6. Mass appeal – men, women and children can support Komen because breast cancer has touched them as it kills about 40,000 American women and 450 men annually.

Komen and its leader Nancy G. Brinker clearly get and activate its point. It teaches organization and brands about the core values of making your point in a powerful manner.

What do you learn from this important cause? How can you apply them in discovering and making your point?

This Saturday night my high school alma mater St. Xavier plays our archrival Moeller in an Ohio football playoff game. This is a 2011 rematch between my beloved Bombers and the dreaded Crusaders. Both teams are 9-3 and X is seeded third and Moeller is the fourth seed in the playoffs.

I last saw an X-Moeller game 38 years ago (we lost 8-7) and I am still passionate about this rivalry.  My Moeller cousin Jim Donnellon (details later) has that 1973 game ball in his home study.

Initially, my passion came from being the only Donnellon male cousin who attended St. X. My other male cousins (about 30) attended Moeller.  My sisters’ cool boyfriends were Bombers, and the school’s 1969 football team fostered my loyalty. That team was undefeated going into its final game. Moeller tied them to thwart X’s first perfect season and produced the 1970 St. X buttons – “9-0-1, ain’t good enough.”

It wasn’t. As payback, the Bombers pummeled Moeller on their home field 24-7. That was my freshman year and the rivalry was on. X beat Moeller twice in my high school years. Ironically, we won the other game 6-3 with two field goals on a snowy Saturday afternoon. Thank you, Pat Dahlstrom.

These days, my passion for the rivalry stems from the cousin bets for world-famous Montgomery Inn ribs, Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza and a dozen Titleist NXT Extreme golf balls.

I paid out pizza and balls in September as the Crusaders narrowly escaped a Bomber second half surge to win 27-24. The X kicker missed the second of two field goals at the end of regulation. He made the first, but apparently the Moeller coach had called a timeout. Sadly, the young man missed the second attempt.

I watched that game on a web broadcast in my home office while eating Skyline chili and drinking Cabernet (seemed better than beer).  My cousin and Moeller football legend Jim Donnellon was doing the Crusaders’ color analysis. I’m telling you it was more fun than a date, especially taunting Jim by text and email throughout the broadcast.

So what does this high school football passion have to do with PR and finding your point?

A lot actually, as every brand values passion. Passion drives these four Rs that are your business:

1. Revenue
2. Reputation
3. Relationship
4. Repetition

Passion flows cyclically through these four Rs. To create and build brand passion, I recommend you activate these simple and powerful marketing and communications principles:

1. Knowledge – how does your customer really view your brand?
2. Understanding – does he clearly recognize the difference that your brand offers?
3. Belief – can your customer trust you and your promise?
4. Value – why should he care about your brand?

How are you discovering and activating your brand passion? Just as important, who do you think will win the upcoming X-Moeller playoff game?

I bet pizza and golf balls that X wins 17-14.  BEAT MOE! (Please note cousin Jim contributed to research for this post.)