• Chicago Tribune, Monday, November 23, 2009 10:45 AM

It's going to take more than marketing savvy to erase the modifier "long-suffering" from the front end of the phrase "Cubs fan" but Phil Rosenthal reports this morning that the Chicago Cubs will announce its first big move since the Ricketts family acquired the team for $845 million last month: the hiring of sports marketing and sponsorship guru Wally Hayward to be its evp and chief sales and marketing officer.

Hayward founded and was chairman and CEO of the Relay Worldwide agency before serving as a senior adviser to the effort to bring the Olympics to the Windy City in 2016. "Maybe the only good thing about not getting the Olympics was Wally was available," says Cubs president Crane Kenney.

"It's all about [return on investment] right now," Kenney says. "It's not, 'Hey, I want to spend $100,000 with the Cubs.' It's: 'How does spending money on the Cubs connect me with your fans ... and that love affair that your fans have with your brand run off on my brand?'

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