Archive for the ‘Media’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Winning

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Continuing the Tiger theme this week, I thought his 60 Minutes interview on Sunday night was extremely refreshing.

In the interview, Tiger confessed that ‘winning’ was the big motivation to his success and work ethic.

Winning drives most elite sportspeople but few admit it.

Maybe it’s an Australian thing. We expect our heroes to be humble and promote enjoyment as their main motivation. But let’s be honest. Winning is a major carrot for elite sportspeople.

You only have to look at Andre Agassi. He admits in his autobiography that he hated tennis. So what drove him? It certainly wasn’t ‘having fun’.

Now don’t get me wrong, fun plays a major role for most sportspeople, but fun alone doesn’t motivate an athlete to rise at 5:30AM and do 1000 sit-ups. Winning does.

And that’s why Tiger’s interview was refreshing. Winning shouldn’t be a dirty word. Australian’s more than any other nation like to win. Athletes themselves like to win. So let’s not sugar-coat the truth. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win. It’s why the Michael Jordan’s, Kelly Slater’s, Lance Armstrong’s and Tiger Woods’ of the world are on top.

They use the concept of winning to drive them to be better. Aint nothing wrong with that. Refreshing isn’t it?

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Communication, Media | 1 Comment »

Buckle Up, TigerMania is GO!

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Does anyone remember when David Beckham visited Sydney two years ago? I do. I was front and centre at ANZ Stadium when he bent-it-like-Beckham against Sydney FC.

David Beckham was a busy man that week. Sponsors, media, fans, everyone wanted a piece of the guy. Most people would have buckled, but to his credit, David showed tremendous grace under all the attention and just when everyone thought the exposure was way over top, he delivered with that magical goal to justify the hype.

And so we come to Tiger Woods who touched down in Melbourne today ahead of Thursday’s Australian Masters.

There is no bigger name in world sport right now. The man is a phenomenon. So you can expect a whirlwind week of media attention for Tiger.

This is a great week for Australian golf and Tourism Victoria. And don’t underestimate the impact Tiger’s appearance will have on the young kids out there who are deciding what sport to play this summer. It’s a huge bonanza and the Victorian group that pulled it together should be congratulated.

Tiger’s schedule this week is hectic, the expectations enormous. But he’ll do it all with a smile on his face. And just when you think the attention is all too much, he’ll deliver with a gold jacket and justify the hype.

Perhaps that’s wishful thinking. But then again, we’re talking about Tiger Woods.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Media, golf | No Comments »

One Golden Rule of Publicity

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

When you’re hot – STRIKE.

Athletes and celebrities have a very short time span in the scheme of things to maximise their earning potential.

In a world that moves at a staggering pace, keeping up with sport, music, fashion and entertainment news and trends becomes a game of move on or get left behind.

Consumers are very quick to latch onto something and they’ll doit with tremendous vigor (think Harry Potter and Twilight or any big sports star).

But just as consumers are quick to latch on, they’ll move on. This means when you’re in the spotlight, work it, work it, work it!!!

You would be surprised that some talent don’t get this concept. I’ve had athletes compete at Olympics and Commonwealth Games overseas, their name and image strewn across every newspaper back here in Australia. At this point in time, the best thing they can do is get their butt on a plane and come home.

If they can do that, then I can leverage their name which is already in lights. TV, radio and print will line up for me.

However, what do most athletes do? They decide they deserve a break after years of training and book a holiday directly after their major competition. Bad idea. They just missed a golden opportunity.

I totally understand the need for a break and I’ve experienced first hand how draining major events are for athletes. After competing, they just want to let their hair down, do nothing and switch off. I get this.

But if you’re an athlete that is serious about promoting your brand to attract sponsors then you’ve got to maximise this valuable window of opportunity.

Compete at Olympics, fly home for a week of media, then go holiday. It’s that simple.

It’s no good coming home a month later when news are no longer interested and everyone else has moved on.

This applies to anyone who is experiencing a flush of publicity. Milk it. Be available. Work hard. You can always rest later when you’re not so hot.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Communication, Media, Olympics, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

Nike Air Jordan

Monday, October 19th, 2009

I’ll never forget the day I received my first pair of Nike Air Jordan shoes. Growing up in the basketball crazy era of the 1980’s and early 90’s Michael Jordan was my hero. And Nike was my favourite brand. Funny that.

shoes_nike_air_jordan_07c1

There is no doubting the influence Michael Jordan has had on the Nike brand. It’s a great story of an athlete and a sponsor coming together to create something special. But it nearly didn’t happen. Read this article about the history of Nike Air Jordan.

Nike believed in Michael.
So much so, they were willing to bet the company on him. But it took some convincing at the time.

This story provides us with a few lessons.

1. Athletes are sometimes better off aligning with a sponsor that is passionate about them, and not just the other way around.

2. Sponsors need to communicate and get their athletes involved when it comes to leveraging the name, image and likeness of the athlete.

3. Loyalty is important. Athletes should be prepared to stick with a sponsor that showed belief early in their career. Swapping to another sponsor in the same category can dilute an athlete’s own brand.

4. Get creative when selling sponsorship. Nike knew that had to convince Michael to sign with them and that wasn’t going to happen with boardroom drawl. They created a video to appeal to Jordan’s emotions – very creative for back then.

Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Personal Development, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

No

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

If I had a dollar for every time I said “no” I would be a billionaire. I think any sports manager can relate to this.

Athletes receive a staggering number of requests and the reality is only 5-10% of those get actioned.

If you look at an athlete’s day to day priorities you would find that 80% of their time is dedicated to training and competition (that 80% also includes getting sufficient rest, massage, physio and maintaining a healthy diet). The remaining 20% is dedicated to off field duties with their club which includes sponsor and media commitments. It also includes keeping personal sponsors happy and finding time for family and other personal commitments.

So you can begin to understand why managers are reluctant to stack additional opportunities on an athlete. Our duty is to make life as seamless as possible. Our first priority is selling the client to the marketplace, servicing current sponsors, managing the media requests and looking after the athlete’s dedicated charity if they have one. Anything outside these areas is dealt with brutally.

Athletes don’t hear about three quarters of the requests they receive. That’s why they employ managers. To filter requests and only bring to the table opportunities that are commercially viable or that make sense with respect to their diary and other commitments.

So when an athlete manager turns down your request. It’s not personal. It’s just business.

yesornocartoon_200x220

Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

The Fame Game

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Most people fall into the fame game unexpectedly. Often they have a special talent that puts them in the spotlight whether it be in sports, TV, music or film.

I don’t know many people who actively pursue a career for fame alone. If they did then they would never make it. Fame is often a by-product of success or in some cases a necessity to achieve success.

Having worked with my fair share of ‘famous’ people I can tell you that most are incredibly uncomfortable with the fame game. Sure, they enjoy some of the perks but after experiencing the dizzy heights of fame, most would take the money and leave out the fame if given the choice.

The biggest downside to the fame game is that there is no off and on button. You can’t switch it off on a bad day. When times are good and the press positive, famous people will happily stand in the spotlight and do star jumps. But come tough times and negative press, the same people want to turn the light off and curl into a ball.

This inability to turn the light off still troubles the most experienced famous people, you only have to look at the Greg Norman / Chris Evert story. Greg has never had a problem using his fame to build a successful business empire and was more than happy to tell the world about his new relationship (picture Greg under a spotlight doing star jumps) but then it broke down. Suddenly a relationship that was everyone’s business, is now no ones business according to Greg. The game doesn’t work that way.

The point I’m trying to make is this. Whether you’re already famous or you’re chasing a career with the potential to be famous, you gotta realise that the light stays on through the good, bad and the downright ugly. If you can accept this as reality and you are comfortable to wear the consequences in the tough times then go ahead and turn that light on.

rbon938l

Tags: , ,
Posted in Communication, Media, Personal Development, Strategy, golf | No Comments »

How Not To Apologise

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Tennis star Serena Williams certainly learned a string of valuable lessons in serena_300x20055958the wake of her outburst at the 2009 US Open.

One such lesson (we hope she learnt) is that taking full responsibility for your actions and apologising is the only road to redemption.

I’ve blogged about this exact topic before.

The fact Williams and her PR agency released a statement the day after the incident with no apology is mind boggling. The backlash was so severe, that Williams was forced to release a second statement a day later, this time apologising.

When I saw the first statement, I thought William’s PR agency might be protecting her from legal action. Admitting guilt in a press release is dangerous territory in the sue me sue you world of the USA. However, if legal protection was the first priority then the statement would have read so much differently. So I know that wasn’t the case.

So the question then, is why didn’t the original statement include an apology? Did the PR agency think the issue would wash over? Did they believe Williams strong supporter base would overpower the negative criticism? Or was Williams just too stubborn to approve quotes apologising for her actions?

If Williams’ stubborn behaviour was to blame, then her PR agency should be harpooned for not having the backbone to override their star athlete. See my blog about The Yes Men.

We have seen the world over that a beloved athlete can commit blue murder but get away with it if handled correctly. To do this, the athlete must understand the process. And that is to take responsibility for their actions, genuinely apologise and demonstrate they are making themselves a better person from the experience.

There are no short cuts and no easy options but to face the mess you have created and clean it up. The media and public don’t care what you did, they care how you react, how you respond and how you’re going to fix it. Show them that and they are quick to move on.

Tags: ,
Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Strategy, Tennis | No Comments »

Smart Questions

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

How does a company decide whether they should be involved in social networking? Well, before you set up a Twitter or Facebook account, you need to consider a couple of things. cartoon

First you need to decide what your objective is? The objective must do one of two things. Increase revenue or decrease costs.

Next you need to decide what your role is.

Are you there just to listen and monitor what people are saying about your product or services?

Are you there to make a sale?

Are you there to promote your brand and market your message?

Are you there to provide customer support and feedback?

Or are you there to partner with other business (B2B)?

It can be a combination of these things but best to concentrate on one or two and do them extremely well.

Answering these questions will help you decide:

A) who you want to interact with (target market)
B) which social networking platform is best for you
C) and which is the best strategy to achieve your objective(s)

With today’s technology, you have a great opportunity to listen and interact with your customers, build loyalty and/or find new customers. You just need to discover the HOW part. The best way to do that is to ask yourself smart questions.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Communication, Media, Social Networking, Strategy | 1 Comment »

Be The Eye Of The Storm

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

There are many qualities to leadership. But I want to talk about one crucial aspect and that is staying calm during a crisis.

The ability to keep your composure in a stressful situation is the benchmark for which others perceive you as a leader.

Read that line again.

Next time all hell breaks loose and everyone is running around frantically, try slowing your body movements down, breath deep and speak slowly. Changing up your body language like this will help you think logically rather than emotionally.

Doing this is a lot harder than you think. But doit well and you’ll notice something. People will naturally gravitate toward you for guidance. In their eyes you’ll be superior to those around you. Don’t believe me? Try it someday.

I’ve long admired NRL coach Wayne Bennett of having this trait. I’m sure there are times when he needs to apply the blowtorch, but watch him closely and you’ll notice he oozes a relaxed and calm presence amongst his players. Do you think this rubs off on his troops – you betcha!

It works the same for athlete managers. Most athletes get nervous before a sponsor appearance, photo shoot or press conference, let alone a crisis. It’s only natural. So it would make sense that they need someone around them who is composed and in control. That’s leadership.

mad-men21

Tags: , ,
Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Personal Development, Sponsorship, Strategy | 2 Comments »

DAY IN THE LIFE

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Working in sports management, people often ask me – “What is a typical day for you”?

Well, no one day is the same. It really depends on the time of year, what events the athletes are competing in, what’s making news, what sponsors have planned, or maybe there is something that needs urgent attention and takes up all my energy for a week at a time.

So with that in mind, I’ll try and give you a broad summary without going into specifics.

I usually begin the day by watching and reading the news. I scan TV, newspapers and online. I’m focusing on a mixture of sports and business news. The athletes under management cover a wide range of sports so I need to be across a lot of information. I find this also helps me to establish rapport in meetings I have that day.

Using the big rocks principle, I always write down the major things I want to accomplish that day. The things that will yield the biggest results. If I get those done then everything else falls into place. I try and use the mornings to reply to emails and phone calls and leave the afternoons for other projects I’m working on. In saying that, I’m on call day and night and need to respond quickly to clients and the media who work on deadline.

Some days I’m out of the office with clients for sponsorship and media obligations. I’m there to facilitate the appearance, make the sure the athlete is comfortable and enforce their sponsor commitments (branding, key messaging). I’m also there to network. Develop relationships with everyone including TV producers, sponsorship managers, journalists, photographers you name it. Some interstate travel is involved which makes for long days.

The evenings are sometimes scattered with invites to parties, product launches, dinner invitations and other events that involve the athletes or their sponsors. Again, networking is a big part of the job.

That’s a good example of what I do…….but then next week might be totally different. In fact, next week I’m away consulting for a major sports event and then conducting some media with a client for a few days. I might find it hard to blog during this period so don’t be disappointed, I’ll be back. You can keep up to date on twitter twitter.com/SportDownUnder

Tags:
Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »