Archive for the ‘Sponsorship’ Category

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Nike 6.0 Making Waves In the Surfing World

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

A game of musical chairs is playing out in the surfing world right now. Former Rip Curl pin up girl Stephanie Gilmore has signed with Quiksilver, while Nike 6.0 have snared the prized signature of fellow Aussie surfer Julian Wilson, a former Quiksilver client.

The Nike signing created the most interest though.

A couple of years ago, Nike 6.0 tried to sign South African surfing superstar Jordy Smith. They failed. And since then they have waited patiently for a big signing. They are only just starting to make inroads into the surfing world, but with a growing product line, cash to burn and a nous for selecting the right talent, Nike 6.0 will no doubt become a serious player in an industry that rewards good moves. And the signing of Julian Wilson is a good move.

You’ve got to admit, Nike entering surfing is a good thing. Here is a company that knows how to market and leverage sport. They have the experience, resources and money to progress the professionalism of surfing. They also know that having the right surfers wearing their stuff will dramatically close the gap on other established surf wear brands like Quiksilver, Rip Curl and Billabong. Nike also brings more money to the pot and that means more bargaining power to surfers and better pay.

Quiksilver, long considered the Nike of the surfing world, has successfully built a mega-brand over the years with the help of golden child Kelly Slater. Slater has done enormous things for the Quiksilver. It’s just another example of the power and influence brand ambassadors can have. And that’s why Nike 6.0 knows it can compete in this market.

Nike doesn’t have the rich history and great story that the other surf wear brands have. But it doesn’t need to. If the hottest young surfers are sporting Nike 6.0 stickers on their boards then the groms will soon follow.

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Posted in Sponsorship, Strategy, Surfing, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

How Online Newspapers Can Win

Monday, November 15th, 2010

The Australian featured an article today about the issue of paying for your print news online.

It’s a delicate discussion and one that I don’t have all the answers for. But I can at least provide some food for thought.

The big question newspapers want answered is: How do you get people to pay for something they already get for free?

The answer is, you can’t. That is unless you have exclusive content that none of your competitors have.

For years people watched TV for free and still do. But there was a day when the thought of paying for TV seemed ludicrous. Yet, cable television is now a global phenomena. Why? It has content no one else has and so people are happy to pay.

Can newspapers learn something from TV? Perhaps.

The question shouldn’t be “how do we get people to pay for our content?” Rather it should be “how do we make our content so exclusive that people have no choice but want to pay for it?”

Print is dying and re-emerging via apps on tablet computers. Therein lies a great opportunity to use amazing technology to enhance the readers experience.

Just like cable TV buys a hit show or sporting rights, online newspapers might think about buying great content. And content isn’t just words. It’s photos, video, games, social networking and other interactive entertainment.

I’m talking about unique B2B relationships that strengthen the appeal of an online newspaper. The kind of B2B relationships that give an online newspaper an advantage over news sites who only offer news.

Something to think about huh.

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Posted in Media, Social Networking, Sponsorship, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Celebrity Endorsement, Is It Worth It?

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Do Celebrity Endorsements Still Push Product? That question was asked and answered by Advertising Age.

Using a celebrity to sell your product is riskier than ever. However, as long as the potential reward outweighs the potential risk, brands (and consumers) will continue to buy into the world of celebrity endorsement.

And why not. A lot of brands look at celebrity endorsement as a win win situation. Three benefits of using a celebrity to spruik your product include:

  • You don’t always require the best or most creative advertising to stand out (Ricky Ponting and Swiss Vitamins)
  • It doesn’t always matter if the endorsement makes sense, it still gets publicity (Libby Trickett and KFC)
  • If the celebrity misbehaves, the brand gets a get out of jail free card without losing its credibility (Stephanie Rice and Jaguar)

Of course, there are pitfalls to the celebrity game. If your ambassador does misbehave, this can disrupt a 2-3 marketing plan. When the sponsorship takes a hit, so does all the marketing and media plans around that endorsement. A lot of hard work down the drain and you’re back to square one.

Further to that, celebrities really do resonate with consumers, so once you’ve gone down that road, its hard to shake the association. Yep, some people still associate VB Beer with David Boon for example.

So like any business decision, brands need to weigh up the reward verse risk. But right now, the reward still trumps the risk.

Posted in Communication, Media, Sponsorship, Strategy | 2 Comments »

Less Is More

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Do you ever dream of one Australian football code that everyone follows?

I do. Will it ever happen? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s exciting to think of the benefits that would come from having fewer sports to follow in this country.

Put simply, fewer sporting codes would mean more money in the pot. Club memberships, broadcast dollars, merchandise sales, athlete wages, ticket sales and sponsorship would all skyrocket.

Everyone marvels at the amount of money sport attracts in America and Europe. And while we’ll never match those guys (due to population and economics) we can do better. But first we must cull a few sports.

Let’s take a look at the 15 highest paid NFL players in 2010:

1.    Peyton Manning, Colts $30.8 million total earnings (9th among US athletes, $15.8m salary/$15m endorsements)
2.    Matthew Stafford, Lions $27.6m (11, $26.9m/$0.7m)
3.    Eli Manning, Giants $26.5m (T13, $19.5m/$7m)
4.    Philip Rivers, Chargers $25.8m (17, $25.6m/$0.2m)
5.    Terrell Suggs, Ravens $24.9m (19, $24.9m/$0.0m)
6.    Albert Haynesworth, Redskins $24.6m (20, $24.6m/$0.1m)
7.    Brett Favre, Vikings $24m (21, $17m/$7m)
8.    Darrius Heyward-Bey, Raiders $21.5m (28, $21.4m/$0.0m)
9.    Jason Smith, Rams $20.6m (33, $20.5m/$0.0m)
10.    Julius Peppers, Bears $20m (36, $20m/$0.0m)
11.    Vince Wilfork, Patriots $18.9m (38, $18.9m/$0.0m)
12.    DeAngelo Hall, Redskins $18.5m (40, $18.5m/$0.0m)
13.    Tyson Jackson, Chiefs $18.1m (42, $18.1m/$0.0m)
14.    Mark Sanchez, Jets $16.9m (48, $16.4m/$0.5m)
15.    DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys $16.8m (49, $16m/$0.8m)

These wages are difficult to comprehend but take a closer look at the money pouring into the sport and you begin to understand why Peyton Manning has three cars……. two Escalades and one Cadillac SLR for the record.

According to AdAge, Anheuser-Busch recently signed a six-year, $1.2 billion agreement to reclaim its position as the league’s official beer sponsor. The deal takes effect in April of 2011.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Verizon Wireless agreed to fork over $720 million over the next four years to replace Sprint as the NFL’s exclusive wireless partner.

And then there is PepsiCo who are in the final season of two deals totaling more than $1 billion: $560 million over six years for its Pepsi, Frito-Lay and Tropicana brands, and $500 million for Gatorade. And let’s not forget the league’s other 20 sponsors who pay anywhere between $10 – 15 million per year (and then outlay $1.5 billion collectively to leverage their sponsorships).

If that’s not enough money, then let’s include the NFL’s broadcast deals worth $3.7 billion per year (Monday Night Football is worth in excess of $1.1 billion alone) and you have a budget that slightly trumps the AFL, NRL, ARL and A-League put together. Oh, and we haven’t even discussed the individual NFL clubs and their sponsorship, membership and merchandising rights and their athletes who command individual endorsements on the side.

So if you’re an Australian footballer who couldn’t previously understand why the Redskins DeAngelo Hall is on $18.5m and you’re on $400,000 then maybe you can now?

Right now, we have a very fractured sporting landscape in Australia. Too many sports competing for a pie that isn’t that big.

Let’s do the maths. America has over 300 million people. And six big sports – NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, USPGA and NASCAR.

Australia has over 20 million people. A much smaller population, yet we have five big sports including the AFL, NRL, ARU, A-League and Cricket Australia.

It’s little wonder athletes are heading overseas for better pay, footy clubs are struggling to make a profit and memberships are not where they should be.

Based on the above equation, Australia should concentrate on having three big sports, minimum. The rest can battle for the scraps.

Now, the only problem is deciding on those three sports? Which three would you choose and why?

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Posted in AFL, Cricket, Football, Rugby, Rugby League, Sponsorship, Strategy | 8 Comments »

Crossroads

Monday, February 15th, 2010
“A lot of people think I’m cocky, and I think cocky can be cute. Being arrogant is totally different. I’ve learned that now. If cocky is when, before someone throws you a pitch, you think you’re gonna hit it, then yeah, I’m cocky. Arrogance is talking about it in the dugout all day.” – John Mayer

Mayer should heed his own advice. Because “talking about it in the dugout” is exactly what has caused the singer his latest media crisis; an explosive tell all interview courtesy of Playboy magazine. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/1011527/myer-apologises-breaks-down-on-stage
Mayer’s interview is filled with explosive quotes for the tabloids but the real question is why on earth was Mayer in talks with Playboy in the first place?
Everyone knows Mayer has a history of kiss and tell. Sitting down with Playboy magazine was always going to lead to trouble.
Ok I get it. Mayer has an album to promote. His record agency appoint a PR firm (external or internal) to put the bait out – John is available to talk about his new album, who’s interested? Playboy put their hand up. The rest is history.
When a PR company go all out in the pursuit of publicity they go for quantity not necessarily quality. You see, PR agencies are judged by how many times a logo appears or a word is mentioned. It’s hard to knock back media requests when publicity alone is the goal.
This can lead to some dangerous traps for celebrities. It gives certain media access to your client, media you otherwise would never consider.
It’s difficult to avoid such PR plans by sponsors, so you’ve got to rely on solid media training for your client.
If was preparing John Mayer for an interview with Playboy I would have said “Now John, the magazine is likely to bring up A, B, C. Ideally they want you to talk about X, Y, Z. What I want you to do is stick with 1, 2, 3. If you can’t do that, then I’ll kick your ass. Got it?”
You can’t always hide from sections of the media, one day you’ll come face to face so it’s best to be prepared.

“A lot of people think I’m cocky, and I think cocky can be cute. Being arrogant is totally different. I’ve learned that now. If cocky is when, before someone throws you a pitch, you think you’re gonna hit it, then yeah, I’m cocky. Arrogance is talking about it in the dugout all day.” – John Mayer

Mayer should heed his own advice. Because “talking about it in the dugout” is exactly what has caused the singer his latest media crisis; an explosive tell all interview courtesy of Playboy magazine.

Mayer’s interview is filled with explosive quotes for the tabloids but the real question is why on earth was Mayer in talks with Playboy in the first place?

Everyone knows Mayer has a history of kiss and tell. Sitting down with Playboy magazine was always going to lead to trouble.

Ok I get it. Mayer has an album to promote. His record agency appoint a PR firm (external or internal) to put the bait out – John is available to talk about his new album, who’s interested? Playboy put their hand up. The rest is history.

When a PR company go all out in the pursuit of publicity they go for quantity not necessarily quality. You see, PR agencies are judged by how many times a logo appears or a word is mentioned. It’s hard to knock back media requests when publicity alone is the goal.

As a manager, this can lead to some dangerous traps for your celebrity clients. It gives certain people or publications access to your client, media you would otherwise never consider.

It’s difficult to avoid these situations, so you’ve got to rely on solid media training for your client.

If was preparing John Mayer for an interview with Playboy I would have said “Now John, the magazine is likely to bring up A, B, C. I don’t want you talking about A, B, C. I want you to stick with X, Y, Z. If you can’t do that, then I’ll kick your ass. Got it?”

You can’t always hide from sections of the media, one day you’ll come face to face so it’s best to be prepared.

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

Will Tiger Woods Lose Any Sponsors Over This Latest Incident?

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

There has been a lot of talk about whether Tiger Woods will lose any sponsors over his bizarre accident.

At the moment he won’t. And nor should he. Right now, these rumours about his personal life are just that, rumours only until proven otherwise.

In any case, its not always easy for a sponsor to walk away from a contract. They have to execute an escape clause which usually involves the athlete bringing the sponsor into disrepute.

So what are the common escape clauses in personal endorsements? Here are the major ones.

  • Being charged or convicted of a crime.
  • A positive test to drugs.
  • Breaking the laws of the sporting body (in this case the PGA).
  • Engaging in conduct that is obscene, indecent, immoral or unprofessional.
  • Doing anything that restricts the ability of the brand to promote the athlete or diminishes the commercial benefits provided to the sponsor.
  • Becoming of unsound mind therefore unable to fulfil sponsorship duties.
  • Not maintaining your elitist position in your sport eg. losing your PGA Tour card.

There are a myriad of others clauses but these are the most common in any contract.

If you know anything about legal contracts, the aim of the game is to make things so black and white in writing that there can be no dispute about a breach.

Tiger would have a strong case against any sponsor who wanted to pull the plug over this news story. There are simply too many grey areas for a sponsor to successfully argue a breach.

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Posted in Media, Sponsorship, Strategy, Uncategorized, golf | 6 Comments »

Spring Carnival Time

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

It’s Spring Carnival time. And that means the race that stops the nation. Emirates Melbourne Cup day.

I love the glitz and the glamour of racing especially at this time of year. The industry is a buzz. The money, the fashion, the colour, the horses, the celebrities, the blue chip sponsors, the parties and the rollercoaster of emotions.

What racing has is a great product that is unlike any other sporting event in Australia. It’s like a cross between a football match, a music concert and cocktail party. The opportunity for sponsors is extraordinary. Not only does the event have great brand attributes (which attracts the likes of Emirates and Myer) but the demographic is wide ranging and the event itself offers a number of touch points in an entertaining atmosphere.

Successful brands often talk about using the five sensors to appeal to consumers. The more the better. And racing touches all of them.

The sound of the betting ring, the horses roaring down the straight, the race caller.
The sight of the mounting yard, the colours, the fashion.
The assorted smells of perfume and cologne
The taste of a cold beer, or a sparking wine
The feeling of that winning tab ticket in your hand

Punters walk away (some stumble) from the races knowing they have just experienced an event like no other. And that’s why sponsors clamour aboard each year. They want to be part of that experience, an experience that is unique, an experience that you can’t get anywhere else.

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Posted in Sponsorship, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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.

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Posted in Communication, Media, Olympics, Sponsorship, Strategy | No 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.

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

Make Your Sponsorship Proposal Stand Out

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

What is one major difference between the two sponsorship proposals below.

- AFL pitching to Company X

- Individual athlete manager pitching to Company X

The answer: One has extensive market research about their product, the other does not.

When the AFL, NRL or FFA pitches for sponsorship, they have qualitative and quantitative market research to present. This includes demographics about their key customers and what their brand represents in the marketplace among others things. Most importantly, they have the data to back it up.

Athlete managers on the other hand don’t have any solid market research to present. They can guesswork the brand values of their athlete but they don’t have the kind of data that makes a proposal compelling.

Sponsors are very strategic in their approach. They know their brand inside and out. They know exactly who their target market is. They know demographics. They know exactly what their brand represents to their customers. They know the buying behaviour and what influences their target market. They know what kind of marketing and advertising works and why. And they expect you to have similar level of understanding about the product you’re selling.

Athlete managers never include this kind of data in their proposals. So the managers that do will stand head and shoulders above everyone else.

Now market research doesn’t need to be peace and war and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Most sports will give you this information for free. So if you manage a rugby union player, you could ask the ARU for some market research. (Tell them you’re doing a uni assignment or you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities).

This will give you some hard data about your athlete’s target market which you can present to potential sponsors. They’ll be shocked but delighted and it may just get your proposal over the line.

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Posted in AFL, Communication, Football, Sponsorship, Strategy, advertising | No Comments »

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