Archive for the ‘Strategy’ Category

« Older Entries

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?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in AFL, Cricket, Football, Rugby, Rugby League, Sponsorship, Strategy | 5 Comments »

THICK SKINNED

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

It’s hard to ignore the slanging match going on between former Socceroo Robbie Slater and current Socceroo Harry Kewell.

Kewell has copped his fair share of media punishment over the years. And given the player’s frustration with Australia’s performance and his own subsequent non selection at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, I can understand him wanting to take on Slater.

But I would discourage athletes from going down the same path. Lashing out at journalists nearly always ends in tears. Here’s why:

1. Reacting (especially in public) only fuels the fire of a story you don’t want out there. Some fly away comments from Slater on PayTV are now backpage headlines because of Kewell’s response.

2. You’re only doing the journo a favour. Journalist’s love publicity because it raises their own profile and makes them more valuable within media circles.

3. Yes the media often get it wrong. But the public goes on the belief that where there is smoke, there is fire. Don’t let that smoke develop into fire (see point one).

4. Creating enemies in the media isn’t fun. They and the organisation they work for, will knock you at every opportunity. Who wants that?

Finally, if you fight a journalist on one front, where do you stop? Do you go on a personal vendetta against every journo that writes something bad about you? This is incredibly taxing and affects sporting performance.

It pays to have a thick skin, especially when it comes to the media.

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

Listen First, Speak Second

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Listen First, Speak Second
It’s amazing how many sales people rush into their sales pitch expecting to deliver what they think the other person wants to hear. When in reality, simply sitting back and listening first gives you the ultimate upper hand.
I see this all the time in business. Because sales meetings can be nerve racking, most salespeople will jump straight into talking about their product or service because it makes them feel comfortable. Problem is, you’ve assumed what the other person wants hear and you’re probably way off the mark.
It’s a bit like the telephone sales rep that calls you with a long sales pitch and THEN asks you about your personal needs. You lost me at hello.
I know this advice sounds so obvious but you would be surprised at how many people make this mistake, particularly in athlete management.
If I meet with a client who wants representation, I can assume they want me to get them endorsements. Alternatively I can simply ask them want they want from me. Sometimes the answer back is not so obvious. I then tailor my discussion to their feedback. Suddenly I’m different to every other manager they have met with.
The only way to get someone to understand you is to understand them first.It’s amazing how many sales people rush into their sales pitch expecting to deliver what they think the other person wants to hear. When in reality, simply sitting back and listening first gives you the ultimate upper hand.

It’s amazing how many sales people rush into their sales pitch expecting to deliver what they think the other person wants to hear. When in reality, simply sitting back and listening first gives you the ultimate upper hand.

I see this all the time in business.

Because sales meetings can be nerve racking, most salespeople will jump straight into talking about their product or service because it makes them feel comfortable. Problem is, they’ve assumed what the other person wants hear and they’re probably way off the mark.

It’s a bit like the telephone sales rep that calls you with a long sales pitch and THEN asks you about your personal needs. They lost you at hello, right?

I know this advice sounds so obvious but you would be surprised at how many people make this mistake, particularly in athlete management.

If I meet with a client who wants representation, I can assume they want me to get them endorsements. Alternatively I can simply ask them want they want from me. Sometimes the answer back is not so obvious. I then tailor my discussion to their feedback. Suddenly I’m different to every other manager they have met with.

The only way to get someone to understand you is to understand them first.


Posted in Communication, Personal Development, Strategy | No 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.

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

Wiki-fied

Thursday, February 4th, 2010
I’m surprised with this week’s attack on celebrity agent Max Markson over his attempt to edit a client’s profile on Wikipedia.
“I changed and deleted a lot of things that I didn’t like, being the good spin doctor and manager that I am,” Markson said.
The attacks have come from people who don’t have wiki profiles, who don’t understand what it’s like to have an online profile edited and maintained by strangers. Imagine that for a second. I’m betting these people would be on wiki editing their profiles quicker than you can type QWERTY.
It’s easy to criticise Markson, but I’m pretty sure you’d want him to do the same if he was your manager.
I’ve long monitored the wiki profiles of my clients. As a manager, I can’t always control what the newspapers or magazines say, but I can control wiki so of course I’m going to use that to my client’s advantage.
C’mon you do the same.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/the-internets-in-a-spin-over-naomi-robson/story-e6frewz0-1225826502872

I’m surprised with this week’s attack on celebrity agent Max Markson over his attempt to edit a client’s profile on Wikipedia.

“I changed and deleted a lot of things that I didn’t like, being the good spin doctor and manager that I am,” Markson said.

The attacks have come from people who don’t have wiki profiles, who don’t understand what it’s like to have an online profile edited and maintained by strangers. Imagine that for a second. I’m betting these people would be on wiki editing their profiles quicker than you can type QWERTY.

It’s easy to criticise Markson, but I’m pretty sure you’d want him to do the same if he was your manager.

I’ve long monitored the wiki profiles of my clients. As a manager, I can’t always control what the newspapers or magazines say, but I can control Wiki so of course I’m going to use that to my client’s advantage.

That aside, Markson is laughing right now. All this free PR for his clients online web-based program, The Naomi Show – LoveLife, before it launches. Brilliant.

Tags: ,
Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Strategy | 3 Comments »

How to Tame a Troublemaker

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

The Daily Telegraph has revealed that senior Sydney Roosters players confronted troublemaker and new recruit Todd Carney in highly emotional meeting over the Christmas break.

Is this the first time Todd Carney has seriously been held accountable by his teammates? It looks that way on the outside.

Now I’m not suggesting Carney’s former club the Canberra Raiders didn’t try to reign in their star prodigy, they did, but there is a big difference between being suspended and losing the respect and trust of your peers.

Look around at any football club with a troublemaker. You’ll often find that the troublemaker is the leader of the pack or someone that has the natural ability to influence others. These troublemakers are nearly always top blokes and they befriend teammates easily with a larrikin personality. It’s incredible tough for anyone within the team to stand up to this person and tell them to seriously pull their socks up.

Sometimes the coach or the captain will put their foot down, but often it’s without the support of the rest of the team who don’t want to lose the friendship of the troublemaker. As you can imagine this creates a siege mentality and only disrupts the harmony of the team.

To tame a troublemaker you need all your senior players to unite and put that person on notice. It’s the only way.

It seems the Sydney Roosters understand this and have rolled the dice. The ball is now in Carney’s court, and only time will tell if he truly respects those around him.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Communication, Rugby League, 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.

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

Retrospect

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson has revealed that personal dramas led to his Ashes meltdown.

At the time, I knew this was the case. Having worked with elite athletes I know that personal issues affect performance more than the public can ever imagine. Especially when those personal issues are played out in the media.

Some athletes can block it out. Some simply cannot. For Johnson, this was the first time his personal life was put in the spotlight. Not only that, he was in the middle of an Ashes Series in England where the tabloids a ruthless and the crowds spiteful. He was always going to struggle.

As a sports manager the best thing you can do for an athlete in this situation, is minimise the longevity of the issue in the media. You need to put the issue to rest and avoid anything that may prolong debate. And I don’t mean hiding under the covers. You need to give the media something to chew. It can be as simple as saying “this is the situation or facts” and “this is my position” and “this is how I’m going to handle it” and “I don’t have anything else to say until I take the next step.”

The media will respect this and treat the athlete a lot better than if they were to hide in the corner.

Minimising the longevity of the issue helps but it’s an external solution to what is an internal issue for the athlete. That’s where mentors come in.

Having one’s personal life thrown into the spotlight is nothing new. There are millions of people who have gone through the same experience. People who have survived and come out the other side. Your job as a manager is to find these people and ask one to speak with your athlete. A simple phonecall can make the world of difference.

When faced with a personal problem, people get so focussed on themselves that they feel like nobody can relate to them and what they are going through. Wrong. There are people out who have gone through the exact same thing and they are only too happy to offer their advice.

If you look at another cricketer Michael Clarke, he has Shane Warne as a mentor. Warne has dealt with fame for a long time and can duly offer sound advice to a younger Clarke in that area. A manager can only wear so many hats, sometimes a manager must seek mentors for an athlete. People that can better relate to what an athlete is going through.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Cricket, Media, Strategy | 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 »

The Athlete Diary

Monday, October 26th, 2009

I had an ugly situation today when I had to pull an athlete from a major event because they had double booked and not informed me.

In most cases I would enforce the prior obligation with management, but the circumstances on this occasion didn’t allow for that. This left me frustrated and embarrassed but it also reinforced the importance of diary management.

An athlete’s personal diary impacts their professional diary.

Traditionally I would rely on the athlete to update their own diary with commitments I send them. Or I would email them the diary I manage so they could update their own diary.

This system has worked ok in the past, but I’m not in the business of being ok. I need a better solution.

Upon further thinking I would encourage athlete managers to keep a gmail account with a diary that you and your athlete have public access to. One diary. No confusion.

This system still relies heavily on the athlete but once both parties are in a good habit it should become second nature.

Sometimes we need problems in order to see new opportunities or in this case better ways of doing things.

Posted in Communication, Strategy | No Comments »

« Older Entries