Archive for the ‘Strategy’ 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 »

Schoolgirl v Schoolboy Behaviour

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

When allegations of schoolgirl misbehavior surfaced earlier this year, the St Kilda football club successfully swept it under the carpet. And for good reason. The words “footballers” and “schoolgirl” in the same sentence spells PR disaster.

If we are to believe the club, then they did everything to put this saga to bed. Even the AFL stepped in to hold discussions with the young girl. But it’s now plainly obviously that whatever she wanted (money, fame, respect, an apology), she didn’t get hence her damaging actions this week.

It’s difficult to comment on a story where fact and fiction blur and she said this, he said that. For those involved, it’s personal and its ugly but not avoidable. And that’s the lesson for other sportspeople.

The best way to stay out of trouble is to not get into trouble in the first place. That means not getting involved with a teenager still at school and not posing for silly photos. Simple stuff really. From all reports Nick Riewoldt is a fantastic guy and so it’s difficult to see him caught up in this scandal but you have to ask the question, why?

Can you imagine someone like Roger Federer allowing himself to be photographed naked or in compromising position? Of course not. Some sportspeople are just to classy, even in private.

We can debate the mental health of the young girl. We can debate the privacy laws. But perhaps we should be focusing on the main issue here, the behavior of some individuals, especially footballers who continue to shoot themselves in the foot with downright stupid behavior.

The Michael Phelps photo scandal in 2009 taught sportspeople to watch their behavior in public, everyone has a mobile phone that can take photos.

Then came the Tiger Woods scandal which taught sportspeople to watch their behavior….. full stop.

Apparently some footballers didn’t get the memo.

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Posted in AFL, Media, Personal Development, Strategy | 1 Comment »

You’re A Celebrity Now

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

With Stephanie Rice and Quade Cooper’s relationship now public, sit back and watch Cooper’s profile go from rugby player to celebrity.

Cooper isn’t the first person to ride on the coattails of a high profile romance and he won’t be the last. Moving from the back pages to the social pages certainly has its benefits. That’s not to say everyone enjoys having their relationship in the spotlight. Just ask Michael Clarke.

But if it’s publicity you want, there is no denying a celebrity relationship will raise the fame stakes (and the cash) for the game players.

In this case, both Rice and Cooper are successful sportspeople, however Rice will do more for Cooper’s profile than the other way around. Right now, Cooper is a rugby player with a niche rugby following, but the Rice factor now introduces him to a whole new audience, mainly women. That’s powerful.

In fact, the more demographics a celebrity appeals to the more valuable they are. Think of a celebrity with multiple sponsors, now look at the target market of those sponsors. If the celebrity manager is smart, they will select sponsors that cover varying demographics.

I should state, this strategy of spreading your appeal doesn’t work for every celebrity, only the very marketable can pull it off.

“Guys want to be him, girls want to have him” is always better than “Guys want to be him, girls don’t know who he is.”

It will be interesting to watch Quade Cooper make the transition to celebrity and how he handles the attention that goes with it.

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Posted in Rugby, Strategy | 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 »

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Posted in Communication, Rugby League, Strategy | No Comments »

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