In search of the greatest sports marketing moment

(c) NFL / Getty Images

It’s not often that I will post about work-related content here, but the latest debate raging over on Synergy’s blog is actually pretty thought-provoking (well, for those in the sports industry at least).

Any sports fans out there remember when Twenty20 was first ‘invented’? Or when Nike burst onto the scene helping Michael Jordan hit his jump shot? Or even, for the veteran fans amongst you, when NFL was first broadcast on our TV screens?

Well, whatever you think the biggest moment was, Synergy wants to hear about it. We’ve started a bit of a debate going by naming an initial top 12 (below), but we’re a friendly, modest bunch and open to suggestions of things we’ve missed. Have a look at the below, and let us know what you think by commenting on the original blog post here.

And eventually we’ll put up a poll and get to the official #1. But only with your help. So what’s it to be? Let us know…

1. 1960 – a promising American golfer called Arnold Palmer shook hands over a representation deal with his friend and Yale law grad, Mark McCormack. This handshake was the start of IMG and birth of modern sports marketing.
2. 1968 – After the NFL and AFL merged in 1966 the first two championship games between the two winners were called, snappily, the NFL-AFL World Championship. KC Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt then came up with the term Super Bowl for the game after seeing his grandson playing with a Super Ball, (a densely elasticated ball) and a global phenomenon was born.
3. 1976 – already prevalent abroad, Kettering Town became the first British football club to have a sponsor on its shirt – the deal may only have lasted four games but it changed the rules in the UK. The forward thinking brand? Kettering Tyres.
4. 1978 – Horst Dassler and Patrick Nally created a sponsorship model for world events starting with The FIFA World Cup that other rights holders have followed ever since.
5. 1978 – Bernie Ecclestone became chief executive of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) which culminated in Ecclestone securing the right for FOCA to negotiate television contracts turning F1 into the global financial phenomenon it is today.
6. 1979 – Jack Nicklaus argues successfully for the inclusion of European (rather than just British) players in the Ryder Cup. This turned a struggling, one-sided tournament into what is today probably the most significant global event in golf.
7. 1981 – the first major PPV boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns was screened by Viacom Cablevision, the event sold over 50% of its subscribers for the fight and a new form of sports viewing was born.
8. 1984 – Nike, a struggling sports shoe company, signed rookie Michael Jordan and created the first shoe named after a player – The Air Jordan.
9. 1985 – Michael Payne restructured the IOC Marketing Programme creating TOPs – the building block of the most lucrative sponsorship format in the world.
10. 1992 – The English First Division clubs resigned en-masse from the Football League and formed the Premier League which is now the most watched and most lucrative football league in the world with the format copied across the globe.
11. 1995 – The first ever Extreme Games (later changed to X Games) was held with the backing of ESPN – it catapulted fringe sports into the mainstream, bringing with it vast corporate investment.
12. 2003 – The ECB introduced the world to Twenty20 Cricket via the Twenty20 Cup between counties, the mould breaking game has gone on to be adopted across the globe with IPL changing the financial face of the sport.

Federer and Nadal get the giggles while Credit Suisse has the last laugh

I spend a good deal of my working life managing the varied personalities of professional sports people, largely in their capacity as some form of brand ambassador.

I’m fortunate to work with a host of exceptionally talented and good natured individuals, and for the most part every bit the professional media spokesperson.

A media appearance going to plan without a hitch is a rare thing, and whilst we don’t like to laugh at others’ misfortune, this latest video to surface from Credit Suisse of the World’s top two tennis stars is honestly pretty funny. All carefully briefed messages fly out of the window and replaced by endless fits of giggles.

But surely, I hear you cry, this is just an intentional promotional mechanic by one of their sponsors (or the event sponsor in this case)? Just a shameless plug for publicity?

It’s interesting for me, because money can’t buy a viral of this nature. I am absolutely convinced it is entirely natural and uncontrollable. Anyone who has worked with professional athletes in a similar capacity knows that asking them to act rarely delivers any effective results (Gillette’s recent Federer ‘trick-shot’ viral just about scraped by), and so any outtakes are a total bonus. Unless Ken Dodd was carefully positioned behind them, branding his famed feather duster, that laughter is 100% genuine.

So while credit should be given where credit’s due, Credit Suisse undeniably got seriously lucky with this, getting more publicity for the RF Foundation’s charity tennis match than they could have dreamed possible (871,000 views at the time of blogging). The two guys played off each other beautifully and what probably started life as a straightforward interview soon became an instantly infectious viral. Job done.

Murray HEADs into the quarters… with a new racket

After his epic victory on Centre Court on Monday evening, Andy Murray seems to have given mixed reviews on the now infamous Centre Court roof. While during the match, the humidity clearly affected play, Murray has since expressed his enjoyment of the crowd atmosphere gained by effectively playing indoors.

Less positive for his racket sponsor, HEAD, was that half way through a game in the crucial fifth and final set his strings broke, forcing him to play out the rest of the point effectively using a hand-held trampoline. Granted, the conditions may have induced a weakening of the strings beyond Murray’s usual expectations of his racket’s life-span, but even so – hardly an ideal impression to give tennis fans during play.

With that in mind, the Daily Mirror’s back page today made me chuckle:

I guess a back page headline must be some consolation for a broken racket.

Wimbledon brands serve up ace advertising campaigns

Loving the start of Wimbledon this week, as ever, and as players descend on SW19, all sorts of fun advertising begins to emerge. Already, on day 1 of the Tournament, three different Wimbledon-associated companies have made their mark.

A big favourite of mine from last year was the Evian outdoor campaign (sorry folks, couldn’t find an image online anywhere annoyingly…) that turned their well-known mountain logo into upside-down strawberries drizzled with cream. Simple but oh-so effective. This year, parent company Danone have apparently gone all out in an effort to make Evian synonymous with British tennis, spending no less than £3m on marketing activity throughout the two-week tournament.

This year, their activity includes strong national print and outdoor billboard ads bringing to life their ‘Live Young’ strap-line (above), cute on-pack visuals featuring pink Evian-branded tennis balls, and a huge digital CBS outdoor campaign. Selected outdoor sites will showcase photographs from the day’s action at Wimbledon every evening of the tennis tournament. Over the next two weeks, the Evian activity planned by MEC and bought by Kinetic, will also include ads on the London Underground digital escalator panels (DEPs), when the temperature reaches 25 degrees.

Day-part campaigns on cross-track projectors (XTP) will target morning and evening commuters in the West End. In the morning, XTP screens will show images from Wimbledon, provided by Getty Images, but in the evenings the screens will show “Today at Wimbledon…” with display highlights from that day’s play. Very cool.

As ever, tennis fashion hits the headlines with the inevitable kit unveils from the leading names (Murray’s Fred Perry and Federer’s Nike to name a couple). And having already shared the love for Ralph Lauren’s marriage with tennis this season, I have to include their print campaign here too:

One word: classic. And doesn’t it make you want to summer in the Hamptons?

Finally, one more print campaign that caught my eye today amongst the pages and pages of Wimbledon supplements is from a brand, about whose marketing activities I may have been somewhat scathing in the past. That is Highland Spring, sponsor of Andy Murrayand obviously rival brand to tournament sponsor, Evian. Highland Spring’s clean, fresh, simplistic approach focusing on the British No.1 is arresting in its clarity – not a bad effect for a water brand to have.

While the war for the trophy is fought on court, may the battle of the brands commence.

Ralph Lauren & the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour: the perfect match

© Getty Images Entertainment: (L-R) Vera Zvonareva, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Anne Keothavong and Elena Dementieva

At the delectable Kensington Roof Gardens last night, tennis beauties mixed with the tailored glamour and chiselled jaws of Ralph Lauren’s most handsome ambassadors. To kick-off the pinnacle of the British tennis season at SW19 next week, Ralph Lauren came together with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in a perfectly conceived partnership to host the annual WTA’s pre-Wimbledon party in London.

Earlier that day, WTA girls got an ultimate Ralph makeover thanks to the racks of the designer’s luxe collections. Venus Williams wore a pre-Fall Black Label platinum satin tuxedo silk dress, while Serena Williams donned a Spring 09 Ralph Lauren Collection gold sequin pants with white top. Vera Zvonareva chose a platinum satin silk dress from pre-Fall, while Elena Dementieva showcased an owl neck dress from the Black Label. Brit star Anne Keothavong meanwhile took a liking to gold lace embroidered number from the Spring 09 collection.

All attended the party at Kensington Roof Gardens along with venue host and owner Sir Richard Branson (with Holly and Sam in tow), a selection of the London Social Set, a sprinkling of TV and music faces and of course players, coaches and their associated entourages. 

Guests were treated to an impressive array of summer barbeque goodies accompanied by seared tuna, poached salmon and bean salad, followed by strawberries & cream and mini chocolate tarts. All washed down with a specially Wimbledon-themed cocktail menu (cute). Then we danced it all off on the dancefloor ’til the wee small hours.

Safe to say, from the fabulous blazers and striking pinstripes modelled by all the staff and Tour hosts across the evening, I think I know what’s now top of the birthday list next month.

Great job Ralph – when’s the next one?

A little bird tells us that Wimbledon is coming

Photo: Courtesy of Wimbledon

How cool is this?

The rather lovely Bluebird restuarant – favourite haunt of the Kings Road brigade on Chelsea’s main thoroughfare – is welcoming Wimbledon in no understated fashion, as always this year.

Giant tennis balls, astro flooring and a Wimbledon-themed menu are all on offer, with special champagne cocktails (no doubt garnished with a strawb or two). And, you can follow all the action from SW19 on a giant screen in the forecourt, natch.

Game, set and match.

London Fashion Week glamour for England Women’s Cricket

While England’s male cricketing side suffers from an overdose of sand and severe deprivation of consistent form, their female counterparts back in the UK are indulging in a little fashionista glamour.

British designer Paul Costelloe, who will open London Fashion week on February 20, was once again the chosen designer tasked with creating the new formal wear for the England Women’s Cricket team for 2009.

© ECB / Christopher Lee

Fresh from the press release this morning, the new suits are (apparently) ”inspired by ‘Chariots of Fire’, infusing classic English style with chic contemporary cuts using materials such as fine wool crepe and cotton”…

Regardless, the move is a canny one for both parties. The England Women will potentially reach a different set of press through cross-pollination with the fashion world, and Paul Costelloe can reach out to a more mainstream audience with a foray into the sporting world, just at the time when both international cricket and London Fashion Week are hitting two very different sets of headlines.

Following nike’s needlework at Wimbledon this summer (producing arguably more column inches for Sharapova and Williams than their actual game) the marriage of sport and fashion seems to be an increasingly profitable platform.

© Nike / PA / Vogue.com

(As an aside, can I also point to the connection between the England cricket girls’ new formal kit, and my own musings on the influence of Gossip Girl on fashion this season? Check out how similar those Costelloe blazers are to the Abigail Lorick design sported by Blair Waldorf in the show…)