Just occasionally I write about politics and football, and so it is that today I bring you a fascinating section in Tony Blair’s new memoir where he discusses agonising over whether or not to sack Gordon Brown and he recounts a conversation – actually, the implication is repeated conversations – with Sir Alex Ferguson:

…there is a crucial difference between political management and running, say, a company or a football team. A conversation I used to have with Alex Ferguson pinpointed this. ‘What would you do if you had a really difficult but brilliant player causing you problems?’ I would ask. ‘Get rid of them’ he would reply. ‘And supposing after you got rid of them they were still in the dressing room, and in the squad?’ I would say. ‘That would be a different matter’ he would reply, laughing.

Now I know some of you may already be reaching for a large pinch of salt given the former PM’s previous unhappy brush with footballing (not to say other) recollections. It’s passed into urban mythology, of course, that Blair lied about having watched Jackie Milburn at St James’ Park, but let’s put the salt back (on this one at least) because he was subsequently proved to have been misquoted.

Blair’s conclusion, of course, was that football and politics are different, and that it was better to keep Brown in the team rather than sacking him. And we all know what happened next: resignations, and relegation.

I can’t help but wonder what Sir Alex would have done if he’d been in Blair’s position.

I’m betting he’d have sacked Brown, let him stew in the reserves (ie back benches) and arranged for a transfer to the SNP.

Ask David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Andrei Kanchelskis, Paul Ince, Gordon Strachan and Mark Hughes – to name a few.

Tony Blair’s memoir, ‘A Journey’, is published by Hutchinson.

By Tim Crow on September 2nd, 2010

Tags: David Beckham , Football , Manchester United , Politics

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The last week in sport has been jam-packed with enough controversy to keep talkSPORT listeners quarrelling until 2018; be it the News of the World’s revelations about the Pakistan Cricket team, Monty’s baffling decision to omit Paul Casey from the European Ryder Cup team (with revelations about his & Tiger’s private lives still hanging uncomfortably in the air), Bloodgate Doctor Wendy Chapman being cleared of deception, the continuing debate over the sex of Caster Semenya, or the world first of Michael Schumacher actually admitting fault following his attempt to make Reubens Barrichello a permanent feature of the Hungaroring.

Despite this, the one thing that really appealed to me (for all the right reasons) was the start of Channel 4’s programming dedicated to the London 2012 Paralympic Games, brought to life with two new shows: Inside Incredible Athletes, and That Paralympic Show. The launch naturally coincided with the landmark of two years to go to the opening of the Paralympic Games, and while I can’t remember a thing that happened for the equivalent mark for the London 2012 Olympic Games, I’m now going to be regularly tuning in to Channel 4’s coverage.

There was surprise when the Beeb didn’t win the rights to the Paralympics but I was personally delighted by LOCOG’s foresight. I think it’s often overlooked that Channel 4 is a public-service broadcaster, and I was confident they would bring a more piercing lens on the Paralympics and Paralympians, in light of their heritage of innovative programming. I still look back with fond memories of their coverage of NFL, Football Italia, Sumo and Kabbadi (OK, not so much Kabbadi), and TransWorldSport was a regular staple for me on Saturday mornings.

The programmes themselves were a great mix of scientific insight, personality and humour. ‘Inside Incredible Athletes’ got under their skin of Paralympians using scientific tests and state-of-the-art scanning technology to create ‘biomechanical portraits’, in other words, the Science behind their disability. ‘That Paralympic Show’, with its magazine format, focused much more on the personalities of the athletes, their stories, their sports, and included humorous features such as ‘Pimp my Chair’ – An idea that wouldn’t have made the Beeb’s cutting room floor.

Employing T4 stalwart Rick Edwards to front programming alongside renowned Paralympian Ade Adepitan was a good choice, and a great way to widen the appeal of the Paralympics to a younger audience, an important job in light of viewing figures for the Games themselves which historically tend to be watched, in the majority, by the over 50’s. It doesn’t end there though, and Channel 4 has commendably launched a £500,000 initiative to identify and train new on-screen talent with disabilities to play a leading role in the coverage of the London 2012 Olympics. The broadcaster is aiming for 50% of its presenting team covering the Games to be disabled.

As for the sponsors of Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage, BT & Sainsbury’s both have an unrivalled opportunity to change the way consumers perceive their organisations. While there is the obvious benefit of a two year broadcast sponsorship to drive awareness of their association (something the BBC could never offer), both brands have the chance to truly integrate the Paralympics into their brand marketing over the next two years and beyond, and steal considerable thunder from the Olympic sponsor family. Taking inspiration from Channel 4’s initiatives would be a good start.

It’s also good to see two brands with strong British heritage sponsoring an event born on these shores as the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948. BT & Sainsbury’s can speak to the majority of the UK population and if they fulfil commitments to ‘make a lasting difference to attitudes towards disability in the UK and create opportunities for change in disabled people’s lives’, then they will have contributed to a ‘real’ legacy. In my opinion, that’s much more powerful than the legacy claims of LOCOG’s swollen band of Sustainability partners – a prize to anyone who can name them all without Googling.

How they deliver on these promises remains to be seen, but I hope they aren’t afraid to use Paralympians to front their wider brand and product marketing campaigns. Both brands need to be bold and I’d urge them to consider an OFCOM stat I’m firmly attached to: ‘69% of able bodied people said they would not be put off buying a product advertised by a ‘severely’ (visibly) disabled person’. I hope through their combined efforts by 2012 this will increase to at least 80% of the UK population.

BT, whose credentials within Paralympic sport are well established after years of support for the Paralympic World Cup, already have a suite of ambassadors from which to front their efforts. Sainsbury’s made their first step this week, with the signing of Ellie Simmonds to front their Active Kids programme, on the back of a record breaking IPC Swimming Championships for Paralympics GB.

If both brands work in tandem with Channel 4, there’s a real chance that by 2012 the UK public will recognise just as many Paralympic athletes as Olympic ones. When considering Paralympics GB is by far the most successful Team we have in UK sport (102 medals in Beijing), and that this will be the first time they’ve performed on home soil since 1948, I only hope that thousands of us are cheering them on by name and showing our appreciation of their achievements as world-class athletes, as we will with Team GB.

So if you, like me, are tired of getting lost in the barrage of sleaze, politics, and ego that shows no sign of abating in the wider sporting world, definitely make the effort to follow Channel 4’s Paralympic coverage from now until 2012.

By Paul Whitehead on September 1st, 2010

Tags: BBC , Brand marketing , Broadcast sponsorship , London 2012 , Olympic sponsorship , Olympics , Team GB

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A new football season has kicked off and, for a moment at least, optimism is all around as every club and every fan starts the new campaign with dreams of glory. At the same time, a host of sponsors – some familiar, but many of them new to football this season – begin their journeys too. So, in the time-honoured manner of early season previews, let’s take a look at some of the sponsorships, sponsors and trends to look out for.

England – this space for sale.

The England team has of course started the season without a team sponsor, the FA having so far failed to find a replacement for Nationwide in the wake of England’s disastrous World Cup. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the FA to fill the gap and which company comes on board to partner a team, manager and organisation with, for the time being at least, a lot of on- and off- field baggage.

England 2018?

Everybody remembers where they were when London won the IOC vote to stage the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Will we all look back on 2 December 2010 in the same way? That is of course the day when we’ll find out whether the dream scenario of a 2018 World Cup in England will follow London 2012 and RWC 2015. Whichever way the FIFA vote goes, it will have a defining effect on the zeitgeist of this season – and many seasons to come if it goes the right way. Let’s hope it does.

Rise of the New Red Corporates

Manchester United and Liverpool start this season with new shirt sponsors, Aon and Standard Chartered respectively. Both are primarily corporate sponsorships focused on driving awareness, in particular among the clubs’ Far East fan bases. But both will need to do more than use the sponsorships as ‘walking billboards’ (as the CEO of one was quoted the other day) to drive credibility and relevance in the UK, particularly – being financial brands – against the background of the two clubs’ debt issues. To compare in parallel how Aon and Standard Chartered approach the challenge, particularly in the first, critical year, will be well worth watching.

Energy Wars

Another one to watch is the energy category. One year ago e.on announced that it was not renewing its FA Cup sponsorship. Then npower took over the Football League title sponsorship as well as signing up as a partner of England’s 2018 Bid. Following which, in an unusual and surprising move, e.on did an about-turn and announced a 1-year extension to the FA Cup deal. And so, for one more year at least, battle is re-joined in football between the two brands, npower having previously used its Wembley partnership to regularly ambush e.on, particularly around the FA Cup Final.

Will Barclays find a football point of view?

This season will be Barclays’ seventh as Premiership title sponsors, and I’ll be interested to see how their positioning evolves. Against the background of the banking category’s image problems and the less desirable financial elements of the Premiership – debt and runaway wages – this is a tough job. But to me Barclays’ ‘bringing fans closer to football’ positioning looks increasingly generic and much in need of a more differentiating and resonant point of view.

Spurs – one becomes two

Spurs’ new strategy of having two shirt sponsors – one for Premiership matches, and one for Cup games – has been the big early season sponsorship story, with many observers hailing it as a positive move. I’m not so sure. Whilst there’s no doubt it’s worked for Spurs’ balance sheet – getting them to the financial number they needed, but couldn’t find, from one sponsor – for sponsors and sponsorship I believe it’s a backward step, because it takes sponsorship back to being all about media-led visibility rather than experience-led engagement. And the jury is still very much out as to how Spurs fans will react to another shirt with another sponsor. Watch this space.

Social Football

The 2009/10 domestic football season was the first in which social media really started to make an impact on the football brand landscape, and this trend continued around the World Cup, with even FIFA President Sepp Blatter getting into the act in person on Twitter. Although, sadly, I doubt that we’ll see other top figures from English football officialdom following suit anytime soon, the continuing and inexorable rise of social media to the top table of football marketing strategy is the trend to watch this season, and if you’re a brand in football without a social media strategy and presence, you need one – fast.

This article was first published in the July/August 2010 edition of Platform

By Tim Crow on August 31st, 2010

Tags: Barclays Premier League , FA Cup , Football , Football Sponsorship , Manchester United , Social Media , Sponsorship

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Sunday 29th August 2010. As the motorway jams slowly grow in time for a good old fashioned Bank Holiday Monday traffic crescendo, Colin Montgomerie will have other things on his mind when he (at last) announces the final European 12-man 2010 Ryder Cup team.

Drum roll.

No questions about Monty’s personal life please (“or I’ll get my lawyers out, I just want to talk about the golf”) which, quite frankly, is fair enough. The final team selection is way more interesting and doesn’t require any press super-injunctions.

Now isn’t the time to debate the merits of Europe’s Ryder Cup selection process, although clearly the system is far from ideal. Having worked on Wales’s original Ryder Cup bid team back in 2001, I am far more excited about the prospect of what Celtic Manor will deliver, as well as which players will go head to head as the epic battle takes place on Welsh soil for the first time ever.

For Monty, his job is simple. Select the 12 best players for the job to enable Europe to win back the Ryder Cup. Sounds easy. However, the task of choosing the team is nothing short of mission impossible for our man up in Gleneagles.

In breaking news this afternoon, Scottish Open champion Francesco Molinari has just clinched a place in the team after an injury forced Ross McGowan to quit the Johnnie Walker Championship. The Italian Molinari joins Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Ross Fisher at Celtic Manor in October. They are guaranteed to be there – the final two automatic spots and three wildcards are still up for grabs.

All eyes will be on this weekend’s final Tour results in Scotland and America, which may yet have a critical impact on the team’s final make-up. Which is why the charismatic Miguel Angel Jimenez has opted to miss a major family wedding (poor old nephew) to play at Gleneagles this weekend. Should he drop out of the guaranteed places, my first wildcard would go to the Spaniard for showing real dedication to the cause, as well as for the spirit he will undoubtedly bring to the dressing room. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

This Saturday night will see Monty hosting a dinner at his newly-built mansion for his three elected Ryder Cup vice-captains: Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley. What a fantastic place for any flies on the wall to loiter. Between the quartet, they will debate who of the remaining players truly contending for wildcard selection will be granted one of the places.

Interestingly, the players fall neatly into two groups:

- The ‘stars’ who have remained in the States chasing the American dollar, choosing not to play in Europe despite Monty’s requests to do so (Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington & Luke Donald)

- The lesser known foot soldiers who have demonstrated gut-busting determination to make the team, as well as far greater dedication to the European Tour (Alvaro Quiros, Robert Karlsson, Simon Dyson. Sadly no place for the injured Ross McGowan now, next time)

Peter Hanson’s victory in last weekend’s Czech Open will have added to Monty’s headaches this weekend, as his win pushed Paul Casey out of the automatic qualifying spots.

Left to a deciding committee of Engine employees, following a straw poll I did at 60 Great Portland Street this afternoon, Engine’s chosen three for the wildcard places were Paul Casey, Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington – with Luke Donald just behind and a few sympathy votes for Henrik Stenson (got to love the spirit the Swedes give a Ryder Cup team), Sergio Garcia (a wild long shot but the heartbeat of the previous five Ryder Cup teams) and Bradley Dredge (the boyo knows how to play at Celtic Manor).

As last viewing, the latest odds suggest it will be either Justin Rose or Luke Donald who will miss out a place. Donald has a great Ryder Cup record but is currently 1/3 to be selected and Rose, who despite being unbeaten in the 2008 Ryder Cup, has the longest odds of the four leading players at 1/2.  Harrington, despite poor form this season, looks set to line up at Celtic Manor (heavily odds-on 1/33 favourite) and Casey is not far behind at 1/12.

As for me, the mantra is simple.

Monty must select the players the Americans would least like to face. On that basis alone, my votes would go to Padraig Harrington (three time Major winner, now must step up and re-find his form), Luke Donald (number 10 in the world rankings, greatly admired in the US and unbeaten in Ryder Cup partnership) and Paul Casey (a decent Ryder Cup record although a more reluctant personal choice as I think he should have showed up at Gleneagles). If Justin Rose (a natural partner for Ian Poulter and the world number 22) were to sneak in at the final hour, I won’t be sorry. Have always had a soft spot for our English Rose. The US picks are also far from certain, and it will be interesting to see what Corey Pavin does with his 12 men, particularly whether the newly-divorced Tiger Woods will be lining up at Celtic Manor.

Lots of unanswered questions still. A big weekend of golf ahead. 35 days to go until the main event tees off. Let (selection) battle commence…

By Stephanie Branston on August 26th, 2010

Tags: Golf , Ryder Cup , Sport

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Mud-slinging is not an event at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in September, but it just as well might be.

It appears all is not well in Delhi.

On August 16 organisers said the venues would be ready by August 25th. That was yesterday. Has there been confirmation? I’m still looking.

Members of the Organising Committee have been suspended for alleged corruption or, in other words, fingers in the till. Indian Railways, the event’s largest sponsor, is withholding a payment of $30million because they say the money is going to “outside parties”, not to the Games themselves.

One of those “outside parties” is reported to be the international sports marketing company, Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM), but its MD, Mike Bushell, says he hasn’t been paid anything and is claiming a minimum of $12million in compensation. FastTrack has also been dragged into the mire but, interestingly, both companies have been defended by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) suggesting a serious divide between CGF (the Governing Body) and the local Organising Committee (OC).

Even the Queen has been dragged in, reportedly being in a “cold fury” about the allegations which reflect upon the Queen’s Baton Relay which she launched in London last October.

Undeniably, it’s all a bit of a mess, but as you read the many attempts to gloss over the difficulties and paint a brighter picture, you can’t help hoping that once the Games start, all these grimey stories will fade into the background.

Because, even though the Commonwealth Games may not carry the same kudos as major global events such as the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup, they do bring out the inevitable national fervour in those Commonwealth countries that participate. And, in the case of many of those countries (our own home nations to name but four), medals are a possibility precisely because other, stronger countries cannot take part.

We may not be stuck to the TV, computers and other digital devices in quite the same numbers as we will be when the Olympic Games come to London, but a large proportion of the nation will enjoy the events, the competition, the personal endeavour stories and, above all else, the success stories.

Because this is what the Olympics, the World Cup and, yes, the Commonwealth Games all have in common – the sense of excitement and achievement; the admiration of those many athletes who spend hours training for their one moment of glory. And it’s our sense of patriotism – we love it when our country wins.

So, even if some in Glasgow have been watching with some horror at the goings-on in Delhi and secretly wondering why they spent so much money and effort in securing the Commonwealth Games for 2014, I suggest they can relax in the knowledge that it will all come out right on the Opening Ceremony night and they will bring the flag back to Glasgow after the Closing Ceremony with eager anticipation for the next four years.

All the Glasgow Organising Committee has to do is ensure that the Games are well-organised, that there’s not a whiff of scandal and – oh did we mention this before? – that there are no security breaches.  If there’s one of those in Delhi, that would be a much more serious issue to get over.  Fingers crossed there won’t be.

By Karen Earl on August 26th, 2010

Tags: Commonwealth Games , Default , Glasgow 2014 , London 2012 , Olympics , World Cup

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For the past two years, my office pod wall has been adorned with a quotation from Ralph Lauren, torn from a magazine advertisement for fashion website Brand Alley:

“I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.”

Ever since I first came across it, this kernel of an idea has informed my interest and belief in the power of brand communications. Marketing that goes beyond the product, that can trigger and play on emotion and aspiration – now that is powerful.

So it was with interest that I came across the latest development in Ralph Lauren’s marketing of their children’s wear. ‘The RL Gang’ has been created as a group of fictional child ambassadors for the label’s kids range, living for the most part online, on a dedicated micro site. Visitors watch the video story unfold of Hudson, Willow and friends having fun and getting up to mischief in the schoolroom.

And all the while looking sensationally adorable, kitted out head-to-toe in the latest Ralph Lauren Kids back-to-school fall season range.

There’s no denying it, the film feature is beautifully produced. Traditional children’s book illustrations in fine-line ink and watercolour are interlaced with live action from the exceptionally cute child models as they run around their animated school yard. Added kudos is given by narration from Hollywood’s Harry Connick Jr.

The impression is a warm glow of childlike imagination and adventure, strongly conveying the sense (illusory or otherwise) that Ralph Lauren loves your kids as much as you do. The idea, of course, being that Mom logs on, watches how delightful Willow looks in her Cotton-Cashmere Sampler Jacket and thinks how cute her own offspring would look similarly attired.

Naturally, the route to purchase is instantaneous. Via links embedded throughout the film, Mom can hover over each of Willow’s garments and ’shop W’s look’, taking her straight to the online store for purchase.

If a particular role model strikes a chord, Mom can even peek inside the little one’s ‘closet’ to skip through their personal style and view their particular collection – be it Oliver’s country-gentleman-in-the-making or Zoe’s more rock chick vibe. Mothers of wannabe Suri Cruises can shop the Mae look.

But that’s not all. As a nice addition, RL has produced a kids storybook (yes, a real old-fashioned traditional paper page-turner) to go alongside the digital campaign that captures the story in an offline platform. In ten different languages, no less. And a percentage of the proceeds from each $18.95 book sale go straight to charity. It’s a cute idea, and whilst the marketer in me thinks the book reads like a slightly more engaging version of the kidswear fall catalogue, essentially it’s a well-presented children’s story book that just so happens to dress all its characters in Ralph Lauren.

Because the production values are so strong, the video is highly watchable and I should imagine any Moms logging on do watch it in its entirety and that the click-through rate to the online store is high. It beautifully captures the brand values and presents them in a way that Moms can relate to – a visual representation of childlike imagination.

So to return to Ralph’s principle, The RL Gang sees the brand staying true to its guiding light. If it were just about the clothes, the brand could simply post a digital catalogue online. Ultimately, Moms hope for and dream of the very best for their kids, and The RL Gang has brought this to life perfectly.

By Lucie Bartlett on August 20th, 2010

Tags: Brand marketing , Communications , Digital marketing , Fashion

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