While attending this weekend’s Senior Open Championship two obvious differences struck me from the Open Championship staged at Royal Birkdale the previous weekend.

First was the sponsorship of the Senior Open Championship by Mastercard – or I should say presented by Mastercard.  As a branding exercise it was excellent with their logo appearing everywhere and on everything from the marshalls’ armbands to their very distinctive signage on each tee.  It would have been difficult for anyone to walk away at the end of the day without knowing who was the presenting sponsor.  A contrast to Royal Birkdale where the R&A’s Open patrons – Rolex, RBS, Unisys, Lexus, Nikon, MMC -  are given equal billing with no one brand dominating.

The second difference was the lack of a Bollinger Tent in the spectator village at Royal Troon.  For seasoned campaigners the Bollinger Tent at the Open is a must – a venue at which to see and be seen.  This weekend a glass of Hardys wine was about the best on offer! 

I wonder who decided that a Bollinger Tent was not necessary at the Senior Open?

By Fiona Foster on July 30th, 2008

Tags: Golf, Sponsorship

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If you’ve ever met someone from Synergy you’ll probably be aware that we’re a competitive bunch. The boys’ football triumph over Action Images a few weeks ago left the girls wanting to stake a claim on some sporting silverware.  From the Head of Experiential to the Media Communications team, whatever you throw at us, we Synergy girls are in it to win it.

On Friday 25 July, Steph, Lisa and myself joined forces with our new friends at Engine and took on 35 teams from the marketing world in the annual NABS netball tournament. The incumbent champions for the last two years were John Ayling & Associates. From the name you may have guessed this was no ordinary tournament for me - this was family warfare. As the sun beat down on Battersea Park, the Engine girls rallied round and the games began…

Round 1

Seven blonde bods took to the court as Engine faced Channel 4 first up.  It was a tense game as our newly founded team gelled together. The ball yo-yo’ed up and down the court as the defence held strong and with seconds to go our newly discovered shooter, fresh from the new business department at WCRS sent Engine one up. The whistle blew - we rejoiced, rehydrated and prepared for round 2 against Rapier.

Following a second victory for the Engine girls I began to think - could this be a winning team in the making?

Sadly not, Iris Nation with their professional netball dresses and rehearsed back-lines were on fire. We put up a fight but lost 3-1. Next came the pink ladies of the Financial Times who beat us in the dying seconds by one goal. Our chance of progressing to the next stage of the tournament was slipping away.

Despite our determined spirit and support from BBC Breakfast Sport presenter Chris Hollins cheering from the side lines, Engine’s netball team sadly did not make it through to the finals. A great travesty for the Engine team but fear not we’ll be back better, bolder and probably blonder next year.

Netball – just for girls???

Whilst trying to rally the troops to come along and support the team, netball didn’t really get the crowds at 60 Great Portland Street going. I wondered if this is because people see netball in the domain of spotty school girls rather than a fast and furious game that requires speed, strength and agility to challenge the most competitive sports professionals. A little research revealed that St Helen’s Rugby League star Jon Wilkin and Salford City Reds vice captain Robbie Paul have recently been training with the England Netball team.

Perhaps if netball were to be elevated to an Olympic sport its profile may change and people will give the sport the respect it deserves. To join the 18,300 people backing England international star Eboni Beckford-Chambers’ campaign to see netball at London 2012 sign up to Facebook group ‘Bid to get Netball in the 2012 Olympics’.  

We may yet see the O2 home to international netballers in 2012 but I make a pledge here and now that by the time London is hosting the greatest games on earth you’ll see Engine’s name engraved on the NABS netball trophy.

By Caroline Ayling on July 29th, 2008

Tags: Employee engagement, London 2012, Olympics, Synergy

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There’s not much you can do in 0.028 seconds.

Am sure it takes me significantly longer than that to blink for a start. But for one athlete, that was the difference between reaching her eighth Olympics Games and staying at home next month. Which is sadly where she will be having just missed out on Olympic selection, in what must be her last opportunity at the impressive age of 48. No spring chicken in the world of sprinting. Seven Olympics down, training for her eighth. Sir Steve Redgrave stand aside, this woman means business.

Anyone who like me, used to devour athletics on TV as a young kid in the 1980s, will recall the name Merlene Ottey. The Jamaican-born sprinter is ranked 4th on the list of all time female athletes in the 100m, and 3rd in the 200m rankings. She was always up there on the podium, the Jamaican anthem playing loudly. Well that is until she switched allegiance away from her Caribbean roots (don’t get me started on that subject…choose your country and stick to it in my opinion, however…) Changing her nationality followed a number of controversial years for Ottey in which she fell out with the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) against team selection disputes and fought to clear her name of suspected anabolic steroid use, charges that she was cleared of in 2000.

2002 was the year Ottey adopted a new country and began to represent her new home of Slovenia, training under Slovenian coach Srdjan Djordjevic. Then it was the Slovenian anthem that would belt out in athletics stadiums around the world. If you ever want to learn more about national anthems, note that Slovenian’s is taken from the 7th stanza of the poem ‘A Toast’ written by France Prešeren in 1844. No idea how the actual tune goes, less reggae undertones than Jamaica’s I imagine.

I digress.

Along with Swedish fencer Kirstin Palm, Ottey is the only woman to have competed at seven Olympic Games; her Olympic career commencing in Moscow in 1980. In five World Championships, she has won 13 medals (three gold, four silver and six bronze medals). In the Olympics, she has won two silver and five bronze medals; more Olympic medals than any other athlete from the Western Hemisphere. Not forgetting being the first female Caribbean athlete to win an Olympic medal. That was pre-Slovenia days mind. In her impressive medal collection, only an Olympic gold medal eludes her.

Call me sentimental but it would have been inspiring to witness Merlene run in Beijing - even had she not qualified for the semi final stages in the sprint events, a feat she succeeded in doing at the age of 44 in Athens. Perhaps I’m feeling particularly sentimental this month having personally witnessed the drama that unfolded at Royal Birkdale when Greg Norman, at the age of 53, threatened to claim one of the least expected sporting victories ever and take home the Claret Jug as Open Champion for a third time. A tournament he last won in 1993. Sadly for Norman, like Ottey, there was to be no fairytale ending in 2008 but regardless I applaud them both for their sheer grit and determination, physical excellence and the ability to (very nearly) defiantly roll back their glory years.

(Ottey failed by 0.028 seconds to reach her eighth Olympic Games, aged 48 in 2008).

By Stephanie Branston on July 29th, 2008

Tags: Athletics, Golf, Olympics

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In the ever evolving world that is sponsorship PR, there are two factors that increasingly hit our radar again and again:

1. A client’s request to come up with an idea that is unique, something never been done before, one that will grip news editors, secure acres of coverage, go down in history. Ideally the idea should also be engaging, clever and memorable. And must reward customers too.

No mean feat - a new, engaging, rewarding killer idea.
Leave it with us.

2. The power of celebville. The obsession with celebrities and fame, Heat headlines and Hello! ‘exclusives’ which shows no signs of truly waning. People yearn to be famous particularly those with no discerning talent. Shame on them. I don’t get it but then I don’t actively choose to be the centre of attention, preferring to promote clients; make them more famous for what they do, rather then me.

However, an idea that recently caught my eye is one that manages to combine the two - a never been done before corker that will guarantee headlines and media coverage across the land. And at the same time, a stunt that will make normal beings famous. Give an everyday Joe his 15 seconds of fame. Although in this case, it will be a whole hour; an impressive 3,600 seconds.

And I love it enough to (temporarily) abandon my ‘I really don’t want to be in the limelight, honestly I blush very easily’ genes and sign up for my very own moment in the media spotlight.

Those that live in London will almost certainly be familiar with the Fourth Plinth. Those who don’t juggle their evening commute reading between London Lite, the London Paper and the Evening Standard may be happily oblivious so here goes; the Fourth Plinth is in the north-west of Trafalgar Square. Built in 1841, it was originally intended for an equestrian statue but remained empty for years. It is now the location for specially commissioned art works. The most talked about commission unveiled on the Fourth Plinth was Marc Quinn’s sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant which was taken down in October 2007.

Lapper was born with no arms and shortened legs. Quinn’s inspiration came from the fact that there was ‘no positive representation of disability in the history of public art’.

Controversial? Absolutely. Powerful enough to change peoples’ perceptions of disability and motherhood. Definitely. It was widely viewed as a success, capturing the attention of the public and global media alike.

Alison Lapper has long gone. Thomas Schütte’s Model for a Hotel 2007, unveiled in November 2007, is currently on the Fourth Plinth.

But it’s a future resident of the Plinth that I am most interested by; Antony Gormley’s ‘One and Other’. Antony Gormley and Yinka Shonibare (to follow later in the year) were chosen from a shortlist of six artists. Gormley? I know the name. English sculptor, Londoner by birth, him of Angel of the North fame, erected in Gateshead back in 1998. And a range of other public sculpture commissions.

For ‘One and Other’, Antony is looking for 2,400 members of the public who have volunteered to stand on the plinth for an hour at a time.

I love it. It’s a cracker. And so simple. I’m inspired and I find myself wanting to be part of it.

The official line from Gormley is “Through elevation onto the plinth and removal from common ground, the subjective living body becomes both representation and representative, encouraging consideration of diversity, vulnerability and the individual in contemporary society’.

Hmmmm, I’m not so sure that did it for me Ant. My motivation is driven by an opportunity to be part of history in a vibrant city in which I have lived for the past 9 years. Perhaps also because Trafalgar Square, location of the Fouth Plinth, holds happy memories for me. Having worked on the historic npower Ashes Series of 2005, I was privileged to watch the England cricket team’s victorious tour parade perched on some tall column owned by a chap called Nelson. Top view, what a summer. And the final brucie bonus is that it’s nice and close to the office; easy to squeeze in my hour of plinth service between meetings. Convenience is everything.

I applaud Antony Gormley for his creative concept and I high five the Mayor of London’s Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group for choosing it. When you see Gormley’s Fourth Plinth unveiled, whenever that is, think of me. Website ballot permitting, I will be there soaking up the spotlight. Me, myself and I.
For one hour only.

By Stephanie Branston on July 24th, 2008

Tags: Ashes, Public relations, Sponsorship, The Arts

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With all the innovation and technology which surrounds the world of F1, where speed is key and winning is everything, it has become apparent that a showcar based simulator ticks all the boxes in providing The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with an interactive consumer event with mass appeal and brand engagement.

Over the course of the season to date we’ve taken the RBS Grand Prix Challenge (GPC) to Singapore and most recently Paris where fans in the heart of the respective cities business districts tested their reactions and skills.

Throughout the week of the GPC, queues of inquisitive commuters, tourists and students had the opportunity to get a realistic impression of what it may be like to sit in and race the state-of-the-art simulator based around a full-size AT&T Williams Formula 1 show car. Everyone drives two laps of the RBS track - a specially developed generic circuit - with the fastest three drivers winning the opportunity to attend the Driver Day Race-off, where they went head to head with an AT&T Williams driver either Nico Rosberg or Kazuki Nakajima in front of the mass press packs.

I was amazed with the amount of interest a replica F1 car can generate, especially amongst the male population. The competition to gain the fastest lap time between co-workers and friends was fierce, with many repeat visitors even videoing the track to learn the corners at home!

It is sometimes good to remember that simple events, executed well, which offer consumers an interactive, once in a life time opportunity provide the most meaningful experiences for a brand.

By Emily Waring on July 24th, 2008

Tags: Event management service, Experiential marketing, Formula 1, Sponsorship

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The name Karen Earl has always been something of a benchmark for the sponsorship sector.  As an individual she is thoughtful, fair-minded and a model of diplomacy - all characteristics that made her the obvious choice to take over as chair of the European Sponsorship Association in 2007.

Click here to read the full article, courtesy of The Hollis Sponsorship Newsletter. 

By Synergy on July 24th, 2008

Tags: Press Clipping

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Farewell then, to Robinsons’ sponsorship of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show, following this week’s decision by the BBC Trust to end the Corporations’s short-lived foray into broadcast sponsorship.

BBC signed a two-year agreement with Britvic, reputedly worth £200,000, for Robinsons to brand Sports Personality from 2007. But the deal was doomed from the moment that ITV and the RadioCentre both mounted high-profile post-show attacks on it, highlighting its breaches of BBC policy and - somewhat less convincingly given the modest size of the deal - alleging that such agreements would distort the market for broadcast sponsorship.

As a result Sports Personality 2008 will not be Robinsons-branded unless the deal can be renegotiated to make the show editorially compliant, and the opportunity will be withdrawn from 2009 along with a number of similar, smaller projects.

An unhappy episode and an inevitable result, but overall a good thing. Bottom line, this was an ill-conceived and (as anyone who watched the 2007 show would agree) poorly executed deal which took the BBC into no-win territory both commercially and editorially.

Which is not to say that sponsorship doesn’t have a role to play going forward for the BBC – quite the reverse.

The Corporation’s search for alternative revenue sources beyond the licence fee will quite rightly continue. But the big wins are in digital services, international markets and the BBC archive – and as those models develop, so will sponsorship opportunities.

But on-air in the UK, sponsors should only be seen on the BBC where they’ve quite naturally and prominently been seen for years - as sponsors of events which the BBC covers.

By Tim Crow on July 23rd, 2008

Tags: BBC, Broadcast sponsorship, Television

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By Georgina Spring on July 23rd, 2008

Tags: Athletics, London 2012, Olympics, Sponsorship

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Representing a sponsor at an event is usually a fairly straightforward procedure for the Synergy Communications team as all the hard work is done in advance. The public relations remit on site usually involves setting up interviews, making sure our brand appears in as many photos and articles as possible, mingling with the media and writing a few press releases. However, on one occasion last week I was happily towing the line on behalf of Ballantine’s Scotch whisky at the Barclays Scottish Open when a rather significant curve ball was hurled in my direction.

Approached by the Chief Press Officer for the European Tour, the request was made to sound fairly innocuous… “Angel Cabrera is about to come off the course and we really need someone who can speak Spanish to translate for the press conference.” Cue a quick scan of the room to see if there was someone more suitable around and a desperate search to find an excuse that would get me out of doing this. He was right that I speak some Spanish, but neither mastering golf vocabulary nor addressing a packed press conference is my forte in any language.

My blank expression obviously didn’t convey my inner anxiety successfully as the next thing I knew I was seated at the top table, next to one of the world’s top golfers, in front of the world’s golf press. Hoping for reassurance I looked out into the crowd, only to see my colleague Steph grinning and our snapper pointing his lens at me. No comfort there.

The press conference was soon underway and the questions were flying in my direction. With some help from Angel and the realisation that with no other Spanish speakers in the room no one would know if my translations weren’t spot on, it wasn’t quite as bad as I had feared.

Other than feeling very proud of myself for rising to the challenge, the best part was seeing myself quoted on the back page of the nationals. They might have been attributed to Angel, but I knew it was my choice of words and it’s certainly the closest I’ll be to appearing in print for a while.

On a final note, you’ll be pleased to know that I also learnt something from my translation experience. I now know the words for birdie, putter and tee… un birdie, un putter and un tee.

By Kelly Russell on July 23rd, 2008

Tags: Golf, Public relations, Sponsorship, Synergy

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They say one man is never bigger than the sport but there was one conversation that I heard many times over up at Royal Birkdale last week from the hospitality tents to the media centre – will we (media, sponsors, PR agencies & spectators) miss Tiger Woods?

Initial evidence would seem to suggest the answer lies in what side of the Atlantic you’re on. A nervous American TV executive told me that their viewing figures would ‘drop off a cliff’ while Woods kept his knee up at home. Evidence from previous tournaments would seem to back him up – US audiences regularly suffer a fifty percent drop when Woods is not involved at the top of a leaderboard.

Over here it was a different story though with an impressive though unofficial, over-night peak on BBC of 4.7 million watching Harrington collect his second consecutive Claret Jug. This was down on last year’s peak of 5.7 million BUT this figure was far larger than either of the previous years – when Woods was the winner. In addition, the story of a resurgent Greg Norman kept the pages and airtime filled and injected The Open with some much needed romance (and glamour from the new Mrs Norman). The galleries weren’t affected either with over 200,000 through the gates over the four days despite the inclement conditions making it the sixth highest attended in Open history.

Initial evidence is that the UK audience was not at all affected by the loss of Tiger - indeed it raised the hopes of a local winner. The more difficult question, that only the next few months will tell for the American TV exec, will be the longer term affect this will have on US audiences (the economic driver of the sport) and critically The Ryder Cup in a few months.

By Dominic Curran on July 23rd, 2008

Tags: Golf, Public relations, Television audiences, Tiger Woods

2 comments