The new Formula 1 season has also heralded a new design for the BBC Sport Online’s Formula 1 page.

It’s clear that British interest in Formula 1 has increased in recent years thanks to a number of factors not least the ‘Lewis effect’ and all the talk of Jenson Button as a possible new British World Champion, Jenson’s girlfriend certainly believes he can do it.
 
The BBC is hoping this interest will continue to grow and has invested a reported £200m into bringing the sport back to the BBC including bringing back Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain as the theme tune for their programming.

Everybody loves a good theme tune, but what really caught my eye was the new design of BBC Sport Online’s Formula 1 page with its  black skin and abundant blue, yellow and red go-faster stripes.  There are lots of other differences such as a much larger selection of external links to other websites (more so than on other BBC Sport Online pages), insider gossip from their ‘mole’ and more which you can all explore on your own time.

The page has a similar look and feel to BBC iplayer with the same black skin as opposed to the white background that is used across the rest of the BBC Sport Online pages.  This may well be a subconscious reminder to the viewer that the highlights are available on iplayer through some sort of visual empathy…or it may simply be that one of the designers at the Beeb thinks the black skin is cooler.

What I did find a bit strange is that as soon as you click onto a Formula 1 story the next page you see is back to a white background. I wonder whether all the sports covered by the BBC online team will begin to have their own identity with different skin colours, each one allowed to stray a little further from the general BBC Sport Online look and feel or whether Formula 1 is a one off…I am also starting to wonder if any of you noticed any of this too or if you care?!?

By Alex Coulson on March 31st, 2009

Tags: BBC, Default, Digital marketing, Formula 1, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Media

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Brian O’Driscoll has at last led his country to 6 Nations victory and I’m sure the party may continue for some time but I was honoured to meet Ireland’s other Grand Slam winning captain, before O’Driscoll could lay claim to that title.

In the week before Ireland won the Grand Slam in this year’s RBS 6 Nations Championship, the 6 Nations Trophy made a special visit to Dublin to capitalise on Irish interest in all things rugby as they looked nervously towards their first Grand Slam since 1948.  Arriving early on St Patrick’s Day, the Trophy started its whistle-stop tour which involved extensive coverage across the major Irish broadcasters RTE, TV3, BBC Northern Ireland and Ulster TV. 

The Trophy was also an impromptu participant in the famous St Patrick’s Day Parade with fans of all ages getting their photograph with the sought-after silverware.  In addition shots of the Trophy outside famous Dublin landmarks were secured, ranging from the Molly Malone statue to Landsdowne Road - which received strong media pick-up in both Irish and UK media.

However, after the parade was over, the sea of green and the hangovers had parted, there is one memory that will stay with me for a long time.  I was honoured to accompany the Trophy to the home of 84-year old Karl Mullen, the captain of Ireland’s last Grand Slam team in 1948.  Karl and his family were extremely welcoming and there was something special about the whole occasion.  Doing the job that we do, we are lucky to meet and work with some famous names from the world of sport and entertainment but meeting Karl was a real honour and a strangely humbling experience.  It was a pleasure to see firsthand that a passion for sport never leaves you, and that sport is a language all of its own which has the immense power to unite people from all walks of life.  There is something about Karl, his nature and his hospitality that leaves you with nothing but admiration for this absolute Irish legend.  

By Alex Coulson on March 25th, 2009

Tags: Default, Media, Public relations, Rugby, Television

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To promote the launch of its new computer game “F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin” Warner Bros unleashed a pack of branded black cats, on Friday 13th February no less. 

If you’re wondering how to brand a cat rest assured that hot irons, hair clippers and spray paint were not involved, instead the cats were given branded cat jackets. 

Warner Bros added to the story by launching a hotline for cat owners keen for their black cat to be involved.  The effectiveness of these cats as walking billboards in their own right is admittedly dubious but using the cats in what I presume is the world’s first ‘cat-vertising’ campaign has definitely created talkability amongst the gaming media.

It’s a great example of thinking outside the box and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see similar copycat versions; you could say this idea has legs…or maybe wings or…

By Alex Coulson on February 24th, 2009

Tags: Brand marketing, Default, Experiential marketing, Public relations

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The Society of Editors conference is producing many interesting talking points on the future of the media but in addition to some of the more heavyweight issues being discussed there will always be journalists looking for the next scoop.  The Guardian’s Media Monkey is a good source for the latest gossip and today’s news is that Trinity Mirror’s Chief Executive Sly Bailey was driven the “20 yards” or so from the Society of Editors’ dinner back to her hotel causing Media Monkey to question her commitment to the Trinity Mirror green policy.  They’ve even helpfully plotted the route on a map:

Admittedly this won’t be a major talking point of the conference but it is proof at least that the media’s appetite for a story is as strong as ever!

By Alex Coulson on November 11th, 2008

Tags: Media

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It would appear that the answer, according to Puma at least, is an interest in shoes.  Usain runs in them and Paulo sings about them.

This unlikely combination left some rather bemused journalists writing reports of this new partnership such as Tom Fordyce’s amusing piece on BBC Sport Olympic blog.

In the pre-Olympic build up numerous sponsors and PR’s held media events attracting the world’s press keen to talk to the stars.  Ben Shpigel from The New York Times appears to have been to a few such events and is not always clear what the links are between the stars, the sponsor and the event.   Nutini’s song ‘New Shoes’ is used on Puma’s ATL campaign and Bolt fronts Puma running across their marketing campaign, so there is at least some validity behind the joint press conference (even if some of the journalists may not have immediately got it). 

I’m looking forward to the release of the ‘official’ reggae version of their combined single…

By Alex Coulson on August 19th, 2008

Tags: Brand marketing, Olympics, Public relations, Sponsorship

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A recent Newslines from sportbusiness.com announced that the Australian Sweeney Report revealed an apparent “drop in interest from the Australian public’s response to their sports stars”.  According to the report all but one of the top ten most marketable sporting ‘celebrities’ had dropped in the rankings of public interest, but more on this top 10 later.

The Sweeney Report was shocked by this unexpected drop in interest and drew the conclusion that it must be connected with player’s off-field antics that have led the public to question their endorsement of brands.  I read this to mean that they believe public will lose interest in athletes who don’t conduct themselves in a 100% prim and proper fashion when not engaged in their sport.

I think they might be missing the point a bit here…  Granted we all love sportsmen and women who excel in their sport but isn’t that just the half of it?  We also love a star – somebody who stands out and shows they aren’t just a machine but are also a genuine character who can engage with the public and the media.  Then naturally the sponsors will come knocking at their door and it might not always be a smooth ride but the interest will be high.

Take snooker where Ronnie O’Sullivan is undoubtedly the game’s biggest star.  He has a gift which has drawn hyperbolic comparisons to Tiger Woods and even Mozart but a major reason for his huge following is his character and moreover his character flaws.

Outside the sporting arena misdemeanours don’t seem to be a barrier to public interest and sponsors either.   The Kate Moss cocaine scandal actually resulted in another contract when she starred in the tongue-in-cheek Virgin Mobile advertisement.  It would seem that we may occasionally lose patience with our stars but we appreciate that they are human just like us and make their fair share of mistakes.
Back to the Australian public interest; although outside the top ten Shane Warne’s level of interest grew and he is another person who’s well reported off-field antics should land him a mobile phone sponsor!

The one sports star whose interest grew in the top ten was none other than ex-Liverpool player Harry Kewell who has recently landed a deal to front Australian fashion label Politix, maybe it’s an Australian thing but I’m not all that interested, how about you?

By Alex Coulson on July 4th, 2008

Tags: Brand marketing, Sponsorship

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The hardcore fans are still out there and their allegiance is strong to both club and country.  Much has been said about the sales of Spain and Portugal shirts rising this summer.  In Liverpool and the surrounding area Spain shirts have sold well thanks to Spanish striker Torres establishing himself as a Kop favourite.  Whilst Man Utd fans (wherever they live, Surrey as I understand it…) are snapping up Portugal shirts in homage to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s Fernando Torres in the English Premiership.

The multicultural Barclays Premier League will be well represented in Euro 2008 even if the English team isn’t there itself.  Austria and Switzerland will play host to many faces familiar to the English audience including players from Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Wigan, Man City, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough, Tottenham and Portsmouth.  The Coca-Cola Football League and Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League will be represented too plus the transfer gossip will link many players with a move to the Premiership after their performance this summer.

So there is still plenty of home interest but what qualifies as ‘home’ interest?

European communities are well established within Britain and they will be watching their ‘home’ teams with all the passion and support you would expect.  Tesco has not missed this opportunity and would appear to have adopted Poland bringing in extra supplies of polish snacks and beers in 150 stores in areas with large Polish communities as reported in The Times.  There are also strong areas of support for Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands to name a few.

As a football fan I’m still excited about Euro 2008 and without the inevitability of England getting knocked out it’s almost more enjoyable.   If the fans’ interest is strong then the brands will follow suit.  As Tim said in his previous blog, Euro 2008 is a time that brands can see how their long term football agendas measure up and will give them the chance to make sure things are on track in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

So whether you can lay claim to a great-great-grandmother from Portugal, or will be following a player from your club or you just like the shirt… which team will you be adopting?

By Alex Coulson on June 11th, 2008

Tags: Brand marketing, Euro 2008, Football

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