Author archive for ‘Synergy’
Tim Crow tells Marketing magazine that ”the main legacy of the [World Cup] bidding process is that FIFA will have to put its house in order, and be seen to do so.”
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By Synergy on December 2nd, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Brand Republic features Synergy’s global digital debate on the greatest sports marketing innovation of modern times.
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By Synergy on November 18th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Tim Crow comments in Brand Republic on the key marketing trends around the forthcoming Australia v England Ashes cricket series.
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By Synergy on November 16th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
If you ask industry experts or observers of sport to identify the greatest ever sport marketing innovation, it is reasonable to assume the resultant list would consist of the usual suspects: probably something executed by Red Bull, Nike, or Real Madrid; or perhaps one of the many Mark McCormack-inspired sport marketing initiatives. Such innovations are often iconic, era-defining, sometimes signifying major paradigm shifts in sport marketing thought or practice.
For me, Red Bull is my personal favourite sports marketing innovation; the brand is a phenomenon that has changed the landscape of sport. From its X-Fighters, to Travis Pastrana jumping Long Beach Harbour in a Subaru, to the company’s Flugtag air racing series, the brand has become the sport, and the sport has become the brand. What started out with an Austrian guy buying the right to manufacture a drink that already existed (a natural drink from Thailand that was thought to have stamina-enhancing properties) has become a sporting empire that either defines the sports in which it is present, or else successfully competes in sports where other brands also have a presence. In either case, Red Bull has popularised or developed sports that meet the needs of a rapidly changing marketplace, but it has also brought a sense of excitement and daring to other sports in which it is involved.
Yet profound sport marketing innovations are not necessarily the most obvious, big, bold, global, Red Bull-type statements that touch all of us in some way. Rather, they are sometimes small, subtle changes that affect how sport is staged and played, how it is consumed, and whether it is a success. Alternatively, they are the result of close alliances between different sporting stakeholders that somehow affect peoples’ lives or behaviour: no less significant than Galacticos-era Real Madrid, and with effects equally as ground-breaking as Nike’s Air Jordans.
In this context, it is worthwhile differentiating between sport marketing and marketing through sport. At the heart of sport marketing is what economists call ‘the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis’. In other words, the core product in sport and what gives that product its strength is unpredictability: not knowing who will win a competitive contest between the individuals or teams involved. As such, any development that has promoted uncertainty has to be deemed as being a sport marketing innovation, whether it is a small amendment to the rules, a change in competition format, or the restructuring of a league. Within these parameters, the introduction of the Indian Premier League and the 1992 restructuring of the UEFA Champions League both merit being labelled as major sport marketing innovations in the way they changed the nature of the product and competition. So too, the rule changes that truncated Michael Schumacher’s dominance of Formula 1; at a time when the sport’s popularity was dwindling rapidly, changes to key regulations re-introduced a sense of competitive balance into the sport which in turn boosted its commercial attractiveness and its appeal amongst fans, while strengthening the core product.
The way in which marketing through sport also leads to innovation has resulted in some unheralded but very important developments. In 1977, Jean-Pierre Jabouille competitively drove a spluttering Renault F1 car for the first time in the British Grand Prix. This was the first ever F1 race for a car powered by a turbo engine; thirty years later and the use of turbo engines in road cars is now widespread. In this case, the innovativeness has come in terms of technological advancement, diffusion of knowledge, product development and enhanced vehicle performance. Such developments are evident too in yacht racing; a decade or so ago, Ericsson used sponsorship of the sport to trial, develop and promote its new GPS technology. Meanwhile Marlboro, through a 25-year association with the McLaren F1 team, reinforced its macho brand image through a relationship that was described as the equivalent of a royal divorce when it ended. Hawaiian Tropic has often used promotional give-aways, handing out sun-tan lotion, towels and hats to NFL fans at games held in the sun, enabling product sampling and building consumer goodwill. And the advent of giant video screens has helped transform the atmosphere in stadiums across the world by providing a better viewing experience, delivering high quality information, and promoting new forms of camaraderie amongst fans. Not to say the new opportunities it has provided to advertisers. The lists of such ‘small’ things that have gone on to become big, even if we have not always noticed them, have clearly been immense in several cases.
When I witnessed a move involving Roberto Carlos, David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane, playing in a game at the Bernabeu, it was something that will live with me for a long time: sport marketing innovation at its height, my very own Galactico experience, one which was immensely pleasurable. Yet whenever I take my turbo-diesel powered car on a long journey down the motorway, it is hard to believe that a French sports-car driver tagging along at the back of an F1 field is having just as important an impact on my daily life. Sport marketing innovation does indeed come in many forms, often starting small and ending up becoming something big.
Professor Simon Chadwick is Chair in Sport Business Strategy & Marketing and Director of the Centre for the International Business of Sport (CIBS) at Coventry University Business School. Follow him on Twitter: @Prof_Chadwick
By Synergy on November 12th, 2010
Tags: David Beckham, Default, Football Sponsorship, Formula 1, Indian Premier League, New Product Development, Sponsorship, Synergy, UEFA Champions League
Tim Crow comments in the Wall Street Journal on the latest survey into European football shirt sponsorship.
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By Synergy on November 1st, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Engine, the UK’s largest privately owned communications group and owner of Synergy, has announced the acquisition of Deep Focus, the New York based full-service interactive marketing agency.
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By Synergy on October 22nd, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Synergy has been working with Coca-Cola since 1996 and on Powerade since its launch in 2001. Here, Brand Republic covers the latest campaign we’ve been involved in creating, for Powerade Zero, featuring World and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis.
By Synergy on October 15th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
World Football Insider and Marketing Magazine both report on Carsten Thode’s recent appointment as Synergy’s Director of Consulting. Carsten, a former Reuters and Manchester United strategist, brings over 15 years of sponsorship strategy and brand consulting experience to Synergy.
For the World Football Insider coverage, click here.
For the article from Marketing, click here.
By Synergy on September 1st, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Karen Earl offers her insight to Marketing Week into the sponsorship implications of the spot-fixing allegations surrounding the Pakistan cricket team.
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By Synergy on August 31st, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Tim Crow comments in the Irish Independent on the enduring appeal of David Beckham, despite his ‘retirement’ by Fabio Capello.
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By Synergy on August 26th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
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