One of the biggest sponsorship deals in the world this year took place last week when Pepsi announced a $50m global endorsement deal with pop superstar Beyoncé.

As part of the deal, Beyoncé will appear in a number of ads, including one following her hotly anticipated halftime show at the Super Bowl in February. Beyoncé’s image will also appear on a limited-edition run of Pepsi cans, the first time since Michael Jackson’s image adorned packs in 1984.

Pepsi will also contribute a multi-million dollar Creative Development Fund for the co-creation of relevant consumer content, though any idea as to what this entails as of yet is unclear, and from some quotes it appears this “might well have no explicit connection to Pepsi products.”

Beyoncé is naturally upbeat. Well, she would be wouldn’t she? She claims the deal “allows me to work with a lifestyle brand with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity.” Quite a bold statement from an artist whose previous work with Pepsi included dressing up as a Roman Gladiator, singing “We Will Rock You” alongside Pink and Britney Spears, to Emperor Iglesias.

Pepsi are similarly buoyant, with their President saying the partnership is “great for music fans”. He adds “The global relationship gives Beyoncé multiple outlets to tap into in order to express her creativity, and will attract new consumers to both brands with great new experiences and content.” I wasn’t aware Beyoncé was particularly struggling to find outlets to express her creativity or attract new consumers, but clearly Pepsi feel that’s what they can offer her.

The problem, however, is that once you get past the sound-bites and platitudes, under scrutiny the deal doesn’t seem to make sense for Pepsi for two main reasons.

It’s an outdated approach

 Pepsi are essentially buying Beyoncé’s vast fan base and distribution network. Nothing new in the music game, and no different to what they’ve historically done. The problem is the world has moved on since 1984. Viewing consumers as a homogenous mass market, believing they will drink more Pepsi as a result of their worship of a global music icon is answering a new challenge with an old solution.

The increasingly fragmented communications landscape we now inhabit means marketers need to meet the demand for greater personalisation of brand messages, through increasingly creative and radical solutions. With the advances in technology witnessed over the last decade alone, this opportunity exists like at no other time in history. Yet Pepsi have chosen the easy way out.

It’s easy to understand why, of course. Pepsi is a brand experiencing serious problems, in the US in particular, having given up second place in the Cola rankings to Diet Coke.

Much of this can, of course, be attributed to macro pressures, but you can’t help feel this deal is a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived failure of the hotly-debated Pepsi Refresh project.

Pepsi Refresh was an honest attempt to do something bold and different that capitalised on a world that is becoming increasingly social, both in terms of media consumption and consumers’ expectations of brands to be more socially responsible – The Social Era, as we call it at Synergy.

The mistake Pepsi made, however, was to gamble too much of the house on the campaign, reducing commitments in other areas, such as Super Bowl advertising – so much so that it significantly affected the bottom line in a tough economic climate.

The standard response to failure is to return to what you know best. It’s worked before, why won’t it work again? Great businesses, however, respond to big challenges by taking risks and revolutionising their approach, not returning to the comfort zone of ‘tried and tested’.

It’s not authentically connected to a strong brand proposition

The Pepsi brand has been through a host of changes over the course of the last decade, so much so that it’s hard to understand what the flagship brand even stands for anymore. When compared with the refreshing and culturally impactful “Choice of a New Generation”, Pepsi feels like it’s struggling to find a unique voice in the rapidly changing modern world.

Pepsi’s current brand positioning is ‘Live for Now’. How spending $50million on a popstar who was been on Pepsi’s roster for almost a decade reflects that position, however, is beyond me. This isn’t to say Beyoncé isn’t culturally relevant and she is very much of the now; what’s missing is how that makes Pepsi culturally relevant.

It’s hard to understand what Pepsi’s authentic role is within music through this deal, beyond cold hard cash to make up for diminishing record label promotional budgets. Pepsi execs claim “Consumers are seeking a much greater authenticity in marketing from the brands they love.” I fully agree, and the most important consideration in identifying and activating any sponsorship should always be to establish an authentic role for your brand. However, actions speak louder than words and simply stating the relationship is all about authenticity, creativity and collaboration will instantly fall flat should Pepsi not be able to live up to those promises.

It was all so much easier in 1984.

By Paul Whitehead on December 17th, 2012

Tags: Advertising, American football, Brand marketing, Branded content, Celebrity, Default, Music, Social Media, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultants, Synergy

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Coming all the way from the far reaches of the universe (well, Toronto, Canada), I thought hockey fans were the be-all end-all of extreme and die-hard sports fans.

That is, until I came to the UK and realized that soccer (er, football) fans here take the meaning of ‘devoted sports fan’ to a whole new level. (Even the most fervent of Canadian hockey fans can still sit in the same stadium side by side without having to have police act as human barriers – seemingly to avoid any potentially fatal expressions of allegiance to their team…)

And so I was led to believe, in my six months in living here, that football is England’s sport, and the Brits are in loyally monogamous relationships with their respective football teams.

So, when I was given the assignment of promoting the Super Bowl here in the UK, I thought we may have a considerable task on our hands. But I quickly learnt about the very real (and growing) fan base for the sport here. American football fans, here in the UK? You bet. A lot of them.

Of course we were helped in our cause by the ten very crucial assets at our disposal: the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders.

Initially, we had planned a full 5-day trip on this side of the pond, jam-packed with television and radio interviews promoting the game and coaching appearances at primary schools in London and Birmingham to showcase NFL cheerleading to a whole new generation of fans. But unfortunately Mother Nature was in a sour mood for Super Bowl weekend and plagued Indiana with the worst ice storms the state has seen in over two decades.

After two unsuccessful attempts to board their London-bound flights, the girls finally made it over to Heathrow late Friday night. When I met the girls at 6:15am Saturday morning in the lobby of their hotel, I was expecting to be greeted by a group of (understandably) bleary-eyed and jet-lagged individuals.

However, much to my surprise, the girls were all smiles and raring to go, regardless of the fact that it was still before dawn and they had just spent the previous day travelling from Indianapolis to Washington to London. The girls even sang a hearty ‘Happy Birthday’ to one of their squad, Erin, who just so happened to be celebrating her 23rd birthday on that day.

As the first five girls departed for Sky Sports studios at 6:30am sharp, they were met by the Sky Sports crew for their first UK media appearance: Soccer AM. After a few short rehearsals, the girls put on a live performance for the Sky Sports breakfast show viewers, and answered various questions, ranging from what the life of a professional cheerleader entails to the standard enquiries about their current romantic status… After which, three of the girls were escorted to the Sky NFL Studios, where they put on a skit to be filmed and aired as the intro to the Super Bowl show on Sunday night.

Then the girls were all back on the bus, heading straight for Walkers Stadium in Leicester, where they were due to cheer on a different ball game: Leicester FC v Barnsley FC. There, they were reunited with the rest of the squad who had had headed straight for Leicester, stopping off at the local BBC Radio Leicester studios for a live interview with the host of the midday show.

The girls went down a storm at the Walkers Stadium. I am pretty confident that all 22,667 in attendance at the stadium forgot all about their hunger and the need for a fresh pint, remaining in their seats for the entirety of the half-time as the girls blew the crowd away with their performance.

And to top things off, the Leicester City Football Club organized a surprise for our birthday girl Erin, as they called her out onto the field and had the entire stadium sing her happy birthday and presented her with an LCFC jersey with her name and number 23 on the back. The girls were given the treat of watching the rest of the game from the luxury of the Executive box.

The next day was the real highlight of the girls’ trip: their 3 performances at the NFL’s annual Super Bash party at Indigo2, in London’s O2 Arena. (Tip for any girls: NFL is especially worth your while given that, as the crowds flowed into the Indig02, the guy to girl ratio was easily 20:1…).

Sky’s and BBC’s Neil Reynolds and former BBC Radio 5 Live sports man Arlo White hosted the pre-game show, with the entire crowd erupting into hoots and howls at the mention of the cheerleaders coming to the stage. When the girls came on for their first performance, two fans standing in the front row literally dropped their beers onto the floor in awe. As supportive shouts of “Cheerleaders! Cheerleaders!” grew each time they came on and off the stage, it was clear that the girls stole the pregame show.

I think it’s safe to say that all in attendance will be doing anything they can to get their hands on tickets for next year’s Super Bash!

If this entire experience has taught me one thing, it is to never underestimate the power of a group of very pretty, talented, and energetic girls who genuinely adore the sport they so passionately support. And if their loyal following can help attract and grow support for the game, then they are welcome back any time. Roll on the 2011 season!

By Synergy on March 1st, 2011

Tags: American football, NFL, Sport

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The NFL’s Super Bowl is prime material for us marketing folks. Granted, a number of us love the actual football being played on the field, but a huge majority are even more excited by the entertainment during the time outs. And I’m not talking pom poms and dancing girls (fans of the cheerleaders though we are at Synergy…).

In advertising terms, Super Bowl is prime real estate. The most expensive ad spots in the world offer brands the chance to reach 111 million U.S. viewers – this year all watching on FOX – with the price tag reaching up to $100,000 per second. Yes, that’s right, per second. Between $2.5 and $3 million for a 30 second ad spot. Phew.

This is a sporting event that so embraces its sponsors and advertisers that a whole section of the NFL website is dedicated to showcasing that ads that run throughout the programming. So ingrained is the element of entertainment to the action on the field.

Expectedly brands go all out in preparation for this miniature slice of branded entertainment. So much so, that this year, we saw adverts advertising adverts. For real. Non US-based fans were obviously bereft of this fervent marketing build-up, but trusty BrandChannel was on hand to give us regular updates of the preview ‘teaser’ ads (and then later the actual adverts) as they became available on screen and online.

These teasers ran across Network TV (presumably not just FOX) in the build up to last weekend’s clash at the Cowboys Stadium, building anticipation for the actual 30 second spot that would run in one of the many time outs during the game.

The most effective of these thas to be the Bridgestone ‘Reply All’ and ‘Carma’ spots, both of which I just loved:

Bridgestone, official tire sponsor of the NFL, carried its Super Bowl website URL at the end of each spot where viewers can catch the full versions of the final ads – should they not have tuned in to the big game.

2011 was certainly the year of the car, with Chevy, Audi, VW and BMW all taking a spot. Quite a cluttered marketplace. On entertainment value alone, VW’s mini Darth Vader seem to deliver the most buzz online with Contagious Magazine reporting how, three days before the big game, the video went from 100,000 views to over 1,000,000 in the first couple hours – hitting 5.3 million after the first day. But did the cute factor do more to shift children’s Darth Vader costumes than actual cars?

The spot that seemed to attract the biggest UK media commentary, was the U.S. XFactor trails. Given the UK love affair with Cowell and Cole, it is possibly not surprising. Cowell took centre stage in the dramatic 30 second spot – which again was touted as having close to a $3m price tag.

No Super Bowl would be complete without a beer or two, and Bud Light probably took the crown for the most entertaining execution – seeing a bunch of bored office workers go to extreme lengths to get their hands on a six pack (the office setting seems a popular choice for football marketing, given Reebok’s brilliant Terry Tate/Office Linebacker campaign from several years back).

And then there was Glee. The hit US TV show bagged the much-coveted post-Super Bowl TV slot on FOX, evidence (if it were needed) of its immense popularity and cult following. Interwoven into this year’s Glee Super Bowl extravaganza was Chevrolet. The uber-American car brand – one of GM‘s stable, themselves an official NFL sponsor – have actually bagged themselves a deal with Glee, in addition to their NFL partnership.

This all beautifully dove-tailed on Super Bowl night, with a Glee/Chevy ad spot – at once a trailer for the show and the car – and positioning both as integral to the entertainment of Super Bowl night. Branded content meets sponsorship meets advertising. All in one glorious explosive, all-singing, all-dancing package:

These provide just a snapshot of the 50 adverts that aired last Sunday. So perhaps it is no wonder that you hear of some U.S. viewers nipping out of the room to the bathroom, or to the bar for beers during plays in order not to miss the adverts. The NFL Super Bowl is a world where the advertising becomes central to the evening’s entertainment and fuels the pre-game build up – especially amongst a wider fan base – more than any sporting preview analysis can.

There may be talk of the death of advertising, but on this particular playing field, an audience of 111 million is pretty difficult to argue with.

By Synergy on February 9th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Alcohol, American football, Branded content, Broadcast sponsorship, Cheryl Cole, NFL, Television, Television audiences

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The decision on the future of London’s Olympic Stadium is imminent, with uproar at Tottenham Hotspur’s proposal to demonlish the stadium and build a new one. But London is not the only cosmopolitan metropolis, hungry to host major international events and build a lasting legacy for sport in the community, with a purpose built stadium that might get knocked down after one event. Take Abu Dhabi, and the 5,000-seater stadium in the grounds of the Emirates Palace Hotel, constructed for the sole purpose of staging the first UK domestic rugby fixture ever played overseas. OK, so Wasps v Harlequins in the LV= Cup isn’t quite the Olympics, but the two are linked by club growth ambitions.

While Spurs seek their equivalent of Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium to bring in more matchday revenue, Wasps’ trip to the U.A.E. was apparently all about building the brand. According to former skipper and now Wasps Director Lawrence Dallagio, the idea was to ‘strengthen the club and develop a global brand…while engaging with local schools and rugby clubs in the region’.  Hats off Lawrence, and Wasps owner Steve Hayes, for persuading tournament organisers, the Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby, Sky Sports, and the IRB to support the iniative. Tournament title sponsors LV= presumably took little persuasion. Anything that brings a bit of attention to an overlooked Carling Cup-esque ‘development tournament’ is a good thing for the title sponsor. For opponents Harlequins – sponsored by Abu Dhabi airline Etihad – agreeing to play ball would have been a no brainer.

So, can the idea be deemed a brand building success? All pre-match billing insisted that the game was far from a mid-season jolly for sun, sea and a seven star hotel, but a serious competitive fixture. The 38-13 scoreline suggested otherwise. Despite a bowling green standard pitch (imported from Panama), both teams badly missed their internationals on RBS 6 Nations duty, meaning the standard was, well, LV= Cup standard. Unsurprising without the likes of Flutey, Worsley, Shaw, or Simpson. Not the ‘Manchester United of Rugby’ image that Lol would have wanted Wasps to project en route to developing a global brand.

What about engaging a new rugby audience? Abu Dhabi isn’t the most obvious target for a Wasps outreach programme, especially with Quins making moves in the region through the Abu Dhabi Harlequins Rugby Club. Based on the stated brand and development criteria, a victory for Quins on and off the pitch. Only a cynic would suggest Hayes and Dallaglio staged the match to bring Wasps to the attention of potential investors and sponsors, but you can imagine their envious glances in the direction of Quin’s Etihad sponsorship.

And amid all this commercialism, what about the fans who missed out on a trip to Adams Park? Wasps season ticket holders were provided with a match ticket and subsidised travel packages. Those that decided Abu Dhabi was a tad too far to travel were offered a match refund AND an invitation to an exclusive open day with the squad at Adams Park later in the season. Given that the match was live on SKY, and of dubious quality, that sounds like a result for the armchair army.

English club rugby has proved adept at borrowing good ideas. Following Stade Francais’s lead of staging key matches at bigger venues – for Stade de France read Twickenham or Wembley – Wasps have now aped American sports in hosting competitve matches overseas. With the NFL staging regular-season games at Wembley Stadium for the last three years and the NBA following suit at The O2 this March, the definition of a ‘home’ fixture is stretching. Where football failed with their proposals for a 39th game in overseas markets, rugby has delivered the goods. But if the intention really is building a the brand and encouraging grassroots rugby, let’s see an Aviva Premiership match, with full strength squads, in a truly developing rugby nation like Russia or Portugal. Oh, and make sure the stadium has a clock and scoreboard.

As for the future prosperity of Wasps, the performance of 18 year old Billy Vunipola, a 20 stone Harrow schoolboy wearing the No. 8 shirt made famous by Dallaglio, suggests that their prospecting closer to home has hit a rich vein.

By Synergy on January 31st, 2011

Tags: American football, Barclays Premier League, Brand marketing, Football, grass roots sport, London 2012, Rugby, Sponsorship

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A few weeks ago, Tim Crow and I found ourselves sat in the back of a car on a stationary motorway for five hours. A lot of filling time by anyone’s standards, but we turned to one debate which actually not only filled the five hours, but is still going - what is the greatest modern sports marketing innovation?

This is not about the biggest financial deals but decisions made off the field that were genuine game changers in the wider sports marketplace. We brought the debate back to Synergy and found the more we’ve all discussed it, the more we’ve argued and the more we’ve argued, the more we’ve enjoyed it. So we thought it was only fair to open the debate up.

The format is simple:

a) We’ve listed below our initial thoughts – once you’ve read them, let us know if you think we’ve made any glaring omissions or if you disagree with any of our choices in the comments section.

b) In December we’ll then publish the full list including your suggestions, with a voting mechanic alongside giving you the chance to vote for what you think is the greatest modern sports marketing innovation.

c) The vote will determine the Top Ten, which we’ll announce in January.

It wouldn’t be a real debate without some house rules though, so here they are – short and simple:

1. It must have been a genuine game-changer

2. It must have impacted primarily on the marketing and financial side rather than on the field of play

3. We’re talking global impact

4. Keep it within the last 50 years

OK? So, here are our thought starters, in chronological order:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

1979 – Jack Nicklaus argues successfully for the inclusion of European (rather than just British) players in the Ryder Cup, transforming a struggling, one-sided tournament into what is today probably the most significant global event in golf.

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.

1984 – Nike, a struggling sports shoe company, signed rookie Michael Jordan and created the first shoe named after a player – The Air Jordan.

1985 – Horst Dassler, Juergen Lenz and Michael Payne (pictured) create the TOP (The Olympic Partners) concept – the building block of the most lucrative sponsorship format in the world.

1992 – The English First Division clubs resigned en-masse from the Football League and formed the Premier League (with the considerable help of Sky TV) which is now the most watched and most lucrative football league in the world with the format copied across the globe.

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.

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.

Now it’s over to you - let us know what you think (good, bad and ugly) and we hope you enjoy the debate as much as we have.

By Dominic Curran on November 5th, 2010

Tags: American football, Barclays Premier League, Brand marketing, ECB, Football Sponsorship, Formula 1, New Product Development, NFL, Olympic sponsorship, PR, Public relations, Ryder Cup, Sponsorship, UEFA Champions League, What's the Greatest Sports Marketing Innovation?, World Cup

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Following our previous NFL update with the great Mayor of London, the excitement of the NFL in London only increased last week, climaxing with Sunday’s fourth International Series game at Wembley Stadium.

49ers Running Back Brian Westbrook rushes through the Denver defence

Team Synergy turned out for the match in full force to assist on all PR duties on the day, enjoying the pre-match Tailgate party, spending more time with our favourite supermodel and 49ers superfan Marisa Miller, and, personally, finding it more than a bit difficult to navigate the maze that is Wembley stadium.

NFL fans were greeted at Wembley's Tailgate party by a giant reconstruction of San Francisco's famous Golden Gate bridge

We knew the 49ers would be big guys but seriously...

Taking our privileged places on the sidelines as the game began, the full pomp of the NFL was there to see (and hear - rockers My Chemical Romance made sure of that) in all its glory. Mo Farah and Ben Ainslie fulfilled their Honorary Captain roles with panache, and the Gold Rush cheerleaders delighted the crowd – despite the chilly and rainy conditions, and the fact that their time in London had been packed with various media engagements and gruelling rehearsals, the smiles did not leave their faces.

I may not be the blogger to turn to for detailed match analysis (try here instead) but I was absolutely amazed by the spectacle that is American football. The aim had been to make this feel like a home game for the 49ers, who were sacrificing a regular season home game to play at Wembley, and by all accounts it was a goal well and truly achieved.

Aside from the 49ers flags that adorned every single seat at Wembley on game day, it was in the post-game press conference, that the players’ own impressions came to the fore. Troy Smith, Frank Gore and my personal favourite Takeo Spikes all testified to how welcome they felt over here. It seems the close quarters in which they operated in London, being so far from home, helped the team bond in a way they had not experienced since training camp.

Spikes even said “I’d come back here every year, to be honest with you”. But don’t take our word for it, watch what he has to say about London below:

(During the press conference, he did go on to reference “the ladies of London” as one of the reasons his time over here had been so enjoyable and memorable, so clearly the attractions of London were many and varied…)

Looking back at our whole weekend, Saturday’s 49ers Pep Rally (London’s first) undeniably contributed to the partisanship of the crowd at Wembley the following day. Over 38,000 NFL fans – old and new – turned up at Trafalgar Square on Saturday to show their support, watching performances from the Gold Rush cheerleaders, 49ers Drumline, dance troupe Flawless and appearances from NFL legends including our friend Jerry Rice.

As if the enthusiastic flag-waving and chanting inside Wembley stadium wasn’t enough, Jerry Rice, the 49ers legend, has led calls this week for a London franchise, and with the enthusiasm for NFL reaching such heights in the capital, it seems this is not an unimaginable possibility. But until then, we have the 2010 memories to keep our heads in the game…

NFL 49ers fan and supermodel Marisa Miller turns her attentions to Synergy's Simon during a photoshoot

Synergy's Jess takes up position as an honorary Soccer AM Soccerette backstage after the 49ers Gold Rush appearance on the show

Spot the non-Olympian: Lucie tries (unsuccessfully) to gain a third Honorary Captain position between Denver's Mo Farah and San Francisco's Ben Ainslie

The BBC's Blue Peter presenters Andy & Joel were chaperoned onto the sidelines by Steph - all to be revealed on the show on November 8th!

By Jessica Enoch on November 3rd, 2010

Tags: American football, BBC, NFL, PR, Public relations, Sport

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NFL cheerleaders from Tampa Bay at Wembley last October

The team at Synergy Towers is currently emersing themselves in a healthy dose of Americana. We’re gearing up for the annual NFL International Series fixture at Wembley at the end of this month and all the excitement that game week brings.

We have a growing guest-list of American folks flying over to support the fixture including the legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice, celebrity 49ers fan and Victoria’s Secret supermodel, Marisa Miller and, of course the entire company of 49ers cheerleaders, the Gold Rush.

We have worked with NFL cheerleaders for the last 3 years and this year they are arriving at a time where cheerleading is making headlines in the UK. Two weeks ago, a news story ran throughout our national press, presenting the latest statistics that show cheerleading has become the fastest growing physical activity picked up by school P.E. departments across the UK. Naturally, this has been met with some opposition. And largely, unfortunately bred by ignorance.

In a nation of growing obesity, where the inactivity of our children regularly hits the headlines, one would think the discovery of a discipline that engages children in this way would be celebrated. Apparently not. Long-standing has been the debate over whether cheerleading can be deemed a ‘sport’. But yesterday, in a strongly voiced opinion piece for The Guardian, Victoria Coren made her position on the point crystal clear. And in defence of six years spent in competitive cheer, I felt moved to respond.

US squad Hurricanes performs at this year's World Championships

For me, focusing on the sport question tends to overlook the inherent values of the discipline, but more on that later. For now, let’s entertain the harshest critics for a moment and deal with the debate at hand, which requires two distinct definitions: firstly, which section of cheerleading is being referred to and secondly, the definition of sport being put forward.

Let’s talk about sport for a moment. The Olympic Games, generally considered the ultimate global representation of sporting excellence, makes a discernment between sports (a single or group of sports represented by an international federation) and disciplines (multiple events that can fall under the same sporting umbrella). Thus Aquatics is a sport, fielding activities in the disciplines, swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo.

Now, I am not for one moment purporting that cheerleading should be made an Olympic sport (or, for that matter, convinced that synchronized swimming should be classed as such either). But take a closer look at the IOC’s catalogue and you will find that not only is Gymnastics and its three disciplines (artistic, rhythmic and trampoline) on the official list of Olympic sports, but that ‘Dance Sport’, while not included in the Olympic program is fully recognized by the IOC and therefore could be added to the Olympic program at any given time if sufficiently supported by IOC membership vote.

What I am certain of is that competitive cheerleading represents the ultimate combination of Dance Sport and Gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic and, given the impact of a sprung floor on which all competitions are held, arguably trampoline). Just take a look at the most recent World Championship holders (for the fourth year in a row) and see if you disagree:

And this brings us to our second definition – what sector of cheerleading are we considering here? The competitive squads like the Stingray Allstars above are a different kettle of fish entirely to the NFL dancer cheerleaders who bring glitz and sizzle to the football sidelines every Sunday and Monday night. But both have their value – on and off the field of performance. The point of the NFL girls on game day is to entertain the crowd – by their own admission they are first and foremost dancers – and do not enter into the gymnastic stunts of competitive cheer.

However, not even NFL cheerleaders should be cast aside with the aspersions so forthcoming from the British press. NFL cheerleaders are a combined force of college students and professionals who give up their evenings, weekends and annual holidays to support their football team, fund raise for charity events, promote local businesses, teach cheer camps to local kids, entertain the forces abroad and promote their game around the world. Quite apart from the commitment to honed athleticism and the upkeep of physical excellence that is required to keep their appearance and performance up to the standard required.

NFL cheerleaders, New Orleans' Saintsations, visit Kandahar Airfield in 2009

Whether their activities combined could be deemed a sport? Even I find that hard to argue. But to focus solely on the ‘ass-shaking’ of their poms in scantily clad costumes and over-sexualised dance numbers, is an easy observation to make, but is also a crass devaluation of their role and responsibilities.

But when it comes to the competitive cheerleading that I know so well, it is an entirely different story. It is a form of cheerleading that, sadly, seems to have escaped the research of most British journalists currently writing on the subject. I have seen firsthand this incredible discipline inspire thousands of youngsters to dedicate years of their lives to routines that display such athletic excellence – in the quite astonishing synchronisation of gymnastics and dance – that arguing the case for it to be classed a sport is, frankly, a pretty easy task.

Of course, British sensationalist press, the narrow-minded opinions formed from limited exposure to American high-school movies and a British viewpoint partial to condescension of our American cousins for their brash lack of culture means it is all too easy to make the ‘boots and hot pants’ picture the prevailing image of the cheer world. There follows the outrage of parents who (rightly so) find the concept of their child being taught to shake their booty in hotpants and boots quite horrendous. As would I, were that what was being taught in schools. Obviously, it isn’t.

And therein lies the problem, wrought by stereotype and informed by press exposure of the most commonly portrayed ‘cheerleader’ – that we overlook the athletic, competitive form that can indeed be classed as a sport.

Were these folks to turn up to any one of the several weekly training sessions of a UK cheer squad – national champions AEC a primary case in point – they would see a rather different world. Children who happily sacrifice listless evenings in front of the TV, weekends at the local park with friends; not to mention their adult coaching staff who volunteer their own spare time to inspire them – all in the name of athletic excellence.

AEC were selected to perform at last year's NFL game at Wembley

Perhaps the solution is to take a lead from the IOC, deeming cheerleading as a whole to be a discipline, but discerning the divisions that fall within it – the sport, the competitive/gymnastic cheer (the likes of AEC and the Stingrays), and then the pom dance (the NFL variety) – a system of division that already effectively provides the structure for cheer competitions all over the country.

Cheerleading teaches teamwork, trust and commitment and gives them a cause to focus on, learning that with enough dedication and practice, great outcomes can be achieved. And with this, combined with the tough athletic program that cheerleading requires, what more could we want to teach our kids?

* To find out more about UK cheerleading – in schools, universities and beyond – visit BCA, UKCA and Future Cheer.

* And head down to Trafalgar Square on 30th October to see the 49ers Gold Rush in action ahead of the NFL International Series at Wembley on 31st.

By Synergy on October 6th, 2010

Tags: American football, Olympics, The Arts

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Lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret yesterday launched their take on NFL merchandise with a brand new collection from their PINK range.

The partnership sees two very different brands come together to provide the NFL‘s female audience base with some cute apparel, bringing new customers to the VS PINK brand, and introducing NFL colours into the wardrobes of PINK customers all over the U.S. Everybody wins.

Forever a fan of the VS PINK range, and always on the look-out for cute girlified NFL wear, this was pretty exciting news for my Wednesday morning.

It turns out that two of the lovely VS Angels premiered a couple of pieces back in April, providing some welcome entertainment for the players and entourages in attendance at the NFL Draft at Radio City in New York. And yesterday, the full collection launched online and in store.

The VS deal covers 13 teams from the NFL: Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers.

The PINK brand has always had a huge presence in the social media space, with very active Twitter and Facebook portals, and they maximised the use of this in building buzz for the collection’s launch. On Tuesday, the day before the big launch, in Draft-like fashion each team that had been chosen as part of the range was unveiled gradually over the course of the day between 9am and 9pm, and announced with an image on the Facebook page. Each of the 13 images generated thousands of ‘like’s and hundreds of comments in a matter of hours.

As always, the brand is pretty difficult to purchase in the U.K. and I should imagine it is unlikely that the NFL collection will reach the few concessions that do retail over here. A shame, given the hard work that the NFL is doing to develop and grow its international fan-base. In recent years,VS has been able to offer international shipping (starting at $30 for UK customers) but you’re better off hitting up your U.S. buddies to do a bit of personal shopping on your behalf.

Though sadly, not one of our adopted NFL ‘home’ teams over here have had their franchise picked up. For the past 3 years, the big NFL party has come to London town in October offering us a regular season game at Wembley; this year is no different with the San Francisco 49ers generously offering us one of their home fixtures as they take on the Denver Broncos on October 31st. While VS PINK has developed the Broncos’ colours into their range, the 49ers were not included. Neither were the Dolphins, the Saints or the Bucs.

That aside, I was still first in line for a browse. Game on.

Supermodels Behati Prinsloo and Candice Swanepoel stopped by the NFL Draft back in April to walk the red carpet and preview the new collection (thejetsetgirls.com)

By Synergy on August 5th, 2010

Tags: American football, Brand marketing, Digital marketing, Fashion, NFL, Social Media, Sport

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If, like me, you were unable to keep your eyes open until 4am on Monday morning, you likely watched the highlights of this year’s Oscars online the following day. Unfortunately, for the advertisers that paid around the $1m-per-slot mark to gain a highly coveted slice of the limelight, this means you missed out on the commercial gaps.

However, the chances are far greater that you will have seen those brands who advertised in the Best Picture nominated movies. Fenton’s Creamery ice cream in Disney’s Up? BMW and Taco Bell in American Football drama The Blind Side? American Airlines, Hilton Hotels or Chrysler in Up In The Air? Ringing any bells?

It’s always quite amusing to survey friends and colleagues on their recollection of product placement on screen – the latter especially given that they work within marketing and are arguably more watchful of brand presence within entertainment platforms. If you mark this against the reality (superbly documented by Brand Channel‘s Brand Cameo database), I have found that by and large people’s recall is probably less than 5% of the actual brands exposed on screen.

To make things interesting, those clever Brand Cameo folks have taken the brands present in this year’s Oscar contenders for Best Picture and plotted them on a matrix: pitching memorable versus instantly forgettable, against those that provided significant profit versus those that did not.

Hopefully, they won’t mind me reproducing it in full here:

(c) BrandChannel.com 2010

Now for the really interesting bit. Of those featuring in the most memorable segmentation, both Günther’s in District 9 and RDA that featured in Cameron’s epic Avatar were actually fictional brands.

Having written previously on how events, rights-holders and entertainment platforms are increasingly feeling the need to get a ‘brand stamp of approval’ on their project (even if they have to make one up), I am now more convinced than ever that we all now require a brand presence within our entertainment to validate its grounding in reality.

Though in the case of both District 9 and Avatar, paradoxically the branding was exercised to validate their grounding in un-reality. I guess given their sci-fi nature, it seems to make more sense to create a fictional unknown brand, thereby emphasizing the futuristic setting. But nonetheless, Günther’s and RDA still fall firmly on the ‘memorable’ side of scale – despite their non-existence in our reality.

Was this a missed opportunity for ‘real’ brands? Would South African-born Nando’s or thoroughly American N.A.S.A. have offered anything more? Would the producers have allowed it? Would the brand managers have wanted to association? And would the brand messages have been more – or less – memorable as a result?

I would love to know what goes in to thinking up these fictional companies. Do production execs or screenwriters work in a name that states a subtle (or not-so-subtle) socio-political message to fit with the film’s thematic development? As one District 9 viewer pointed out in a fan forum, sometimes the connotations have more meaning than at first it might appear:

‘Why were the South Africans patrons of a restaurant named Günther’s? Günther is the name of a king of Burgundy and means “warrior” or “soldier.” In effect, the South African blacks had a white warrior to thank for their sustenance.’

Either which way, we are entering an era where commercialism of movies – on and off screen – may fast become the life-blood of the industry; if, in fact we are not there already. How many years before an esteemed member of the Hollywood glitterati stands before the Academy audience and announces, ‘And the Academy Award for Best Product Placement goes to….‘?

Judging by the above, this year it should have gone to a brand that doesn’t even exist.

If this year’s Oscar-winning animated short film Logorama is anything to go by, it won’t be long. For those who have not yet had the pleasure of this little piece, the entire premise is the over-branded commercialisation of modern-day America on film. Watch the trailer below, and try to count the brand logos. There are over 2,500 in the full piece. Utter genius.

By Synergy on March 9th, 2010

Tags: Advertising, American football, Brand marketing, Film, Product placement

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 Campaign reports the demise of Sport magazine, concluding that this unfortunate event is the result of the recession. There is no doubt that economic conditions played their part, but they are not wholly responsible. The reason for the fact that general sports titles fail in the UK lies not in the fact that we are, in the words of Sport’s MD Greg Miall, facing “the worst recession in 80 years”, nor in the free distribution model adopted by the magazine, but in the psyche of the UK sports fan.

To illustrate, I draw a comparison between Britain and America. Across the pond resides the great grand-daddy of all general sports titles, Sports Illustrated. This publication carries regular news on all four major US sports and strong coverage of – er – minority sports like NASCAR, golf, football (soccer), tennis and so on. With an audited circulation of around 3m per week, it’s a successful model that many have tried to emulate on this side of the Atlantic. 

Some UK attempts to create a general sports market have been truly outstanding from a journalistic and publishing perspective.Total Sport in the 1990’s was a publishing triumph, a general sports fan’s dream, a commercial disaster. Though constructed very differently, I put Sport in the same high quality category. 

Both magazines failed for the same reason: there are simply not enough “general sports” fans in the UK to sustain a general sports title. This is not the same in the USA, where almost every sports fan is a general sports fan. Britons and Americans consume sports in very different ways.

To illustrate: the American sports fan follows a baseball team, a football team, a basketball team and probably an ice hockey team. This gives him lots to cheer about, all year round. He supersizes his intake by following NCAA teams in all four sports too, so there’s something to watch on telly every single night. Because of the franchise model adopted by most American sports, there’s no promotion or relegation, so he can do this for ever. His interests are well catered for by Sports Illustrated, which knows this market well. 

Contrast this with the UK sports fan. While many of us are perfectly able to observe multiple sports, we generally reserve our passions for only one. We are football fans, or rugby fans, or cricket fans and respectfully observe the breaks between seasons as a rest period in which we allow our enthusiasm to recuperate. To try to address such a collection of individual (and, socio-demographically speaking, quite different) audiences with a single general sports title, is a challenge that so far has proved insurmountable.

Sport in the UK does not unite us; it divides and defines us. It’s unfortunate for Sport magazine, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

By Synergy on April 28th, 2009

Tags: Advertising, American football, Football, Golf, Media

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