I for one was pleased to see the recent news that FIBA has given the British Basketball Team the chance to represent Team GB at the Games in 2012 – a result that sees Team GB represented in all sports at  London 2012. This also means that  Britain will field a basketball team at London 2012 for the first time since last hosting the Games in 1948.

By allowing Team GB to compete, FIBA has given British Basketball another platform from which to shout about their brilliant sport. A sport that has the potential to be huge in this country.

GB's NBA star - Luol Deng

Basketball in Britain has struggled to grab the attention of young men and women on a mass scale like Football does, but in recent years, the tables seem to be turning and there is an ever increasing interest in the sport as a whole. Andy Hunt, chief executive of the British Olympic Association rightly pointed out that ‘FIBA’s decision is recognition for years of hard work British Basketball have put in on and off the court’.

Interest in the sport has undoubtedly been fuelled by images of David Beckham and his boys courtside at the LA Lakers. For others, it might be down to hit US TV shows like One Tree Hill. But one of the biggest factors has to be the introduction of the NBA Europe Live at the O2.

David Beckham attends Lakers game with sons

For those unfamiliar with the NBA’s foray to British shores, they made basketball history when the first-ever regular-season games were held in Europe, between the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors at The O2 in London this year.

It was quite a spectacle and a great advert for the game in the UK and now, with the news that FIBA have allowed Team GB a place in 2012, British Basketball has another reason to shout about its beloved game.

NBA at the O2

I will certainly be looking to get some tickets in the Olympic ticket ballot and why don’t you?

(If you’re not into Basketball, maybe this will change your mind! Check out the Toronto Raptors mascot in action, below…)

By Jonathan Gale on March 15th, 2011

Tags: Athletics, BBC, Blogging, BOA, David Beckham, Default, London 2012 sponsorship, Sport, Team GB, YouTube

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Mihir Bose needs little introduction as an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster. From 2006- 2009 he was the BBC’s first Sports Editor; prior to that he was Chief Sports News Correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. He has written 22 books, including an award winning history of Indian cricket and the first history of Bollywood, and presented numerous programmes for radio and TV. Currently, he contributes a weekly ‘Big Sports Interview’ to the London Evening Standard and is working on a book on the power of modern sport.  

So, we were delighted when Mihir agreed to give us his take on our on going ‘What’s the Greatest Sports Marketing Innovation?’ debate. Who or what did he think were the big game changers? Had we missed anything crucial off our list?

Synergy: So, Mihir, having looked at our initial list, what do you think is the greatest sports marketing innovation of the modern era?

Mihir Bose: Well, it’s a very impressive list, starting with 1960 when Arnold Palmer and Mark McCormack shook hands. Is that the greatest? That’s a bit hard to say. It’s an innovator, but the first is not necessarily the best.

Certainly, the Horst Dassler and Patrick Nally one, of creating a sponsor (for a shoe really, in effect) and a world event. As a result of that, and the effect it’s had on football, is very impressive. Also, I would say very, very impressive is the Nike creation of the shoe for Michael Jordan. And that is impressive on two counts: firstly creating a shoe for a sportsman, but also for the first time in America, making a black player an iconic television star, which hadn’t been done. It sort of broke through – if you like, it’s the Barack Obama moment of sport – it broke through that barrier there.

Synergy: Do you think we’ve missed any that deserve a place on the final shortlist?

MB: The only one that’s missed out on this list, I would say, is the Indian Premier League, which started in 2008. I think that took cricket – domestic cricket – to a different height. Domestic cricket nowhere in the world pays money, it’s international cricket that brings in the money, and I think the Indian Premier League, combining Bollywood with money, large dollops of cash, is an innovator.

Synergy: Conversely, and possibly controversially, do you think we have included any which don’t deserve to be there?

MB: I would say that the ECB one, of introducing Twenty20. The ECB did introduce Twenty20 but it actually didn’t make the most of the marketing; it allowed the Indians to make the most of it. Maybe partly it reflected the English market and so on… but that’s the one I would say I wouldn’t bring in.

And also perhaps 1981, the boxing match, where sports viewing of that kind was born. I’m not sure that pay-per-view works – it works in America, but it doesn’t work [in the same way] around the world. It’s an important concept, but if you’re talking of the ten best events, or right at the top, I would say that has had a limited appeal.

Synergy: So, returning to our main question, what game-changer has had the biggest effect on the industry to date?

MB: The biggest? That is always very difficult to say. But probably television. I think this list shows that there has been, since the 70s certainly (round about ’78 or ’79 – Ecclestone came in ’79) an incremental awareness, and a steady increase of the awareness of what television can do.

Sports and sponsorship is not a new entity – ever since sport started there has been some sort of sponsorship – but television has added a completely new dimension, and the use of television to increase revenues and highlight sportsmen and women; I think that has been the big factor.

And I suppose if one looks at it, perhaps in some ways the biggest moment, was not merely the creation of the The Olympic Partner (TOP) sponsorship program – but the marriage of television and money that enabled the production of the 1984 Los Angeles Games, following the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics when the Olympic Games looked like it was going to collapse. The Olympics, the ultimate amateur thing (where you play not for money, you can’t advertise on kit, winners don’t receive money, just medals) was transformed: perhaps that marks the single moment when world sport realised the importance of marketing and the importance of sport.

Synergy: So can we conclude that TOP program would be your choice for the greatest modern sports marketing innovation?

MB: I’d say yes. That is the ultimate one, where you retain the outer crust of the amateur ethos (the athletes stay in an Olympic village, they don’t earn any money, there’s no advertising in the stadium) and yet it brings in a lot of money.

And the IOC, the way it’s run, the sort of ambush marketing it has, and that sort of thing, it’s run like a corporation – in fact, it’s run like a McDonald’s franchise. It comes to London and it has told London what exactly the London bid committee can or cannot do. It showcases the ultimate marriage of man and sport; the idea that sport is for everyone, anyone can pick up a running shoe and just run and win the 100m. That’s not quite the case, but that simplicity of sport that makes it so appealing, combined with the fact that if you win the 100m, you could become a very, very rich man – or a rich woman if you win the women’s race! - that concept I think makes it the single most important sports marketing moment.

With thanks to Mihir Bose. www.mihirbose.com. http://twitter.com/mihirbose.

By Lucie Bartlett on December 2nd, 2010

Tags: Ambush campaign, BBC, Cricket, ECB, India, Indian Premier League, London 2012 sponsorship consultants, New Product Development, Olympic sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship consultants, Olympics, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultants, Synergy, Television, What's the Greatest Sports Marketing Innovation?, World Cup

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‘Tis the month for a good debate – you only have to click here to see the ongoing and lively discussions generated on our global poll to find the greatest sports marketing innovation of modern times.

With just over a month until this year’s BBC Sports Personality Awards, it’s right about now that I, along with people up and down the land, begin to debate who should be in the BBC’s final short-list. Growing up watching the show, having attended the last two and with this year’s Birmingham ceremony on Sunday 19th December already in the diary, I can’t wait for the night itself.

One of the privileged few who actually does help to decide the final shortlist, SPORT’s editor Simon Caney, shared his own top 10 in today’s magazine which got me thinking who would make mine.

It must be said, Ryder Cup 2010 aside, with no Olympic Games and a truly feeble showing by England in this summer’s World Cup, it has not been the most historic of years. But there are two clear stand-out names for me.

Graeme McDowell checks out his Ballantine's Championship blend

1. Graeme McDowell – having worked with GMAC for Ballantine’s (have you tried Graeme’s very own Ballantine’s Championship blend? Lovely.), Graeme would get the nod for personality alone. Cracking guy. Add to that his performance in October’s Ryder Cup, helping Europe to win the trophy and most importantly, back in April, becoming Europe’s first US Champion in 40 years; he’s had an incredible year.

2. AP McCoy – Tony McCoy. The greatest jump jockey horse racing has ever seen. Finally won the Grand National this year on Don’t Push It, 15th time lucky. Ridden over 3,000 winners and been jump racing champion every year since 1995/96.

Difficult to see beyond those two for me. However, let’s not forget a few other worth contenders:

Powerade ambassador Jessica Ennis

3. Jess Ennis – Powerade ambassador, flying the flag for both Sheffield and GB (as team captain). European Heptathlon Gold medallist in Barcelona earlier this year.

4. Mo Farah – Bupa flash runner, NFL honorary captain and, more importantly, one of this year’s big sporting success stories having won both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the European Championships. Nice chap to boot.

5. Graeme Swann – standout bowler in this summer’s Ashes win, the ECB’s Cricketer of the Year and all-round great Tweeter.

6. Lee Westwood – finally crowned the world’s number 1 golfer (Tiger who?), especially excelled this year in weight losing and Ryder Cup winning, before injury forced a temporarily break from the game.

7. Tom Daley – his gold medal Commonwealth Games performance in Delhi would have secured the 16-year old Olympics gold. True fact.

8. Phil Taylor – has a darts player ever won before? No. More than enough reason for me to back ‘The Power’ and he’s certainly the greatest in the sport. Would eat my hat if he did win. Happily.

9. Lewis Hamilton – has the ability to win SPOTY based on this Sunday’s performance in Abu Dhabi alone, the last race of what has been a fascinating F1 season. Leading the British charge to stop Alonso, Webber or Vettel taking the world championship. Win the title, win the Sports Personality. Possibly.

Bupa Ambassador Mo Farah

Long shots for my final nod include Amy Williams (fearless Olympic gold medallist in the Winter Games), Stuart Broad (if he has a stonking first Ashes Test in Brisbane this month), Phillips Idowu (for services to bonkers hair colour) and Mark Cavendish (five Tour de France stage wins and one of the world’s greatest sprinters on the road).

Never easy to make the final call. If I was pushed, I think Amy Williams would get the nod for #10. And Mark Cavendish to replace Lewis Hamilton is he doesn’t win the F1 Championship on Sunday.

Yep, I’m done. Have I got it right? And who’d make your list?

By Stephanie Branston on November 12th, 2010

Tags: Ashes, Athletics, BBC, Cricket, Cycling, ECB, Football, Formula 1, Golf, Lewis Hamilton, Media, NFL, Olympics, Ryder Cup, Team GB, Television, Tiger Woods, 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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Last month, team Synergy headed down to a tennis club in leafy Chiswick, West London for a day planned to give the media a taste of The RBS Murray Experience events to be held in London and Edinburgh at the end of the year.

These unique experiential events, run by Andy’s sponsor RBS, will give some lucky RBS customers and their friends the chance to take part in a unique on-court day with Andy and Jamie Murray – and the rest of their team – where they will be taken first hand through their tough training regime, from fitness drills to the perfect serve.

What better way to promote such a great experience than to let journalists taste it for themselves?

Indeed it turned out that facing Andy was tougher than any of them might have expected. Press from the Daily Telegraph, BBC Online, BBC Scotland TV and radio, Sport Magazine and the Daily Record arrived with their rackets and tennis shoes full of excitement at the prospect of facing Andy, and all finished sweaty, tired, and all too painfully aware of why he is one of the world’s very best tennis players.

Of course, the day would not have been possible without the involvement of the fantastic Team Murray, including Andy’s fitness trainer Matt Little, Mum (and pro tennis coach) Judy and his hitting partner Dani Vallverdu.

Matt set up the session with some warm-up exercises and on-court drills; Judy coached the group through groundstrokes and volleys. Dani acted as hitting partner for the day, enabling Andy to line up alongside our media for each drill, providing a genuine, first-hand glimpse of the Murray training regime.

The highlight of the day (certainly in terms of entertainment value) was the journalists being given the chance to face the Murray serve. I had thought to myself that it would not look great for Andy should any of the journalists be able to return the serve… but as I cowered out of the way of the balls flashing across the court, I realised this was highly unlikely.

Even the Daily Telegraph’s Mark Hodgkinson, having proven himself to be pretty handy with a racket (so much so that Judy had swapped Andy in for Dani during the volleys to give Mark some greater competition) struggled – the best Mark managed was to smash Andy’s serve back into the net.

We were lucky to get one of the best days of the end of summer, so the day finished with press interviews with Andy on the balcony of the club and the inevitable (and not at all cheesy), shots with Team Synergy.

Team Murray meets Team Synergy

By Jessica Enoch on October 13th, 2010

Tags: Andy Murray, BBC, Brand marketing, Communications, Sponsorship, Synergy, Tennis

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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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Don’t worry, Boris Johnson hasn’t called a snap Olympics!  The Games in question are the inaugural Youth Olympic Games which are currently taking place in Singapore, and which represent a long-awaited dream of Jaques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, who has always wanted to create a global sporting event for young people.

The Games kicked off on 14 August with an elaborate Opening Ceremony, after which around 3,600 athletes between 14-18 years of age will be participating in 12 days of competition across the 26 summer Olympic sports.

Team GB has sent a team of 40 athletes to Singapore, including some individuals who are already hugely experienced at global sporting events, such as Tom Daley, the World and European Champion diver, who is a strong GB medal hope for London 2012.  For other team members, the experience of Singapore will be crucial to their development, especially for those with longer term goals such as Rio 2016.

With no precedent for this event, the organisation and build-up was always going to attract varying levels of interest and, as is often the case with the Olympic Games, the cost of hosting the event is one of the major elements that has been scrutinised. The original budget submitted to the IOC of $90m has already been exceeded three-fold, with the current figure standing at around $270m.

Sponsorship is another area where difficulties have been experienced.  Again, because this is a new event there is no precedent for sponsors to work from – no history of viewers or interest (although it is anticipated that there will be around 370,000 spectators) – therefore, the Games were seen as a risk for all involved and the Organising Committee has had to work hard to secure the required investment.  As it stands today, the Games have attracted 68 Marketing Partners – 11 Worldwide Olympic Partners (including Coca-Cola, Visa and P&G), 9 Official Partners (including Deloitte and Singapore Airlines), 16 Official Sponsors (including Volvo and SingPost) and 32 Official Supporters.

Total revenue generated from the sponsors has been estimated at 60m Singapore Dollars, however, many of the brands became involved on a 100% value in kind basis, seeing them offer their goods and services to the Organising Committee to help deliver of the Games, in return for marketing rights.

The final verdict on whether these Games have been a success won’t be known until all the marketing intelligence and data is collated. Regardless of this, China has already recognised the potential of the newest addition to the IOC events calendar, with Nanjing winning the bid to host the event in 2014 – a decision that was made by the IOC in February this year.

If you want to catch some of the action you can view live it live on the IOC website or highlights on BBC iPlayer.

By Sara Wilson on August 18th, 2010

Tags: Athletics, BBC, BOA, Default, London 2012, London 2012 sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship, Olympics, Sponsorship, Team GB

2 comments

Having lived in London for eight years and been a keen tennis player for most of my life but never experienced Wimbledon, other than through the BBC’s coverage, I decided I should venture down to SW19 to see whether the first-hand experience lived up to the  hype.

Working in the sports marketing and sponsorship world I was looking forward to observing how brands take advantage of their multi-million pound Championship deals (what a geek).  The marathon match between Isner and Mahut provided The All England Club with some welcome publicity in amongst World Cup fever and even inspired some quick off the mark advertisers: ‘Durex Performa.  Take pleasure in coming second’. 

This wasn’t hugely surprising considering Wimbledon’s long history of brand association.  Slazenger became the first official ball supplier in 1902 and Robinsons have been official still soft drink providers since 1935. Both brands have become as synonymous with this particular Grand Slam as strawberries and cream.  This year Robinsons celebrated the 75^th anniversary of their sponsorship by committing to a further five years. Paul Moody, Chief Executive of parent company Britvic, revealed in the Telegraph just how highly he views the sponsorship when he said recently that “You don’t want to be the guy at Britvic who loses the sponsorship of Wimbledon. That would be your tumbleweed moment”. In addition, this year’s tournament has a whole host of other sponsors including HSBC, Hertz, Rolex and Blossom Hill. 

A beautiful day, Centre Court tickets and a fantastic line up, Henin (sponsored by Adidas, Belgacom, Rolex) v Petrova (Ellesse), Hewitt (eSwap, Yonex) v Monfils (KSwiss, Prince),  Federer (Credit Suisse, Gillette, Jura, Mercedes Benz, Nationale Suisse, NetJets, Nike, Rolex and Wilson) v Clement (Adidas), got the day off to a perfect start. 

On arrival at Southfields station I was expecting to be the target of various experiential marketing campaigns with brands trying to capitalise on their sponsorships but I was left a little disappointed.  Having tactically got on the tube so that my carriage would be nearest the exit, I managed to miss the strip of astroturf that Blossom Hill had used to cover part of the platform along with any mention of their £1m “Summer perfectly served” marketing campaign and eventually made it all the way to the gates of the All England Club without even a sniff of brand activity. 

Once through the gates my first impression was of the size of the place. The Beeb has done a great job of misleading me over the years and making it look much bigger than it really is. It was much more intimate and relaxed than I’d anticipated.  This could have been due to the fact that attendance has apparently dipped this year, partly attributable to the World Cup.  After the Bavaria beer girls and their orange outfits I was wondering whether any brands might push their luck with similar ambush activity inside the ground, but the only miniskirts on display were of the white variety (and having now read the ambush marketing section of the Wimbledon website know such activity wouldn’t have been allowed). After the poor performance from the England football team it will be interesting to see whether the Great British public shift their attention to the tennis and support Andy Murray (sponsored by RBS, adidas, Head, Highland Spring) the only British hope left in the competition.

Whether or not fans swap their vuvuzelas for the silence of Centre Court, brands will of course rightly continue to see Wimbledon as a key sponsorship property.  Wimbledon has spent decades building a brand which successfully treads the fine line between global recognition without overselling itself.  It is this unique position which allows Wimbledon to pick and choose sponsors to fit with its brand and long-term objectives and ultimately lead to the long-standing partnerships it has with the likes of Slazenger and Robinsons. Even the tennis players themselves rate the London leg of their world tour the tournament none of them want to miss. Did my experience (be it lacking in brand activity) live up to the hype? Absolutely.

By Lydia Oates on June 30th, 2010

Tags: Andy Murray, BBC, Experiential marketing, Sponsorship

1 comment

With the general election looming ever closer, the media is crammed full of stories discussing the wonderful world of politics. Whilst I’d be the first to admit skimming through this section in the paper to get to the sport and celeb pages, an article by Daniel Finkelstein in today’s Times caught my attention.

Finkelstein discusses the concept of the brand, using author Martin Lindstrom’s example of the curved Coca-Cola bottle as one of the most recognisable and best-loved icons, to the point that it can be considered “smashable”. If dropped on the ground, and smashed into a hundred pieces you would still be able to recognise what it is from any one of those pieces.

He goes on to explain that “consumers purchase the product as much for what it says about them, and how it makes them feel, as for what it does. The product is much more than functional; it is part of their identity.”

This idea isn’t new in itself, and I’m sure we can all bring to mind a couple of brands that, for us, fall into this category. However, the twist that took this down a new angle for me was Finkelstein’s application of the concept to the Conservative party. We’re all aware of the photos of David Cameron cycling through London and visiting local schools and we understand that public perception is crucial in the popularity polls, but surely in this case we don’t “purchase” based on how this makes us feel? Isn’t it policies on the NHS, education and taxes that decide who gets out vote?

Think again, according to research by the BBC it appears that we absorb far more about the character and broad messages of our political parties than the individual policies they promote. All the more important then that the parties remain true to their brand positioning as any deviation from this could have a bigger impact on voters than they might realise.

Just goes to demonstrate once again, the power of the brand and it’s personality over our decision making in all areas of life. Thanks @Dannythefink – I’ll definitely be keeping a closer eye on the positioning of our political parties ahead of the election, whilst challenging the norm to see if one or two actual policies creep through.

By Kelly Russell on March 10th, 2010

Tags: BBC, Brand marketing, David Cameron, Default, General election, Politics, Public relations, Television

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Jenson Button had a dream last Friday night that he would have a bad qualifying session in Brazil but do enough in the race to win the F1 World Championship.
And so he did.

Button added his name to the history books over the weekend. The first ever English back-to-back world championship win the sport has witnessed. All of this happening in just the first season of Brawn’s existence, a fairytale for the team. The charismatic and handsome Button is now in an enviable position. With a wealth of experience, the support of a strong team around him, a model girlfriend on his arm, this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year a shoe-in and the likelihood of tens of millions of pounds to follow through sponsorship and endorsements, it all rounds off the year rather nicely for him.

And the best thing? He seems like a really nice guy to boot.

Jenson is a PR dream and a hark back to the old days of work hard, play hard F1 drivers. His earning potential is certainly set to rocket so long as he continues to perform on the track. As well as his success in the car, Jenson’s personality, charisma and good looks will help to make him a global bankable star. If he wins next year’s World Championship, he will almost certainly become the highest paid British sportsman.

Interestingly, he is not currently contracted to a team for next year. His negotiating powers right now are surely at a premium, especially having taken a severe pay cut to race for Brawn this season. For brands and future sponsors, Jenson is a very attractive investment. He is a popular figure, a leader amongst his team, speaks well, is well educated and glamorous and is also close to his family (his father attends every race). He is perceived to be more modest than Lewis Hamilton, more approachable and has a real sense of fun. Couldn’t have imagined writing this a year ago but Jenson could very well end up as the more successful of the two British drivers. It may have taken Jenson ten seasons to arrive at this stage (compared to Hamilton’s two) but Button is viewed by many as the more consistent and even tempered driver.

Certainly it will be interesting to watch what he does next from a sponsorship perspective. In F1, most brands are sponsors of the team, not the individual drivers. There are occasions of drivers having individual sponsors – Jenson himself has a personal deal with the (number 1 by volume-sales energy drink in the US) Monster Energy. However, what his manager may well be doing at the moment is looking at long-term opportunities for Jenson to take an ambassadorial role with existing team sponsors – something Lewis Hamilton has done very successfully with brands like Hugo Boss and Tag Heuer. We shall see.

For the time being, Jenson is back in the UK to fulfil sponsor activities (Virgin Media’s SpeedWeek50 campaign, as you asked) before the end of season finale in Abu Dhabi next month which will finish off one hell of a dream season.

By Stephanie Branston on October 20th, 2009

Tags: BBC, Formula 1, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Public relations, Sponsorship

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