What happened

The new adidas f50 miCoach is the first ‘boot with a brain’. The new boot integrates a miCoach Speed Cell into a cavity in the sole which captures and records 360 degree movements and key personal performance metrics.

The boots capture data including speed, average speed, maximum speed, number of sprints, distance, distance at high intensity levels and active training time, which it then transmits to tablets, PCs and Macs using a wireless link.

The miCoach internet platform allows players to upload, track, analyse and share their miCoach data. Once the sole preserve of sophisticated GPS systems, this allows any park player to monitor their performance, identify areas of improvement and compare their stats to those of their mates, teammates and the real professionals.

And as each player improves their performance on the real pitch, they reap the benefits on the virtual one.  ‘Avatars’ (virtual personas) take part in a new social football video game – and the only way to build your avatar’s skills and level up is by doing the work in the real world.  ‘Gamification‘ is a great way to engage this target audience and adidas have nailed it.

The brand has teamed up with Lionel Messi to launch the boots. He teased the new bright red and yellow f50 boot for the first time during Argentina’s friendly against Nigeria earlier in September but officially unveiled them at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Colombia on 15 November.

Leading Premier League players, including Luis Suarez, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Ashley Young, Emmanuel Adebayor, Stewart Downing and Gareth Bale have put the smart boot to the test during training sessions in recent weeks before wearing them competitively for the first time this month.

Why we love it

This is the biggest innovation in football boots since adidas launched the Predator.  But, with its integrated digital and social elements, this will have a far broader and deeper impact.

For the first time, it gives every player the ability to analyse their own performance, track improvements  and compare themselves to not only their mates, but also some of the greatest players on the planet. It is this integration of both professional and amateur players and an accessible, easy-to-use platform, which incorporates social media, that creates a truly unique and engaging brand experience for the consumer.

By putting ‘performance’ at the core, adidas enhances their positioning as the world’s leading performance brand.  No matter what your ability level is from occasional 5-a-side player to Lionel Messi, there is always room for improvement and adi will help you get there.

This ‘boot with a brain’ creates engaging content and puts adidas at the centre of a global dialogue around performance. It has brought together football’s elite level with its grassroots in a way that pushes the thought that adidas enables you to be the best you can be.

What the brand says

The adidas vice president of global football, Markus Baumann, says ‘We have been working to develop a boot with a brain for some time and what we have produced will revolutionise the football industry.’ He goes on to say ‘What makes the boot unique is that for the first time you will be able to compare yourself to some of the best players in the world.’

By Mike Russell on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Celebrity, Content, Default, Football, New Product Development, Social Media, Synergy Loves, Synopsis

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Memorabilia. The ultimate demonstration of fully committed fandom, right? Now I’m not talking about the typical million-odd replica shirts sold each year by Manchester United; I don’t even mean the larger share of these that sell featuring a certain Wayne Rooney’s name and number on the back; no, I’m talking about the real up-close-and-personal stuff: Botham’s bat, Pele’s Pumas or Tiger’s tee-peg.

You name it, someone out there will probably try to buy it, sell it, or, in the case of OJ Simpson, nick it. Allegedly. So what’s the fascination with collectibles, and why will ordinarily sane people part with extraordinarily daft amounts of money to own them? To me it’s about either possessing a tangible part of your hero, a slice of sporting history…or, and this is where the big bucks come into play, both.

In terms of sporting collectibles, baseball rules the roost; from the $10,000 spent by chewing gum maker Curt Mueller on a piece of spent gum from Arizona Diamondbacks Luis Gonzalez, to the ball struck by Mark McGwire for his record-breaking 70^th home run in 1998 – bought by comic book creator Todd McFarlane for a staggering $3.05m. Especially staggering when you consider the record was subsequently tainted by McGwire’s admission of steroid abuse during that season…the baseball shedding two-thirds of its auction value. Less home run, more own goal.

But if you think that sports fans have the market cornered (as well as signed, framed and independently authenticated) – think again. It’s the movie buffs that really know how to splash the cash to get their hands on a piece of Hollywood heroes or history.

In 2008, a miniature TIE Fighter model spaceship from the original Star Wars movie sold for over $400,000 and Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber made almost a quarter of a million dollars. Surprisingly though, in the memorabilia stakes, chic overcomes geek, with Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s selling for just under $1million and James Bond’s gadget-filled Aston Martin DB5 going for $4.1million.

What, might you ask, has any of this got to do with marketing, per se? Well, if you need to ask, then you obviously haven’t seen the recent Nike Mag campaign.

For those of you not aware, Nike Mags were the futuristic sneakers worn in Back to the Future II by hero Marty McFly when visiting Hill Valley, year 2015. For a quick reminder…

The self-lacing, self-illuminating hi-tops went on to become the most sought-after movie footwear since Dorothy Gale’s ruby slippers, whilst creating veritable product placement lore for their creators, Nike.

Many have crudely tried to repeat the trick, most notably Will Smith’s Converse-obsessed lead in I, Robot and, subsequently, the Puma-wearing inhabitants of The Island. Given that each member of the latter’s identically-shod population is, in fact, an irretrievably doomed clone of a corporate paymaster, you have to think that Puma really should have read the script before involving themselves.

What sets Nike apart from the aforementioned brands is that the trainers worn by Michael J. Fox’s character were simply an ‘ain’t-it-cool’ vision of the future for the movie’s teenaged audience, appropriate to Nike’s own brand trajectory; they weren’t linked to part of a specific marketing campaign, and were categorically not made available for purchase by their makers.

Until now.

Hot on the heels of Total Film’s 2010 ‘Future Day’ hoax, forums were buzzing earlier this year with the rumour that Nike had taken out a patent on an ‘automatic lacing system’. Nike sneakers with power laces on their way? Not quite, but an ingeniously timely tease nonetheless.

In fact, the Oregon-based sporting superpower had finally chosen to make film buff dreams a reality, by producing a limited run of 1,500 pairs of ‘2011 Nike Mags’.

With illuminated LEDs that can be recharged after a long day switched on in their display cabinet (as though anyone is actually planning on wearing these) the 2011 models are, in fact, not of the self-lacing variety. This is rather unsubtly explained courtesy of the movie’s co-star, Christopher Lloyd – AKA Doc Brown – in the video below, where it becomes clear that said technology will only be available in 2015 (the year he and Marty visited in BTTF2), and that the DeLorean time machine has erroneously brought him to a point four years too early.

So, after all the hype and fervour, how can I get hold of a pair, you ask? Well, unfortunately you’ve already missed the boat: the entire lot were auctioned off over a 10-day period on eBay in early September. Although bidding started at $0.99, over-excited demand amongst collectors and scalpers alike saw standard prices kick off at around $4,000. Who pays $4k for a pair of slightly ugly-looking trainers? Well, no one, it would seem. The first pair actually sold for the princely sum of $37,000 to one Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu – that’s Tinie Tempah to you and me. His PR or Nike’s…it’s hard to tell.

But never fear: Nike’s ruse was all in a very good cause (besides fleecing a few overpaid musicians). It turns out that the brand had partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, all profits from the auctions going direct to the organisation.

Nike (with a little help from eBay) capitalised on the perfect storm of memorabilia-hungry Back to the Future fanboys, obsessive boxfresh sneakerheads and understandably fervent supporters of the Parkinson’s research projects – raising $5.7million in a mere 10 days. This was doubled to $11million by the ubiquitous Google, whose co-founder Sergey Brin has pledged to match donations to Fox’s foundation until 2012 to the tune of up to $50million.

Nike has demonstrated just how far ahead its thinking is from its competitors’ in respect of memorabilia, limited edition wares and product placement (even retrospectively). And who’s to say that the ‘2015 Nike Mags’ won’t be released to the general public in four years’ time anyway?

They’ve hit the sweet spot between collectible and commodity, and through the nostalgic lens of one of the most popular movie franchises of all time, have delivered a lesson in slow-burn brand marketing.

But coming back to the crux of the argument, people will do anything for their own part of an image, an icon, a moment or a man – heart over head, irrational and absurd. As Huey Lewis once put it: that’s the power of love.

By Jonathan Izzard on October 4th, 2011

Tags: Brand marketing, Celebrity, Charity, Content, Default, Digital marketing, Film, New Product Development, Viral Marketing

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It’s 20 years since the Premier League was launched and to mark the occasion, we’ve put together an infographic suitably laced with factoids illustrating the League’s journey from domestic breakaway to global superpower.

Having worked on sponsorships in and around the League since its inception, it’s been an extraordinary journey both to have witnessed and to have been part of. The incredible transformation on and, above all, off the field is what I hope we’ve captured.

Off the field, my personal favourite factoids are the League having no title sponsor in its first season (owing to disagreements between the clubs) and the staggering 9900% rise in Manchester United’s annual shirt sponsorship income, from Sharp’s £200k endorsement in 1992 to today’s £20m Aon deal.

On the field, it has to be United’s dominance of the title (which of course has driven their off-field success), the proliferation of overseas players, from a mere 11 in 1992 to 337 last season, and the perfect symmetry of the 11 current and 11 former clubs who featured in the inaugural 22-club Premier League (great quiz question by the way).

Click to enlarge…and enjoy.

Crafted and made beautiful by Jon Izzard.

By Tim Crow on August 10th, 2011

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Football, Football Sponsorship, Manchester United, New Product Development, Sponsorship, Synergy

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Heineken Star PlayerI’ve often wondered why it is that, in contrast to other major events, the sponsors of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) have mostly struggled to create great campaigns (litmus test: how many can you actually remember?). The exception to this has generally been Heineken, which has consistently created entertaining and memorable UCL work. Last week it launched its latest UCL move, Star Player, to coincide with this year’s UCL semi-finals. Star Player is really interesting football first: a free iPhone app with Facebook integration, which leverages the intersection between football fandom, event TV, social media and gaming. I downloaded it and played it during last week’s now-infamous UCL semi final first leg between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Here’s my review.

The Game

Getting started is easy. You download the app and create a simple profile for yourself. Ten minutes before kick-off the app goes live: when the whistle blows the action begins. Throughout the game, you’re given various opportunities to score points, either by predicting the outcome of free kicks and corners, whether there will be a goal in the next 30 seconds, or answering multiple choice quiz questions during breaks in play. You can also use one of three ‘Power Ups’ throughout the game to give yourself an additional goal prediction, a chance to score more quiz points, or a 50:50 style clue to answering questions.

So far so basic – it’s the additional features that socialise the game and make it interesting. After each corner, free kick or quiz question, you can see how everyone else playing the game voted as a percentage. Correct answers win you badges, visible through your profile. You can enter yourself into a league with friends, and play against them in real time. And finally Facebook Connect functionality enables you to publish your results, and those of your league, to your Facebook wall.

The Experience

Playing the game was fun, and it nicely complemented watching the game on TV. If, like me, you enjoy the real-time, predictive environment of live in-play betting, you’ll like this game too, because it’s about trusting your instincts to make the right call in an instant. Like winning an in-game bet, there’s a real thrill both in correctly predicting (as I managed to) that Ronaldo would waste a string of free-kicks or that Messi’s run would end in a goal and then being rewarded for it (although only with badges and points rather than cash). I also liked the way after questions you could see how everyone else playing the game voted, and although I wasn’t playing with a group of friends, I could imagine it being a great brilliant ‘game within a game’ if I had been.

But there were also things that weren’t so good. On the night the app wouldn’t let me use the Power Ups, or post my score to Facebook at the end of the game – both very annoying (especially as I posted a score that put me in the top echelons of the global league!). The multiple choice questions were average: the football questions mostly seemed random and had no relevance to the game I was watching (for example “When was Rangers founded?”), and there were too many questions about Heineken (for example “How many countries is Heineken served in?”) when one would have been fine. I also felt there could have been more variety in the gaming. Goal and free kick prediction became a little dull after a while, and I found myself wanting the opportunity to be able to predict the half-time and full-time score, or the next scorer or next team to score, as you can in in-play betting. This is such an obvious missed opportunity that I can only assume there’s something in Heineken’s UCL sponsorship contract that prevents them from using scoring data.

The Verdict

Seven out of ten. This is a great move by Heineken that has the potential to create real social currency among football fans, become an essential part of the UCL experience, and an engagement platform in its own right. But there are missed opportunities too that need to be addressed if, as an experience, the app is to achieve its full potential.

By Tim Crow on May 4th, 2011

Tags: Branded content, Default, Digital marketing, Facebook, Football Sponsorship, New Product Development, Sponsorship, UEFA Champions League

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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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Those of you who’ve been following our ‘What’s The Greatest Sports Modern Marketing Innovation?’ debate will know that we’ve had an array of thought-provoking comments, including numerous suggestions for innovations that didn’t feature in our initial shortlist. And although it doesn’t make the cut in our debate because it falls outside the post-1960 rule, one of my favourites was from Jeremy Edwards of Xtreme Information on the world’s first-ever TV ad – which aired during NBC’s broadcast of a Brooklyn Dodgers v Philadelphia Phillies baseball game in 1941.

Jeremy commented:

‘Superimposed over a test pattern, the creative displayed a Bulova watch over a map of the US with a voice-over that simply said – “America runs on Bulova time!” Depending on who you believe, it either cost Bulova $4 or a whopping $9. Did this precursor open the gates to the whole sports sponsorship industry?”

Here’s the ad itself - short, shaky and sadly voice-over free:

I wonder how the audience reacted and what the ad did for Bulova’s sales? In case you’re interested, Bulova is still around today: founded in 1875, then as now it’s based in Queen’s, and was acquired by Citizen in 2008.

Personally, I wouldn’t say the ad opened the gates to modern sports sponsorship: TV advertising, absolutely. But from now on, whenever I see the ads in a break during a live sports broadcast – or indeed any live event – I’ll always think of Bulova.

By Tim Crow on November 26th, 2010

Tags: Advertising, Default, Media, New Product Development, Television, What's the Greatest Sports Marketing Innovation?

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Two weeks ago we decided to open up to the world a debate we’d started here at Synergy: what is the greatest sports marketing innovation of modern times?

It’s a debate that seems to have captured your imagination as much as ours, creating a raft of comments by global industry figures from brands, rights-holders, the media and more. We’ve even been privileged to have our old friends Patrick Nally and Michael Payne, both leading contenders on our initial list and in the subsequent debate, offer their thoughts.

So, two weeks on, we thought it was time to round up the comments to date.

The View From The Brands

Ralf Hussmann, Global Sports Marketing Director at BMW turned the argument on its head, arguing that most of the innovations listed mainly pour more cash into the pockets of rights holders, selected athletes (and dare I say it, the odd agency). Instead, Ralf argued for the evolution of sport over the last fifty years via sports platforms, teams, rights-holders, broadcasters and sponsors to bring the audiences and fans closer to the games they follow. As Ralf summarises “…sports is – besides competition – entertainment and that’s what people want. Only because of this sustainable interest sport works well as a marketing tool.”

With perhaps a hint of bias, but also some justification, Nike EMEA Comms Director Charlie Brooks supported our original Air Jordan suggestion as well as Ronaldinho’s Nike ‘crossbar’ viral, marking the moment when brands moved from TV ads played online to dedicated viral content strategies; and in the same vein Betfair’s Leo Thompson argued for the creation of Betfair itself given its revolutionary effect on sports betting and the fight against corruption – although to be fair, Leo also nodded in the direction of the Palmer-McCormack handshake and Patrick Nally’s creation of the first FIFA sponsor package.

For Lee Bailey of Guinness it’s the creation of the Super Bowl, which continues to hold the US in thrall in contrast to, notably, the decline of the FA Cup; Tim Ellerton of Heineken backed the formation of the UEFA Champions League (‘…It transformed European football as we know it…the game has changed from winning trophies to getting into the top 4′); while Simon Banoub of Opta backed Twenty20 Cricket (‘…as a game changer I can’t think of anything more significant’).

The View From The Media

Guardian Sports Editor Ian Prior was torn between Nike’s Air Jordan launch and the Palmer-McCormack handshake: ‘IMG set the template for the athlete as corporate entity…You could argue that Air Jordan took that idea to its logical conclusion, except that it created the super athlete as global brand icon and principal driver of product sales.’

Ashling O’Connor from The Times was in the vanguard of several contributors who have nominated Kerry Packer’s World Series of Cricket in 1977: ‘Changed the way cricket is played…and created the template for broadcasters to negotiate exclusive rights…Without it would we have had Sky and the Premier League? A total game changer in every way.’

Roger Blitz of the Financial Times suggested, in the shape of Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, the first modern superstar to have created his own brand: ‘…the greatest sports marketing phenomenon of all time [and] he did it all himself, through his own narrative.’

David Owen, Inside The Games columnist and former FT sports editor ighlighted Chris Brasher’s role in pioneering marathons and the rise of ambush marketing  (‘…whoever masterminded the first successful ambush must have been a sports marketeer of genius’) but ultimately opted for the Palmer-McCormack handshake: ‘The start of the industrialisation of sports marketing’.

But for Wall Street Journal columnist and Platform magazine editor Richard Gillis it has to be ’…Dassler-Nally and the creation of the rights package for the 1978 World Cup. Virtually every rights holder’s commercial structure, from the IOC down, is still based on it.’

The View From the Rights Holders

Michael Payne, former IOC Marketing Director who features on our initial list for his role in helping to create the IOC TOP programme, nominated four innovations: Patrick Nally and FIFA; Mark McCormack and athletes; the advent of the dedicated sports channel; and ‘the introduction of ‘brand discipline into sports marketing – pioneered by IOC to build further value (slight self interest here).’

Paul Vaughan, Business Director of the RFU, argued the case for media innovations, in particular internet streaming of sport: ‘Every major broadcaster simulcasts on these channels now…to supplement ‘normal’ broadcast delivery.’

Former ECB Commercial Director Terry Blake put the case for Twenty20 cricket – invented, of course, by the ECB in 2003 - pointing to the fact that within 5 years it had ‘created a new global fan base [for cricket] and…three very different and highly valued formats.’

And John Feehan, Six Nations & Lions CEO, echoed the views of Michael and others in backing the Palmer-McCormack handshake.

The View From Academe

Be sure to check out Professor Simon Chadwick’s guest blog where he nominates Red Bull’s multi-faceted sports marketing strategy.

What’s next?

So where do you stand? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below or at the original blog, and if you think we’ve missed anything, what you believe we should add to the final long list before the big vote which starts next month.

Your votes will then decide the top ten and critically your number one innovation of the last fifty years.

And in the next week look out for more high-profile industry figures having their say on the debate via Synergy’s YouTube channel.

By Dominic Curran on November 24th, 2010

Tags: Ambush campaign, Barclays Premier League, Betfair, Brand marketing, Branded content, ECB, Indian Premier League, New Product Development, Olympic sponsorship, Sponsorship, Sport, UEFA Champions League, Viral Marketing, What's the Greatest Sports Marketing Innovation?, World Cup, YouTube

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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

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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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Regular visitors to this parish will know that previously I’ve written several posts about what I believe is one of the most important and most overlooked trends in modern sports marketing: NPD. The creation of new and re-invented events and formats has been a seismic force shaping the sports marketing business worldwide for years: the Premier League, Champions League, Tri-Nations, Super Rugby, Twenty20, IPL – the list goes on and on. And arguably, in terms of re-invention, the daddy of them all is the Ryder Cup.

Less than 40 years ago the Ryder Cup was an anachronism, unloved by all but the golfing cognoscenti and slowly dying. So what turned it into a sports marketing phenomenon: the biggest event in golf, and one of the biggest in world sport?

1. The Greatest Sports Marketing Idea of All Time?

Following years of overwhelming US victories over a hopelessly outmatched GB & Ireland team, by 1977 the Ryder Cup was on its last legs. But from 1979, at the suggestion – ironically – of US golf icon Jack Nicklaus, GB & Ireland became a European team to make the matches more competitive. The rest, as they say is history. Nicklaus’ suggestion must surely rank as one of the greatest, and most altruistic, sports marketing ideas of all time.

2. From Predictable to Unpredictable

Pre-1979, everyone knew the US was going to win the Ryder Cup. Today, no-one knows. And nothing draws fans, the media and sponsors like the drama of knife-edge sporting competition. With the addition of European players to the GB & Ireland team, the Ryder Cup went from being a predictable mismatch to one of the most unpredictable, finely-balanced competitions in world sport. That’s a rarity, and it’s one of the key ingredients in the Ryder Cup’s global appeal.

3. Seve

Sport needs heroes to market itself successfully. Nicklaus was particularly mindful of this, and of one European player in particular, back in 1977: Seve Ballesteros. Seve became the talisman of the new European team and inspired its first game-changing victories over the US in the 80s. Brilliant, charismatic and fiercely competitive – especially against the US players and galleries who he perceived as having slighted him early in his career – Ballesteros was, above all, the catalyst for the Ryder Cup phenomenon. Virtually single-handedly, he transformed the image and appeal of European golf in general and the Ryder Cup in particular.

4. Defining Moments

If we’re honest, sport often disappoints. We all regularly tuned into marquee events expecting hoping to see something special, only to be disappointed. But since its re-invention, the Ryder Cup has never disappointed. Every event since 1979 has produced unforgettable, defining moments that have entered the pantheon of sporting (not just golfing) legend. And to me, this isn’t about serendipity: it’s the inevitable result of the contest being re-invented to become even and unpredictable, blending perfectly with a format which is guaranteed to produce moments that win – or lose – the match. The Ryder Cup is a perfect sports marketing template.

5. Controversy

Sport thrives on controversy. Controversy creates today’s stories, history’s legends, and tomorrow’s fans. Controversy sells. And since the Ryder Cup was re-invented in 1979, and the contest became as close and as fierce as anything that sport can offer, controversy has never been far away: indeed, it’s become part of the event’s DNA (Kiawah, Brookline) and its global appeal, part of why we look forward to it, part of what we expect from it. Golf’s rulers and traditionalists might not like it, but controversy is another element that sets the Ryder Cup apart, and gives it an appeal way beyond golf’s normal fanbase and media footprint.

6. Otherness

The Ryder Cup is entirely unlike the golf that we see week-in, week-out, all year. Tournament golf is selfish: the Ryder Cup is selfless. It’s not about individuals playing for a title and million-dollar purses. It’s about teams, playing to win for their team, for pride and honour only (Ryder Cup players aren’t paid). And this works and appeals in a way that tournament golf simply doesn’t. It gives the fans a team to support: that makes it bigger and easier to buy into that tournament golf (remember, worldwide, it’s team sport that rules). It makes heroes and villains out of players who, ordinarily, we don’t passionately support or oppose in their tournament identities. And most importantly, it works because it demands of the players something different, something other, something somehow better. Take Jack Nicklaus conceding a putt to Tony Jacklin in 1969 to spare Jacklin the possibility of losing the match. And conversely, take Tiger Woods: well before his disgrace, his reputation suffered because he was widely perceived not to be a team player because of his Ryder Cup performances and attitude.

7. Less is More

One of modern sport’s biggest problems is that there’s too much of it. Football, tennis, rugby and especially cricket, for example, have all over-supplied the marketplace in different ways, leading to numerous negative on- and off-field effects. This has increasingly worked to the Ryder Cup’s advantage. It doesn’t come around very often, but when it does, we can’t wait. Less is more.

8. A Year-Long Narrative

The organisers of many major events would do well to study and emulate the way in which the Ryder Cup creates a compelling long-range narrative that extends way beyond the event’s three-day playing window. The qualification story always generates regular coverage and steadily-building momentum throughout the year leading up to the event. And as we saw again this year, the final week of qualifying and the announcement of the captains’ picks are announced initiates a massive spike of hype which – ironically – completely overshadows that week’s tournaments. It’s a PR case study par excellence.

9. Uniqueness

One could argue with justification that there is much in the above that makes the Ryder Cup unique. But I’d suggest that there’s one element of its re-invention in particular that has turned it into a sports marketing phenomenon: the creation of the European team. Nowhere else in major sport does Europe compete under one banner. At a stroke, it added hundreds of millions of fans and transformed the event as a sports marketing vehicle.

10. US Involvement

It’s easy to forget that sport in the USA is a primarily a domestic affair. At top level, the four dominant team sports – American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey – are contested internally. As a result, as a sporting nation, the USA rarely ventures outside its borders onto the world stage, or hosts other nations for a major sporting prize. So when it does, it’s rare, and it’s a big deal. And they don’t come any bigger than the Ryder Cup.

By Tim Crow on September 30th, 2010

Tags: Default, Golf, New Product Development, Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods

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