I was in Auckland with the British and Irish Lions when London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games. Very excited, my first thought was ‘how can I get involved’?
Roll on two years and my excitement grew when I filled in my volunteer form. After working at Synergy for nearly 30 years and with an employment history of running media offices in a number of different sports, I assumed – wrongly as it turned out – that I would be an ideal volunteer to work in one of the many media centres.
Over the next nine months I continued to receive emails from the LOCOG Games Maker programme saying I hadn’t been forgotten but on the other hand I hadn’t been chosen…
Suddenly, three weeks ago, I received an email saying my application had been reconsidered and could I come in for an interview – not for the media centre but instead the Spectator Entry Team! Still keen to be involved, I rang up and booked my interview time.
So it was that last Friday I found myself heading towards LOCOG’s offices in Canary Wharf to attend my interview. A group of us sat waiting – about 12 in total – representing a cross-section of London society.
Escorted to the office, the group was full of questions and we were given an outline of the role for which we were being interviewed – in short, we would be ambassadors outside the venues helping spectators with information and also ‘providing entertainment’ if the security queues got too long. Not quite sure what he meant by that, but it certainly was a worry when we were told that it might take an hour and half to get through security into the venue…it might need a little bit more than us entertaining them with that wait!
We moved on to have our ID checked and our photo taken – in case we are chosen – and were then taken into a holding area full of information about 2012.
Next stop a cinema to watch a short film on the programme – with sweets provided by a nice man from Cadbury and clear mention of our training was being provided by McDonald’s – which constituted a very funny to camera piece from Eddie Izzard. Then the interview…
The interviewer assured us that this would be very informal, asking us the following questions: what is your favourite Olympic memory (I chose Steve Redgrave winning his fifth Gold medal); why do you think you can do the role (given that we had only been told what it was 10 minutes earlier, there was a need to think quickly); how many days can you commit to, etc.
My favourite Olympic memory
With the interview over, we headed down towards the Tube, and I discovered that I was not the only person that hadn’t been selected when their experience might be best-suited…there was a doctor (who had ticked the ‘Medical’ box) and two other media officers (who had ticked the ‘Media’ box). Most interestingly there was the guy who had researched Boris Johnson’s background for ‘Who do you think you are?’ – I am not sure which box he’d ticked though!
So I am now waiting to see whether I have been chosen and if so to which venue…perhaps it will be Lord’s which is only five minutes from my house and I know like the back of my hand having worked there for various sponsors over the past 20 years – just please don’t give me Wembley!
Here at Synergy towers we’re always looking for fun, quirky ideas that have genuine media traction while fitting with our clients’ target audiences and business objectives. So with the London 2012 test events rolling into town the Betfair team put our thinking hats on and looked at how Betfair could get involved. We focused specifically on the beach volleyball tournament at Horse Guards Parade - an event with high media and consumer interest that would engage the brand’s target audience and deliver a tactical campaign within budget.
Further to a recent Ofcom report highlighting that one third of British adults now owns a smart phone, Betfair developed a concept to promote their mobile offering.
Synergy negotiated a deal with Team Mullin-Dampney, the number one British beach volleyball duo, to position Quick Response technology, known as QR codes, on the players’ kit. When photographed, the QR code would drive people to Betfair’s free-bet and registration page.
Given the limited space available on a beach volleyball kit, the signature ‘hands on knees’ stance, and likely viewpoint of media and spectator cameras, the QR codes were placed on the players’ bikini bottoms to maximise exposure, whilst their arm bands carried the Betfair Mobile logo.
Working with Betfair’s consumer PR agency and new members of the Engine family - Mischief - we held a photoshoot with Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney and distributed the images before the test event on 9th August.
Capturing the imagination of both the front and back pages the story featured in four national newspapers (Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star and Daily Record), two regional titles (Metro and The Evening Standard) and seven national online sites as well as over 200 online outlets, thousands of tweets and in the international media.
So we challenged former world number one golfer Martin Kaymer and three time Olympic medallist Steve Backley to go head-to-head in a multisport play-off from Wentworth’s first tee. With wedge and javelin in hand, Kaymer and Backley put their accuracy to the test in an attempt to land their shot nearest the pin at the venue for the BMW PGA Championship from May 26 – 29.
Both athletes were given three attempts to hit the pin which, at 60 metres, was comfortably within their reach. Despite Kaymer’s drives averaging over 260m and Backley having a world record breaking throw of 91.46m to his name, precision rather than distance was the aim for the BMW Nearest the Pin challenge. With all shots taken, Kaymer was announced the overall winner, beating Backley with a comprehensive score of 3-0.
During a 5-hour traffic delay on the way to the Ryder Cup, two Synergists entered into a debate about the greatest Sports Marketing Innovation of the last 50 years. What started in the back of the car, turned into our own private mission to find the answer. We invited suggestions from the public, debated the merits of each suggestion, invited guest bloggers to put their case forward and finally put the resulting short-list to a vote. And according to you, the biggest Sports Marketing Innovation of all time was Nike’s deal with Michael Jordan.
The deal went beyond mere endorsement and created a product line purely around the player, whilst defining the relationship between corporate organisations and sports stars. According to Charlie Brooks, the communications director of Nike “…It has helped define the way the Nike brand, and the industry overall, has behaved ever since in terms of sports marketing and creating athlete signature products…”
It’s staggering, if the stories are to be believed, that Jordan originally didn’t even want to meet with Nike execs to cut a deal. The company’s association with MJ created a brand in Air Jordan that generated some of the most memorable advertising creative in recent years, with ‘Wings’ still one of the most popular posters ever printed. Almost a decade since he last played, the Jordan brand has grossed over $1 billion in sales, representing around 5% of Nike’s total revenue, with the “Jumpman” adorning the shoes of kids for whom Jordan has only ever been a YouTube myth. Wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?
So, there is no doubt that we found a worthy winner…but at Synergy, that just triggered the next question. What next for superstar endorsements? Is this still a winning sponsorship strategy?
From the earliest days of advertising, the stars of the day have been employed to strengthen the promise of a brand. Whether it’s the testimonial of actress Lillie Langtry for Pears Soap, or that of US President William McKinley for his Waterman pen – both before the turn of the 20th century – we’re not talking about a new art, just one that has evolved over time.
That said, apparently, using a celebrity doesn’t guarantee success. According to research carried out by US-based firm Ace Metrix, in 2010 almost 15% of advertising in the US involved celebrities, at an estimated cost of $50 billion. And of that number, nearly 20% of commercials indexed negatively versus the advertising norm. With four out of the top five culprits from the world of sport, several UK publications suggested this as sounding the death-knell of deals for major sporting names like David Beckham.
Of course, this is partly explained by the fact that two sporting superstars for whom 2010 had hardly been a year to remember, featured heavily in this list: Lance Armstrong was accused by his former team-mate Floyd Landis of taking performance-enhancing drugs, whereas Tiger Woods, well, you don’t need me to tell you about his 2010. What this demonstrates is the height from which an icon has to fall, even if, in the case of Armstrong, the pedestal is still structurally intact.
The fact is that consumers are now a savvier bunch and it is easy to pick out where a celebrity is simply a hired hand lending stardust to a brand.
Looking at the advertising that best resonated with US consumers last year, we can see that celebrities need to bring an authenticity that is impossible to manufacture. Oprah Winfrey’s traffic safety campaign represented three out of the top four strongest performing creatives. A very ‘Oprah’ endorsement. George Clooney, another celebrity with integrity, unquestionably plays his own smooth self in Nescafe’s commercials, although it’s definitely more than just an address to camera. Turning this on its head, Kevin Bacon’s commercial for Logitech (where he brilliantly plays a Kevin Bacon-obsessed superfan) is in no way a Bacon endorsement of their specific product, but a means of connecting the brand with humour and charm often missing from the category.
This is where sponsorship begins to play a greater role for companies looking to connect with a consumer, a market or a movement. It’s about a brand in alignment with an individual. What develops is a symbiotic relationship where brands have as much to gain as they have to lose…arguably more.
Nike, of course, has since repeated the trick with Tiger Woods. Why didn’t Nike cut Tiger loose last year? Well, whilst his behaviour disappointed fans and sponsors alike, there’s no denying that he represented a longer game to the sporting giant. And his relationship with Nike is deep and authentic. Prior to Woods’ endorsement of Nike’s golf range in 2000, Nike owned approximately 1% of the global golf market. Following Woods’ signing, Nike Golf acquired approximately 4.5 million customers and in 2008 posted revenues of $648 million – a direct result of the Tiger who came to tee. Estimates suggest that even the 100,000 or so consumers that left the brand in the wake of his extensive indiscretions never actually defected to a competitor, impacting instead a net loss on the golf industry as a whole.
So, authenticity is key. In an attempt to find it, a new avenue has been explored by brands over the past couple of years: offering the celebrity more than just cold hard cash, but a job.
Arguably the most successful proponent of this is adidas with their appointment of designer Stella McCartney as its creative director in advance of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. An appropriate relationship that, suitably leveraged, will provide adidas ample reward in 2012, but, critically, one based on her skillset and day job. Need to demonstrate an ability to actively shape their employer’s brand and bottom line, whilst still connecting with the target consumers. Jamie Oliver and Sainsbury’s, Kate Moss and Topshop, Dr Dre and Monster headphones – all examples of motivated individuals working to deliver tangible value back to their paymasters.
In a slightly more worrying turn of events, the role (or rather title) of creative director provides an opportunity for companies to steal genius (or perhaps more realistically, borrow talent) from a heavily focus-grouped ‘next best thing’.
Intel has shown the world that it likes (black eyed) peas with its chips, having signed up the ubiquitous Will.i.am as their own ‘director of creative innovation’, where he plans to work with scientists and researchers to “collaborate and co-develop new ways to communicate, create, inform and entertain”. Well, if it keeps him out of the recording studio, I’m all for it.
Mr i.am’s work placement comes hot on the heels of icône du jour Lady Gaga, who in 2010 announced she had bagged a role at Polaroid as the brand’s creative director. Here she was “fairly involved” in merging the company’s two mainstays, cameras and sunglasses into (wait for it) a pair of camera sunglasses. One might suggest Ms Gaga was chosen by Polaroid as a 1980s throwback with the ability to deliver an instant reaction, but there’s a definite risk that they have instead simply secured a cheap imitation that fades after prolonged exposure.
It is clear that giving a celebrity a job is no guarantee of authenticity. In a world permeated by the insidious creep of celebrity wannabes and casually eroded by salacious A-Z list gossip, ambivalence is a perfectly understandable reaction from consumers to all-star overkill. Similarly, people believe in sports stars – they are heroes to fans young and old, and as such have a duty of responsibility that for many is beyond their reach.
Celebrity endorsement can still be a winning strategy. But the rules are very clear: without authenticity a brand will simply shed its celebrity skin.
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’.
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…)
I enjoyed my tube ride in this morning, a rare thing indeed. Maybe it’s all the work TFL is doing to upgrade the service in time for the arrival of the greatest show on earth; London 2012.
Actually, it wasn’t that, but it was the sight of many Londoners excitedly flicking through their Metro in the knowledge that London 2012 Olympic Games tickets are now on sale. Of course a major landmark for any Games.
For sponsors, and of course ambushers, this is also a major moment in the London 2012 time-line. We will now begin to see a major raise in public awareness and excitement for the Games, ever increasing as the days and weeks tick away towards the major momentum shifter; when the Olympic Torch Relay arrives on UK shores on Friday 18 May 2012, taking the experience to an entirely new level.
For me, today marks the beginning, the beginning of the activation opportunity in earnest. It’s the time to start the real work, to maximum impact in the swell of national interest, tapping into what will be an ever increasing public passion for the Games, between now and the end of 2012. The Games will be a exceptional time in Great Britain’s history, a rare time when the nation will unite as one and brands who create a role as part of this unique experience will, in my view, be the big winners.
Today we’ve seen a host of tactical brand activity to support LOCOG’s major announcement, and rightly so, but I believe the brands who make the biggest impact will be those brave enough to stand alone. Of course, this will include activation around the major landmarks, but what I mean is creating something that is truly unique to provide something inspiring and jaw droppingly engaging for a public that will be craving rich content that was previously unimaginable.
For now though, we’ll focus on a quick summary of some of the announcements and activity of the last 24 hours:
Omega unveiled a giant countdown clock in Trafalgar Square last night (14 March) to mark the landmark. The clock – which measures 6.5 metres high by 5.5m wide, weighs nearly five tonnes and features LED lighting strips of varying colour for night time viewing – started ticking over today and will be in place until the end of the Paralympics on September 14th 2012.
Team GB has launched a new website to celebrate the 500 days to go milestone and will focus on the new message Our Greatest Team
Every morning the Synergy PR team huddles in the corner of the office to talk through the good, bad and sometimes ugly PR stories that grace the pages of our national newspapers.
As a generous group of marketing professionals, we decided to start sharing our favourite stories with you every Friday. We’ll pick our favourite stories from the week and tell you why they have made the cut.
We’d welcome your feedback too. Do you agree with our picks? Do you think we have missed a story? Drop us a comment below and let us know.
So kicking off the inaugural Synergy PR round-up, below are this week’s picks…
Now in its 26th year, the Comic Relief PR machine is still delivering exciting stories. This week saw blanket coverage for Comic Relief’s ‘Girl on Wire’ stunt, which saw Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton walk a high-wire between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station. The petite blonde was the perfect choice to hoist above the towers (a task most grown men would baulk at) and the location provided a dramatic backdrop. Take these elements mixed with a great cause and lo, you have the perfect PR picture stunt.
This week Disney released its second instalment of Annie Leibovitz‘s Disney Dream Portraits, a series of celebrities posing as some of the best loved Disney characters. Ok, I admit it; I’m a huge Disney fan. It takes very little for this brand to impress me. However Disney have taken a simple idea and executed it to an extremely high standard and it has paid off.
Only Annie Leibovitz could capture the ‘magic’ of Disney whilst adding a modern look and feel, so they signed her up. Similarly the ‘models’ posing in the photos are genuine A list celebrities who have been perfectly chosen to play out the characters. Penelope Cruz as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Julianne Moore as Ariel from The Little Mermaid and only Queen Latifah could feature Ursula the Sea Witch, also from The Little Mermaid.
So, the next time you are visiting Synergy Towers, why not pop in a little earlier and join our 9.15am paper meeting! The above examples are a mere snippet of the stories we discuss day in and day out. If that’s not enough of a lure, we promise to make you a cup of coffee and we will even let you get first pick of the papers – and if you’re super keen and land here before 9am, you can even sample ENGINE‘s free breakfast…
The London 2012 velodrome was officially unveiled on Tuesday to universal media acclaim. Quite right too: it is a stunning creation. The media coverage also confirmed that the velodrome has already acquired a widespread media nickname because of its distinctive roof: the Pringle.
To those of us who work in Olympic marketing, this is more than somewhat ironic. Without paying a penny, courtesy of the media, Pringles has annexed a priceless piece of Olympic real estate.
Famously, the IOC keeps the Olympics as a spectacle free of brand names and presence: this is key to the Games’ DNA. Not that the spectacle actually is brand-free of course. There are the equipment manufacturers’ logos on every athlete’s clothing and footwear, and the branding and clocks of the official timekeeper Omega are very visible. But it’s pretty close.
This ban on branding extends to all buildings used for Olympic events. Thus, for the period of the Games, the O2 will be de-branded and given a neutral name. Whatever it’s called, we’ll all still call it ‘The O2’ of course: you can’t turn the clock back. But BT, and none of the other London 2012 sponsors, wouldn’t have signed up without this type of protection – and let’s not forget the global and domestic sponsors are together providing close to £2billion – 18% – of London 2012’s funding.
Which brings me to the second irony: the Pringles brand is actually owned by one of the global sponsors of the Olympics, Procter & Gamble. What a nice bonus this is for them: it will be interesting to see if they take extra advantage of their good fortune.
One thing’s for sure: if the powers that be decide, as expected, to sell the naming rights to the velodrome after the Games, I have a feeling I know who they’ll call first.
On 4th January 2011, the Synergy team kicked off the New Year with the launch of the BMW London 2012 Performance Team, an initiative designed to provide Team GB and ParalympicsGB with support as they prepare for the Games on and off the field.
The event, which took place at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, was attended by the first twelve BMW London 2012 Performance Team athletes: Tom Daley, Louis Smith, Ellie Simmonds, Jonathan Brownlee, Alistair Brownlee, Giles Scott, Mark Lewis-Francis, Tom Aggar, Martyn Bernard, Mark Hunter, Richard Mantell and Simon Mantell.
Two of the BMW London 2012 Performance Team athletes, diver Tom Daley and gymnast Louis Smith, bared the cold weather head-on as they stripped down to their sporting attire to be photographed with a BMW and a MINI. The stunts, performed with a minor interruption in the form of a partial solar eclipse, saw Tom demonstrating his trampoline training moves next to a MINI and Louis performing pommel horse moves on a reinforced BMW stunt car. To see the athletes in action take a look at the film below:
Despite the 6am start and the freezing January weather, all of the athletes remained in top form throughout the entire event. As they breezed through numerous press interviews, studio photography, outdoor broadcast interviews and indoor video filming, each of the Performance Team athletes shared their unique stories, goals and performance ambitions for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with various national media outlets including:
As the day came to an end and with everyone in good spirits, Tom and Louis decided to show their support to the England cricket team with their own version of the sprinkler dance. Take it away gentlemen…
To find out more about the BMW London 2012 Performance Team and to view the athletes’ performance moments visit www.bmw.co.uk/London2012.
‘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?
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