Last month saw the pinnacle of club football descend on London for a week in May as the UEFA Champions League Final came into town. Ending with the dream final between Manchester United and Barcelona  on 28th May, the week kicked off with the UEFA Champions Festival, a free 8-day festival beginning on Saturday 21st. UEFA also staged the Women’s Champions League Final at Craven Cottage on 26th May, a battle between French side Lyon and Germany’s Potsdam.

Synergy was brought on board by UEFA to promote the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final and UEFA Champions Festival, which for the footie-loving team in the office, was a bit of a treat.

Our approach combined a mix of PR stunt-led ideas with a hard working press office, both underpinned by a running theme throughout of creating Champions League moments.

We packed quite a bit of activity into the 4 week campaign, below are some of our highlights.

UEFA Women’s Champions League Final comes to Craven Cottage

Synergy announced the sale of the UEFA Women’s Final tickets via a PR stunt that tapped into Fulham’s FC’s most popular asset – the Michael Jackson statue. For one day only, the statue’s white glove was replaced with a pink one to mark the sale of the Women’s Final tickets.

Female Football Freestyler hits London

In the run up to the Women’s Final, Synergy drummed up interest amongst Londoners by touring female football freestyler Charlotte Lade around the capital. Charlotte wowed crowds at London Bridge Underground station, Canary Wharf and commuters on London Bridge (see below image).

The UEFA Champions Festival opening

Synergy invited the media to attend the official opening of the Festival on Saturday 21^st, with Gary Lineker and Graeme Le Saux cutting the red ribbon in front of hundreds of fans and the world’s media.

Breaking a World Record

To maintain momentum around the Festival opening, Synergy orchestrated a World Record attempt on the first weekday of the Festival. Giving football fans the chance to get up-close and personal to the Champions League trophy, UEFA broke the record for the most trophy lifts in one hour, with 417 festival-goers beating the record of 250 lifts.

That’s not all…

We didn’t just stop at the above stunts, other activity included…

Giant UEFA Champions League footballs in Trafalgar Square.

Taking UEFA Champions Festival ambassador Graeme Le Saux to key media outlets to talk about the Festival and Women’s Final, including Sky Sports (see below).

A hardworking press office team also ensured the Festival and Women’s Final made the listings sections of the media and placed numerous interviews with our ambassadors who included England women’s coach Hope Powell.

A perfect ending to the week?  Well that would be the UEFA team at Synergy going to the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley….

By Jennifer Mitton on June 17th, 2011

Tags: Consultancy, Default, Public relations, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy, UEFA Champions League, Viral Marketing

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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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This season Synergy was tasked to create a half time activity campaign using Betfair’s two football assets Manchester United and FC Barcelona.  With two of the world’s most famous clubs it surely wasn’t going to be hard to create an ultimate sporting experience…

In September every £10 football bet placed on Betfair offered their customers the chance to be entered into the Betfair Penalty Champions competition. Through Betfair’s sponsorship of Manchester United and FC Barcelona, customers who were entered would have the chance to walk onto the pitch at half time at both Old Trafford and the Camp Nou and take a penalty representing their team.

October saw ten Manchester United fans and ten FC Barcelona fans headed to their clubs’ training grounds for a training day with club coaches and ex-players, followed by the filming of their very own penalty. For MU fans it was Carrington with Dennis Irwin and Andrew Cole and for Barca fans it was at Joan Gamper with Roberto Bonano.

With all twenty penalties posted online for the public vote, it was not long before two teams would be announced and preparing  for the first leg at Old Trafford, before heading to the Camp Nou for the second leg. The winners – with over 87,755 votes between them – were Darrin Crawford, Brendan Doherty and David Snell (representing MU) and Israel Sanchez, Eduardo Rubio and Jordi Vila representing Barca.

December bought both snow and Manchester United v Arsenal at Old Trafford. With all winners finally making it to Old Trafford despite some snow-diverted flights at half time our six winners and their glamorous escorts (Caroline me in beautiful yellow Betfair Jackets, below) stepped out onto the hallowed turf at Old Trafford. As if stepping out in front of approximately 80,000 fans wasn’t daunting enough, the Chilean Miners and the one and only David Beckham had also decided to make an appearance at the match!



The crowd immediately got behind their Red Devils, encouraging the MU boys to an early 3-1 lead over the Barca team, leaving MU with what should have been an easy win at the Camp Nou…or maybe not…

After the Christmas break it was time for Betfair’s six winners (oh, and me again) to start the New Year in style by flying to Barcelona and following in the footsteps of some of today’s greatest players, Messi, Iniesta and Villa, by walking onto the pitch at the Camp Nou at half time of Barcelona v Malaga. With a change in the MU team with Brendan Doherty having to pull out of the competition to attend the birth of his first child…it was up to fourth place Steve Wright to take his place!

With a 3-1 lead it should have been an easy victory for the MU team, however, now it was the turn of a 100,000 Barca fans to get behind their team and it would seem the pressure proved too much for some of the MU team with replacement Steve Wright blazing it over the top of the goal post and goal keeper Roberto Bonano easily saving David Snell’s penalty. However, with the Barca fans behind them the Barca team struck some great penalties and bough the score back to 3-3, leaving Darrin Crawford to secure MU’s victory! Unfortunately for Barca and their fans the MU win was never in doubt as Darrin struck his penalty with total confidence bang into the bottom left hand corner of the goal as he had at Old Trafford securing a 4-3 victory for Manchester United at the Camp Nou!!

So there you have it a 4-3 victory for Manchester United over FC Barcelona! I wonder would Manchester United be victorious against FC Barcelona should fate draw them together in this year’s Champions League…?

By Georgina Taylor on January 28th, 2011

Tags: Betfair, Brand marketing, David Beckham, Event management service, Experiential marketing, Facebook, Football, Football Sponsorship, Manchester United, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultancy, Sport, Synergy, UEFA Champions League

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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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As I’ve written here before, since sports marketing got serious twenty years ago, one of the industry’s most important trends has been NPD. Inspired by the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, both launched in the early 90s, every sport has created new or re-packaged events and formats in search of the same success. Some work, some don’t, but the dynamic continually creates new opportunities for sponsors.

When I first heard about the football 4 Nations tournament a couple of years ago I really liked it, and I still do. In case you haven’t heard about the 4 Nations, it’s a new biennial football tournament, starting in 2011, to be contested by the national teams of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Carling were unveiled today as title sponsors.

Here are my 4 reasons why  I welcome the 4 Nations and believe that it will be a success.

1. It’s based on a similar template to rugby’s RBS 6 Nations, which is one of the great events in the sporting calendar because it taps into the rivalry between the four home nations – as well, of course, as France and Italy.

2. It represents a welcome antidote to one of the curses of international football, and indeed modern sport, meaningless matches. The 4 Nations will have meaning.

3. All four countries will have a title to play for regularly on the international stage, something they don’t have right now – and will want to win it.

4. Because of all of the above, I believe the fans will embrace it.

Success isn’t guaranteed of course: there are challenges to be overcome. The tournament will take time to build its identity, profile and meaning, which will need skilful promotion by its stakeholders, particularly given the two month gap between rounds of matches. Most importantly, the teams will need to field the strongest players: nothing turns fans off more quickly than an inferior product.

But if those challenges can be overcome, I believe the 4 Nations will be a resounding success.

And if it is, maybe, just maybe, England will in time want to join in too, and (if the Irish, Scots and Welsh let them in!) we’ll see the return of the Home Internationals tournament, which fans of a slightly older vintage (such as myself) loved so much when we were kids in the 70s – because of moments like this…

By Tim Crow on August 12th, 2010

Tags: Football, Football Sponsorship, New Product Development, Sponsorship, UEFA Champions League

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Since FIFA announced its 2007-2014 sponsorship programme, many industry commentators have made much of FIFA’s new, so-called ‘less is more’ approach. It is a Very Good Thing, they say, that whereas the 2006 World Cup had 15 global partners and thus too much clutter, the 2010 edition has only 6 global partners and thus much less clutter.  I’ve never been persuaded by this argument, because I don’t think this is how it plays with consumers during the World Cup itself.

Consider, for example, what consumers see on the TV interview backdrops behind players and officials during the World Cup right now – illustrated in the still below (from the halcyon days before England played Germany on June 27). Call me old-fashioned, but I count 20 different brand logos.

Yes, I know that the logos of the 6 global ‘FIFA Partners’ are bigger than those of the 8 second-tier ‘World Cup Sponsors’, whose logos are in turn bigger than those of the 6 ‘National Supporters’. I know that the rights packages vary widely between tiers too. But I still count 20 logos. And that’s what the consumer sees. Not too different, then, from the 2006 World Cup, where there were 15 global partners and 6 ‘National Partners’. A difference, to be precise, of one less sponsor.

Consider too, Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal in the England v Germany match, surely destined to be one of the most replayed football moments of all time around the world.  Brilliant news for the 6 FIFA global partners then. Except it wasn’t. Because the brands whose logos were on display at that moment on the perimeter ads behind the goal, and who’ll be in shot forever, were MTN and Seara – as you see below.

Contrast this with the UEFA Champions League, which in the modern era remains the examplar of ‘less is more’. Only six brands are official Champions League partners, and that’s what you see when it comes to the TV interview backdrops – again, as illustrated in the screen grab below of Sir Alex Ferguson in post-match interview mode last season – and on the main televised perimeter ad positions.

Now that’s what I call ‘less is more’.

By Tim Crow on June 28th, 2010

Tags: Default, Football, Football Sponsorship, Sponsorship, Television, UEFA Champions League, World Cup

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Tonight Liverpool (the football club I love) are up against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, live on Sky Sports 2. Recent results for Liverpool have not been going their way; 6 draws in their last 10 games. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have won 9 of their last 10 games, scoring 10 goals in their last 2 games alone. Taking recent form into account, Real Madrid are hot favourites with the bookmakers Betfair; who show odds of 11/10 for a Real Madrid win and 100/30 for a Liverpool win. But even so, how can you bet against your own team?

As a Liverpool fan would I want Real Madrid to win tonight because I’ve placed a bet on them? I know where I stand on this. You just can’t bet against your own team if you feel as passionately as I do. And let’s face it, given Liverpool’s fantastic record of continuously getting the right results when they are up against it in the UEFA Champions League, anyone betting against them may well end up wishing they hadn’t.

By Leigh Eaton on February 25th, 2009

Tags: Football, Television, UEFA Champions League

2 comments

What’s in a name?

So, it’s change afoot in the UEFA Cup. Again. In a bid to increase its profile – and no doubt differentiate itself from its slicker, richer, better-fed sibling, the UEFA Champions League – the competition has undergone a radical overhaul. Say goodbye Group Stage, with eight leagues of five; say hello Group Stage with…er…twelve groups of four. Begone, lowly UEFA Cup; enter in its place the mighty UEFA Europa League – a name I’m sure you’ll agree adequately reflects just how reinvigorated, aspirational and totally-not-the-Champions-League this competition really is. Doesn’t it…?

Whilst there is a greater level of subtlety to UEFA’s latest jiggery-pokery than I’m possibly letting on, such changes are not all that much fun to write about (eg. the winning FA Cup team cannot ‘give’ their UEFA Cup place to the losing finalist, in the case that they are already in the Champions League – the place instead going to next-highest team in the Premier League). See: told you.

To be honest, for the clubs concerned, I have a feeling that the only key difference they care about is just a little more fundamental: cold, harsh cash. For example, last year Liverpool raked in a reported £18 million as a losing Champions League semi-finalist. By contrast Spurs’ 2007/08 UEFA Cup run, where the club reached the competition’s Knockout Stage, playing a total of 10 matches, purportedly brought in around £500,000 in prize money. Approximately the same amount of revenue Tottenham made last season for a single live match on Sky Sports.

Can we have our ball back?

Ever thought that putting on London 2012 looked like a bit of a challenge?

Well, if the Games had to be co-hosted with a neighbouring country sharing no common language; if the journey time between certain Olympic venues was in some cases upwards of 9 hours; if the IOC had visited LOCOG a year ago and voiced mild concerns over our preparations – then returned six months later only for things to look even worse; if our national supporters were fearsome regulars on Ross Kemp on Gangs; if Seb Coe and his team were suspended from their duties due to charges of corruption…I could probably understand your concerns. As it is, this is the situation facing Poland, co-hosts of UEFA EURO 2012™.

Although Poland and Ukraine had never been the realistic front-runners during the bidding phase back in 2006/07, corruption and hooliganism in Italy’s game – along with the public support of FIFA’s Sepp Blatter – saw the tournament handed to Eastern Europe.

At present we are told there is no immediate threat to Poland’s position – but with Ukraine unable to act as sole host, Spain now more interested in bidding for the 2018 World Cup, Germany still recovering from 2006, and England ‘otherwise engaged’ in 2012, there are few obvious takers should Poland’s position become untenable. Forget east: whatever way you look at it EURO 2012 may have now officially gone south.

(Almost) Everyone’s a winner

Good news for fans of the Home Nations: by 2016 we may qualify for the European Championships. No, the UK is not bidding to host the tournament. Nope, this won’t be thanks to a future midfield triumvirate of Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz Beckham. And no, all decent teams aren’t being disqualified from qualification. It’s in fact simpler than that: UEFA are letting more nations into the Finals. 

With the expansion from 16 to 24 teams, UEFA EURO 2016™ will be an interesting tournament from several angles. From a commercial perspective, the return on investment for brands sponsoring the event is likely to be greater, as there is an opportunity for more of a sponsor’s European markets to engage with their consumers via Football – the flipside of this likely to be that the contractual fee from UEFA rises accordingly. And as a fan, there’s a 50% greater chance that your team might actually make the tournament. Okay, maybe 10% if you’re Scottish…

By Jonathan Izzard on October 10th, 2008

Tags: Default, Football, Football Sponsorship, London 2012, UEFA Champions League

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