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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Sara Wilson on August 18th, 2010

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

2 comments

Anyone watching Newsnight this week may have caught the interesting feature on popular design website Information is Beautiful. For the uninitiated amongst you, the site is the brainchild of David McCandless, who describes himself as “an independent data journalist and information designer…interested in how designed information can help us understand the world”.

With nods to the seminal philosopher and statistician Otto Neurath, whose motto, “words divide, images unite”, led him to design an icon-based language to express quantitative information, Information is Beautiful presents a fascinating series of visualisations, a distillation of democratised data, if you will. In a world where we’re constantly struggling under the weight of statistics, news, opinion, video – not to mention a healthy measure of total junk – McCandless questions whether there’s a compelling means of simplifying, and in some way better understanding the constant stream of facts and figures routinely presented to us by the media.

This mission led to one of IIB’s most famous designs, The Billion Dollar-o-Gram, an exercise in quantifying the unquantifiable: I mean, what does $1billion really mean to anyone?

It was inevitable that this project would attract the attention of the media, with sites such as The Guardian’s Datablog providing a ready outlet for data and stats with a journalistic hook, that can be represented in a new and appealing way.

Mr McCandless’s appearance on Newsnight was certainly a little different, as you might expect, with host Kirsty Wark and guest, respected designer Neville Brody, critiquing McCandless’s previous assertion that visualisations had the potential to offer new insights into the politics of the world around us.

The debate’s well-worth watching, even if it involves the somewhat unjust intellectual skewering of Mr McCandless by the Brody-Wark duo, whose main argument is that designs such as those found on IIB, whilst beguiling and attractive, are likely to oversimplify the deeper issues behind the information from which they are drawn. We might feel slightly cleverer, but we aren’t necessarily any better informed; the designs are knowing, without necessarily imparting knowledge.

It was an awkward paradox for McCandless, as, by the nature of his work, he is bound by the information he illustrates, restricted to those nuggets that lend themselves to visual representation, however clever or imaginative the resultant images are.

Interpretation is all important, with IIB less about blind acceptance than mental stimulus: if it forces you to find out more, it’s achieved a goal.

Other examples of this include the excellent online resource Wordle – a word-cloud generator, which can quickly deliver images like…

Whilst certainly a valuable tool in linguistic sifting, it’s hardly something upon which you’d base an entire opinion. Instead this presents us with a means of examining the patterns in a complicated world, rather than explaining them.

Similarly, the online project ‘We Feel Fine’ – also referenced in the Newsnight report – is a resource as alluring as it is technically impressive. Scouring the global social media landscape every 10 minutes for any posts starting with the words “I am feeling…” or “I feel…”, the output is a demographically configurable snapshot of sentiment. Emotion trending, perhaps. The organic, transient and in many ways fickle nature of social media updates questions this as a means of truly tracking the mood of a nation, but it certainly offers food for thought.

There’ll always be a précis, a Cliffs Notes, an elevator pitch or edit to help us cope with today’s crowded and clouded data-stream – the impetus on us is to question, examine the bigger picture, ensure that visualisations such as those of David McCandless serve as cues to curiousity. It’s not just a design, but an invitation to explore the numbers, opinions, testimony, photos and history surrounding an issue, all accessible via a few extra clicks of the mouse.

Information might be beautiful; integration is essential.

By Jonathan Izzard on August 17th, 2010

Tags: Design , Media , Online communities , Social Media , Television

No comments

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

No comments

As the excitement of Britain’s medal haul at the European Championship fades, the media and public turn the spotlight on our chances at the much anticipated London 2012 Olympic Games.  Many sports journalist have discussed the hopes of Idowu, Farah and Ennis but what the sports media are missing is more coverage on the potential of the talented Men’s GB hockey team.

It may have been over twenty years since Great Britain’s men’s hockey team won gold at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, in the days of Kerly, Batchelor and Sherwani (who? you are most probably asking yourself), but now Great Britain has a new breed of stars that could become heroes.  After recently reaching the final of the Champions Trophy they are in real contention for a medal, although Great Britain will have to overcome an extremely dominant Aussie team…which could make an incredible final at London 2012.

Hockey is a mass participation sport; registering over 100,000 people playing in the UK every week (and not just by girls, before my colleagues launch in to their predictable banter).  Whilst this sport won’t be at the top of every potential sponsors wish list, hockey could provide the right brand with a really unique opportunity to engage with the passionate and dedicated audience of this great game.

By Simon Roche on August 11th, 2010

Tags: Blogging , London 2012 , London 2012 sponsorship , Olympic sponsorship , Olympic sponsorship consultants , Olympics , Sport

1 comment

With the Premier League season just a matter of days away, fans such as myself start to feel excited towards football again (no burn out here Galer!) After being let down as an England fan (again) this summer in South Africa, until Monday the thought of a good season for my club (Aston Villa) was an exciting prospect.

Last season I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Spurs pip Man City to fourth spot and it was hugely satisfying, as a Villa fan, to see Gareth Barry miss out on Champions League football. The 2010/2011 campaign should be another fantastic Premier League season as a host of clubs continue to close the gap on the so called “big four”, in fact I’d say with the depth of Man City’s pockets we really should be referring to it as a “big five” and, in fact, the odds at Betfair agree. For the first time in Premier League history five teams (Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool) are all 15/1 or shorter to win the Premier League title, suggesting that the title is most definitely a five horse race.

This Premier League first led to a fantastic Betfair event at Kempton Park on Thursday 5th August 2010 when five legends from the aforementioned clubs took part in the Betfair Five Horse Race. Yes, five ex-footballers agreed to jump on horses and race each other over one furlong and what a race it was! The ex-players vying to be first past the post were Ray Parlour, a Premier League and FA Cup winner with Arsenal, Chelsea’s second all-time leading goalscorer Kerry Dixon, ex-Liverpool hard-man Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock, Steve Lomas, the combative midfielder formerly of Manchester City, and David May, a Champions League winner with Manchester United.

Prior to the event Neil Ruddock weighed in at a worrying weight and Ray Parlour was introduced to his horse, cheekily named after the current Gunners boss, Arsene Wenger. The Synergy and Betfair teams were met at Kempton Racecourse by glorious sunshine after a morning of training for the legends that saw David May flung to the floor and Steve Lomas emerge as the early favourite. Kitted out in club colours and full riding clobber the former stars took to riding like ducks to water and the race was eventually won by… well you can watch below.

By George Woffenden on August 11th, 2010

Tags: Barclays Premier League , Betfair , Football , Football Sponsorship , Manchester United , Viral Marketing

No comments

Following a recent brainstorm here at Synergy, I asked myself a quick, but thought-provoking question:

Are the football fans of England suffering from ‘burnout’?

Burnout, for those who don’t know is: ‘a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest.’ More common in younger sportsmen and women, burnout will occur if excessively high expectations are placed on an athlete by teammates or coaches and if the athlete in question is pushed too hard too quickly.

It was obvious, in my humble opinion, that this could well have been the case with the England Football team in South Africa. People can say what they like about their ridiculous salaries and the fact these young men are paid to train and play, but, ‘at the end of the day’ (sorry) these guys are only human and they need a break from work, just like the rest of us.

But is it now the football fans themselves who are starting to suffer from this physical, mental and emotional exhaustion?

The 2009/2010 season gave us a number of warning signs: half empty grounds in the Premiership, extortionate ticket prices, teams such as Palace and Pompey falling close to the precipice where Chester City now lurk, and if all this wasn’t bad enough, we then had to put up with what can only be described as a comedy show, as our National team flopped out of the World Cup with ease.

And 2010/2011 doesn’t seem to be getting better, with a number of top clubs still trying to flog season tickets to their once loyal fan base.

So my question is; ‘Is the football-loving UK now suffering from ‘burnout’ following the sheer amount of football we’ve had to endure every day of the summer – and ultimately the depression that followed our hyped up World Cup campaign?’

Well, I guess we’ll find out soon, when the new season starts on August 14th…

By Jonathan Gale on August 10th, 2010

Tags: Barclays Premier League , Default , Football , Football Sponsorship , World Cup

No comments

Seemingly building a reputation within brainstorms for throwing out the term ‘Augmented Reality’ (AR) without much back up, I started to question if I fully understood the capabilities of this increasingly fashionable term.

Defined by Wikipedia as ‘a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery’ I realised I was not really any the wiser.

Having experienced examples using a ‘magic symbol’ where one can hold up a piece of card in front of a webcam and before you know it, a space rocket is taking off in the palm of your hand;  JLS appear with an exclusive performance; or even a fashion show of models appear on the table before your very eyes (all on-screen, yet seemingly in front of you).

All a bit of fun plus added wow factor (as long as you have a webcam), however as I researched further, I found some interesting ways AR is increasingly becoming part of brand activity.

Hugo Boss livened up their Christmas window displays with a sales promotion through an interactive game to drive people in store.

Fashionista use AR to allow customers to ‘virtually try on clothes’.

A really fun example is by Yahoo, which was simple and engaging, and was installed during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  Through motion detection, passersby appeared on screen to be dressed in various accessories from hats and scarves, to sunglasses or rain hats.

AR is clearly developing fast. As a late adopter in many forms of technology I don’t own an iPhone – yet – however am curious around the AR capabilities it offers.  iPhone users can download various applications that use the phone’s camera and GPS capabilities to gather information about the surrounding area. Then information about pretty much anything programmed such as restaurants or bars, overlay on the phone’s screen. In the Netherlands you can even point the phone at a building, and the Layar application will tell you if any companies in that building are hiring, or it might be able to find photos of the building on Flickr or to locate its history on Wikipedia.

It is thought that soon we will be walking or driving down the street with augmented reality displays, which will be viewed through what, looks much like a normal pair of glasses, with informative graphics appearing in our field of view, and audio will coincide with whatever we see. These enhancements will be refreshed continually to reflect the movements of your head.

I continue to be intrigued by the merging of the physical and virtual world, and look forward to seeing how far this can go…and to buying myself an iPhone!

By Samantha Pillage on August 9th, 2010

Tags: Brand marketing , Branded content , Communications , Experiential marketing , Olympics , Vancouver 2010 , YouTube

2 comments

With the clock ticking ever closer to 14th August and the first day of the 2010/11 Premier League season, a scan through BBC Sport, then a quick glance at Sky Sports News and there’s still no transfer update for Spurs, or pretty much anyone else for that matter. I somewhat naively didn’t expect it to be as quiet as this; I’d envisaged my team Tottenham Hotspur, fresh from securing their place in the Top Four – along with the rest of the Premier League – to be pursuing anyone who managed a five-yard pass in South Africa, or any player whose name could be heard over the vuvuzela howl.

The reality has been much different.  Manchester City, who have embarked on a spending spree a convention of WAGs would have been proud of, have been the exception. The remaining clubs (even Chelsea whose £17 million on Ramires is a comparable drop in the ocean versus summers gone) have exercised a lot more caution with the threat of the recession still ringing in their ears; and a look to the south coast at Portsmouth’s predicament leaves little room for imagination when it comes to the dangers of reckless spending.

The Manchester City piggy bank has been busy

From little Blackpool, preparing themselves to dine with English football’s elite for the very first time, arguably weaker now than when they first secured promotion on a sunny May afternoon at Wembley, right through to Manchester United whose acquisition of a couple of starlets (Smalling and Hernandez) will hardly send tremors around the football world.  Reality has well and truly hit home and things are very different. Where once heart ruled the mind in pursuit of “living the dream” (the words of former Leeds chairman Peter Risdale), nearly bankrupting many a club, now it is first and foremost a case of thrift and caution.

Whilst the new squad rules (25 players must be named, including eight home-grown players) mean clubs like Manchester City will have to offload players the calibre of Craig Bellamy, or risk them not even being granted a squad number, and in spite of James Milner’s possible transfer to City pumping £20+ million back into the market, the carefree cheque-signing culture for the vast majority is a distant memory.

Modern day football for once has been humbled.

By David on August 6th, 2010

Tags: Barclays Premier League , Football

No comments