It seems that we’ve stirred up quite a debate, with dozens of responses ranging from emphatic agreement to outraged omission. Thanks for all your comments and opinions so far, it’s been fascinating to hear from marketers and sports fans from around the globe and in particular to hear from some of the industry leaders and nominees themselves.

However, the time for talk is over and so let the voting commence.

Below is a list of nominations as requested by you, so tick the box of your choice and vote (we’ve limited it to one vote per person). You will then be able to track your nominee’s progress before we announce the final result on Monday 24th January.

By Synergy on December 23rd, 2010

Tags: Default, Sponsorship, Synergy, What's the Greatest Sports Marketing Innovation?

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

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

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

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

Graeme McDowell checks out his Ballantine's Championship blend

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

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

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

Powerade ambassador Jessica Ennis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bupa Ambassador Mo Farah

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

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

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

By Stephanie Branston on November 12th, 2010

Tags: Ashes, Athletics, BBC, Cricket, Cycling, ECB, Football, Formula 1, Golf, Lewis Hamilton, Media, NFL, Olympics, Ryder Cup, Team GB, Television, Tiger Woods, World Cup

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Stephanie Branston on October 20th, 2009

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

1 comment

I always liked the idea of A1GP. Even as a Formula One purist, employee and fan, the idea of competing for one’s country as the zenith of an athletic career is a concept I understand. And it’s a concept I am happy to support with my heart, my voice and my wallet every time I enter Twickenham, Wembley or Lord’s.

My former F1 colleagues decried A1GP as being sufficiently inferior to F1, technically and commercially, as to be irrelevant, a place where driver careers went to die rather than peak. I suppose that they were right.

Yet the appeal of competing for one’s country in motor sport doesn’t die with one series. Instead, I think we’re about to witness its resurgence in Formula One. USF1 is a good example: viewed positively by F1 aficionados for its promise to rekindle interest in the world’s biggest commercial market, it will doubtless sell itself well in the USA, become sponsored by US companies, employ an American driver and run the stars and stripes on its livery. Yee-hah!

In 2010 the team will compete against Formula One’s oldest brand, Ferrari, which recently rediscovered the commercial effect of running an Italian driver in an Italian car at an Italian circuit. Ferrari has always been, in varying degrees, Team Italia. F1′s newest team before 2009 was Force India, which aims to bring Western brand sponsors to the huge Indian market and 2010 entrant Lotus, though it hides behind an English brand will be based in, owned, sponsored and supported by Malaysia and Malaysian businesses.

Enough cash is being invested in driver development programmes in developing markets like India and Malaysia that it won’t be long before we see drivers from these nations in F1. It is only natural that they should drive for their nation’s teams, employing indigenous support staff. Meritus Racing, a Malaysian-backed GP2 Asia team is already on record as saying ”We would be honoured one day to race as the national team in F1 and we hope to be ready to build our own F1 car, with Malaysian engineers, to achieve that goal by 2016.”

I think that this sense of national pride is something that F1 has been missing. I think it could add a certain frisson to proceedings. Not that Formula One needs it necessarily, but I like the irony that the raison d’etre of a series so heavily criticised by the techno-snobs of Formula One might be a key factor in keeping the series alive as motor manufacturers wave good-bye.

By Scott Garrett on September 21st, 2009

Tags: Formula 1

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Let’s say that the WMSC on Monday rules that yes, Renault did cheat at last year’s Singtel Singapore Grand Prix. Here’s what might happen.

The team will go instantly bankrupt as the FIA levies a massive fine (it has to be more than the $100m levied on McLaren, doesn’t it?) and every sponsor withdraws immediately, citing the reputational damage clauses that they have in their contracts. The 2009 season finishes with 18-car grids while Russian oligarchs mingle with Middle Eastern sheikhs in the queue to buy the team with the small change they have in their pockets. So far, so normal for the wild roller-coaster that is modern-day F1.

The FIA goes further though, and disqualifies Renault from the Singapore race. Rather than declare Nico Rosberg, who finished immediately behind Alonso, the winner, the FIA cruelly denies Williams its first race win in years by awarding the race to Felipe Massa, who was leading at the time of the safety car deployment in the wake of Nelson Piquet Jr‘s crash, that allowed Fernando Alonso to go on to “win”. So Massa is retrospectively awarded 10 points, which means he’s earned enough to win the 2008 World Championship. Lewis Hamilton hands over the trophy and the title without so much as a whimper.

What a mess. What’s the solution? Who’d be a judge on the WMSC? Not me.

By Scott Garrett on September 17th, 2009

Tags: Default

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Formula One faces interesting times. The governing body of motorsport, the FIA, is attempting to impose a number of conditions on the sport, which many competing teams reject. Among the proposed changes are a huge reduction in operating costs administered in the form of a budget cap: for the teams to resist this seems to the uninitiated to be financially irresponsible at best; massively out of touch with the prevailing economic conditions, at worst. 

All teams – along with any proposed new entrants – must have lodged entries to the 2010 Formula One World Championship before the end of May 2009. The existing F1 teams, under their trade body FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) initially entered en bloc, with a number of conditions attached to their entry, concerning both budgetary and regulatory issues. The FIA rejected the conditions and urged FOTA to reconsider. Under the pressure of negotiation, Williams and Force India, two existing teams, cracked. They resubmitted their entries to the FIA without conditions. FOTA promptly suspended them and stands firm. 

Complicating the debate is the fact that several new entries have been received and the FIA is due to announce which of these has been successful, and therefore the make-up of the 2010 grid, today (Friday 12th June).

There are four possible scenarios that I can see from the announcement today:

1. The 2010 grid will include Williams, Force India and up to 11 new teams. The FOTA entry will not be accepted and Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Toyota, Brawn, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Renault will no longer compete in Formula One (at least for 2010).

2. FOTA will split along manufacturer/independent lines, with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Brawn joining Williams, Force India and up to eight new teams. Manufacturer teams will not enter, but may still supply engines to some teams.

3. FOTA will split along contractual lines. Some teams have separate contracts with the FIA binding them to compete until 2012. Ferrari is one of these. Under this scenario, these teams honour their contracts and join Williams, Force India and new teams sufficient to make up the proposed 13-team grid.

4. The FIA capitulates and allows the FOTA conditional bloc entry, adding only three new teams to make 13 in all. Favourites are USF1, Prodrive and Lola.

Any one of the first three scenarios will leave Formula One commercially stronger than it is currently. The fourth scenario would be a disaster.

Here’s why…

Scenario 1: FOTA stands strong but is rejected

Formula One teams compete under a budget cap and with some other FIA-led environmental conditions. This is socially responsible and therefore attractive both to fans and sponsors. Lots of new teams mean lots of unpredictability; unpredictability is what makes sport exciting. This generates viewership on TV and is therefore also good for sponsors. Lots of new teams combined with the reduced financial burden on existing teams means that there are new sponsorship opportunities that represent very good value. The FOTA teams may carry through their threat of forming a competitive series which – if successful – will double the potential sponsorship opportunities and bring the price of sponsorship down further.  Under this and each of the first three scenarios, the FIA re-asserts its authority and this promotes a stable environment, essential for commercial investment.

Scenario 2: FOTA splits and manufacturers leave F1

Formula One teams compete under a budget cap and with some other FIA-led environmental conditions. This is socially responsible and therefore attractive both to viewers and sponsors. The independent teams that help to give F1 its entrepreneurial character remain and are joined by new independent teams: suddenly it’s all about racing again and fans flock to the sport in greater numbers. Sponsors follow.

Manufacturers retain a presence in the sport via engine supply, giving technology and marketing benefits for them without the cost/profligacy of Formula One under the current model. Same points as above regarding new teams, new opportunities and the likely effect on the cost of sponsorship. Same point as above regarding the FIA promoting a stable environment for investment.

Scenario 3: FOTA splits and teams act independently

All the benefits of scenario two. Some manufacturers will remain in the sport. For those who believe that auto manufacturers like Ferrari and Mercedes add value to the credibility of F1, this may be the best scenario. But will manufacturers remain under sufferance? Ferrari is well known to oppose the FIA’s budget cap proposals and may suffer if these are forced upon it.

Scenario 4: FOTA stands strong and is accepted

More limited budget reductions over time, with many exclusions, will be a fudge and F1 will remain fiscally irresponsible and will struggle to attract new sponsors. Rejection of FIA-driven environmental initiatives will achieve the same effect. New teams will not be able to compete on either budgetary or technical grounds and an opportunity to refresh the sport with new blood will have been missed.

In summary, sponsors will benefit from any split, implosion or explosion announced on June 12th. They will not benefit from either the status quo or any lack of decisiveness on the part of the FIA – although if things runs true to form, lack of decisiveness is the last thing we should expect.

By Scott Garrett on June 12th, 2009

Tags: Default, Formula 1, Sponsorship

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I saw this story about Jenson Button ‘de-briefing’ his girlfriend on the Sun website, and I thought it was really refreshing to see a sportsperson reveal something of their true personality. Are we not bored of hearing the same old cliched statements and ‘sit on the fence’ sentiments?  I actually think sponsors and more importantly the consumers that they want to talk to would welcome a bit of personality, and that sportspeople, rights owners and brands should embrace this rather than shying away from it.

I must add that I have never been a big fan of Button, I thought of him as over hyped and lacking in talent but not only am I being made to eat my words, stories like this actually make me warm to him slightly.

By Adam Raincock on March 31st, 2009

Tags: Brand marketing, Default, Formula 1, Jenson Button, Public relations, Sponsorship

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The new Formula 1 season has also heralded a new design for the BBC Sport Online’s Formula 1 page.

It’s clear that British interest in Formula 1 has increased in recent years thanks to a number of factors not least the ‘Lewis effect’ and all the talk of Jenson Button as a possible new British World Champion, Jenson’s girlfriend certainly believes he can do it.
 
The BBC is hoping this interest will continue to grow and has invested a reported £200m into bringing the sport back to the BBC including bringing back Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain as the theme tune for their programming.

Everybody loves a good theme tune, but what really caught my eye was the new design of BBC Sport Online’s Formula 1 page with its  black skin and abundant blue, yellow and red go-faster stripes.  There are lots of other differences such as a much larger selection of external links to other websites (more so than on other BBC Sport Online pages), insider gossip from their ‘mole’ and more which you can all explore on your own time.

The page has a similar look and feel to BBC iplayer with the same black skin as opposed to the white background that is used across the rest of the BBC Sport Online pages.  This may well be a subconscious reminder to the viewer that the highlights are available on iplayer through some sort of visual empathy…or it may simply be that one of the designers at the Beeb thinks the black skin is cooler.

What I did find a bit strange is that as soon as you click onto a Formula 1 story the next page you see is back to a white background. I wonder whether all the sports covered by the BBC online team will begin to have their own identity with different skin colours, each one allowed to stray a little further from the general BBC Sport Online look and feel or whether Formula 1 is a one off…I am also starting to wonder if any of you noticed any of this too or if you care?!?

By Synergy on March 31st, 2009

Tags: BBC, Default, Digital marketing, Formula 1, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Media

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In the week before the first F1 Grand Prix of 2009 it was interesting to see reigning F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton come top of a poll of UK consumers on their favourite brand ambassadors, in an annual survey by UTalkMarketing. Hamilton polled 15% of the votes, beating last year’s favourite, Jamie Oliver, into second place with 12%.

Good news for Hamilton’s various personal and team sponsors, albeit that with his McLaren reportedly lacking pace in pre-season testing, success on the track this year may be more elusive.

However, given the perennial reliance by so many brands on celebrity-fronted ad campaigns, I found the survey’s insights into consumer attitudes to celebrity endorsement even more instructive, with 72% of consumers saying that the use of a celebrity has no impact on their propensity to purchase, and 70% agreeing that there are too many celebrity-endorsed products on the market.

You can read the full survey here.

By Tim Crow on March 23rd, 2009

Tags: Advertising, Default, Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Sales promotion, Sponsorship

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Nearly there now. The new Formula One season is almost upon us. Is everyone okay for sponsors, or could you use one or two more? All the teams can always fit another logo on the car, another few hundred guests in Paddock Club, but generally it looks to me as if most teams are reasonably well catered for.

That’s because most sponsorship agreements are multi-year, and the law of averages militates against a mass exodus at any one time. These contracts are strong enough to withstand recession-driven legal scrutiny. Otherwise I suspect we’d be seeing a number of cars more logo-free than logo’d up, or worse, fewer cars altogether.

This would be a tragedy because right now, F1 sponsorship looks like being pretty good value as a marketing investment. I know it’s an unfashionable view but hear me out.

At a time when budgets are being cut, particularly affecting short term discretionary (read “above the line”) spend, there is a huge danger that the pendulum will over-swing and residual brand awareness will decline to levels that make it very difficult – and expensive – for a brand to advertise its way out of the trough when the money flows again.

Maintaining a base level of brand awareness is critical for any brand with ambition, even if that ambition is temporarily held in check by lack of cash flow. For my money there is no better way of maintaining residual awareness than a well-crafted sponsorship, especially just now when F1 teams are happy to entertain offers that they may not do in a rising market.

Some teams are going into the activation business, so brands don’t even have to spend cash on advertising their partnership; the teams will do this for them, often bundling together promotional activities for a number of sponsors to maximise the impact of their activity. This seems smart from the teams’ point of view, and it also adds value to a brand investment.

All of which means that there’s great value in the F1 sponsorship market right now. Brands can cut ad spend, reduce loss-leading sales promotions and value engineer their products to cut costs, while still maintaining a brand awareness platform from which to launch a renewed assault on the upturn when it comes. 

By Scott Garrett on March 10th, 2009

Tags: Formula 1, Sponsorship

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