Sports Marketing « Social Networking and New Markets

Credit Agricole pulls out Ad campaign for France | Advantage Sports

June 22, 2010 1 Comment

In a startling development, sponsors of the French soccer team, Credit Agricole pulled out their TV campaign celebrating the French Soccer team after the team performed abysmally and as the sponsors put it - “is embattled in controversy”

The team’s corporate sponsors have held conference calls to voice their anger at the players’ refusal to train.

There are very few active sponsors out there who take pains to step on to the field and some may still debate whether they have such a role to play , in any sport. However Corporate sponsors and budgets are an important part of the team’s brand and they need to carry a fiduciary responsibility, to be executed in a formal role withe the team. It may seem opportune here that this might happen thru an existing sports functionary on the team. Similar fracas in IPL with team owners or the clubby nature of teams in NFL or the NBA show light on the critical role team owners and sponsors play.

However sports persons are right in their sometimes standoffish stance to these entreaties in that this role is sprung on them and typically on a bad day. Though formal processes are over hyped and narrow in approach, sports persons can’t be expected to absorb the role of the sponsor/owner as and when it happens and debates on such interventions during disruptive climes are warranted.

In this particular case as well, there will be popular support for the action and sports officials will be on the wrong side arguing for the sake of argument or apologising for their poor performance in front of a theatrical act. It may now become important for everyone to assume the important role of corporate sponsor into the team’s fabrc and provide a discerning option for sponsors and/or corporate owners that want to distance themselves from the game.

While we were tempted to carry this opinion in our financial research streams, we thought it wise to let the game go on without this undue stress.

Ft.com

Sponsorship and TV rights of the French national team are worth €70m ($86.3m), according to Les Echos. The team sponsors are retailer Carrefour, utility provider GDF Suez, Crédit Agricole, SFR, the telecoms company, and sport goods maker Adidas.

And China never qualified

In a eerie blast of icy change, today’s LA Times blogs carry Asian stories prominently leading with rural BPO in India and blogging about how Soccer is still alien to China. Knowing our asian brethre, they wouldn’t be far behind next time in Rio..

Filed under Sports, Sports Marketing Tagged with 2010, China, Credit Agricole, FIFA world Cup, Football, France, Jo'burg, South Africa, Sports Marketing

It’s in the beer | Advantage Soccer

June 6, 2010 1 Comment

The sport that is watched by 200 million people well ahead of any other sports fest, even as Asia tunes on bleary eyed and US watches in hope of being called into the ring.

But it’s orbit is equally and more so defined by Beer and Coca Cola. YOU ARE YOUNG! Drink Up. [I am a great fan of the beer in question..Here's to FIFA World Cup, Germany and Brazil]

Filed under Premier League, Social Media, Sports, Sports Marketing Tagged with Carlsberg, Fifa, Football, Jo'burg, Satyam, Sponsors, Sports, Sports Marketing, World Cup

The Jay Leno Show and Nielsen

April 5, 2010 1 Comment

Tv is back. Where did it go, you ask me? Well ask their accountants and they’ve had some sordid tales to tell these last few years. Not to mention the confusion over network signing up cable channels and disowning them even when big days like Oscars were around. Takeovers of NBC by a Cable Company. Fraud at another. superbowl sales being watched like a hawk for tell tale signs of recession. GM not signing some of its sports sponsorships again. Banks out of their favorite sports sponsorships. They all dealt a huge blow to Tv even as the side show on Pay walls continues to fuel the game of ad revenues versus content sponsorship..the latter being a concept we all want but with no way to monetize it. From the days of Buddy Holly when Cadillac Records showed the World how to mint money from music, everything else and music have been on show on Tv, on the networks. You reach audiences of 40 million across runs, re-runs and DVR recordings for time shifted viewing.

Jay Leno got ahead of Conan simply because the audiences wanted to call it a day earlier and now by September Conan will be back…$30 million a year for another Saturday Night Live..Viewers outside the US fall for Soap and Sports but also more business news content thant Stand up comedy, but that just shows they haven’t seen enough Tv yet..And then there is a dozen of those reality TV shows like American Idol and $6 billion from CBS to broadcast NCAA Basket ball for 11 years for ..behold.. 96 teams.

Here’s the amazing takeaway from a piece of Nielsen History

When Arthur Nielsen introduced the Audimeter (his first metering device) in 1936, there were only about 200 television sets in use worldwide. When the Nielsen national TV measuring service was established in 1950, the average American household that owned a television had only one set and received three network telecasts.

Also these American only contnet or Indian only Content all spliced by one You Tube and one google.com..enough ofr a lifetime of internecine fighting and back biting..with Jay Leno at 10 p.m. Content will win, not advertising.

Filed under Marketing, Sports Marketing Tagged with Cable, Media, Networks, Sports Marketing, Television

In Stadium revenues are rising for IPL | Advantage Sports

March 23, 2010 2 Comments

Much leass was available when we started the SPorts Marketing Channel on our Marketing Blogs here. Well today with the two new teams bidding for a starting value of $700 million, almost at par with the one Manchester United and much more than other EPL clubs, IPL has definitely arrived. More than the online chatter and Brand extent in TV ratings that routinely exceed 4 and reach a TV audience of even up to a 50 million on a single match day, it has posted a serious challenge oto NFL and NBA in its impact on gate. Where earlier Gate revenue for a ODI in Cricket was a healthy INR 40 million in a sell out, the Current IPL ticket prices are budgeting for INR 80 million or an extra $ 1 million from each of the matches at the less than 50,000 capacity Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Wth an annual outgo of $37 and $33 million from the Pune and Kochi franchises, they have to work that much harder to keep operational expenses like stadia rents low and gain on the team sponsorship and in-match revenues while making the mandatory player spend of more than $15 million and consequntly operational expenses to keep the franchise afloat. The Central sponsorship pool from the IPL dwindles starting from year 3 as well

In Stadia revenue from each packed out stadium would mean in excess of INR 3600 million or closer to $100 million for the current 8 teams in the third season, while the added teams would have a little less revenue value per ticket in Pune and Kochi but may more than make up for it by enthusiasm.

Filed under IPL, Marketing, Sports, Sports Marketing, T20 Tagged with IPL, Marketing, Sports, Sports Marketing

The IPL Ad bonanza | Advantage Brands

March 9, 2010 1 Comment

I must right now say the disclaimer as well, just in case you have expectations of more inside stories. Well, this here is just an attempt at collating all the brands that have put together campaigns in the last 2 months and as such would be likely appearing in the 50 day long IPL3..Sony having sold 600 hours of advertising in the two month fest.

The GM Cruze vs Volkswagen Touareg would definitely set the league on fire with Cruze going so far as to show two racing cars. The Tide vs Rin challenge is however unlikely to appear. A good plan would be for the SBI Life and the even newer ICICI ‘Khayal aapka’ old lady making it in the IPL. Does not sound so sporty but the older set would really appreciate during the dinner games every day from 8 pm

And come March 12, we should be rid of those abhorrent Ads from SET MAX showing gly IPL lead ins..The one about the young set commentating there is especially a known put downer. Of course, the hits keep coming from both Airtel and Vodafone..people looking forward to more Zoo Zoos. Also with the strategy break only 2 and a half minutes, there would be more urgency to stay on field. On Display boards and in stadia advertising we should get the usual supporting evidence of Hero Honda and Samsung/ maybe some LG. That is total should cover all my household purchases excet for some Tea and cookie ads..but yes the biggest budgets are likely to be that of Coke with Imran and Akshay from Bollywood and Pepsi with all its drinks and food brands, adventure sport campaign from Mountain Dew a virtual certainty

Canon’s come back story seems to be a well kept secret in the marketing circles, and we are almost sure their campaign won’t be a featured run.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fkq6EpbKgM&feature=player_embedded]

A lot of the sponsor brands have run out of time to make their presence felt. I would have suggested higher visibility for some of them. and of course Irene’s Cadbury Kraft story too..

More gossip and cricketainment here..

When there is a new Pepsi/Coke campaign on air, you know that summer is near. Coke launched its new campaign with a new brand ambassador – Imran Khan. This is the first brand endorsement deal of Imran Khan. And he follows the footsteps of Mamujaan Aamir Khan who has been endorsing Coke since last few year.

Imran stars with Kalki Koechlin in the new Tv commercial. The new campaign “Open Happiness” has been conceptualised by the creative team of McCann Erickson that includes Prasoon Joshi, Ashish Chakravarty, Tirtha Ghosh and Nakul Sharma. And the film has been directed by Dibakar Banerjee. If you havent seen it yet, click the play button.

Filed under Bollywood, IPL, Marketing, Sports Marketing Tagged with IPL, Lifestyle Economy, retail lifestyle, Sports Marketing

Get an Ad hangover | Advantage zyaada

March 1, 2010 1 Comment

In the age of live blogging, perhaps it was just as well that this NyTimes Correspondent ( and I almost wrote that as NBC correpondent) watched 1400 ads during the month long Olympics to deliver the verdict on advertising for NBC’s Olympics show.

From McDonalds in a desert oasis under the hot sun to six GE commercials, the snow inspired some long winded campaigns, with seven to nine NBC breaks in each hour of television.

For instance, there were eight breaks from 8 to 9 p.m. (Eastern time) on Feb. 12; nine breaks from 9 to 10 p.m. on Feb. 15; and seven breaks from noon to 1 p.m. on Feb. 21. Even as the Games ended, NBC could not stop cramming in commercials. In the final 50 minutes between 11:35 p.m. Sunday and 12:25 a.m. Monday, there were seven breaks.

Is it any wonder viewers were so appreciative when commercials were rationed or eliminated, as during ice dancing or the Canada-United States hockey game?

Meanwhile Team USA got a family home again. In Beijing, the then cash rich BofA had stepped in for a grand sponsorship for Team USA, in Vancouver the same was taken by P&G to further its 2009 Thanks Mom Campaign the link shows you the P&G grand tour de force social media support for the Thanks Mom lovers to spread the message. P&G stamps Thanks Mom for its Gold brands Secrets Beauty products, Pringles, Crest and Oral-B Dental Care. They somehow miss their Tide and Bounty shouts from the Thanks Mom gold badges, but push them in the commercials anyway.

Of course You Tube is a hot destination for everything that Corporates want to share in video right now, with Asian Games Candidate IPL T20 also getting a page on there. Some of the campaigns were indeed follow ups from Superbowl:

SNICKERS A hilarious sequel to a hit spot from the Super Bowl, which featured Betty White and Abe Vigoda, showed how hunger could turn dudes on a road trip into cranky divas — as personified by Aretha Franklin and Liza Minnelli. Gold. Agency: BBDO New York.

SUBWAY Several breezy commercials promised that “any, any, any” footlong sandwich costs $5 at Subway. But the deal seemed less generous when an announcer narrowed it to “any regular footlong” and these words appeared on screen: “Excludes premium subs.” Tin. Agency: MMB.

I have included Subway here for the Taco Bell ads for $5 in-stadium Bento box push campaign

Filed under Marketing, Sports Marketing Tagged with Branding, Sports, Sports Marketing

Who can blame the Soccer? | Advantage Sports

February 24, 2010 Leave a comment

Even as the new Billionaire IPL franchise owners get ready to dip their feet in the debt morass of the $12 billion English Premier League, The UEFA Champions League has gotten underway to the usual fanfare and continuing spoonsorship support from Vodafone , UniCredito of Italy and Master Card’s eternal priceless tagline.

Mukesh Ambani and Subrat Roy have bid for the last decade’s strong Liverpool Franchise which also got entangled in LBO debt from its new American owners, while Chelsea sweats it against Inter Milan and others and Manchester United starts its Champions League tour despite new losses to Everton and others in the Barclayscard Prremier League

Heineken, Sony, UniCredit and Mastercard are the four Official partners for the Annual Champions League from 2009 till 2012.

David Beckham’s LA Galaxy played again in the 2009 MLS Finals losing to Real Salt Lake in the transatlantic adventure which draws good crowds of 40,000 + in the finals in the NFL and athletics/NBA hungry USA. The UEFA Champions League Finals draw network audiences of greater than 100 million much like the Superbowl. Also both game finals and in game advertising is a virtual beer fest, Heineken stimulating the taste buds here with more subtle and more impactful campaigns by Heineken.

The Spniash Liga Clubs Real Madrid and FC Barca ar the most frequent winners of the league till date, with the current winners FC Barca laying claim to some really expensive non tweeting contracts like Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

TOTALBARCA.COM The numbers show that FC Barcelona’s argentine forward Lionel Messi is the most expensive player in the world, estimated at around €80 milion, five more than Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who is estimated at €75 milion.

Just player contracts take the FC Barca value to $771 million and a probable UEFA league value to $6 billion, giving Soccer feasting audiences a voice in the brand analyses citing the rankings between NFL and IPL.

Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with AC Milan, Barca, Champions League, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Soccer, Sports, Sports Marketing, UEFA