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Sep 9

Money for old rope?

It has been brought to my attention, the professional fees that the administrator to Glasgow Rangers FC has accrued to date. Duff and Phelps, has confirmed that it has already received £2.4M.  This for the first stint of six-months’ appointment at the original club, “Rangers”. 

Apparently, its’ original quotation was in excess of this but requoted along with a variance to the original brief.  We understand that it is now asking creditors to approve a further payment of £363K for work carried out between June 30 and August 10 2012.
 
Should Duff and Phelps secure approval, it would mean the London-based firm had been paid a total of £2.7M for the six-months.  I wish I had more time to do an analysis of fees vis-à-vis size of club, amount of creditors and debts.  No surprise firms chase this sort of work.

Aug 30

Fake football kits

Original fakes

This, the quote from a market stall salesman in propositioning passers-by at a tourist resort. It made me laugh.

As new seasons are upon us, the proliferation of fake strips and merchandise can be found around the World.  Even the attention to authentic labels and trade-marking are not preventing the creativity of would-be clothing manufacturers.  In Spain, a similar sales representative was a little more coy about unveiling the latest, fake, Barcelona kit for my 7 year old.  In Turkey, the Barcelona replicas were on full view on pre-prepared mannequins.  £10 for a shirt for the new season (and shorts thrown in, too). No doubt another factor in the demise of such as JJB Sports as publicised this week, reporting poor sales of replica football kits.

I recall a few years back the then Managing Director of adidas quoting that the copying of its footwear whilst illegal was of a particularly good standard.  I remember a visit to one such manufacturer in Izmir where a protocol somewhat resembling the keystone cops prevailed. Any investigation required 24 hours’ notice and this resulted in a mass relocation within that timeframe leaving the authorities empty handed.

In the whole of last season, a total of £1 Million of counterfeit Premier League goods were seized, mostly at ports with goods imported from Asia. The task of preventing counterfeit goods is a multi-agency operation, including Customs, Trading Standards and a consultancy called Back Four Ltd.

If fans feel short-changed, at pricing strategies, and yet another strip is perceived as profiteering, can we really be surprised that a less-official alternative might become attractive?  A challenge for clubs and retailers to ‘compete’ and add value.

Aug 6

Silly burgers

Incredibly, those who have nothing better to do are bleating about the disappointment in the amount of commercialisation associated with the London 2012 Olympic Games.

As we stared, the whole family, and watched the Torch travelling through Stockport, we were witnessing an Event of such magnitude unlikely to ever happen in my lifetime.  Yes, around me, even on that day the parading lorries from the likes of Coca Cola were subject to the odd quip about how inappropriate, but commercial marketing dictates that we need such sponsors.

Without this, these major events will be purely a drain on resources and certainly not be financially viable. I personally, like the way that Richard Pound, longtime IOC Committee Member and Author to “Inside the Olympics: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Politics, the Scandals and the Glory of the Games” recounts the fact that all sporting stadia have perimeter advertising, yet at the Olympics advertising in venue is non-existent and athletes are not allowed to promote any products (hence, term ambush when they do).  In effect, the counter-debate is that the Olympics is the least advertising, invasive spectacle in sports!

McDonald’s came in for some early stick on the appropriateness or otherwise of its association with the Games.  Yesterday’s statement by Usain Bolt after his Gold Medal in 100M made me smile, on being asked about this pre-run preparation he retorted “I had a McDonald’s for breakfast”.

Jul 15

It’s an ambush

Reflecting on recent events, I thought that I would pause to think about some of the more memorable ambushes in the sphere of marketing tactics (“ambush marketing”).  A definition is: “Ambush marketing is an emotionally charged phrase that refers to the practice of appearing to align a brand with an event for which that brand has not paid for the right to be a sponsor.”

The inspiration for this post was after Wimbledon’s Champion, Serena Williams, was reprimanded once again for breaching sponsorship rules at the Women’s Singles final by taking her Gatorade bottle into the post-match press conference.  Naturally, she represents Gatorade sports-drinks product, but everyone knows this tennis event is the exclusive territory for Robinsons drinks through its sponsorship agreement.

Well here are some other instances of ambush marketing that I can recall:

In 2010, a Dutch beers promotional activity was seen as a blatant infringement, during the Football World Cup in South Africa.  36 ladies from Holland were held after breaking the law and sponsorship protocol at this tournament, all after scantily clad, blonde girls, in orange miniskirts caught the cameramen’s attention and thus executed this ambush.  How else would we know of Bavaria Beer?  Unfortunately, an ITV pundit lost his job in connection when his tickets were traced to this orange ‘wave’. Budweiser was the aggrieved party in this instance.

In 2009, Six Nations Rugby campaign, adverts for Fuller’s beer included a picture of rugby post and the strapline, “Support English Rugby”.  The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) had to get involved given that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) objected as the brewery had not actually paid for the privilege of any association.

In 2008, Adidas had spent circa $200 Million to become the official sportswear brand at the Beijing Olympic Games.  Little did they know an indigenous ‘hero’ would undermine their plans.  The Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning (created by a former gymnast) had its’ moment of fame as he was chosen to light the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony. Li Ning was China’s most decorated Olympian and a National hero. This media exposure effectively gave his Company a free ten-minute advert across China and the World. After the introduction of the gymnast by acrobatic wires to the main stadium, Li Ning’s Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 3.4%.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in the run up to London Olympics 2012 has said: “Those hoping to bask in London’s moment in the sun may be surprised at how restrictive the provisions of the Olympics Act are”. This being legislation introduced for purposes of protection.

The organisers of the 2012 Olympics have already taken the precaution of booking almost all the City’s billboard space during the games.  Also, any infringement using Olympic identity can result in a fine and penalty of £20,000.  But watch this space, the creative industry would see any fine as ‘small fry’ given the right exposure for an adventurous brand!

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