Archive for the ‘Cricket’ Category

Cricket will definitely benefit commercially from the Ashes wins, as simply put, success on the pitch delivers commercial returns off of it. The only downside is that due to the TV timings, fewer people were pulled into the drama of the games despite widespread press and TV news coverage. This also seems to have had a knock on effect with sponsors involved in the Ashes as there has been very little in the way of creative PR or leverage activity. However, users of social media platforms have been kept informed and entertained by the constant stream of updates from the team via Twitter, Facebook and the innovative ECB video diaries that showcased the now infamous ‘sprinkler’ routine.

The biggest beneficiary of England retaining the Ashes is English Test Cricket, which is currently fighting off the global and commercial success of the T20 format. But sponsorship is a long term game and England need to continue their current form. The ICC has recently recommended a new structure to test cricket which will see the top test nations playing off to be crowned “world champions” – if England achieve this, expect increased interest, participation and income into the sport. The challenge for English Cricket is translating this to the other test series such as Sri Lanka’s Home Series at the end of May.

The biggest short term winners are the players, who have boosted their profile via a great performance on the pitch and off it via social media. This offers sponsors substantial opportunities to directly connect with large numbers of dedicated followers but they must do so without intruding or interfering with the direct relationship social media enables between star and fan. A clumsy approach will result in a negative effect. Interestingly two of these stars have very different personalities; Alastair Cook the English gent vs the more irreverent ‘Swanny’. Both of these players offer sponsors a variety of opportunities and sponsors will look to capitalise on their profile. It is reported that Cook is anxious to return to his fiancé’s farm to help with the lambing season – I think his agent will be having a word about this…..

RP

*Comment featured in The Observer (pg7) on Sunday 9th January

It’s almost the start of perhaps one of the most anticipated Ashes Series. England head into the First Test dominating their long-time rivals – confident, on-form and a line-up the Aussies should be worried about. Ashes buzz is taking over the sports pages and Swanny’s ‘sprinkler’ dance moves are even trending on Twitter.

With such focus on the England team and how they’ll perform down under, how are the sponsors capitalising on England’s success and using one of the most talked about Ashes Series of all time to their advantage?

One of the most memorable activations in the lead up to the Series must have been the projection onto Big Ben by Cricket Australia. Although this wasn’t brand led, Vodafone branding was clearly visible across the player shirts – an excellent way of getting a global brand wide spread media coverage, yet the rights holder drives the message to avoid it being a Vodafone-led stunt.  

Brit Insurance’s leverage has probably been the most noticeable.  No surprises here being the England team’s principal sponsor.  One of the stand-out activities was the training session between the England team and the media, which secured branded coverage and was also filmed for Swanny’s Ashes diaries. The diaries are heavily Brit branded and have been posted online through social networking sites – with the media training session picking up 40,000 views on You Tube already.

Other noticeable activation by sponsors has been more traditional branded media coverage such as player columns and interviews. It will be interesting to see what clever activation takes place during the broadcast on SKY Sports. How will sponsor Jaguar integrate its brand into the broadcast to engage with fans and communicate its key messages? 

The Aussie’s activate well – we’ve seen Vodafone brand the third umpire decision in an innovative and practical way, sending a live text message on the big screens to inform the crowd of the outcome with the broadcast transmitted all over the world. Sponsor VB are offering Aussie’s a free beer should they win the Ashes. Let’s hope the kegs never have to leave the brewery!

So it looks like the principal sponsors are winning the Ashes at the moment, but keep a close eye on activity over the coming months. Whether ambush or not there’s bound to be activations that capture the public’s attention.  And if England manage to retain the Ashes, opportunities for sponsor leverage will only continue…

MS

Betting allegations could hit cricket’s sponsorship income

The commercial repercussions of the betting scandal surrounding Pakistan’s cricket team could be felt for years to come.

Though sponsorship experts believe it’s highly improbable the likes of PepsiCo and NPower will seek to pull their current deals in the sport, cricket could have a difficult job attracting corporate partners in the future.

There is currently no hard evidence of any wrongdoing but the allegations centre on “spot-fixing” no balls in the fourth Test against England.

“It couldn’t be worse for a sponsor,” says Rupert Pratt, MD at sponsorship consultancy, Generate. He says the issue for PepsiCo, which sponsors Pakistan’s national team, is not people boycotting its products by association – “they won’t” – but the impact on a global corporate scale.

The sponsorship deal with Pakistan’s national team, signed in January and set to run for three years, was chosen because it’s an emerging market and because it’s the most popular national sport.

PepsiCo was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

For PepsiCo, the real concern is therefore whether people will stop loving cricket. That will also be concerning the International Cricket Council, which boasts PepsiCo, Yahoo and LG among its commercial partners.

“All the corruption coming out of Pakistan will be felt across cricket, so it won’t just affect the commercial deals in Pakistan, it’ll affect deals in the powerhouses of the game like England and Australia [going forward],” adds Pratt.

In the short-term, however, there’s unlikely to be any rash decisions with sponsors remaining “pragmatic and supportive”. Indeed, part of PepsiCo’s commitment with the Pakistan Cricket Board is “to benefit the cause of cricket in [the country]”.

The PCB recently said its sponsors have “stood shoulder to shoulder with the board despite the many unique challenges that Pakistan Cricket has faced”.

Karen Earl, MD at sponsorship consultancy Synergy, says this support from sponsors will remain the case, at least until any investigations by the ICC have been completed. “People in Pakistan are incredibly passionate about cricket, so it wouldn’t do PepsiCo any good to walk away at the first sign of any controversy.”

The current crop of top sports stars to cause instant PR crises by leaking information via Twitter, blogs and websites is a modern phenomenon.

The old rules and regulations of releasing information have now been broken down. The advent of email, internet and Twitter means that anyone can become an instant PR but, while the communications industry scrabbles to cover up these PR gaffs, the solution is very old school.  It comes down to the individual’s contract, the policing of that contract and most importantly educating the club individual. A combination of good old media training and old school legal governance. Solve the issue at source. Clubs, governing bodies and rights holders must respond quickly.

 RP

Pakistan trio facing axe from tour after crisis summit with PCB

The three Pakistan players at the centre of a betting scandal will travel to London for a summit meeting on Thursday that is likely to see them dropped for the rest of the tour. The Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, and the bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif will be brought before the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Ijaz Butt, the country’s high commissioner and lawyers.

It also emerged yesterday that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs made three arrests on Sunday in connection with a long-standing investigation into money laundering, believed to be centred on Croydon Athletic, the Ryman League club owned by the man at the centre of the News of the World sting, Mazhar Majeed.

“Three individuals were arrested on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering. This includes two 35-year-olds (a male and a female) from the Croydon area, and a 49-year-old male from the Wembley area,” said HMRC in a statement. “These individuals were arrested, questioned and have been bailed pending further investigation.”

Police had already confirmed that Majeed, who is close to members of the Pakistan team and is alleged to have accepted £150,000 to ensure no-balls were bowled at certain points during the opening day of the fourth Test last week, had been arrested on Sunday and released on bail in connection with a separate investigation into the Sunday newspaper’s claims.

It is understood that the 35-year-old Majeed was one of the three people referred to in the HMRC statement. The pivotal meeting was called following a conference call between the PCB, the Pakistan government and the high commissioner about how best to deal with claims that have precipitated a crisis in the game.

Along with the wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, the three players were implicated in a betting scam in which they were alleged to have been paid by Majeed to deliberately bowl no-balls during specific overs of the fourth Test against England at Lord’s. As a sign of the confusion within the Pakistan camp, the team management appeared conflicted over the exact timing of the meeting, with one official last night insisting it would go ahead on Thursday while others expected it to happen tomorrow. Regardless of the timing, the trio will then return to Taunton where the tourists are due to play a warm-up match against Somerset on Thursday.

Unusually, their nets session – minus the three accused players – was closed to the media as the squad attempted to escape from the circus that has engulfed the touring party since Sunday’s allegations. Although the PCB will continue to stress that the players are innocent until proven guilty, with International Cricket Council investigators yet to interview them in order to avoid prejudicing the parallel police inquiry, it is likely that a form of words will be found to omit them from the rest of the tour.

The England and Wales Cricket Board and the ICC had lobbied the PCB to omit the players from tomorrow’s warm-up match as well as the Twenty20 and one-day internationals that follow. It is understood that their wish will be granted, guaranteeing the ICC some breathing space before deciding on its next move. With police set to re-interview the three players named by the News of the World as having been involved in the scam at the behest of Majeed before the end of the week, investigators from the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit will move quickly to follow suit.

The trio will be confronted with the allegations as well as separate evidence gathered by the unit, but it is by no means certain investigators will announce a definitive conclusion before Sunday’s Twenty20 match.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said he hoped there would be “some sort of a conclusion” to the investigation by the weekend, insisting “prompt and decisive action” would be taken against anyone who sought to harm the game’s integrity. He said: “Make no mistake, once the process is complete, if any players are found to be guilty, the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game.” Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the former Police Service of Northern Ireland chief who took over as chairman of the unit three months ago, is believed to have remained in Abu Dhabi but is in hourly contact with his investigators, police and cricket authorities. The Pakistan interior minister, Rehman Malik, said yesterday he wanted to wait for the police report before sending an investigation team to England.

Although the ECB stands to lose between £10m and £12m if the rest of the series is cancelled, it acknowledges that the longer-term damage to the sport’s integrity and its commercial viability will be much greater if a cloud of suspicion hangs over the remaining matches.

Sponsorship specialists warned yesterday that the scandal would have a direct impact on revenues if not properly dealt with by the ICC. “Will this affect Pepsi in Pakistan? Probably not. But the impact will be felt at their corporate headquarters in the US,” said Rupert Pratt, managing director of Generate Sponsorship.

“Likewise with nPower. It doesn’t look very good for your chief executive to be making a presentation that is tainted and portrays values that are the absolute opposite of those you are trying to project as a sponsor.”

He said cricket sponsors had already cancelled all their national newspaper advertising because of the negative impact of the story and that the implications would snowball if the authorities were not seen to deal effectively with the problem.

“Five years ago, cricket used to be seen as a traditional, safe sponsorship. Now it is a hot potato, it’s a potentially risky investment. The main impact will be felt in two or three years’ time if this isn’t stamped out.”.