At the end of this month I’m lucky enough to be heading over to Paris to cover an event that will include some of the best minds in digital and football.
The event is the inaugural ‘Football Production Summit‘ which will take place in the iconic French national stadium, Stade de Paris, on 29th February.
What interests me most about the conference is that it will be first chance to hear (and hopefully meet up with) the new Head of Digital at Manchester City, Russell Stopford. He has taken over from the interim boss of the last year Richard Ayers, who is working for City still from his London base.
The panel session that Russell will be taking part in is on ‘Football Club Perspectives’ and also includes Guiliano Giogetti (Head of New Wed & New Media at AC Milan), Kieron Kilbride (Director of Biz Development at Football League) and Warren Perk (MD, Northern Europe at Perform).
The panel is being moderated by an old aquaintance in Cas Knight, formerly the MD of Chelsea Digital and now SVP at Wasserman Media Group. If nothing else it is worth heading along to hear these people give their thoughts and, hopefully, get to meet them too.
To help set our expectations here is what the panel session is about;
“Clubs have more ways of engaging with their fans than ever, with a spectrum of possibilities that run from social networking initiatives all the way up to running their own TV channels. What are the perils and pitfalls of joining the broadcasting business? How much does the equipment cost? What is the minimum technical spec that should be considered? And how do clubs monetise one of the most precious assets that they have; their archive?”
There is more to this show than the one panel, though that is where most of my interest is going to lie.
There is also a EURO 2012 overview from the Head of TV Production at EUFA. A panel session on broadcast technologies with FIFA, STATS, Opta and deltatre. Finishing off with a panel session on next-generate technologies (3D, 4k, etc).
Its an awesome line up for what promises to be a really interesting event. If you fancy hopping onto the Eurostar to Paris then head to http://svgeurope.org/football-production/ first to book your place.
Sports stars tend to exert all the tendencies of super humans when placed in front of a camera and told by those milling around the shoot that what they’re making is a viral! And remarkably the more demanding and difficult the skill, the more relaxed and confident these men and women become when performing it. Federer, Beckham, Kobe Bryant and the like perform skills and stunts that are wild extensions of what they are required to do on the sports field or court every day.
A pinch of curiosity…
Their skills are turned up to 11 to blow everyone’s expectations of what they thought they could achieve. They are each revered in their particular sport – this gives their performance a certain edge of legitimacy that makes people question what certainly would be labelled as fake if performed by a lesser athlete. Their celebrity endorses their flamboyance far more than if Joe Public attempted the stunt.
A slice of brand awareness…
Sports stars are recognised as brands in their own right. A viral concept can hang on this brand framework by creating an interest from the viewer that develops from their feeling of familiarity with that person. Although Federer represents Gillette, Braylon Edwards the NFL and Ronaldinho, Nike, viewers believe they are watching an advert for that athlete’s skills – not for a specific brand. The Hi-Tec ‘Liquid Mountaineering’ viral is an anomaly here because it doesn’t employ the use of famous stars as brand ambassadors to drive its interest. The theme of athletes fitting themselves with Hi-Tec trainers before running a few paces across water is the hook which creates the buzz about the stunt. It highlights that without a famous face most virals need a supremely extraordinary feat to give them the edge and to compete in popularity with the likes of the All Blacks and Cristiano Ronaldo.
All Blacks training
The viral was used to promote the Rugby Channel in New Zealand and created huge chatter about their extraordinary feats. All Blacks Piri Weepu and Cory Jane can get away with passing these skills off as easy and matter-of-fact. Being synonymous with the world’s best rugby team allows viewers to partially suspend their disbelief, especially as their nonchalant manner and easy-going training ground routine makes their skills seem second–nature. The same can be said for the Pepsi viral featuring David Beckham in which his famous long passes have allowed him to feature in a viral set on a Californian beach kicking footballs into plastic rubbish cans from 60 yards. These approaches make the All Blacks viral and the concept feel under-produced and raw and henceforth more natural and appealing to the viewer. Such was their success they produced a follow-up.
Hi-Tec: Liquid Mountaineering
The aim of ‘Liquid Mountaineering’ was to capture the spirit of the brand and to have fun – providing a way to get to know Hi-Tec through the telling of a story and the supposed arrival of a new sport. The viral shares a similar story arc and structure with that of surfing videos. Whereas surfers are chasing the perfect wave and getting involved through their surf gear, these guys are after the thrill of pushing a new adrenaline sport. Amid the false science claims and impossible physics of it all, the one truth is the hydrophobic nature of the Hi-Tec shoes and their ability to repel water. This is the one shred of accuracy that allows the falsities to hang from it.
Roger Federer: William Tell
Federer seems to take a couple of minutes out from shooting a Gillette ad to perform a modern day re-telling of the Swiss legend of William Tell. In what appears to be a break from a studio shoot the footage seems to present a natural extension of Roger’s affable persona. Getting one of the production team to balance an empty can of balls on this head, Federer appears to serve and smash the can off his head with pinpoint accuracy. Cue a stunned production team. He then does it again. It’s clever because the first shot is almost off camera and would provide immediate ammunition for scepticism, but the second is shown far more clearly and serves(…!) to cast a bit of head-scratching. Arguably he is the greatest tennis player of all time…could he do this? It doesn’t seem to be THAT much of a leap of faith to suggest he could…
NFL Pick Me Reebok Campaign
This campaign is all about big names, big feats and big ambitions. They want YOU to pick THEM for your fantasy team…they want to impress and the viral suits as a platform in which to perform some truly awesome stunts on and off the football field. Accuracy levels needed in most stunts are almost impossibly high and with most players the ball disappears off screen and becomes barely visible in the distance. However, for invention and sheer entertainment, this is the real stand-out. Unlike the All Blacks training viral it feels far more produced and far more commercial, although they really notch it up a gear!
Nike basketball: LeBron Rise
LeBron James, when he made this Nike viral, was a basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. This viral wasn’t about what LeBron James had or hadn’t done – it was about the difference between the expectations others may have had of him versus the expectations he had of himself. What has made this a stand-out viral is the version that the Cleveland fans produced that reflected the questions LeBron James was asking himself in the original. Opening himself up for Nike about people’s expectations of him at Cleveland left him open to some wide criticism when he left the club for sunnier and more successful climbs.
Last week (29th June) I had the pleasure of appearing on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss ‘Social Media & Sport’ with Matt Dawson (ex-England Rugby International) and Paul Kelso (Daily Telegraph Chief Sports Writer). The show also included pre-recorded interviews with footballers Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Savage, two of our biggest exponents of Twitter in the UK, and a chat over the phone with ECB Media Manager, James Avery.
The discussion was primarily around Twitter and its use by sports stars with some discussions on what Social media is, what ‘trending’ is and which sports people are using Twitter well/badly. It was a fairly basic overview aimed at people listening into the show who may not use twitter or see its benefits.
As is always the case you plan out what you want to say but the time went by so fast and your answers change as you do it live. It was an interesting programme and one that I hope the people who tuned in enjoyed.
Here is the programme in full, click on the picture below which will take you to iPlayer. The Social Media & Sport part of the programme starts at just past the 1 hour mark…..
Will Carling famously referred to the game in England as being run by ’57 old farts’ back in 1995 when he was national captain. However, English rugby (union) has come a long way since then. Admittedly results haven’t been entirely awe inspiring following the 2003 World Cup triumph – but in commercial terms the future looks rosy.
According to SportsPro magazine, in 2009 “games at Twickenham generated £29.2 million for the RFU, accounting for a quarter of their £118 million turnover. The union’s gate receipts have actually increased by £4.1 million since the 2006-2007 season.” Last season in the 6 nations “England could have sold out its 82,000 capacity Twickenham stadium twice over for each of its two home games”. Additionally, “England received the largest economic boost from the tournament, with a total of US $132.82 million spent by fans on match tickets, transport, food and beverage sales, accommodation, merchandising, and at city attractions, and by sponsors on marketing”.
Hospitality and marketing have been important aspects of the increased commercialisation of rugby in the country where Webb Ellis first picked up the ball. In terms of sponsorship, England’s involvement with O2, its principal sponsor since 1995 when it was known as BT Cellnet, has been both beneficial and lucrative for rugby. England’s mixed broadcasting package, unique to the home unions, with both Sky and the BBC ensures strong annual TV revenue. The BBC covers home games in the 6 nations while Sky covers the autumn internationals and much more – from U20 internationals to the Army and Navy game. Looking to the future, England will also host the 8th Rugby World Cup in 2015. The Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event after the football world cup and the Olympics. When staged in France, in 2007, it delivered “a total economic impact estimated at up to £2.1 billion” for the host nation.
There are, however, some small dark clouds for rugby in England. The so-called ‘Bloodgate’ scandal has left a bad taste in the mouth (quite literally). The affair has tarnished the image and reputation of both Harlequins (one of the oldest clubs in the game) and the sport in general. It would certainly have been scrutinised by sponsors even though Etihad Airways has signed a one year extension to its sponsorship with the Harlequins club.
The relationship between the Premiership clubs and the national squad is not always a comfortable one. Like in football, there are arguably too many overseas stars in the domestic game. If selection of these players curtails the long-term playing development of home grown talent the results of the national side may suffer in years to come. Some players in the national side are also plying their trade overseas and this has led to friction between their respective clubs and Martin Johnson’s national squad. This was notably the case when the French club Toulon refused to release Jonny Wilkinson for a recent England squad summer camp. To keep revenues coming in, the RFU needs to carefully manage these issues to ensure that its strongest side runs out at Twickenham in order to attract sponsors, broadcasters and keep fans streaming through the turnstiles.
The upcoming season promises to be an exciting one as the rugby community looks forward to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Whether Martin Johnson and his England team will get their hands on the Webb Ellis Trophy again remains to be seen.
One thing we do know for sure – on the commercial front English rugby is in great health.
Earlier this week the New York Times had an interesting article on sports broadcasting as viewed through the recent YouTube – IPL Season 3 experiment. While the financial winners and losers of the arrangement are not known, we do know that it was a win for many fans, including myself, who viewed matches and highlights. In fact, according to the article:
“About 50 million viewers tuned in to YouTube’s I.P.L. channel, 25 percent more than Google executives said they expected when they signed the deal in January. Approximately 40 percent of those viewers were outside India.”
Yesterday I wrote about Google’s Chrome ads and how there were more than just about speed. I think the Google has made another shrewd move with the [Google-owned] YouTube – IPL tie-up. Just as they are challenging Apple in the ‘creative’ space (again, see the Chrome ads), they are also positioning themselves to challenge the likes of ESPN (via their ESPN3 online sports channel).
By partnering with the IPL, YouTube not only has a direct plug in to the burgeoning Indian market, but also to the high end sponsors that come along with a property as massively popular as the IPL. Again from the NY Times article:
“Google signed on seven advertisers in India, including Coca-Cola and Hewlett-Packard, two in Britain and one in the United States, where YouTube showed matches 15 minutes after they finished.”
Now it doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to see a vision of the future where fans from around the world are watching live sporting events via YouTube on their Nexus One Google phones. That really can’t be more than a couple years away at most. Just as Rupert Murdoch grabbed rights to English Premier League football to legitimize Sky Sports (and to some degree NFL rights to legitimize FOX in the U.S.), Google could tie up exclusive mobile rights as a trojan horse for the Nexus One.
Perhaps the biggest problem Google will face is that both the properties themselves as well as the current broadcast rights holders are organized or technologically savvy enough to make this work. They’re stuck in an out-dated system that often bundles mobile and television rights to the same outlets, regardless of their abilities to maximize the digital opportunities.
Ultimately Google, if they are indeed headed in this direction, may need to pay over the top for mobile or online rights. I’d reckon that’s a gamble worth taking, especially for a sport such as cricket which is on a global upswing right now
It has been a novel feeling this last couple of weeks with the UKSN site being seen as a viable press source with an invite to the Puma Media Launch last Tuesday and this week seems me attend the SportBusiness Group Sport & New Media Conference in Manchester.
It is great that sport is starting to wake up to the possibilities and with a showing of over 150 attendees on Wednesday it shows that there is a great yearning to learn more. At the moment the UK has few examples of success stories of teams, leagues, businesses or athletes who have made that leap into great fan engagement and commercial success with Social Media.
Many teams, as we have reported on this site, have set up Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter accounts with varying amounts of success. But as with all things in life and business there is a great saying that ‘to fail to plan is to plan to fail’. Without a strategy in place you won’t succeed. Opening an account for free is not enough if not taken into account with the rest of the marketing and PR strategy.
“The search is now on for new ways to not only reach customers and fans, but to understand them, to activate sponsorships in fresh and exciting ways, encourage participation, grow fan bases and protect your reputation online.” (Sport & New Media website)
We shall see a number of topics touched on during the day rather than anything studied in great depth. New media as a whole is a vast field made up of so much it would be impossible to cover every topic in one day.
My interest is drawn to the afternoon session that looks at sports associations utilising the web 2.0 possibilities. British Universities & Colleges Sport will be talking about their use of Facebook which has over 6,000 fans and includes competitions, flash landing page, photos and videos. It will be interesting to find out the thoughts and strategies behind their move in social media.
One panel session looks like it could stir some debate with the title ‘Social Media: New opportunity – new threats?’. It has been highlighted by organisations I have spoken to in sport that there is a fear factor. Yes it is a whole new world of opportunity but also one of threats, just look at Nestle to see what can happen when social media is handled badly. The questions will be coming thick and fast from the delegates on this particular session I feel.
The speaker line up is very impressive with representatives from Google, IMG, Chelsea Digital, BBC, Eurosport, IFNA, comScore, Fudge, Pilot Media and Braben Sport. It would have been great to hear from Manchester City and Liverpool who doing some great work in the North West though. Maybe they are being saved for the next conference.
An added bonus for delegates is that the new comScore report titled ‘The State of Digital Sport’ will be given to every delegate as take away. As I said at the top of this article, it is a exciting time for sport with the new didigtal possibilities that are open to all. The PR, Marketing, fan engagement and commercial landscapes are changing forever……. are you ready for it?
You can follow the official conference tweets on twitter.com/SBGEVENTS and the hashtag #sportandnewmedia which will be worth keeping an eye on. I’ll be tweeting at twitter.com/danielmclaren
This week the BBC announced that, from April, it will offer iPhone applications for its news content; with a sport one to follow in June. This will be – or at least should be – music to the ears of all tech-savvy license fee payers.
You see, not only do these apps represent the next logical step in the propagation of up-to-the minute news and sports stories; but they will go some way to quenching the insatiable thirst of those iPhone users that, like me, crave content on the move.
The understanding is that the BBC has cleverly responded to viewers, who have been clamouring for such a service, at a time when smartphones have established themselves as a viable medium for the consumption of audio and visual media.
The most exciting thing for sports fans is the promise that all content available on the BBC Sport website (plus that of the rightfully popular Five Live radio station) will be available at your fingertips on a mobile phone. What this means is that not only can we access live commentary and scores, but when the World Cup in South Africa rolls round in June, we will be able to stream the matches live, on the go.
But as good as this sounds, us tech-conscious sports lovers should consider this a mere starting point. Because, while the finer details on the functionality and capabilities of these apps are still unknown, there is a hope (and some speculation) that the BBC will allow fan interactivity. Now this would be a very astute decision. For example, imagine if during their live World Cup streams the BBC could accept fans’ photos or comments straight from the stands in South Africa; or if viewers were able to interact with BBC journalists commentating at sporting events via the app.
It’s an exciting time to be a sports fan as technology continues to make our favourite clubs and players ever more accessible (thanks to blogs, Twitter and Facebook); and fellow enthusiasts are no more than a Tweet away. But come the summer, we will witness the next step, as live BBC sports events and live BBC radio shows are streamed straight to a handset near you. And the best bit? It’s going to be free.
So whether you’ve got an iPhone or will be getting an iPad, you can enjoy this new sporting provision from June onwards. And for all non-Apple users fear not, because the BBC has plans to roll out the service to Android and Blackberry smartphones “towards the end of the year”.
It’s not like we needed another reason to get excited about sport this summer, but the BBC has been kind enough to provide us with one. As a result, the license fee is about to become better value for money, and I’m sure you’ll agree that’s got to be a good thing.
(If you have a say on this topic please post a comment below or contact me on Twitter by following @alexarmstead)
