Sports Marketing News - Top executives: Throw out the playbook for 2009
By TERRY LEFTON
Staff writer
Published December 22, 2008 : Page 01
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
Uncertainty has served the sports industry well. Night after night, for game after game, customers have gone to stadiums and arenas and racetracks, or settled down in front of their televisions, because they didn’t know what was going to happen, but they wanted to find out.
But uncertainty has gone to a whole new, and most unwelcome, level.
Stumbling into an unclear 2009, sports faces a future in which companies in the finance and auto sectors, two of its biggest corporate benefactors, have imploded. Auto manufacturers are reeling under the threat of bankruptcy. Finance and insurance giants are undergoing a complete restructuring. And beer, long the lifeblood of sports sponsorships and media, is seeing consolidation of the three biggest American brands, leaving their future as sports backers uncertain at best.
Heading into the last week of the year, many marketers still didn’t even have a final budget, and they figured that when they got one, the sports allocation would certainly be less than in prior years.
“I haven’t been around long enough to have experienced this, but this seems like the toughest economy since the Depression,” said Madison Square Garden Sports President Scott O’Neil, after acknowledging that MSG signed a handful of new sponsorships in December. “The one thing certain is that selling cycles are extraordinarily longer, because our partners have serious business uncertainties. But it is a fascinating time, because you do focus maybe more than ever on new opportunities. And in time of economic recession you can steal some serious market share.”
prices to help keep turnstiles turning.
As with so many industries, the directive for many executives is, “Cut what you can.”
“I have been on a slash-and-burn mission,” said Fox Sports Chairman David Hill, “cutting every unnecessary cost that doesn’t affect our on-air look. It’s a huge juggling act.”
At MLB, Chief Operating Officer Bob DuPuy says there hasn’t been too much impact yet, save for the restraint shown by owners outside of New York when it comes to pursuing pricey free agents. “We’re all walking on eggshells about the economy, because most of us haven’t seen economic conditions like this,” he said.
There are those who suggest the recession will be a death knell for sports on over-the-air TV, especially nationally. “As you look forward after a period of great revenue run-up in sports, you can see the ad model for sports on over-the-air networks is under great stress,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern, “and it will continue to be, particularly with the absence of automobile advertisers in great numbers.” With that in mind, the league adopted a long-term, cable-oriented model for its current TV rights deal, now in year one of eight.
Still, CBS News and CBS Sports President Sean McManus said, “Of all the properties for sale on network TV, sports is holding up the best.” But looking at the long term, he admitted, “I don’t think any of us have lived through this type of economy.”
of this,” says SCP Worldwide
Chairman Dave Checketts.
Widespread predictions of depressed ad spending will be met by other forecasts that see consumers watching TV in record numbers as a cheap escape. Whether that will matter to advertisers if their budgets are slashed is one of 2009’s biggest questions.
While the cyclical nature of many broadcast and sponsorship agreements are, to some extent, shielding the industry from damage, the most common angst across sports concerns the sale of season tickets. Teams are racing out press releases saying they are holding or reducing ticket prices as they look to retain customers. You can now buy New Orleans Saints season tickets on an installment plan, reminiscent of those from the Depression, and the Saints are one of many teams that have frozen ticket prices for 2009. At every Saturday home game, the St. Louis Blues now reward one fan by paying his or her mortgage for four months. Are Depression-era china giveaways next? SCP Worldwide Chairman and Blues owner Dave Checketts says we may be just at the beginning. “Barring real answers to where the economy is heading, you’ll see every team do things like interest-free plans and installment plans,” he said. “In the short term, we’re going to end up looking more like car dealers than sports franchises.”
“Season-ticket retention has turned into much more hand-to-hand combat than it ever has been,” said San Francisco Giants President Larry Baer, whose team added a free $5 in-park food and beverage credit to some of his most price-sensitive season tickets for 2009. “There’s just a lot of economic anxiety. Decisions based on dollars come later and harder and you’re seeing that across sports.”
Added Phoenix Suns President and COO Rick Welts, “Ticket pricing is foremost on the minds of every team, and to sell those [season tickets], you have to be able to make a reasonable forecast on how the economics of your best customers are going to be. That’s challenging to say the least and some would say impossible. So at a minimum, you had better add value.”
PHOENIX SUNS PRESIDENT AND COO
So for those seeking certainty in uncertain times, keep looking. “For many businesses in and out of sports, 2009 will just be a write-off,” said Jonathan Blue, chairman and managing director of Blue Equity, which has sports holdings including Blue Entertainment Sports Television. “Our athlete representation business looks very reliable in tough times. But some businesses are feeling their way along, and you will see some go out of business. We haven’t seen a lot of that recently.”
While a lot of smart people across sports try to determine whether the economy has bottomed out, unless and until anyone finds it, look for companies and consumers to continue the new “four corners.”
“You are seeing an absolute spending paralysis by corporations and consumers,” Baer said. “And, of course, they’re connected.”
Added Checketts, “Fear is at the heart of so much of this. The good news for us is that people do want a refuge and it can be sports. Our challenge is to make sports better priced, and a better value, until we get there. But if you are overleveraged — and much of sports, and much of America, is — that will be a challenge.”
FAAC - Company Open Day Event Management by RTR Sports
FAAC - Company Open Day Event Management by RTR Sports, May 2008
FAAC, a leading company in the design and production of automated components for gates and doors, organised a company Open Day on the 23rd and 24th May 2008 for its distributors and associates. More than 300 guests from all over the world took part in the event, the aim of which was the presentation of the new Chief Executive and some recently developed company sectors.
Read the rest of the Case History here : FAAC - Company Open Day Event Mangement
MotoGp: Valentino Rossi 2008 MotoGP World Championship
Valentino Rossi´s MotoGP World Championship season was not a matter of a straightforward title victory for the Italian. Follow his road to the 2008 crown in the accompanying video, reviewing the eight steps to the sixth premier class crown.
The action starts in preseason with the Fiat Yamaha sponsor rider´s first test with Bridgestone tyres, and continues up until Sunday´s A-Style Grand Prix of Japan, taking in plenty of thrills and spills along the way.
`Scusate il ritardo´ (Eng: Sorry for the delay) was the phrase emblazoned on Valentino Rossi´s celebration t-shirt in Motegi, referencing the two-year wait to regain the MotoGP World Championship. There was no waiting around for the Italian in Motegi, as he clinched the title on the first available opportunity afforded by his premier class rivals.
The competition has been fierce for Rossi in 2008, as he emphasised after his 70th race victory and confirmation of a sixth MotoGP crown. The Fiat Yamaha rider –the only man to win 500cc, 990cc and 800cc titles- put the most recent triumph at the head of the accolades taken in his illustrious career, alongside his maiden championship win for the Japanese factory.
`For sure it is a great achievement, maybe at the level of 2004 when I first won the title with Yamaha,´ said Rossi after beating rivals Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa to the win at the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan.
`The battle was very hard and the season was very long, so I´m very happy. We worked very hard with Yamaha and with all the team to be able to put in good speed at every track, under every condition. The race today was a great battle, like it has been all season with Stoner and Pedrosa.´
Rossi´s race win –his first on a four-stroke machine at Motegi- came with the customary Fan Club-assisted celebration, this time involving a desk, a camera-pen and a commemorative helmet. For the new MotoGP World Champion, sharing the glory only added to the moment.
`This occasion is always an excuse to have a laugh and a bit of a party with my friends,´ beamed Rossi after his jovial act of revery, as always remaining elusive as to the meaning behind the showmanship.
The 2008 title in the bag, there will be little time to soak up the glory for the new champion. Preparations for the defence of the crown begins on Monday, with the first test of the 2009 Yamaha M1 scheduled at Twin Ring Motegi. Rossi will be in attendance, but don´t expect him to be the first man to arrive at the track…
`Tomorrow I have a test, but I am fighting to make it start in the afternoon!´ concluded the 29 year-old, who could be permitted a party and a lie-in after the two-year wait for the title.
From: http://www.motogp.com
Valentino Rossi Manager a Le Mans: 90 Victories in MotoGp!
Even Angel Nieto paid tribute to Valentino Rossi after the Italian driver equaled his Grand Prix win tally of 90 victories in MotoGp.
LE MANS (France), 18 May 2008 - The fight for the lead in the motogp world championship has just become much more interesting. If we look at the winners of the first five races of the season, this is one of the most even championships in the last few years, or at least the most uncertain one: Stoner, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and two races won by Rossi.
MotoGp Standings - Rossi in Yamaha now leads the standings with 97 points, followed by Lorenzo and Pedrosa with 94, and Stoner in fourth place with 56. “I haven’t been the leader since last year’s race in Jerez de la Frontera. Stoner? He was fast today and he could have been a contender for the podium. I was a bit faster, but I’m sad to see him break down. The championship is still very long and we are all very close in the standings. It’s too soon to say Stoner is out of the title race.”
Plus, Valentino Rossi, a great manager of himself, is equaling Angel Nieto 90 Grand Prix victories milestone. The MotoGP Legend was even included in the celebrations in Le Mans.
Andrea Dovizioso, Team JiR Honda MotoGp get Class Editori Sponsorship
MEDIA PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CLASS EDITORI AND JIR RENEWED FOR 2008
Class Editori and Team JiR, Gianluca Montiron’s Honda team taking part in the MotoGP championship, have renewed their media partnership for the fifth consecutive year. The Sponsorship agreement, valid for the 2008 season, has been signed with the consulting services of RTR Sports Marketing, a leading agency in the sports sponsorship sector.
>> Read the full article about Andrea Dovizioso Honda MotoGp >>