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.”
: Advertising Agency RTR : Shopping Centers : YAMAHA MOTO PARK
The Yamaha MotoPark tour got underway on March 7th from Pontecagnano. By June it will have taken in 9 cities and as many shopping centres in Italy, inviting the public to discover the world of Yamaha from a close-up perspective.
The events, produced and managed by the Sports Marketing advertising agency RTR in conjunction with nine of the eighty legs of the GP Race FASTWEB Tour 2008, of which Yamaha is a partner, transform the external areas of shopping centers into theme parks that provide a starting point for demo ride activities and a basis for riding courses on Yamaha motorbikes, under the patronage of the FMI (Italian Motorcycling Federation).
>> Read more about this advertising agency news >>
Sports Sponsorship : Champions League Final: 21 May 2008, Moscow Luzhniki
UEFA Champions League Final will take place in Moscow at Luzhniki stadium on 21 May 2008.
Luzhniki Stadium will host the Champios League Final for 2008 on 21 May.
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium, is the biggest sports stadium in Russia.
Its total seating capacity is 84,745 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium.
Luzhniki Stadium has been scheduled by UEFA to host the 2008 UEFA Champions League final. The Luzhniki Stadium also hosted the final game of the 1957 Ice Hockey World Championship between Sweden and the Soviet Union, attended by a crowd of 55,000 and setting a new world record in Sports Sponsorship.
Motorsports, car racing : Woman driver makes racing history
Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history after claiming the Indy Japan 300 race at the Twin Ring Motegi racetrack on Sunday.
The 26-year-old, in her 50th IndyCar race, finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves in Japan.
“It’s been a long time coming - this is fabulous,” said Patrick.
Patrick made her name in American motorsport by finishing fourth in the Indy500 in 2005, and came seventh in the overall standings last season.
“It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me,” added Patrick, who drives for the Andretti Green Racing team.
“I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn’t believe it.
“I knew there was a good reason for coming to Japan. I want to thank my team, the fans and everyone who supported me.
“I’ve been asked so many times when and if I could win my first race and finally, no more of those questions.”
Patrick took the lead from Castroneves on the 198th lap of the 200-lap race after starting in the third row.
“I think Danica is such a fantastic person and I’m thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back,” said Michael Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing.
“We have all believed in her and she proved today that she is a winner. Frankly, I think this is the first of many.”
From BBC News
: Promotion Sport Sponsorship : Bomb Boogie Sponsor Motor Show 5 Years in a Row
The Promotion Sport Sponsorship between Bomb Boogie and the Bologna Motorshow celebrates its 5th birthday: once again in 2007 the now-famous brand of street and casual wear will kit out staff at the Salone Internazionale dell’Automobile (International Automobile Showroom) as Official ShowWear.
The deal carries the signature of RTR Sports Marketing, a leading agency in the world of sport sponsorship, which has handled the sponsor’s deal since 2002.
For the 2007 Motorshow, Bomb Boogie is launching a range of jackets with completely new colours and materials, while retaining the unmistakable style that has made it a “must-have” brand amongst a young, casual buying public. It is no coincidence that the show’s target audience, mainly male between the ages of 17 and 34, perfectly fits the profile of those who love and choose Bomb Boogie.
In this sense the Motorshow event makes it possible to conduct a large-scale Promotion Sport marketing operation, being able to count upon a visiting public totalling 1,203,618, according to 2006 data.
>> Read more about this Promotion Sport Sponsorship >>