The Masters starts tomorrow. It’s one of my favourite sporting events of the year. Something about the familiarity of the venue and the fact that (to me at least) it heralds the proper start of a new sporting year. I remember as a teenager watching the final rounds unfold on TV during the European ‘golden … Continue reading Is golf doing enough to engage 16-24s?
The story of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bidding to takeover Wrexham AFC is quite extraordinary. Two movie stars buying a National League club from a (let's face it) not especially glamorous corner of Wales and wanting to turn it into a 'global force' has corny Hollywood script written all over it. But, they produced … Continue reading An extraordinary statement
Ear to the Ground is an agency I sometimes work with - one of their unique assets is a global 'Fan Intelligence' network of 11,000+ culturally influential young people. They've tapped into it to create a top 40 ranking of the most culturally relevant brands in sport today i.e. brands in sport that are leading culture … Continue reading The most culturally relevant brands in sport?
YouGov Sport put out some nice research the other day, looking at sports fans across various European markets. One of the most startling pieces of data is that only 26% of sports fans in the UK are female - a much lower figure than any other country in Europe, where it's at least 40%. Can this … Continue reading Can it be true that only 26% of UK sports fans are female?
The milk brand Oatly got into some hot water (see what I did there?) last week when Twitter 'erupted' with allegations about one of its major investors, Blackstone. Allegations that don't exactly live up to Oatly's highly purposeful, sustainable positioning. This being social media, it quickly led to a #boycottoatly campaign with lots of people … Continue reading Do #BrandBoycotts make any difference?
The agency Two Circles just published a typically sharp piece of analysis around the future for sports media and the implications for rights holders. Sport is still a huge pull, but as consumers tighten belts and cut back on TV subscriptions, only the most premium sports can expect to secure big rights deals from traditional … Continue reading The future media model for rights holders
I went to Six Day London last night, at the Velo Park in Stratford. It was loud, it was frenetic, it was fast and a lot of the time I had no real idea what was going on, but as an overall experience (for someone who isn't an avid cycling fan) it was great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2Pt4y7vPrY … Continue reading An esport that actually feels like a sport
It's been quite a week for Nike. Last Friday, they reacted to the four year doping ban of Alberto Salazar by swiftly shutting down the Oregon Project that the coach had led since its inception. It's kind of admirable that they acted so quickly to shut the project down, but what choice did they really … Continue reading When does innovation become cheating?
The England & Wales Cricket Board copped some flack last week over the unveiling of KP Snacks as lead partner for the new competition, with various KP brands (from Tyrrell's to my personal favourite, Pom-Bear) adorning the front of the new team kits. Almost immediately, a variety of children's health charities were issuing statements condemning … Continue reading Is the ECB nuts to partner with KP?
Strategy is one of those words that many of us throw around, often without really knowing what we mean by it. Sometimes we mistake a strategy for an ambition, or a goal: "Our strategy is to grow by 25% every year for the next five years." Other times, a strategy is no more than a … Continue reading Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
From its earliest days – going back to the ancient Greeks, Romans and probably beyond – sport at the highest level has been at least partly about providing entertainment for the masses, via the medium of elite athletes competing to see who is the best at running, jumping, throwing or not getting eaten by a … Continue reading Repurposing sport in a world of entertainment.
Lots of talk in the last week about Paddy Power's Save Our Shirt campaign. Just in case you've been relaxing on a beach, this is the one where Paddy Power revealed a new sponsorship of Huddersfield Town FC, complete with an outrageously large logo on the front of the club's new shirts. For anyone even … Continue reading #SaveOurShirt
