Stadium Naming Rights - Are They All That?

Old Trafford, or The Emirates(?) is the newest addition to an ever growing list of stadiums to have sold naming rights. In the current age commercial executives must be licking their lips at the figures achievable from selling these rights.

Emirates have added Old Trafford to Arsenal and Durham CCC in a move which will see two of the ashes test matches this summer played at Emirates named stadiums. Other well known examples include:

- The Etihad Stadium, Manchester City.
- The Reebok, Bolton Wanderers.
- Sports Direct Arena, Newcastle United.
- Ricoh Arena, Coventry.
- Wembley, EE to be incorporated (it should be called 'WemblEE', but I doubt that!).

Naming rights have been selling for astonishing figures, with The Etihad Stadium selling for £400 million over a ten year period - albeit with some questions from UEFA over the fairness of the agreement in relation to financial fair play. Further to this The Emirates deal with Arsenal will generate a not too shabby £150 million for the North London club.

Are these enormous fees justified? Let's take a look at some of the Pros vs Cons:

PROS
1) Naming rights create brand awareness - they are not necessarily meant to convince people to buy more products, rather create a 'top of mind' awareness and needless to say this is a valuable asset to Global brands.
2) Cheaper than TV? - If we jump into the American market where Met Life having the naming rights for the NYC stadium. In 2014 the stadium will hold the SuperBowl, an event where a 30 second advert would cost in the region of $2.5 million. With Met Life paying $200 million over 20 years, and of course more events to take place, you can soon begin to see the value.
3) Fans - There are an estimated 4-5 million Manchester City fans worldwide, once naming rights are confirmed the sponsor will be on the lips and minds in a matter of hours.

CONS
1) Negativity - Perhaps the Sports Direct Arena in Newcastle is the best example of this, with extreme negativity been shown towards the company as the club stripper away St James' Park.
2) Shock value being lost? - With the ever increasing list of stadiums to sell naming rights, the initial press coverage over agreements such as the Etihad's is becoming lower. Brands won't gain the initial exposure levels that we seen 10-15 years ago.
3) Not always a good match! - To jump over to the US market again and news of GEO Group (a prison company) confirming the naming rights of the FAU Football Stadium. The GEO Group have come under fire for bad treatment of inmates, which has presented ethical questions for the FAU. With protests already begun is this a deal with longevity?

I guess the summary should be centered around the fact that brands seem to be going this way, so they must be realising value somehow.

What does the future hold? Sadly this is the way the market is going and will continue as long as brands can get value and clubs need revenue. I predict that even those who have the view that this is like 'selling your soul' will eventually come round to the concept.

JL

The Football League - Sponsor Hunt

With around 170 days to go until the start of the new Championship season the Football League will be on the hunt for a new title sponsor.

Current sponsor Npower announced that,

'We can confirm that we will not renew our sponsorship of the Football League when the current season ends at the end of May'.

Npower paid £21 million over three years for the property and have left the Football League with plenty to do to replicate this level of sponsorship, especially when you consider that the BBC are no longer covering live games.

The Football League have no current announcement planned for who will be the principal sponsor replacement. However speculation around what sector the sponsor is going to come from has centered around the Betting, Alcohol and Energy industries. Although with the Bet Butler sponsorship only starting in October 2012, I find it unlikely that a betting company will be announced come mid August.

The man charged with finding a sponsor is the Chief Commercial Officer, Richard Heaselgrave, and judging from his past experience Richard is more than capable of doing so. Previously Head of European Sponsorship at Anheuser-Busch (Brewery for Budweiser, Becks etc) which included properties such as FIFA World Cup, Ryder Cup and Manchester United. Heaselgrave was then Head of Sponsorship Sales at UEFA for the European Championships. Richard's last role before joining the Football League was Vice President of Business Development at the NBA.

So where is Richard likely to look? If his experience is anything to go by, I would be inclined to say an Alcohol brand is the most likely. Needless to say his time at Anheuser-Busch will have thickened his contact book in that industry. Furthermore the 2008 Euro's saw four title sponsors of McDonald's, MasterCard, Coca Cola and Carslberg.

Nothing is ever a certainty with sponsorship, and of course much depends on who is in the market at the moment, I can't help but feel that the betters out there shouldn't be betting on betting.

JL

Gareth Bale - A Comparison

Gareth Bale, the world is his proverbial oyster right now but what does the future hold?

From his beginning at Southampton at the tender age of nine Bale has been on the path to greatness, albeit with some bumps in the road along the way.

When the promising Welshman moved to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee potentially reaching £10 million, his first 24 appearances didn't result with one victory a feat which saw him labelled as a jinx. Although manager at the time, Harry Redknapp, had every faith in Bale - who was a left back at the time.

Bale had knee surgery in 2009 and returned to the Tottenham side for his 25th appearance which put an end to the 'jinx' with a 5-0 drumming of Burnley. It was around this time that Bale made the shift to left midfield and it's fair to say he hasn't looked back since. A huge point of recognition came from Bale's second half hat-trick against Inter Milan in 2010.

This season Bale has had 23 appearances, with 15 goals and an astonishing 9 MOM awards. With 8 goals in his last 6 appearances Bale is on fire at the moment, terrorising Premier League defenders week after week.

Understandably his performances have attracted attention from Europe's biggest names, with reports that both Barcelona and Real Madrid are interested up to the value of £50 million.

Many reports have compared Bale to the two best around, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. To compare let's take a look at this seasons stats:

Player	Apps	Goals	Assists	Shots	Dribbles	Avg. Passes	Pass Suc%	Crosses
Messi	24(1)	38	9	5.5	4	61.4	85.2	0.2
Ronaldo	23(1)	24	5	7.1	1.6	31.9	77	0.3
Bale	23	15	1	4.9	2.2	34.4	78.4	2.1

The first thing to notice is that Messi is unreal.

Now moving on to the comparison, Bale is a distance behind both with goals and assists - which in my view is what an attacking midfield player should be judged on. Note the crossing statistics which indicate that Bale is playing in a wider role, which may explain his lack of goals. This is supported by his lower shooting statistics, suggesting that he may not be in a scoring position as often as the Argentine and Portuguese. Looking deeper Bale has played centre attacking midfield on three occasions this season scoring 5 goals, could this be his next position?

The improvement area for Bale has to be his assists, with only one in 23 appearances this is something he is no doubt looking at. On the face of it the statistics offer no obvious justification, but looking at the top two assist leaders in the Premier League perhaps passing is his weakness. Juan Mata and Steven Gerrard both have 9 assists this season, with 1308 (85%) and 1810 (86%) passes completed with % success. This is compared with 791 (78%) for Bale, a considerable difference.

On recent form it's certainly fair that Bale gets a mention with the very best, but I believe he is still some way off the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. At 23 he still has time on his side and it will be very interesting to see what bids come in at the end of the season. I doubt he'll be a Tottenham player for the 2013/14 Premier League season and keep your eyes peeled for another change in playing position.

JL

The World of 3D Advertising

If you're a sports fan you will have seen 3D advertising at some stage, by this I mean logos that look as though they are standing up when you see them on TV.

This weekend alone hundreds of 3D logos have been used in various sports. To name a few:

- Capital One Cup Final, Wembley.
- RBS Six Nations, Twickenham, Murrayfield and Stadio Olimpico.
- Npower Football League.
- Spanish La Liga.
- German Bundesliga
- ANZ ODI New Zealand vs England.

The scope of 3D advertising spreads across many sports. All in all 3D advertising has been used in around 15 different sports ranging from the most popular such as Football (Soccer) and Rugby Union right down to Table Tennis and Handball.

Ok, so we know that 3D is used widely in today's sporting world - but where and when did this unique type of advertising originate? The answer lies in Northern Europe where the Danish company Logopaint first developed and patented the 3D method. From here the first 3D logos were painted in the mid 1990's and the industry expanded to what is now over 50 countries utilising 3D advertising technology in one way or another.

As with most great ideas the premise of the technology is relatively simple, take a logo and manipulate the artwork in relation to the angle, height and distance of the TV camera. To do this you need to survey the stadium to get exact measurements. It is important to consider that the logo will need to be placed in a precise location to gain the maximum 3D effect. Let me use a couple of images to illustrate my point:


To the left you can see an image of a coffee glass (I don't know who that chap is), a 3D vinyl has been used to make this look as though it is standing up.

If you were to take a few steps to the side and take a photo this is the image you get i.e. it becomes distorted because the 3D effect is location specific.

The materials used for 3D advertising can vary and are dependent on what is the best solution in each instance. In Football carpets and mats (PVC Mesh) are used, however in Rugby logos are painted onto the field of play. This is labour intensive however, carpets and mats present an obvious trip hazard! Indoor sports such as basketball use vinyl stickers like the coffee glass example above.

The valuations on this technology are considerable, providing exposure increases of up to 400% - mainly due to the positioning of the logos. As the advertising is lying flat on the floor, space that couldn't previously be used now becomes available - a new first tier of advertising.

The cost to rights holders to use the technology is typically calculated by viewing audiences of the event. In other words, the more people who are going to see it, the more expensive it becomes. Clever. As you would expect Football is the natural home for this product due to the huge commercial partnerships and values involved.

What does the future hold for 3D advertising? With Europe (minus the Premier League) conquered the next stop for 3D is America. Currently only one NBA team, Toronto Raptors, has used 3D. Trials have also been carried out in the NHL and NASCAR. Judging by the extent of advertising in events such as the Super Bowl, I can't help but feel once our friends over the other side of the pond get hold of this technology 3D advertising will well and truly become an integral part of everyday sports viewing.

JL

Super League, not so super?

In the UK we are blessed with great sport all around us, great sport typically leads to brand interest - a few examples:

Premier League - Barclays, Nike, Lucozade, EA Sports.
Premiership Rugby - Aviva, Guinness, QBE, Land Rover, J.P. Morgan, Gatorade.
Cricket - Friends Life T20, Yorkshire Bank Pro40, LVE County Championship

You get the picture, in fact, even the relatively small sport of Netball has gained FIAT as the title sponsor.

However Rugby Leagues premier competition, the Super League, is yet to find a title sponsor.... Why? Well lets take a look at the product first. From today onwards Sky Sports have 34 live games scheduled for the Super League and according to viewing figures last season we can expect around 250,000 viewers per fixture, that's 8.5million.

There is also a highlights/discussion program called 'Boots n All' which had viewing figures of 79,000 per week in 2012, with around 20 showings throughout the season - 1.5million. Furthermore attendances last season were just shy of 1.75million (up 11.2% on the previous season).

It would seem to me that viewing figures alone should present a valuable proposition for many brands, which in the past has rung true with long standing sponsor Engage. The insurance company sponsored Super League from 2005-2011, since which the RFL have struggled with the title sponsorship.

I think it's reasonable to say that the Super League is a good product, though this doesn't really help explain the difficulty that the league seem to be having in attracting a sponsor. I have a few inside sources who maintain that the league is holding out for a 'big name', and that title offers from secondary sponsors have been turned down.

Tonight is the World Club Challenge between Leeds Rhinos and Melbourne Storm, which has seen last minute sponsorship from Probiz. I am aware that Heinz, the sponsor of 2012 Club Challenge, decided against doing so again due to an increased valuation from the league.

The league commercial director James Mercer, in my opinion is running a risky strategy holding back the title sponsorship. I understand that the league want achieve a reasonable fee, though could this be perceived as greed?     

In tough financial times for all including sports clubs, we don't have to stray far to see Bradford Bull and Salford Reds. I believe a league should be doing everything it can to support its clubs, and turning down offers for sponsorship seems like madness. Furthermore I am aware that the league prohibit clubs from advertising on the centre of the pitch - a space with significant commercial value. Why should this be the case if the space is not in use? Surely this would help attract sponsors? Heineken, RBS and Aviva all utilise this space - as did the previous Super League sponsor Engage.

With the Big Weekend coming up this summer and the World Cup starting at the end of October, I would suggest that the RFL move quickly before a further two sponsorship properties are lost to a seemingly stubborn and greedy attitude.

JL

Rooted In England's Future

For a man who looks 15 years old Joe Root is showing a lot of maturity. Entering the England side in arguably the toughest of conditions; a test match in India.

What has followed has caused much excitement in and around the England cricket side with Alastair Cook the most recent to praise the Yorkshire lad.

 "He keeps his feet on the ground, works very hard and has the right temperament for international cricket" A statement which could equally have been about the England captain himself.

Comparisons are already been made with the most obvious being that of Michael Vaughan. Both are from Sheffield, both are technically great batsmen, both bowl a bit of off spin!

From a batting perspective I see nothing but great things for Root, who is already averaging 93.00 in tests and 74.50 in ODIs. Further to this Root is the first batsman in history to score over 30 or more in his first 6 ODI games.

I have some insight into Root's early career as he played extensively with my brother going through the Yorkshire age groups and into the academy. My brother mentioned an innings of 235*, in one day, chance less, and told me that he had a great future ahead - at this moment he doesn't seem far wrong. I also had the chance to play against Root for his club side, Sheffield Collegiate, and I imagine I felt like the NZ players 'who is this kid smashing me to all parts?!'.

Is it too early to predict Root will be one of England's all time greats? Probably. Is it too early to say he'll be at the center of England's plans and teams for many years to come? I think not.
JL

Brain Blogged

Hello! I'm James Lilley, I'm 25, I live in London (originally from Harrogate), I'm a Sales Manager for 3 different companies, Manchester University Graduate (Psychology), have an amazing girlfriend and lead a busy life!

I've been thinking about writing a blog for what feels like ages - in reality it's probably only 3 months. Now that I've managed to get the chance to start writing, I didn't know what to write about!

I thought, as with most things in life, it makes sense to focus on something that I am interested in but to also try to keep the blog enjoyable to read. So as the title suggests I expect this blog to focus on:

- Sports (Football, Cricket, Rugby, Cycling)
- Business (Sponsorship, New Technology, Entrepreneurship)
- Fun (Music, Food, Photography)

Wide spectrum I know, but most posts will be interlinked.

That's all for now.
JL