It has been an interesting week for football managers with episodes highlighting the trials and tribulations of management at different levels in the English game.
Just look the scenarios of Messrs Pullis, Deehan and Magilton.
Pullis of Stoke City in England's Premier League was disappointed in his team's lack of guts at Arsenal last Saturday and decided on the spot that the previously approved Players Christmas Party would now only mean one day off not two....poor James Beattie stood up for his teammates heartbroken at the thought of only one night partying in the Smoke and allegedly got up close and personal with the Boss. Club back manager player probably on his bike in the January window.
John Deehan, assistant Manager of non league Kettering Town ( much loved as the first ever English club to have a shirt sponsor under legend Derek Dougan in the 1970's and fathers of an entire industry) gets the boot for making three substitutions,in an FA Cup replay against Leeds United, his manager was playing in goal at the time. In another throwback to the 1970's the owner was so annoyed at missing the chance of playing Man Utd in the next round, he chopped him on the spot. Manager backs assistant, but openly admits he really needs the job and the money, tough situation for him.
Now Jim Magilton of Championship side QPR, who had been on a great run but have stalled, has been suspended after another alleged close discussion with a player who had disappointed him in the performance against Watford. Owners suspend manager, backroom staff walk out in solidarity, player asks for a transfer.
The common thread is that all three are very experienced football men who have been around the block and seen it all in dressing rooms across the various levels of professional football.
A football manager does not have the same range of management tools available to him that managers in Industry and there are times when, in a man's environment the only answer is a full and frank man to man conversation.
Similar restrictions apply to managing upwards, with the quixotic behaviour of some owners presenting situations that they don't teach you at Harvard Business School.
Add to that the day to day pressure of managing extremely well paid athletes who have their own agendas and it is a real challenge.
Who would be a manager?
Showing posts with label sponsorship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sponsorship. Show all posts
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Tiger Woods is not a robot after all.
So Tiger has come clean and issued a mea culpa over transgressions and sins, blaming the media for catching him on and kicking up a storm. Media commentary goes mad and speculation about sponsorship deals is rife.
The curse of the Gillette Three has Procter & Gamble marketing guys reviewing media spend commitments and Frau Federer on edge and checking her hubby's voice mails, and in certain sectors of the media and sports marketing world there is an unhealthy dose of schadenfreude that Mr Perfect has taken a fall.
So let's forget for a second that this is a major drama for him and his family and think about the Tiger Woods brand.....most of his endorsements are, (or have been) from heavyweight safe, blue chip corporate brands that appeal to the mass market of 25-54 year old males who follow golf..Gillette,GM, Netjets, Nike etc, Brands which fit the projected image of the corporate golf world.
Here's a prediction....his image among younger consumers will go from Boring Robot who plays perfectly and says nothing of interest other than the odd expletive of frustration on the course to Cool Guy, and you'll see some big new slightly edgier brand endorsements in the pipeline.
Looking objectively at it, it is not a surprise and he shouldn't be damned for his situation. He'll be back and maybe we'll all like him a little more as he's proved he is actually human after all.
The curse of the Gillette Three has Procter & Gamble marketing guys reviewing media spend commitments and Frau Federer on edge and checking her hubby's voice mails, and in certain sectors of the media and sports marketing world there is an unhealthy dose of schadenfreude that Mr Perfect has taken a fall.
So let's forget for a second that this is a major drama for him and his family and think about the Tiger Woods brand.....most of his endorsements are, (or have been) from heavyweight safe, blue chip corporate brands that appeal to the mass market of 25-54 year old males who follow golf..Gillette,GM, Netjets, Nike etc, Brands which fit the projected image of the corporate golf world.
Here's a prediction....his image among younger consumers will go from Boring Robot who plays perfectly and says nothing of interest other than the odd expletive of frustration on the course to Cool Guy, and you'll see some big new slightly edgier brand endorsements in the pipeline.
Looking objectively at it, it is not a surprise and he shouldn't be damned for his situation. He'll be back and maybe we'll all like him a little more as he's proved he is actually human after all.
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Twenty20 Cricket World Cup
I attended my first ever Twenty20 Cricket match last night as I took The Boy and two friends to see England take on the might of Holland at Lord's.
As a rule I am always suspicious of 'versions' of a game, e.g. Soccer Sixes, Rugby 7s as it's never quite the same as the real thing.
For cricket with its complexity, nuances and subtleties, I will make an exception, this was fantastic.
Despite the rain which forced the abandonment of the opening ceremony, which was no big disaster other than missing the lovely Alesha, the game was a fantastic night out.
Only 240 balls, all over in a three hour window, excellent big screen communication, music an integral part of the event that had fans of all ages shapes and sizes singing and bopping along, edge of the seat last ball drama as England suffered one of their most ignominious cricketing defeats ever (BBC.co.uk) and a supereb atmosphere as the large Dutch contingent partied and brought their brilliant Orange sporting gusto to the Home of Cricket.
The only blackspot was the exhorbitant pricing on Food and Drink......Pepsico are a tournamnent sponsor...are they happy at Pepsi at £2 and crisps at £1.10?????
we'll be back for more Twenty20.....with a picnic hamper
As a rule I am always suspicious of 'versions' of a game, e.g. Soccer Sixes, Rugby 7s as it's never quite the same as the real thing.
For cricket with its complexity, nuances and subtleties, I will make an exception, this was fantastic.
Despite the rain which forced the abandonment of the opening ceremony, which was no big disaster other than missing the lovely Alesha, the game was a fantastic night out.
Only 240 balls, all over in a three hour window, excellent big screen communication, music an integral part of the event that had fans of all ages shapes and sizes singing and bopping along, edge of the seat last ball drama as England suffered one of their most ignominious cricketing defeats ever (BBC.co.uk) and a supereb atmosphere as the large Dutch contingent partied and brought their brilliant Orange sporting gusto to the Home of Cricket.
The only blackspot was the exhorbitant pricing on Food and Drink......Pepsico are a tournamnent sponsor...are they happy at Pepsi at £2 and crisps at £1.10?????
we'll be back for more Twenty20.....with a picnic hamper
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Are Governments who now own banks starting to dictate marketing spending policy?
Governments who own banks now starting to dictate marketing spend policy?
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5860950.ece this is inevitable as governments who have bailed out banks and other financial institutions baulk as much on sports marketing spend as they do on bankers bonuses...
two sides to every story, taken in isolation the numbers can look big and some of the spend can look fluffy especially the B2B focussed sports deals that engage with small ( but highly targeted groups of clients), but that's part of the mix of where and how business gets done
These industries also have a dynamic and a model that depends on incentives and rewards..eg insurance sales, I know from personal experience the massive revenue generation opportunities around incentivising an Asian sales force with a trip to an English Premier League football match, serious millions of dollars of brand new, identifiable and measurable revenues.
Governments need to monitor the taxpayers investment BUT they also have to allow businesses to engage with their stakeholdrs in ways that deliver results. The biggest impact going forward apart from cancellation and non renewal of current deals will be the need for rightsholders and agencies to have 100% cast iron cases in pitching to this sector.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5860950.ece this is inevitable as governments who have bailed out banks and other financial institutions baulk as much on sports marketing spend as they do on bankers bonuses...
two sides to every story, taken in isolation the numbers can look big and some of the spend can look fluffy especially the B2B focussed sports deals that engage with small ( but highly targeted groups of clients), but that's part of the mix of where and how business gets done
These industries also have a dynamic and a model that depends on incentives and rewards..eg insurance sales, I know from personal experience the massive revenue generation opportunities around incentivising an Asian sales force with a trip to an English Premier League football match, serious millions of dollars of brand new, identifiable and measurable revenues.
Governments need to monitor the taxpayers investment BUT they also have to allow businesses to engage with their stakeholdrs in ways that deliver results. The biggest impact going forward apart from cancellation and non renewal of current deals will be the need for rightsholders and agencies to have 100% cast iron cases in pitching to this sector.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)