Interesting piece of news today on www.lequipe.fr....the FC Barcelona, employer of David Villa, have banned him from releasing a commercial he shot with EAS some time ago. Why? Because they are very cautious about what image their players convey. And the impact it would have on the club's image. The link here David Villa kicks it bad.
Here we are : the modern gladiator, the football ( sorry I cannot get used to that soccer thing!) player think he can get away with murder and gets caught the hands in the cookie jar. Seriously, David, what were you THINKING?!
Truth is, FC Barcelona have just prevented a marketing "black swan"...
Many contemporary marketers, for lack of ideas, will monetize ( what a bad word ) the supposed moral / ethical / emotional attributes of professional sportsmen-women and seek to turn them into brand assets. Along the lines of "champions with standards know that my " ( insert your product ) " is what they need to perform. So it must be good for you, kiddo / lady / macho man"....and then the whole thing will collapse at regular intervals. Very much like Nassim Nicolas Taleb's black swans ( as defined on wikipedia : unexpected events of large magnitude and consequence and their dominant role in history. Such events, considered extreme outliers, collectively play vastly larger roles than regular occurrences . read the book, it is brilliant ).
The Magic with black swans is that they WILL happen. And most probably when you dont expect them....Examples are aplenty , especially for us French fans.
Our biggest football star, ...EVER...., head buts an italian bandit in the finals of the world Cup 2006. The finals, dumbo. The one event more televised than the birth of the heir to the english and japanese crowns united. In one head-but, millions spent on yogurt and water advertising are thrown through the window. Even though the French are still debating the case because the bandito had actually insulted the guy's sister. But if you sell yogurt and water to my mum, it really does not matter. Zidane is off and sent into penitence for a few years.
4 years later, our football players go on strike ( yes, we French people love to go on strike ), during the world cup ( yes, we also love to screw up things very publicly ). That is, after some of the leaders of the team had been sued for having sex with an underage lingerie model. Hu...sponsorship deals anyone? More yogurts and spring water ?
To top it all, the captain of our national handball team, double olympic gold medallist, double world champion, etc,...decides to put some butter in his spinach by betting ...against his own club team for one of the last game of the season - because they had already won the championship anyway. But because he knows he is not even allowed to bet FOR his own team, let alone against, he asked his girlfriend to do it for him so that he is legally safe ( sweet and smart ze French ). And he will probably...but without the yogurt and the spring water deals.
I am not saying the French are all bad. Nor that the ypgurt and spring water guys are thick. And i stay away from mentioning Lance Armstrong to avoid being sued. I am saying sports heroes are not always an easy way to invest your marketing monies. And a significant proportion might even be black swans in waiting.
Just talk to the folks at Nike, they have become brilliant at handling crisis management. Now, here is another thing one can admire with Nike..they stick with their guys, no matter what, in a very sporty way. Kind of us guys understand each other. They stick with Lebron, with Tiger, with Lance ( even though very discreetly these days, please do not sue me). Because they know sportsmen are more gladiators than gurus. And that their business is "panem and circuses" ( bread and circus ) not the League of Virtue. Does it mean than Nike has no morality. For sure not. But their brand message is clearly dissociated from the performance messages "their" modern day heroes champions help them convey so that they do not only rely on champs to sell you the fantasy that you body is a temple. And when they want to communicate their values, they portray...you and me! Which would indicate that they have thought it through before they sign those contracts. Its a strategy, not an opportunity.
I have now lauded Nike twice in 2 weeks. It might be time to return to my real work! And let me develop the most brilliant sports strategy my employer has ever seen.
Good night and good luck
Here we are : the modern gladiator, the football ( sorry I cannot get used to that soccer thing!) player think he can get away with murder and gets caught the hands in the cookie jar. Seriously, David, what were you THINKING?!
Truth is, FC Barcelona have just prevented a marketing "black swan"...
Many contemporary marketers, for lack of ideas, will monetize ( what a bad word ) the supposed moral / ethical / emotional attributes of professional sportsmen-women and seek to turn them into brand assets. Along the lines of "champions with standards know that my " ( insert your product ) " is what they need to perform. So it must be good for you, kiddo / lady / macho man"....and then the whole thing will collapse at regular intervals. Very much like Nassim Nicolas Taleb's black swans ( as defined on wikipedia : unexpected events of large magnitude and consequence and their dominant role in history. Such events, considered extreme outliers, collectively play vastly larger roles than regular occurrences . read the book, it is brilliant ).
The Magic with black swans is that they WILL happen. And most probably when you dont expect them....Examples are aplenty , especially for us French fans.
Our biggest football star, ...EVER...., head buts an italian bandit in the finals of the world Cup 2006. The finals, dumbo. The one event more televised than the birth of the heir to the english and japanese crowns united. In one head-but, millions spent on yogurt and water advertising are thrown through the window. Even though the French are still debating the case because the bandito had actually insulted the guy's sister. But if you sell yogurt and water to my mum, it really does not matter. Zidane is off and sent into penitence for a few years.
4 years later, our football players go on strike ( yes, we French people love to go on strike ), during the world cup ( yes, we also love to screw up things very publicly ). That is, after some of the leaders of the team had been sued for having sex with an underage lingerie model. Hu...sponsorship deals anyone? More yogurts and spring water ?
To top it all, the captain of our national handball team, double olympic gold medallist, double world champion, etc,...decides to put some butter in his spinach by betting ...against his own club team for one of the last game of the season - because they had already won the championship anyway. But because he knows he is not even allowed to bet FOR his own team, let alone against, he asked his girlfriend to do it for him so that he is legally safe ( sweet and smart ze French ). And he will probably...but without the yogurt and the spring water deals.
I am not saying the French are all bad. Nor that the ypgurt and spring water guys are thick. And i stay away from mentioning Lance Armstrong to avoid being sued. I am saying sports heroes are not always an easy way to invest your marketing monies. And a significant proportion might even be black swans in waiting.
Just talk to the folks at Nike, they have become brilliant at handling crisis management. Now, here is another thing one can admire with Nike..they stick with their guys, no matter what, in a very sporty way. Kind of us guys understand each other. They stick with Lebron, with Tiger, with Lance ( even though very discreetly these days, please do not sue me). Because they know sportsmen are more gladiators than gurus. And that their business is "panem and circuses" ( bread and circus ) not the League of Virtue. Does it mean than Nike has no morality. For sure not. But their brand message is clearly dissociated from the performance messages "their" modern day heroes champions help them convey so that they do not only rely on champs to sell you the fantasy that you body is a temple. And when they want to communicate their values, they portray...you and me! Which would indicate that they have thought it through before they sign those contracts. Its a strategy, not an opportunity.
I have now lauded Nike twice in 2 weeks. It might be time to return to my real work! And let me develop the most brilliant sports strategy my employer has ever seen.
Good night and good luck
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