Football Partnerships

By Biff Tannen

It’s just media. It’s not the Wild West
-Chris Toy

Of everything that was discussed at TWEET! Blowing the Whistle on Social Media, I found Chris Toy’s Wild West quote to be the most salient.

Toy’s notion explained that, as the chaos of the Internet age begins to wane, people will no longer utilize the web to randomly search. They will know the three or four sites that they need to gather the information they desire. It is all about getting your content in the right place and utilizing social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to cheaply go after the demographic you want to consume your product.

Often we get ahead of ourselves when distinguishing the difference between “social,” “digital,” “advanced” and “new” from “old,” “print” and “traditional.” At the end of the day the content is virtually the same: It’s just about putting it in the hands of the people you are trying to reach.

Here’s a quick look at the other speakers on the panel:

-Amanda Vandervort, Web Coordinator for Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), provided insight into WPS and their efforts in utilizing social media, including amongst the players and general managers, to give fans inside access to every aspect of the league.

The belief that social media can drive a grassroots campaign, when executed correctly, is something that President Obama and his Blue States Digital team proved during the most recent election.

Social media has become a necessary function in reaching the masses for little to no cost. WPS’ “recommendation” that players and GMs tweet will allow each fan of WPS feel more involved, more connected to their favorite club.

Isn’t that what we all want as fans?

Chris Schlosser, Director of Digital Strategy at Major League Soccer (MLS), discussed some of the challenges in bringing MLS’ website in house. Schlosser also discussed the importance of building fans of teams. At the end of the day, fans are supporters of local teams – not leagues. As MLS’ continues to grow it will find new ways to engage the local market and will push for more interactive fan discussion during streaming games and webcasts.

Greg Lalas, Editor of Goal.com and host of MLSnet Extratime, provided insight on increasing readership, page views and building a soccer community through content and expansive coverage.

Overall, the event was a worthwhile gathering. It provided a lot of inside information into what various organizations at different stages of development are doing to spread the word.

By alex kotler

Maybe I’m delusional, and maybe it’s just my sugar high from the 14 miniature Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups and the 17 miniature Kit-Kat bars that I ingested in rapid succession, but I think Monday night Tim McCarver showed me what is vitally missing in the broadcast – and ultimately the spread – of soccer in America.

For those unfamiliar with America’s pastime, Tim McCarver is a retired catcher, a two-time world champion with the St. Louis Cardinals and currently a color commentator for Major League Baseball on Fox Sports.

Like any loyal NY Yankees fan I tuned in to Monday’s television broadcast of our possible World Series title-clinching game against the Philadelphia Phillies. However, unlike many of my fellow Yankee supporters, I do not have television so I parked myself on a friend’s couch to watch in high definition on his plasma screen.

The Yanks had AJ Burnett on the mound and he wasn’t up to the task. His curve ball wasn’t breaking and his fastball wasn’t burning and Chase Utley, the Phillies’ second baseman, figured him out early and drilled a three-run home run over the right field fence to give Philadelphia a lead that they never relinquished.

My epiphany, if it’s fair to call the realization such, happened when McCarver made a distinction between Burnett and his Phillies’ counterpart Cliff Lee’s grip on the baseball. Using still-frame footage, McCarver showed how both pitchers’ mechanics differed in the delivery of their pitches and effectively conveyed why Lee was having more success. It was educational and provided the enrichment – the smallest of lessons – that brought me closer to the game of baseball for the shortest of moments.

Perhaps what I see in baseball and American football – where color analysts literally draw on screen and use graphics to illustrate points - is already happening in soccer and the highlights I catch on Footytube simply omit these teaching moments. Maybe the color commentators on ESPN or Fox Soccer Channel or Setanta or GolTV are freeze-framing Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kicks and pointing out – and using physics to explain – why the combination of his placement of the still ball, his approach, and the movement of his body and point of impact lead to the deceitful trajectory that fools keepers and makes fans and foes respect his talent equally.

Or maybe not.

Rather than critiquing the broadcast of the sport, because networks are only now learning how to build and retain soccer-devoted audiences, I am merely suggesting that on-camera talent consider incorporating these type of teaching moments into their repertoires.

But soccer doesn’t have long periods of inactivity like American football, baseball, basketball or hockey.

True. These sports have commercial breaks and huddles and timeouts and referee/umpire evaluations during which to make these instructive demonstrations. There are, however, pauses in the action, injuries and altercations, during which time audiences would be better served by showing how and why the sweeping motion of David Beckham’s right leg launched a perfectly-placed swirling cross onto the head of one of his LA Galaxy teammates.

And, if not in the midst of the action, then during the intermission when proper analysis is taking place. If marketed properly, it could even represent a sponsorship opportunity for global brands (ie, “This teaching moment brought to you by…”).

Regardless of the commercial impact, I am of the opinion that the implementation of such practices could lead to a more educated consumer who not only knows which players and teams are the best, but why. More, it’s an American broadcasting technique that fans are accustomed to, enjoy and could help communicate the subtleties of the beautiful game to those that have never played it or don’t quite get it.

To borrow lingo from our friends who play on the diamond (instead in such a formation), such an idea – to me – would be a home run.

By Alex Kotler

This is the story of what I did with $1,185 that I didn’t have.

We begin at the end, where I obligate myself to pay said amount to another party in return for what I will share in the paragraphs below.

First, to put the amount in perspective. It’s more than I pay per month in rent for an apartment in a neighborhood that I’d rather not call home. It’s more than I would need to furnish the common area in that apartment with a dining room table, a kitchen countertop, storage and appliances and a coffee table to mate with my sofa – the one piece of furniture in the common area. And, it’s close to what I would have to pay a broker to find another empty living space – elsewhere – so that I could hightail it out of my current digs.

It’s also about the same amount of money as a:

Kashmar Persian carpet, or a
Glenna Jean nursery room set, or a
Circle Y Western Show horse saddle, or a
Meade LXD75 SN-8AT Schmidt-Newtonian Telescope, or a
40-ton Nugier hydraulic press on eBay.

And, less ridiculously (or, more practically):

One year’s worth of unlimited NYC Metrocards, or
Two tailored suits with matching ensemble, or
Four months of groceries at Trader Joes, or
Dinner for two at Daniel where I let my date choose the wine without conscience, or
Regular haircuts at salons, so that I look more like Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven than in 12 Monkeys, and you get the point.

So what did I buy?

Two season tickets in Section 125 at Red Bull Arena (as if the images didn’t already give it away).

Why, especially after a dreadful season, when I can get press seats or call in favors to see the matches for free?

Two reasons: (1) It’s good business and (2) it’s good for business.

(1) With these seats I can invite guests or gift the tickets to my clients who are non-ticket holders or who are in from out of town.

Together (or separately) we may evaluate how the franchise and the league overall are learning from the outside, implementing from previous practices and developing methods as applicable to the local market in new environs.

As observers, we may evaluate the atmosphere and the matchday experience. We may see how traffic is handled. We may determine whether the marketing of merchandise is done effectively. We may gain insight into how the organization’s partners are extracting value from commercial relationships and over time assess whether such opportunities are viable. And, along with a host of other things, we may scout players and draw conclusions (or suppositions) as to how the talent is being recruited and managed by the on-field performance.

Hence, it’s good business because it represents an investment in myself and in my company and also provides a tangible means for demonstrating, what I consider to be, good business etiquette.

(2) Purchasing season tickets – and prime seats at that – is good for business because it represents a direct investment in Major League Soccer. My contribution, no matter that it equates to roughly a game’s worth of wages for a single player on the squad, gives me the satisfaction in knowing that I am doing my (little) part to build and shape the infrastructure of North American soccer.

More, having these tickets strengthens my relationships with the New York Red Bulls organization and with my clients, each being more inclined to work with me if I continue to support the former and provide the latter with a Major League Soccer experience. Also, by virtue of investing in premium seats, I am subtedly linking my brand with the prestige and value attributed to the ticket prices.

So that it’s known, I don’t get paid by the New York Red Bulls – or anyone else for that matter – to encourage the purchase of Major League Soccer, or any other domestic or foreign league, tickets. It is simply my opinion that having season tickets is an investment that will pay a return far in excess of the principal $1,185.

The only downside that I see is that I will have to wait until next year to buy that 40-ton Nugier hydraulic press.

By Alex Kotler

Does social networking lead to higher consumer adoption rates? Are football-related businesses seeing a return on investment for social media initiatives? Are consumers more inclined to buy merchandise if a soccer star tweets on Twitter?

Answers to these questions and many more are set to be answered in Football Partnerships’ Soccer & Social Media Survey, prepared in collaboration with EFG Interactive/MV2 Group, the market research arm of the European Football Group.

The 5-7 minute survey polls soccer fans on their social media usage practices, their preferred networks and the extent to which their buying habits are influenced by their involvement in specific online platforms.

With the assistance of skip logic, the same study is applied to soccer industry professionals who are asked how they approach social networking initiatives, what their objectives are and how much their companies are spending to participate in, or maintain their own, social media platforms.

“Perhaps I am being overly-optimistic,” said Football Partnerships founder Alex Kotler, “but we are anticipating some fascinating – possibly groundbreaking – results.”

Contingent upon the representativeness and statistical significance of the findings, the results will be analyzed and prepared into, what hopes to be, an early but authoritative report on soccer and social media.

As incentive for participation Football Partnerships has offered all participants an executive summary of the report (to appeal to industry professionals) as well as three $100 gift certificates to UPPER 90 Soccer + Sport (to appeal to fans).

Initial findings will be revealed at Football Partnerships event, TWEET! Blowing the Whistle on Social Media, an exclusive discussion panel taking place November 5th at Major League Soccer headquarters in New York City. Expert panelists include Greg Lalas, Editor of Goal.com Magazine, Chris Schlosser, Director of Digital Strategy at Soccer United Marketing, Chris Toy, Creator of football comic Studs Up and Amanda Vandervort, Web Coordinator at Women’s Professional Soccer. Alex Kotler will serve as moderator.

Serving as partners for TWEET! Blowing the Whistle on Social Media are the European Football Group, Soccer Interactive and UPPER 90 Soccer + Sport.

For additional information on TWEET! Blowing the Whistle on Social Media, please click here.

To participate in the soccer and social media survey, please click here.

By Fabian Banchiero

The second annual Leaders in Football conference, held this past October 7-8 in London at Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge, labeled as the international business summit for all senior executives in the world of football, was – for me – just that.

An amalgamation of three mini conventions, the Football Leaders Summit, focusing on the vision and experience of the football industry’s top executives; the Brand Leaders Summit, spotlighting the world’s most innovative and successful brands; and the Leaders in Performance Summit, concentrating on the identification, measurement and management of sporting talent, Leaders in Football is two non-stop days full of football-business pomp and circumstance.

Keynote speakers included the crème de la crème of the industry, such as Sir David Richards, Jack Warner, Lord Triesman, Don Garber, Danny Jordaan, Sunil Gulati, Lord Mawhinney, Tim Leiweke, Andy Roxburgh, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Andy Anson, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, and Richard Bevan - just to scratch the surface.

As a football nutter and a first-time LiF’er, I found the majority of panels intriguing and relevant, particularly – given my business in the financial industry – topics like the wealth gap between professional clubs and football in the global recession. Despite the names and numbers and brands bandied about, for me, the presenters from football’s nether regions – like Trinidad and Tobago – stole the show.

I refer mainly to showstopper Jack Warner, President of CONCACF, who kicked off the conference and virtually kicked England’s 2018 FIFA World Cup bid out of the competition. Coming in studs up, Warner called out England for its lackluster effort and “divine” sense of entitlement. “England,” he said, “it’s time to stop crawling and start galloping.”

Mr. Warner went as far as to criticize England’s presence – or lack thereof – at the conference, leading to gasps from the audience and ripples of nodding heads. He also discussed broadcasting rights, salary caps, grassroot efforts, player vacations, coaching education, and the future impact of technology on the game itself – but, after effectively ruling England out of the running, no English ears could have really heard the rest.

This caused a dynamic shift in the next series of panels as Lord Mawhinney, Lord Triesman, Richard Bevan, and Andy Anson, CEO of England’s World Cup 2018 bid, made attempts to get the England campaign off its knees and back on its feet. Although many in the media saw differently, as an outsider, I felt that the Britons respectfully took Warner’s comments on the chin and that they will apply the constructive criticism toward improving the bid.

Closer to home, another outstanding panel included Americans Sunil Gulati and Tim Leiweke, who tackled working through the global recession. The give-and-go between Gulati and Leiweke was not only informative but entertaining - especially when Leiweke threw his support to England over the United States for 2018.

A last panel mention, that of Building Sponsorship Value and the Customer Experience at the Brand Leaders Summit, included Brett Yormark, CEO of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets basketball team. Mr. Yormark’s presentation was enlightening and demonstrated why more Americans – with backgrounds outside of soccer - are being hired by Premier League teams to revitalize their sponsorship and marketing programs.

In between the panels, delegates had the opportunity to network and form new and exciting business relationships. I attended all the speed networking sessions, and though I met some prospective partners I felt more could be done to improve the experience. That said, the attractive ladies managing the session made it easier to overlook its shortcomings and helped facilitate some meetings on the fly.

As for the exhibition hall, blinking lights, flashing signs, samples and demonstrations all soaked up my senses. For all the bells and whistles, though, I felt that technology vendors dominated which I found less useful than a greater presence by clubs and football federations.

In summary, Leaders in Football was money well spent, in terms of education, networking and entertainment. I look forward to next year’s event, fresh off of the FIFA 2010World Cup – especially if Jack Warner is handed a microphone.

Fabian Banchiero is a sports consultant specializing in Latin American football and owner of Banchiero Sports Enterprises LLC based in New York.