Brand Ng

IMG 50th Anniversary Ad Campaign: "To More Great Moments"

Click on the image to enlarge

IMG officially turned 50 in 2011 and we developed an ad campaign around the anniversary.

As is typical for us, we only ran these ads in sports business publications, so I thought I'd share some of the campaign here.

We decided that the campaign should be about great moments made possible by IMG, with a nod that we will continue to power these moments well into the future.   We didn't want to focus solely on the historic winning plays most often remembered by fans, because we felt that we should also celebrate the sometimes-forgotten ones: a half-time tradition, a turning point in an exhibition game, a steely glare, a split second decision.

Our "great moments" are plentiful: IMG is the company that is credited with creating the sports marketing industry, while adding fashion and other categories over the years.  Throughout its five decades, IMG has developed, owned and supported--in every conceivable way--important events around the world. 

The copy from the anthem ad reads:

 

There are big moments, played under bright lights and in extreme close-up.
And there are little moments that sneak up on us.

There’s the moment right before — when no one knows what will happen.
And there’s the moment right after — when no one believes that it did.

We remember the losing moments, which test devotions. And the winning ones,
which renew them. If there was only the one kind and not the other, then there’d be
no reason to watch.

For 50 years, IMG has dedicated itself to these singular instances in time.
And while it’s difficult to measure precisely when one moment begins or ends,
we know for certain there are countless more to come.

IMG at 50 years. To more great moments.

 

My team for this campaign includes Chris Sweet, Jeff Feng, Christie Kim, Ted Vergakis and others. As always, our ad briefs were a product of IMG ICON Engineering, the process we created to manage sports and fashion brands. 

 

Click on any ad to enlarge

 

 

 

Manchu Wok sign in ORD is a slam dunk winner

For you travelers this Thanksgiving / Black Friday weekend:

My favorite airport advertising backdrop is in ORD/Chicago O'Hare.  At the Manchu Wok, there's a lighted sign with a guy in a Manchu Wok uniform about to make a monsterous slam dunk.  

At first blush, it doesn't seem to make much sense, but the player is actually an anthropomorphized fortune cookie.  The cookie's paper fortune extends, serving as a tongue, MJ-style.  The result: a 3-item combination of chinese food, sports and local lore.  Nice.

Mike Commodore should have chosen to wear #64

Mike Commodore, an NHL player who signed in the offseason with the Detroit Red Wings, turned down an invitation to wear the number 64, which would have resulted in a jersey reading "Commodore 64."  

As a person who routinely deals with the business problem of increasing celebrity value, I would have advocated that Commodore take the number.* 

Sure, it's a bit punny, but Commodore had plenty of reasons and excuses to wear it:

IT WAS POSSIBLE AND THERE WAS DEMAND FOR IT

1. Commodore initially floated the idea himself
2. Puck Daddy, the Yahoo Sports Hockey Blog, pledged a $64 donation to the charity of Commodore's choice, with an invitation to fans to follow suit.  Over 100 people signed up.  That's a very good number of avid fans putting their money where their mouths are--and almost certainly represents thousands of other fans.**
3. The Red Wings were open to the idea

IT WOULD HAVE CREATED OPTION VALUE FOR COMMODORE

1. While Commodore is a 10 year veteran, he is not a particularly high-profile player.  The recall from wearing a pun jersey would have increased his visibility dramatically, especially for an avid, nostalgic crowd that might not even be hockey fans.  Wearing 64 would have been good for Hockey and good for him.
2. A higher profile would allow for a greater number of future options for Commodore, especially in the areas of endorsements, broadcasting, entrepreneurial endeavors and more.
3. It is a differentiator--and a positive one (sense of humor)--with low to no risk.  It sets him apart from a sea of sameness.

Of course, Commodore may have had many reasons not to wear 64.  He's a millionaire many times over, and probably would have had to hear endless sniping on the ice.  And maybe he doesn't want the added publicity/distraction, or perhaps he didn't want to give a free endorsement.  But from a pure business point of view, for a player in the latter half of his career, it would seem that this was an expensive choice to make.

Oh well. Perhaps Wyshynski and co will now focus on trying to get Michael Vick to switch to #20 instead.

 

* I do not work with Commodore and have never spoken with  him.
** Commodore will match these $64 donations (if people are still willing to give) to a charity to be named later. Cool.

Does using Groupon cannibalize traditional ticket sales?

At IMG, we tested the waters with Groupon, and thanks to the yeoman surveying efforts of Scott Corbus, we have some data about our buyers.  

We decided to sell an event ticket in a mid-to-large MSA at a Groupon discount of 50%.  We also offered a premium package with a backstage meet and greet.  

We then asked 3 yes/no questions at the stadium box office (the Groupon Will Call window), and each of the 119 respondents answered every question.  (119 only represented a small fraction of tickets sold through Groupon, through which we sold approximately 20% of all tickets).

We used Groupon because tickets are obviously are an expiring asset and we did not anticipate a sellout crowd.  However, we were afraid that it would cannibalize our general sales.  As we had hoped, the grand majority of Groupon buyers said that they would not have otherwise attended our event without a Groupon.

We were generally pleased with the results, even though the costs to use Groupon is very high. What's been your experience?

 

Data provided as inline text below (n=119):

Was the Groupon the first you’ve heard about the event this year?
56.30%               Yes
43.70%               No

Have you been to this event in the past?
54.62%               Yes
45.38%               No

Would you have attended this event without a Groupon?
22.69%               Yes
77.31%               No

World Series of Boxing launch: decisions on logo and brand positioning

The World Series of Boxing began today, coincidentally and luckily timed with the continuing lovefest for Manny Pacquiao.  AIBA, the global governing body for Olympic boxing, wanted to create a "new way forward" for their sport, and IMG was there to help.

My group's assignment was to develop the brand positioning and logo for the league* as well as a number of other elements, such as collateral and signage.  

The league is meant to provide sustainability for the national boxing federations that make up AIBA, while attempting to recapture the "nobility" of boxing and to promote fairness in the sport.

By creating a city-based/team-based league, the WSB would upend the nature of boxing promotion. For instance, with team scoring, there would be more emphasis on different weight classes. In this scenario, matches that might traditionally be seen as undercards could be as dramatic as the main event.

More importantly, by creating a team-based league, boxers would be "required" to fight on a schedule. Currently, professional boxers can often pick and choose who and when to fight, leading to (sometimes) unrealistic W-L records (eg. 20-0 or 25-1). Some view that as an artificial path to stardom and inaccurate rankings. The WSB will change the public perception of losses: even the best fighters won't likely be "undefeated."

Using ICON Engineering, we pushed forward the brand idea for the WSB as "The Truth in Boxing." It works internally as a rallying cry, embodying the mission of the league. It also puts the league in opposition to other professional boxing organizations, which AIBA believes, simply cannot be as credible as the new WSB.

For the logo, we advocated a concept that evoked longevity, credibility and professional sports. It also helped to visualize a competitor choosing from our options, and deciding whether or not we would be harmed by their hypothetical choice. In the end, our recommended concept was selected. 

The WSB, which launched on November 19, 2010, has teams in LA, Miami, Memphis, Mexico City, Paris, Milan, Istanbul, Moscow, Baku, Astana, Incheon and Beijing.

* While the name is "World Series of Boxing," it is organized as a league; my group was not involved in league naming.