The Haka: A brand evolution case study

If any brand manager ever wanted an example of why it is important to constantly evolve and improve their brand, they need look no further than the New Zealand Haka.

Today the Haka is performed with such passion and ferocity that intimidated opposition constantly seek ways to respond to it else they enter the game a nervous wreck.

Some have tried advancing on the New Zealand team, while last weekend the Welsh players stood motionless and just starred them down. It was probably the best response I can recall and I hope England are working on a game plan for this weekend.

But the Haka wasn’t always so scary. Just take a look at this priceless effort from 1973...

Stop bloody showing off!

The Sun has had a poster ad gloating about Britain’s success over Australia in Beijing banned for using the word 'bloody' .

The ad in question was a play on the Australian Tourist Board’s ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’, and asked Aussies ‘Where the bloody hell were you?’

I’m glad the ad got banned – not because I think particularly agree the ad was offensive but simply because our gloating has a pretty nasty habit of coming back to haunt us.

Maybe if we hadn’t spend so long gloating about our rugby team’s RWC win in 2003 we wouldn’t currently be on the wrong end of record thumpings. And what happened after all our showing off after the Ashes in 2005? We went down to Australia 18-months later and got whitewashed!

Let’s just hope we don’t get our comeuppance in four year’s time in our own back yard…

The equestrian world's answer to Twenty20

As modern attention spans shorten, abbreviated versions of sports have come into the market with mixed success.

Last weekend was spent in Wolverhampton watching some quickfire darts – it was a triumph (and at £10 a ticket something I would recommend during the credit crunch).

Twenty20 cricket is another success, while rugby sevens has never quite pulled in the crowds I think it ought to.

Now it’s the turn of another sport to launch an abbreviated version in a bid to win broader appeal – Eventing.

The world’s top 20 riders face off with the winner bagging £100,000 – the rest split £150,000 between them.

There’s also a celebrity jump-off which sees the debut of socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson at an indoor equestrian event at the Millennium Stadium where she takes on Jodie Kidd. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Arlene Phillips are also there.

At £35-45 a ticket I won’t be making another road trip this weekend. And although the Stamford Cup proved chucking a load of money at players doesn’t guarantee a great spectacle the weekend’s event could be one to watch for luxury brands looking for something new.

Anyway, here’s a cheesy picture of Tara preparing for the event…

Phelps ditches Big Mac for foot-long, while Wilkinson drop goal named greatest moment

BBC favourite Michael Phelps has ditched his ties with fast food giant McDonalds for umm fast food giant Subway.

In the US the addition of Phelps gives subway an all star sporting roster to match that of pretty much any sports brand. NBA all-star Tony Parker, Boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali, baseball player Reggie Bush and NFL footballer Michael Strahan all endorse the brand.

Through gritted teeth no doubt, Heidi Barker of McDonalds said: ‘As a top Olympics sponsor, we wish Michael and all the Olympics athletes the best in their future endeavors.’

 

Back home, Sport Magazine today celebrates its 100^th issue by publishing a list of its 100 greatest sporting moments.

I have to admit, the prospect of Sport Magazine coming to London in 2007 hardly filled me with a sense of great anticipation.

Given the amount of sporting press coverage we already have in this country and having read the cr*p printed in other London free papers yet another magazine clogging up the Underground sounded like a step too far.

But since then the title, which won ‘Launch of the Year’ at the 2007 British Society of Magazine Editors awards, has managed to achieve standout in the very congested world of sports journalism.

It has also attracted blue-chip advertisers, such as Adidas, Nike, Lloyds TSB, Sony PlayStation, O2 and Ford, which is testament to the quality of the title and the appetite of Londoners for sport. It all bodes well for 2012.

Here’s Sport Magazine’s top 5…

1. Jonny Wilkinson, 2003, RWC Final drop goal
2. England win the 1966 world cup final
3. Sir Steve Redgrave wins 5^th Olympic Gold in Athens 2004
4. Liverpool win the 2005 Champions League
5. England regain the Ashes 2005

Let me know what you think?

Betfair hoping to join great goal celebrations

Over the years there have been some memorable goal celebrations which are remembered long after anyone can recall the goal itself.

Today, we hear that Betfair is offering Premiership footballers the chance to pocket £10k Christmas bonus for doing the ‘world’s first commercial goal celebration'.

Betfair is promoting TaiKai – a new football prediction game – and will give £10k to the first Premiership footballer who celebrates a goal with the dance which begins in the famous Karate Kid Crane pose, followed by a kick and then some Karate chops to spell out the T and K of TaiKai.

The company has already issued a step-by-step guide to every Premier League footballer, agent and club.

Among my personal favourites are Peter Crouch’s ‘Robot’, the Klinsmann dive, the Brazil ’94 team’s cradle rocking celebration and Francesco Totti taking over the television camera to film the fans celebrating his goal during the Roma/Lazio derby is a special one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6LaHVO1FJs

Some celebrations are dreadful. Sucking your thumb (Tevez and Robinho) or sssshing the opposing fans are two ways of looking a total numpty. And some have been just plain tasteless – Mark Bosnich's Nazi salute at Tottenham was despicable and earlier this month David Norris of Ipswich Town was fined for making a ‘handcuffs’ gesture apparently in support of ex-Plymouth keeper Luke McCormick - jailed following the deaths of two children while drink driving.

So which are the best and worst goal celebrations of all time?

O2 shows the way

The economic downturn has put the spotlight on sponsorships ability to deliver genuine ROI like never before.

So, a deal that really caught my eye recenlty was O2's decision to sponsor the Academy music venues as well as any Live Nation event.

O2 has always sweated every drop from its assets and this latest deal adds breadth to its existing offering within music. As a music fan I may not switch my mobile operator simply due to priority ticketing and a free pint at one venue, The O2.

But if the same benefits apply not only to The O2 but also to the Wireless festivals, all 11 Academy venues and for that matter all Live Nation events it would certainly be tempting.

Racism is never a ‘bit of a joke’, Bernie

According to Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone the racist abuse of Lewis Hamilton in the build up to last weeks Grand Prix finale was ‘a bit of a joke’. And he could not see ‘why people should have been offended by it’.