Paddy Power Reaping the Rewards with Strong Online Marketing Focus

Irish bookmakers Paddy have today recorded impressive half year profits up 21% from last year to £54.5 million. Which was firmly thanks to an impressive taking at Euro 2012 in which the company took €78 million worth of bets over the three week tournament.

 The major coup of the tournament came for the company when Danish striker Nicklas Bendner dropped his shorts to reveal his lucky Paddy Power pants after scoring against Portugal.Unsurprisingly Paddy Power immediately tweeted images of the pants, and thus proving the most inspirational piece of ambush marketing at the tournament.

 Uefa promptly banned the Arsenal striker for one 2014 qualifying game and dished out a record €100,000 fine.Compare this to the two fines to the Spanish & Russian football associations for racism which totalled €50,000 and it just shows how the antics of the bookmaker riled the authorities with

 The record profits of this came down to the vision of Chief executive Patrick Kennedy who regards football tournaments as marketing opportunities. Which is strongly been developed by the companies marketing focus.

 This coming in the form of engaging Facebook & Twitter feeds, short punchy TV adverts (see below) and close to the bone marketing which often comes a cropper of the ASA. Paddy Power also have the envious reputation of the most complained advert of 2010 which this humble blog looked at previously which this humble blog looked at previously.

 

 However crucially the companies policy of embracing mobile has been key in the financial profits of the bookmakers. Paddy Power are the only book-maker who has mobile betting apps across all mobile formats, including Nokia & Blackberry.

 Last year Paddy Power said that 34% of it’s customer base where accessing the site using their mobile device. This is set to rise significantly over the next year, and with the companies engaging digital content it’s hard not to see a rise in profit for the flamboyant Irish bookmakers.

Rio and the £45k choc ice-Social media guidelines and the game’s growing corporate culture .

Rio Ferdinand may not have kicked a ball in anger this season but the Manchester United No.5’s season has begun with a £45k fine for a racially-themed exchange on Twitter. The FA slapped Ferdinand with the fine for responding to a Tweet that labelled Ashley Cole a ‘choc-ice’ despite not directly using that term to describe his former England teammate, see below.

Of course this exchange was referring to Cole’s defence of Chelsea teammate John Terry in a court case involving Ferdinand’s brother Anton.Of course this case crowned a plethora of legal issues involving social media in the Premier League last season, in fact it could be argued that it was the first social media season.

One other notable lowlight of the season was ex-professional player and sports broadcaster Stan Collymore receiving legal threats via Twitter during last season. Of course Ferdinand’s club manager Sir Alex Ferguson has publicly expressed his desire for none of his players to Tweet but in an age where players are brands in their own right, how realistic is this?

The FA too has drawn up guidelines on how players can use social media responsibly with Arsenal player Emmanuel Frimpong also facing charges of improper conduct charges under FA Rule, section E3, for remarks he made to a Tottenham Hotspur fan on Twitter.

Some have called this curb on players’ freedom to make their opinion’s known an attack on freedom of speech but in the professional era the rush to implement ‘codes of conduct’ is reflective of the growing corporate culture in the game.

By Ronan Shields. 

Premier League Preview.

After the excitement of the Olympics the Premier League kicks off all over again this weekend. The governing body for the league pocketed a cool £3bn in the latest TV sponsorship deal, a 71% rise from the last deal. This means an extra £14million per club, so naturally this summer was a busy one on the commercial front, with clubs signing deals with companies from Nigeria to Malaysia. So kick back, relax and hopefully enjoy TDF’s commercial round up (along with a nice league prediction!)

Arsenal

It’s been an interesting summer on the commercial front for Arsenal. The club have made tentative steps to the African market with sponsorship link ups with mobile phone provider Airtel & drink manufacturer Malt Guinness. Three members of the Arsenal team visited Nigeria in July after the club cancelled a string of pre season games in the west African nation. Coupled with a  whistle stop commercial tour of south Asia, including stop offs in China, Hong Kong & Malaysia.

The club also released a new home and away kit with long time kit supplier Nike. Undoubtedly the sponsorship headlines should go to Arsenal Danish striker Nicolas Bentner this summer, who was fined a record £80K for showing some of his Paddy Power pants during the Euro 2012 tournament.

TDF Prediction- 4th.


Aston Villa

For Aston Villa, it’s been a summer of change on a personnel and commercial level. Paul Lambert came in to save the club from the pain of Alex Mcleish’s ill fated tenor at the club. Commercially the club signed a record £15 million deal with Italian kit supplier Macron, which was surprisingly voted most stylish in lad’s mag Zoo earlier on in the year.

For preseason the club jetted off to the USA, and played a host of MLS sides including the Portland Timbers & The Chicago Fire. Although with the clubs owner Randy Learner based in the States, it’s no surprise that the Villains headed across the pond. Famous fan Tom Hanks also dropped in during the tour, to add some Castaway magic on proceedings.

TDF Prediction- 11th


Chelsea

The European Champions have had a major summer on & off the pitch, with the commercial team looking at the clubs first Champions league trophy as an ideal starting point to earn some extra money for the West London. First up the club signed a sponsorship deal with F1 Team Sauber, the phrase “Chelsea FC” will be embellished on the team’s car for the remainder of the Formula 1 season.

Secondly and interestingly the side signed an exclusive “Energy provider” deal with Russian energy supplier Gazprom. The multi billion-dollar company is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world. This deal would no doubt of came from Roman Abramovich, who sold his own company to the energy behemoth back in 2005. In tour news Chelsea headed out to the states, and faced a number of different MLS sides, including the MLS all-star side.

TDF Prediction- 2nd.


Everton

The Toffee’s are feeling flush at the moment, with  £12million from Jack Rodwell’s departure to Manchester City firmly in their back pocket. But commercially the club have had mixed fortunes.  The summer started well with the Merseyside club signing a 3 year exclusive kit sponsorship deal with Nike. The reported £30million deal will boost the clubs profile across the world and comes from the clubs link up with Kitbag.

The Blues did also miss out on a lucrative pay-day for a tour of Indonesia, which was pulled just before the squad was due to board the plane. The club where not completely convinced on the safety of the teams players, and rightly pulled out, however it would have been a fantastic opurtunity for the club to build it’s South-East Asian sponsorship, afterall they do have Thailand’s most popular beer Chang as principle kit sponsor for the last 4 seasons.

TDF Prediction- 9th

Fulham

Fulham had a relatively low-key summer in terms of sponsorship with Martin Jol’s men pottering about Europe with a three-match tour of Germany. Taking on Nice of France was the clubs glamour tie of the close season. In the transfer market the club scooped in on the free transfers of Hugo Rodellaga of Wigan, and former Hamburg striker Milan Petric. The deals could prove to be a handy bit of business of the West London side. Particularly when the club’s talismanic American Clint Dempsey is gartering the attention of many of the leagues top sides.

TDF Prediction- 13th


Liverpool

Another fascinating summer this year from Liverpool, underperforming boss “King” Kenny was pushed aside in favour of a younger leaner manager Brendan Rodgers of Swansea. Commercially the club has also been busy with deals signed with Warrior Sports & Chevrolet, whilst also consolidating deals with Carlsberg. Importantly controversial striker Luis Suarez has also been tied down to the club on a new contact extension keeping the Uruguayan to the club to the summer of 2017.

On Pre-season Liverpool headed over to North America, to further strengthen bonds with the American owners with a jaunt taking on the likes of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Roma and erm Spurs.  Liverpool are still in the process of rebuilding with Joe Allen & Fabio Borini the pick of the new recruits.

TDF Prediction-  5th

Manchester City

Newly crowned Champions Manchester City have been positively revealing this pre-season in there new status at the top table of English football. They have moved extensively to capture the best administrators the game has to offer, from Tom Glick as the club’s chief commercial offer from Derby County. Along with former Barca CEO Ferran Soriano the latest to be recruited to the Sky Blue revolution.

On pre-season tour duty the club travelled extensively in the summer season taking in friendlies in Malaysia, China, Germany, and Ireland. However the club’s social media presence has been extensive over this period documenting all the action through the club’s Facebook, Twitter & Youtube accounts.  In the transfer market the club has only secured the services of Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell for £12million.

TDF Prediction- 1st

Manchester United

The Red Devils underwent an extensive rebuilding process in the close season this year, refreshing the squad with the youthful talent in the form of Shinji Kagawa & Nick Powell. The recently signed Robin Van Persie will form a major addition to the squads strike force, as Sir Alex Ferguson looks to win his 20th Premier League title.

Commercially the club ranked the biggest sporting brand in the world by Forbes magazine had a busy close season. They firstly went on an extensive preseason tour taking in South Africa, Norway and China. All of which came from the help of DHS who are the club’s official logistics partner. Whilst also signing a record shirt sponsorship deal with car brand Chevrolet  for the 2013/2014 season. Whilst the club also floated on the New York stock for the first time, with the clubs initial public offering raising £149 million for the clubs owners the Glazer family.

TDF Prediction- 3rd.

Newcastle.

After exceeding all exeptions last season Newcastle will have a tough season ahead. They have strengthened sightly with youthful signings of Vurnon Anita along with repeatedly attempting to buy Lille full-back Mathieu Debuchy. The club has signed an extension with existing kit supplier Puma in the close season, with the geordie nation hopeful of an impressive 5th placed position like last season. Pre-season took in a tour of Germany, along with a shock 4-1 defeat to championship side Cardiff.

TDF Prediction-8th

Norwich

It’s been a close season of change in East Anglia for the Caneries. After an impressive season in the league after promotion from the Championship. Unsuprisingly manager Paul Lambert was snapped up in the close season by Aston Villa, but the club moved quickly to secure the service of Chris Houghton from Birmingham City.

Commercially the club signed a 4 year extension with principal sponsor Aviva, leaving the insurance firm sponsoring the club till 2016. During pre-season the club faced Ajax, Peterborough & MK Dons amongst others. Striker Grant Holt eventually signed a new contract with the club, despite interest from West Ham & Aston Villa.

TDF- Prediction- 16th



Queens Park Rangers.

After just surviving last season, QPR spent the season strengthening significantly. The club secured the services of Park Ji Sung from Manchester United, along with beating a host of clubs for the signature of Junior Hoilett from relegated Blackburn Rovers. In the close season, the squad headed to Malaysia to play a selection of local sides. Commercially the club just a signed a deal with Hong Kong based freight supplier ASR, who are now the west London club’s official logistics partner.

TDF-Prediction- 15th.

Reading.

Promoted as Champions Reading will have a tough time ajsuting to life in the Premier League. They have made some estute signings in the form of Pavel Pogrebnyak & former player Nickey Shorey. Commercially the club have new owners with Russian Anton Zingarevich taking charge of the club, from longtime owner John Majeski. Preseason involved a low key affair playing the likes of Bournemouth and a brief tour of Portugal.

TDF Prediction- 18th.

Southampton.

The Saints are back in the Premier League after eight years away, and will be looking  to the likes of Swansea, Norwich & Queens Park Rangers who all managed to stay in the league. The club have brought wisely capturing Jay Rodregez & Nathaniel Clyne from the Championship, preseason involved ties against Udinese & Ajax. With the club needing the goals of Ricky Lambert to keep the team up.

TDF Prediction- 20th


Stoke

The Potters have had a relatively low-key close season. The club have new shirt suppliers in the form of Bet 365. Whilst in the summer the club strengthened ties with the club’s community trust, which seeks to benefit the local community. In more bizarre commercial news celebrity chief Gino D’acampo visited the club to cook up some food for the fans during the summer. Michael Knightly has arrived from Wolves, along with American Defender Geoff Cameron from Houston Dynamos.

TDF Prediction- 14th

Sunderland

The black cat’s had a busy pre-season taking in a trip to South Korea to partake in the Peace cup. The club have been on the lookout for a striker with Stephen Fletcher of Wolves the prime target for Martin O’Neil. The club also have a new kit supplier in the form of Adidas, kit sponsor from Invest in Africa & signed a new ticket supplier deal with Stubhub UK. The club have also strengthened with the signing of free agent Loius Saha, who was formerly with Tottenham.

TDF Prediction- 6th.

Swansea

After a fantastic debut season in the Premier League, Swansea will have a mountain to climb, after manager Brendan Rodgers have left for Liverpool. New manager Michael Laudraup has brought extensively from La Liga, with midfielder Michu looking like a great bit of business for £2.2 million. Pre-season the club took on the likes of Stuttgart & Blackpool, and the club have a brand new kit from Adidas which has a rather lovely silver trim.

TDF Predictaion-12th

Tottenham.

Tottenham have a new manager in the form of the charismatic Andre Vilas Boas, who replaced Harry Redknapp in the summer. Whilst the club also signed up a new kit supplier with Under armour, who are making their first forays into the English game. Pre-season involved a tour of the United States, where they played Liverpool & LA Galaxy amongst others.

TDF Prediction- 7th.

West Bromwich Albion

New season, and a new manager for the the Baggies. After Roy Hodgeson had the call from the FA for the England job. Former Liverpool assistant Steve Clark  is stepping up into his first managerial role, the club have strengthened with Markus Rosenburg & Belgiun striker Romelu Lukaku joining the club. Commercially the club have a new kit sponsor in property website Zoopla.

TDF Prediction-19th

West Ham

Newly promoted West Ham will be looking to survive in the league.  Commercially the Irons have been looking to secure the Olympic stadium in Stratford as the club’s new home. Whilst the club have secured experienced goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, to replace the departed former England keeper Rob Green. The club have also maintained deals with kit supplier Macron, and Isobet, whilst the club had a pre-season tour of Germany.

TDF Prediction- 9th

Wigan

The latics have had a busy pre-season. Manager Roberto Martinez pledged his future to the club after initial interest from both Liverpool & Aston Villa. The club have signed a host of players from La Liga, including Striker Aruna Kone &  defender Ivan Ramis. Arsenal youngster Ryo Manici also makes up the squad, as Wigan to reverse the familiar old pattern of a relegation dog fight.

TDF Prediction-14th

Manchester City announce link up with ticket marketplace.

Manchester City, have announced that Europe’s leading online ticket marketplace, Viagogo, has become the club’s official ‘Ticket Exchange Partner’.

The service launching ahead of the 2012/13 season is the most unique within the Barclays Premier League and will provide Superbia and Platinum members with a quick, easy and legal way to re-sell football match tickets they cannot use to other City fans. The service will enable members that have spent their hard-earned money on a seasoncard to recoup the cost or make a small profit back for matches they cannot attend.

All Members also have the ability to purchase tickets that become available through the exchange scheme.  This ensures fans with, or who are on the waiting list for a seasoncard, receive priority tickets, thus enabling supporters to help one another. Through the partnership, supporters will have more opportunities to see their team play at the Etihad Stadium, ensuring more fans are in the stadium at kick-off to provide an electric atmosphere for all Barclays Premier League games.

Danny Wilson, Head of Sales and Service for Manchester City said:  “Demand for tickets and Memberships over the last couple of seasons has gone through the roof.  Our new partnership with viagogo is great news for both supporters who are occasionally unable to use their seasoncards and fans struggling to get a ticket to must-see games.  It’s another small step in providing our fans with a premium supporter service, which is flexible and great value.”

Edward Parkinson, from viagogo said: “We are proud to have another top Premier League side on board. The new service will reward seasoncard holders for unused tickets and help the club fill seats that may otherwise have been empty, ultimately providing a better atmosphere for fans and players.”

The deal is unique as that many Premier League clubs run many of there ticket exchange schemes internally to little external fan fare. The link up between viagogo & City seems to be a smart one, with the blue half of the Manchester. City are currently enjoying huge amounts of interest from home and abroad, thanks in part to a dramatic last gasp win of the Premier League last year. 

Liverpool announce Nokia App linkup.

Liverpool, fresh from the announcement of star striker Luis Suarez signing a new deal with the club also announced a new mobile phone app.The new features mean that Liverpool FC’s official app is still the best way to follow the club on a Nokia phone.

InfoMedia has developed the app for the Merseyside club, and will be developed with two clear models. Firstly a free app includes current and archived news, fixtures, results, league table positions, stadium / club information and player profiles. An enhanced, premium app also includes further options such as:

• Match Centre – minute by minute text commentary from every game, covering every development from goals and penalties to substitutions and bookings
• Exclusive club and player photos
• Video of the Week – for handsets that are compatible with video streaming - this includes highlights such as goals and exclusive interviews

Kathy Smith, mobile manager, Liverpool FC said: “We decided to develop for Nokia as we have such a large fan base in so many countries across the world.  Nokia handsets are massively popular in the territories where we have a large following.  We are really keen to reach the fans on the platforms they are using.”

Michael Tomlins, CEO, InfoMedia said: “Yet again, UK football clubs are leading the way when it comes to expanding consumer apps. It's clear that Liverpool FC understands that exploiting the diversity of platforms is a key channel in communicating its brand globally.”

InfoMedia has an established track record in apps for football clubs and delivering engaging apps and content to a huge array of platforms.The Northampton based company have created apps for the likes of Arsenal, Everton, Manchester United & Chelsea.