Sports Content Strategy with MrRichardClarke: Exploring sports content, journalism, digital and social media

In 2023, one-day cricket enjoyed its 60th birthday.

David Tossell has written a book on the evolution of the format. He describes those early days as “nicely naïve”. But, at the same time, they were the foundation for every major innovation in cricket ever since.

These days, the 50-over game is under an existential threat due to the rise of T20. Can it survive, is it worth saving and what would be its legacy?

We discussed all this and more on this episode of Sports Content Strategy

Topics

Why one-day cricket first started? Its early evolution

The formative years of the Gillette Cup

The influence of television on the growth of the game

The cultural importance of the Sunday League

The way it has changed the game’s tactics

The importance of Pakistan and India’s World Cup victories

The game that led to the Duckworth Lewis

Decline and the need for T20

How T20 has affected 50 over cricket

Where the 50-over game fits into the future of cricket

The legacy of one-day cricket

Ricardo Fort has led the sponsorship strategy for brands at World Cups and Olympics.

After a long, successful career with the likes of Coca-Cola and Visa, he has set up his own consulting firm. In this podcast, Ricardo gives straight answers to key questions in sports sponsorship and outlines how content fits in. This is a sophisticated 101 for anyone interested in working in the commercial department at a major sports organisation.

Is sponsorship just about "hanging out with the cool kids"

Does there always have to be a positive financial return?

"The brands want to be relevant, most brands are irrelevant in the lives of people"

Are brand sponsorship decisions emotional?

The best sports sponsorship deal he did at Coca-Cola - The case study of the FIFA World Cup trophy tour

Measurable and immeasurable benefits

What are the Key KPIs and the less important metrics for sponsors?

How can brands be sure about the impact of a sponsorship?

Sponsoring a tournament or event as opposed to a team. What are the differences?

Moving from badging and advertisement to 'clever content'

The value of creating a content strategy that stands out

The comparison between NFL and European football in accommodating sponsors

In NFL, the owner gets the trophy before the players - what does that tell us?

Why the fans police any over-commercialisation in Europe

"All sponsors say they want data, but very few know what to do it."

How can you make a partnership scandal-proof?

How to do your due diligence and protect against future problems

The fans' voice in sponsorship

Sponsorship in gaming and the Alex Hunter deal

Alex Phillips does not look or sound like a revolutionary but his ideas could shake up football.

He spent 15 years at Uefa, including a couple as Head of Compliance and Governance. He was seconded to the Asian Football Confederation for three years and now leads the World Football Remission Fund, a FIFA body administrating how money "stolen from the game" should be returned for its overall benefit.

Phillips has been described as "the most influential football administrator you have never heard of". Certainly, he has an analytical eye and passion for reform.

In this podcast, we discuss good governance, the ramifications of the failed Super League project, educating owners and fans, setting examples and, of course, content

TOPICS

His views on the Super League between its collapse and now - "a great fragmentation"

Uefa's mistake of not making co-efficient qualification 'a red line'

Having the same people governing conflicting tasks

Why regulatory bodies are "not up to the job"

Linking financial control to regulation and its inherent problems

Not restricting finances but restricting player numbers instead

Changing payers and coach's behaviour

Using broadcasters to educate players and fans

"Leadership time is often spent chasing money rather than on sporting issues"

How to change a football reputation - the example of German refereeing

The differing concepts of "cheating"

The values of football's myths and stories. And why owners need to be educated

How television does football's marketing job

The challenge to retain younger audiences whose frame of reference is different

The concept of scarcity in creating sporting interest - 'hats off to the Champions League?"

Working properly with partners and sponsors to grow a sport

Alex's three recommendations to grow football

The challenges facing netball are different to other sports. While we have seen growth in women's football, tennis and boxing in recent years, it has always occurred through the lens (or perhaps in the shadow) of established male forebears. Netball does not have this baggage. Its story, product and message can be tailored specifically toward women and girls.

Claire Nelson is CEO of Netball Scotland and the Strathclyde Sirens. Her focus is to capitalise on this advantage and carve out a unique niche for the sport north of the border. In this podcast, we discuss the key areas in which she is concentrating - sponsors, player development, marketing, messaging, media deals and, of course, content.

TOPICS

The overall landscape of netball

Adapting netball's story and building a sport and lifestyle brand

Working against established cultural habits

Why women's sport is "not a nice-to-have but makes economic sense"

How the storytelling focus changes for a 'female sport'

The untapped audience of women

The differences in the female fan - different message, spending patterns and the 'guilt factor'

Not limiting their vision to competition and 'bums on seats'. "There's sportainment and lifestyle"

The Fast Fives concept

Creating player pathways

Comparisons with women's football. "The men's game has decided to invest more into the women's game"

Moving to the Women's Super League from the 'amateurish' of environment leisure centres and into arenas

The influence of the Commonwealth Games this summer

The one thing netball most needs

For the past two decades, cricket has been trying to cross new boundaries. Previously, its global footprint mirrored its past as the game of the British Empire but, in recent years, countries like the Netherlands, Namibia and Afghanistan have risen to prominence

In the next 10 years, the game will try to cross its biggest and most important new frontier - the USA. They have been awarded co-hosting rights for the 2024 T20 World Cup and a buzz is building around the chances of inclusion in the Olympics in Los Angeles four years later.

Minor League Cricket started last season and its Major League big brother begins in 2023. Tom Dunmore is VP of Marketing for both tournaments. In this podcast, we discuss the story so far, the challenges they face and the vision for success.

TOPICS

Where is the landscape of cricket in the US right now?

The reliance on the south Asian audience

Why Major League Cricket is the ‘tip of the spear’ but they are looking to grow a sport

‘It is a unique opportunity but the USA is not afraid to take a deep dive and make a big bet’

The ‘feel’ of a Minor League Cricket game and having 3,000 fans at the final

The 35 professionals brought in as mentors to raise the standard

The authenticity and integrity of the game in the wide variety of US climate conditions

Learning from the development of Major League Soccer - stadium build, fan experience, getting priority dates for fixtures, ownership models

“We’ll be able to have world-class players right away, up there with the CPL and BBL”

The different investment models

Content strategy for franchises

Using a YouTube influencer and video games as tools

Being one of many ‘Major League” sports trying to get a foothold in the US

Whose audience are they going to take?

Is the push for the 2028 Olympics realistic?

Brian Jacks was a household in the UK in the 1980s. The pinnacle of the judo player’s sporting success came when he won a bronze medal at the Munich Olympics in 1972. But a few years later he would become much more famous as the UK and European champion in Superstars, a popular television programme that saw the best athletes of the day compete in events outside their niche. The show grew throughout the world to become perhaps the first modern example of how sporting heroes could cross into mainstream media, with all its financial benefits, through light entertainment television.

Now living in Thailand, Jacks talks about his motivations, how he leveraged his Superstars fame, his rivalry with Daley Thompson and why he’d love to be a grappling coach in UFC

Podcast partner: Sports Tech Match - Simplifying Sports Tech Procurement 

TOPICS

Was his mental strength the key to his success, not his physical strength

The importance of a challenge 

Making sure you have the grit to make his career ‘gambles’ pay-off  

Why Brian believes Team GB judo is ‘soft’

“You have to see what failure is to see what achievement is”

Getting on to Superstars

How he monetised his stardom 

Did you he enjoy the fame?

His approach to Superstars - breaking down the problem?

How do you find his ability to rise to a challenge?

Would he have fancied turning to UFC? 

Coaching Neil Adams and punching him in the face as motivation before the biggest bout of his career

The power of  community in his success

Being from a Black Cabbie family

The rivalry with Daley Thompson  

Brian’s life now - his fitness, his hotel and charity work 

Feeding over 32,000 people who were starving as a result of the pandemic

Running his apartment block business 

His ambitions now

Motherwell FC have lifted only one trophy in the past 30 years. However, off the pitch, they beat off competition from Manchester United, Everton and Leicester to win the Best Digital/Social Media category at the Football Business Awards this year.

Grant Russell is the club’s Head of Brand, Digital and Communications. In this episode, he talks about the thinking, discipline and creativity that have gone into building a stand-out story for an otherwise overlooked Scottish team.

This is a deep dive into content strategy and, like me, Russell believes in cutting through clutter with a strict, realistic yet progressive vision for storytelling.

 TOPICS

“We exist to improve people's lives” is Motherwell's Twitter bio. What does that really means?

Addressing key societal issues in the locality like male suicide and child poverty

Asking deep questions about what defines a supporter. "We are all purpose-driven whether we realise it or not"

Identifying you purpose and supporter ‘triggers’ at your club   

"Having done all this work the most important thing is never to deviate from your story"

What stories did Motherwell leave out?

Are the fans onboard?

Are Motherwell ‘a club with a cause’ or ‘a cause with a club’?

Building target audiences? And who did they decide not to target?

Creating acquisition funnels and 'knowing when to pounce’?

The advantages and disadvantages of combining the brand, communications and marketing functions

The four narratives Motherwell focus on. ‘Hit one pillar and the guiding pillars underneath’.

Handling the commercial imperatives and turning down the 'wrong' partners

Calculating value per 1,000 followers

The basis of the strategy - balancing data with feel/tone

Defining a season narrative each year. "We know what we are. There is no point lying about it." 

The approach of the outside media to the club-created story

Taking players out into the community and finding a story that fits with them

The effect of Covid on the community spirit within the club

Do the hardcore Motherwell fans get it?

Using the colours to their fullest 

What is next on the agenda?

The huge advantage of building trust

The effect of winning a major award for content

Ed Warner has something to say.

After a decade as chair of UK Athletics (including the 2017 World Championships in London) and a few years in his current role with GB Wheelchair rugby, he is well-placed to comment on the stresses and strains of running a modern sport. Warner wrote a book, Sports Inc, on the subject a few years ago and has just started a blog of the same name.

In this podcast, we discuss many of the key issues required to steer a sporting ship towards success: leadership styles, funding models, changing content strategies, marketing, elite sport v participation, bringing in private equity funding and his open application for the role of ECB chair.

TOPICS

Why write the Sports Inc blog?

What qualities do you need to run a sport as a leader and what qualities do you need in your executive team?

"These jobs are advertised as 25 days a year but it needs three days a week!" "You have to be in love with the sport"

In UK sport, is there a hangover from the amateur/blazer days?

The success of lottery funding in the UK

Changing the funding model for sport

Equipping Olympic athletes for life on the back of their '15 minutes of fame'

Using content to create an ongoing story that brings value and revenue

The power of a focussed plan that targets the "right eyeballs"

Why triathlon is crossing over successfully

Allowing greater conflict in the sporting narratives. Or at least not being scared of it

"Sport is theatre where you don't know how the story ends"

Writing an open application for the role of ECB chair

The Hundred - Ed likes it, I hate it

The link between elite sport and participation. Ed's concerns for the future of rugby and cricket

The private equity question - can an organisation properly innovate without them? But are their goals inherently different to sport?

How to build back better after Covid-19

Learning from Barry Hearn

Given its increasingly strategic importance within sports business, it is surprising how many rights-holders produce sub-standard apps.

To try and solve this issue, I spoke to George Crabb, Managing Director at The Other Media. This well-established digital agency have a rich history in working with rights-holders to create mobile applications of the highest quality. We collaborated to refashion the Arsenal app a decade ago but usage, connectivity, monetisation and the art-of-the-possible have moved forward rapidly since then.

In this extensive podcast, we delve into the most basic questions in the field, explore how rights-holder should approach the development of their offering and what could be coming in the future

Why do you need a specific app? "The answer lies with the growth of mobile use and functionality." For the clubs, it is about fan engagement and revenue

The benefit of keeping fans in your ecosystem and the data play

Why the app is the centre of the ecosystem now

"Yes clients still come demanding a replication of the website"

The key tool of push notifications

Has ticketing via an app made a big leap made in lockdown and will it persist?

What strategic issues does an organisation need to have in mind when starting the app process

The problem of connectivity in stadia

Bugbears - linking social media with your app, apps as a set of webpages - and ways around them

Free, data and sign-up models

Personalisation and segmentation of content - what is the state of the art?

Integration with CRM systems

The importance of content

Price

George's examples of best practice

Creating community

It is the content strategy problem we would all like to have. How do you create a story about a team that has won the league seven seasons in a row (and an eighth is expected to follow soon)? Johor Darul Ta'zim (or JDT) are a team on a mission. They were re-formed in 2013 with a new nickname, the Southern Tigers, under the guidance of the Crown Prince of Johor. They won their first title a year later and the AFC Cup (the Asian version of the Europa League) 12 months after that. They have gone on to dominate Malaysian football. But their tone on social media has brought them as much attention as their success. Now they are looking to internationalise their brand and grow their partnership portfolio with the likes of Aston Martin and Unicef. Vijhay Vick, the Head of Content, is leading their strategy. In this podcast, he discusses his approach to JDT's unique position.

TOPICS

The recent history of JDT

How they have grown on social media

Capitalising on the huge Indonesian market

Being brazen about their success

Why they are "the most hated team in Malaysia"

What would signing a world-renowned player like Radamel Falcao do for the league and the club?

Having a partnership with the likes of Aston Martin

The Malaysian League in general - crowds, TV audience, etc

The football audience is very split - some love foreign football, some love Malaysian football. They are very different groups.

How JDT's PR strategy has started to bridge the gap

JDT's social media strategy - "It's 80 per cent Facebook. The Twitter space is toxic."

Dealing with that toxicity on social media

The role of CSR in JDT’s strategy

The link with Unicef

His content and communications team at JDT

The kit reveal video that received a million views in two days

The crucial buy-in from the top

Being realistic about what JDT can achieve