The Basketball Capital documentary series, done by Turkish Airlines and ESPN, recently won the Bronze award at the Rome Media Awards. 

The program won last week at the Festival of Media Awards held in Rome, in the category “Best Contribution to a Campaign by a Media Owner” at the submission of ESPN. 

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL OF MEDIA GLOBAL

The Festival of Media Global was launched in Venice in 2007 to worldwide industry acclaim. Drawing together the global leadership of media agency networks with the most innovative media owners and the world’s most powerful and progressive marketers, the Festival has become the premier forum of debate for an industry undergoing profound structural change.

With “media” at its heart, the Festival of Media is the only event that draws together themes such as branded content, advertising and social media, free versus paid-for media models, the future of measurement, procurement in marketing and transformative consumer trends.

Known by some as “The Davos of advertising”, the event attracts leaders from international and pan-regional advertisers, media agencies and media owners. It brings to the global industry a cutting-edge conference, an exhibition for vendors and technologists to promote initiatives to agencies and clients; as well as a variety of networking and thought leader opportunities.

In 2009, the Festival of Media launched a Global Awards ceremony that is now one of the world’s largest advertising ceremonies by number of entries, attracting work from more than 40 countries. Now in its seventh year, the Global Festival – held in Rome, Italy for the first time – is firmly established on the international calendar.

ABOUT THE WINNING CAMPAIGN

Insight

With a strong commitment to being the premiere airline in Europe, Turkish Airlines sought to increase awareness of its title sponsorship with Euroleague and association with the sport of basketball. As basketball continues to grow in popularity around the world, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague searched for a way to tell the stories beyond the game and shed light on the unique cultural diversity the sport has in Europe. With basketball teams in as many as 25 different countries across the region, the wide range of culture within of each destination is uniquely special and filled with countless stories that are just waiting to be told. Turkish Airlines and Euroleague turned to ESPN for a solution to expand their partnership and show millions of fans a perspective of basketball, travel, and culture like never before.

Strategy

By combining ESPN’s expertise in entertainment and storytelling with Turkish Airlines’ mastery in travel and discovery, a long form branded-content series was created. Basketball Capitals presented by Turkish Airlines debuted as a new documentary series profiling the culture and passion for basketball within the world’s most iconic cities. This four-part series gave fans a first-hand look at four distinctly unique destinations that Turkish Airlines serves: Istanbul, Berlin, Madrid, and Athens.

In partnership with Euroleague and an Academy-Award winning production company, ESPN went to each location and created special half-hour long episodes for each city. The series helped illustrate the strong relationship Turkish Airlines has with the Euroleague through first-hand accounts and profiles of the teams that call these destinations home. ESPN highlighted the basketball culture found at each location – from streetball games in Madrid to how the sport originated in Berlin to the intense rivalry between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in Athens. Each episode took viewers around the world on a journey and educated and entertained them.

Illustrating the cities further were special in-content vignettes, titled Turkish Airlines City Voices, which gave viewers another look at what makes each city unique and a sought-after travel destination. City Voices offered perspectives from various personalities within the community and highlighted the characteristics and compelling sights and sounds of each city. Airing on ESPN networks in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Pacific Rim, the broadcast sponsorship was so popular that it was picked up and syndicated to additional media partners across EMEA and was also supported with a vast promotional and multi-faceted marketing campaign to surround the viewers.

Execution

Basketball Capitals presented by Turkish Airlines was first introduced during the NCAA Men’s Final Four telecast by Hall of Fame basketball sportscaster Dick Vitale and then promoted with an extensive TV promo and media schedule leading up to the Euroleague Final Four. A special preview event was held at the Natural History Museum in London during the Euroleague Final Four weekend which led to the launch of the series at the peak of the European basketball season.

A strong digital campaign promoted the series through a wide range of media executions via tune-in display messaging and homepage takeovers that drove to a customised microsite housing show information, bonus content, extended interviews, photo galleries, and social feeds. ESPN.com’s NBA section, the world’s leading basketball site, showcased special editorial articles featuring Dirk Nowitzki and Hedo Turkoglu as they provided their perspective on their home cities of Berlin and Istanbul respectively.

A Basketball Capitals Facebook page was created to help drive the conversation and served as the destination for international basketball on social media with even more content. This led to expanded support from Euroleague as the various teams and players seen in the series contributed to the chatter on their own social pages to increase awareness.

Extending beyond these platforms, Basketball Capitals was also made available on Turkish Airlines flights and was also promoted in mobile through the Euroleague app and in print via the Euroleague Final Four Official Programme and Skylife, Turkish Airlines’ in-flight magazine.

Results

Reach:
– Basketball Capitals presented by Turkish Airlines was made available in 131 million households across EMEA through ESPN and syndication partners such as NTVSpor (Turkey), Sport1 (Germany), and NovaSports (Greece).
– Beyond television, over 50 million additional marketing impressions were generated.
– The Basketball Capitals Facebook page was ranked in the top 10 of Most Talked About ESPN sites globally during the first week of premieres.
– Following the initial premiere of the series, ESPN conducted a brief survey with ESPN’s Fan Forum in the UK to gauge the impact Basketball Capitals had on this traditionally football focused region.

Favourability:
– 87% of basketball fan viewers say they enjoyed watching the series
– Viewers become over 3x more interested in following Euroleague Basketball (+221% lift)

Recall – Viewers are more than twice as likely to consider Turkish Airlines the airline most associated with the sport of basketball (+125% lift)

 

A 24-hour Olympic sports channel is set to launch shortly after London 2012 and will feature coverage of minority sports.

London Legacy is set to be available to BskyB’s satellite TV customers around November and will focus on sports such as judo, symptoms gymnastics, ailment wrestling, ailment cycling, athletics and fencing.

The channel will be launched by independent TV production company Highflyer and hopes to achieve a wider distribution network in the future.

John Fairley, chairman of Highflyer Group, said there was an “enormous opportunity” in the wake of the Olympics, to showcase niche sports.

Fairley added: “The amount on athletics on the main channels has been very small, especially when you think of all the disciplines within athletics, but the Games has changed all that.

“We have had two or three companies, including one Olympic sponsor, make very serious undertakings [to back the channel] in the last week. The Games have changed all that.”

The Games in London has put a number of sports not normally in the spot light, into people’s homes and sports such as Handball have seen an increase in participants and Fairley believes the channel will be popular.

“The number of participants in these sports is already very high. A sport like judo has more than 40,000 [in the UK], many of them women and many of those under 16.

“There is this enormous opportunity and no sign that any of the main broadcasters is going to pick it up and run with it.”

The launch of the channel will cost approximately £5.5m.

NASCAR and SapientNitro, sick part of Sapient, has announced today that SapientNitro has been selected to design and build its new digital platform, including NASCAR.com.

The new platform will result in an integrated digital experience for NASCAR’s fans through critical channels, including: website, mobile and tablet.

“The digital experience we’re developing will provide NASCAR fans with the ultimate level of engagement while also providing the sport with the tools to attract the next generation of fans.”

Earlier this year, NASCAR announced that it will assume business and editorial control of its interactive, digital and social media rights, including technical operations and infrastructure of NASCAR.com and all other NASCAR digital platforms, starting in January 2013. As part of the announcement, the sanctioning body and Turner Sports restructured their partnership, with Turner continuing to support NASCAR with advertising and sponsorships sales across its digital platforms through 2016.

“Building our digital platform with a partner like SapientNitro is reflective of the strong commitment to offer our fans a best-in-class experience with NASCAR.com and all of our digital platforms,” said Marc Jenkins, NASCAR’s VP of digital media. “The digital experience we’re developing will provide NASCAR fans with the ultimate level of engagement while also providing the sport with the tools to attract the next generation of fans.”

In addition to its work with NASCAR, SapientNitro, a leading marketing and technology firm, is currently designing digital experiences for a host of other sports and entertainment clients including WWE, Ladbrokes and LeBron James.

“NASCAR appreciates that its target consumers are increasingly digitally centered, and sees a real strategic opportunity to evolve in a more connected fan experience – before, during and after events,” said Chris Davey, head of worldwide commerce, SapientNitro. “The proliferation of digital presents more compelling opportunities for NASCAR to attract and engage with their consumers. We’re honored that NASCAR has selected us to work alongside them in developing the sport’s new digital experience.”

NASCAR’s comprehensive digital and social media portfolio includes NASCAR.com, the official online destination of NASCAR which provides racing enthusiasts with an all-inclusive offering of engaging content including fantasy games, video highlights, social elements and in-depth editorial content. NASCAR.com, and the sport’s other digital and social media platforms, have been managed by Turner Sports since 2001.

British Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson has said that London 2012 has “salvaged the reputation of the British construction industry” after revealing that he expected the project to be delivered on time and under budget, something he himself never believed possible when the English capital was awarded the Games six years ago.

The estimate of the final cost is down by US$26 million since May, when the last prediction was made.

The anticipated final cost of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA) construction programme has fallen to US$11.68 billion and is likely to finish US$1.3 billion under budget.

Robertson showed that construction of the facilities was progressing at a satisfactory rate with most of the work now completed more than a year before the Olympics are due to open.

He said: “With one year to go to London 2012, the Games construction is 88 per cent complete and ahead of time and under budget.

“That is an extraordinary thing for a Government Minister to be able to say a year out from the Games.”

Robertson admitted that when London were awarded the Olympics and Paralympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its Session in Singapore, he had his doubts about whether the project would be a success, following the problems that had troubled the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium. 

He added: “I didn’t think in 2005 we had a chance of getting where we are today.

“These are remarkable successes and tribute should be paid to all the ODA staff who have consistently met the challenges set by an immovable deadline and strict budget.

“They have all played vital roles in the success of the build project that will be held-up as an example of British construction and engineering excellence for decades to come. 

“They have salvaged the reputation of the British construction industry.”

Five venues, the latest of which is the International Broadcast Centre, are now complete, with the next completion due to be the Aquatic Centre, which is expected to be unveiled on July 27, the date marking the One Year to Go landmark until the Games commences.

John Armitt, the chairman of the ODA, said: “The Olympic Park project is on schedule and budget and we have successfully hit all of our milestones over the last five years. This is thanks to the skill and professionalism of thousands of British businesses who have won contracts and shown the rest of the world what UK plc can achieve.

He added: “The Olympic Park is a great showcase for UK industry and many companies have used it to go on and win work on other projects across the world. When we welcome the world to London next summer, tens of thousands of people from right across the UK will know that they played a part in building the stage for the greatest show on earth.”

The ODA is coming to the end of its procurement after awarding more than 1,500 direct contracts worth over US$10 billion, 98 per cent of which were awarded to British companies.

The  ODA’s contract for the construction of the Olympic Stadium, for example, resulted in work for 240 UK companies plus many more sub-contractors.

Another US$1.1 billion worth of contracts are set to be awarded in the next year by London 2012 as officials gear up for the operational phase of the project.

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, said: “London 2012 has already been great news for British business – and there’s more to come. The new permanent venues are mostly constructed and the Olympic Park is progressing well in advance of next summer.

“The teams at LOCOG are now concentrating on finalising our plans to stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games – we’re about half way through our own procurement programme and there are lots more opportunities for British business to be part of the greatest show on earth.”

The French Football Federation (FFF) has announced the departure of CEO Alain Resplandy-Bernard. The governing body cited the reason as being due to a difference of opinion with president Noel Le Graet over the future direction of the body.

The announcement comes as another destabilising act in what has been a turbulent year for the FFF. The national team’s dreadful performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup coincided with players refusing to train after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home in disgrace following a falling out with coach Raymond Domenech.

Aside from the national team dispute at the World Cup, there have also been issues surrounding player bonuses and alleged race quotas.

An FFF statement read: “The implementation of the action plan of the Executive Committee-elect requires a perfect convergence of views between the president and the CEO. Mr Le Graet and Alain Resplandy-Bernard find that the natural time to build this convergence is not compatible with the short term of the new executive (18 months).”

Resplandy-Bernard was only appointed CEO on February 25, while Le Graet was elected to replace Fernand Duchaussoy as president in June. Le Graet had announced there would be a significant “staff restructuring” and a “revised organisational chart” under the new regime as the FFF seeks desperately needed stability ahead of an important period as France prepares to host UEFA Euro 2016.

A new joint venture has been created to combine the marketing and media skills of two leading Swiss organisations – Infront Sports & Media AG and die Ringier AG.

The companies have announced a new 50:50 joint venture to exploit the growing Swiss sports market through an effective collaboration, cough which will be known as Infront Ringier Sports & Entertainment Switzerland AG, abbreviated to InfrontRingier.

The venture will support organisers of Swiss sports events and top Swiss athletes by providing sophisticated marketing and consulting services.

In what the two parties feel is an ideal partnership, Infront will contribute its expertise in the commercialisation of sport (including sponsorship, production and distribution) and its highly specialised services to sport. In turn Ringier will integrate its newly-created Marketing and Sponsorship division set up last year which includes Pool Position Switzerland AG, which supports Switzerland’s big names in sports, the arts and culture.

Philippe Blatter, President & CEO of Infront Sports & Media AG, said: “The experience and resources of Ringier and Infront Sports & Media complement each other ideally in this partnership. Infront already has a large network of rights owners and sponsors based in Switzerland, but with the focus on international events. Now, we will be offering high-level services to national events too through InfrontRingier. We can help set the tone of the future for the Swiss sports market and provide an innovative and reliable partner on the doorstep.”

Marc Walder, CEO Ringier Switzerland and Germany, added: “The activities of Infront and Ringier in Switzerland are highly complementary. In addition to its core business, Ringier will be diversifying its existing product and brand portfolio through this involvement in an ideal way. As both companies are market leaders in their respective fields, we feel this is a relationship on an equal footing.”

The International Sport Business Congress, pharm part of the International Festival for Business, sale has announced a partnership with iSportconnect for this summer’s event. 

Taking place as part of this year’s major UK business festival in Liverpool, try the Congress focuses on the interplay between cities, brands and sport. The North West of England is the home of several of the world’s most iconic sports brands and events and the Congress will uniquely divide its two days between Liverpool and Manchester. 

Working with the University of Liverpool, one of the world’s leading academic institutes researching and teaching the business and science of sport, the International Sport Business Congress has developed a world-class speaker programme touching on the core topics in the business of sport. On Thursday 17 July, at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool, the Congress will focus on the interplay of cities, brands and sports with speakers including;

• § Sir Howard Bernstein – CEO, Manchester City Council 
• § Ian Ayre – Managing Director, Liverpool Football Club
• § Robert Elstone –  CEO, Everton Football Club
• § Ian Edmondson – Head of Major Events, London & Partners
• § Paul Samuel – Executive VP Europe, AEG Global Partnerships
• § Nick Varley – Founder, Seven46

Day Two offers detailed analysis of the economic impacts and values of sport and its power to transform cities and communities. Taking place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, speakers include;

• Dr Tom Markham – Manager EMEA Football, Sport and Leisure, PwC
• Maurice Watkins CBE – Senior Partner and Head of Sport, Brabners
• Dr Geoff Pearson – Football Industry Group, University of Liverpool
• Professor Stefan Szymanski – University of Michigan
• Professor Greg Whyte OBE – Liverpool John Moores University
• Professor Keith George – Head of RISES, Liverpool John Moores University 

The International Sport Business Congress is in partnerships with both Liverpool Vision and Marketing Manchester and the University of Liverpool, creating a unique event in a region where sport has achieved global success and recognition and where the business of sport is one of the key drivers of the local economy. 

iSportconnect is the largest global private network of sport business professionals, bringing them together digitally to discuss, share viewpoints, obtain information and news and ‘e-meet’ one another. 

Sree Varma, Founder and CEO of iSportconnect, said; “We are delighted to be partners of the International Sport Business Congress. Sport as a business doesn’t exist in isolation and it’s great that the International Sport Business Congress is part of the International Festival for Business.” 

Richard Morris, International Sport Business Congress Event Director, said: “This will be amazing event hosted out of two of the most famous sporting cities in the world – Liverpool and Manchester. Nothing has the power to engage like sport and this shared event between two cities illustrates the transformational power of sport.”