The 17th International Sport Summit closed business after a
second successful day. Wednesday's keynoters were USOC Interim
Exec Dir JOHN KRIMSKY, 1995 Special Olympics Organizing Committee
President TIM SHRIVER, White Sox Vice Chair EDDIE EINHORN, and
ESPN/Chilton Sports Poll Exec Dir RICHARD LUKER. Topics
discussed at the afternoon sessions included: Tennis at the
Crossroads, Sports Finance, and How Agencies Can Help Market to
Sponsors. Highlights follow:
JOHN KRIMSKY said that, through the efforts of the USOC, 90%
of U.S. Olympic athletes train without cost. While Krimsky said
that Americans "have become stockholders in their Olympic team,"
he added: "If there are no sponsors, there are no games as we
know them."
TIM SHRIVER said the Special Olympics World Games "will be
the largest sports event in the world in 1995." Shriver: "We
want to be the L.A. of the Special Olympics movement."
EDDIE EINHORN: "Sports in this country have grown too fast
-- and not given most time to grow with it. Now we're catching
up." While admitting that baseball has made big mistakes in the
past, Einhorn declared the sport "healthy" and predicted that
The Baseball Network would survive.
TOM HYLAND, a partner at Coopers & Lybrand, discussed the
economics of sports and the relationship between profitability
and franchise value. He noted that media contracts are the key
factor differentiating the franchise values among the leagues,
while stadium and venue situations are the key in differentiating
franchise values among the various teams within each league. As
for profit vs. value, he said, "There is not much relationship."
According to Hyland, teams are sold on the basis of revenues, not
profit. DAVE CHECKETTS, President of MSG and the Knicks,
outlined a simple model of the sports economy: Live events drive
the broadcast business, which in turn, helps drive the properties
business. Asked about the source of future revenues, Checketts
cited the international market, but noted that it will be a
greater opportunity for TV and licensing than for live events --
although some live events will be staged overseas to help boost
those other entities.
RICH McNERNEY, ATP Dir of Marketing/America, noted that
participation is down in tennis, but said that a combined
approach of a "strong professional game" and grassroots programs
aimed at kids can help bring the sport back.
HARLAN STONE, Senior VP of Marketing and Sales at Advantage
International, presented his ways an agency can help a sponsor
develop a successful program, including: No ad hoc decisions;
encourage clients to include research in any program; think long-
term; disclose any conflicts; know about the client's business; a
"C idea" with "A+ execution" is better than the other way around;
get the client to understand that sports is a "no rules" business
and that their regular rules and practices may not apply.
DOUGLAS PIRNIE, Dir of Marketing at IMG, stressed that,
despite what they might say, the client's first priority is to
"sell more stuff." While noting that there is "no rate card" in
the sports business, Pirnie did say that IMG uses a system to
evaluate sponsorships before the client enters into any deal.
ALEX NIEROTH, Managing Dir/Exec VP of Clarion Performance
Properties, noted the increasing influence of corporations in the
sports world. But with the trend towards downsizing in corporate
America, many companies are looking outside their ranks to
agencies to develop sports sponsorships. What can agencies bring
to the table? Identification of sponsorship opportunities,
expertise in the field, objectivity, the strategies and tactics
to get results from a particular concept, as well as creativity,
event execution and P.R. capabilities (THE DAILY).
