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| Crow said he would like to change the overcommercialization of sports |
In our continuing series, SportsBusiness Daily/SportsBusiness Journal asks top sports personalities for their thoughts, ideas, aspirations and likes. Today, Synergy CEO
TIM CROW.
What I Like…
An insight: A great sponsorship activation should feel like something that only your brand can do. If you can easily substitute another brand into the activation -- especially one of your competitors -- start again.
An influential person in my career: KAREN EARL, Synergy Chair. I’m privileged to have known Karen for most of my working life and to have worked with her since I joined the business in '99.
An out-of-the-box idea: Don't think of fans as communities to be managed -- think of them as ecosystems to be nurtured.
A timeless idea: There are only two sorts of deals: good ones and bad ones.
A sports facility: Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona. Watching a big match there is an unforgettable experience.
A naming-rights deal: The O2 in London. Naming rights reimagined as 21st century marketing, not 20th century badging.
A sports event: London '12. Fairly top-of-mind right now!
A strategy: P&G’s “Proud Sponsor of Moms” Olympics strategy. Credible, powerful and very differentiating.
A hire: Manchester United hiring -- and in the early years staying loyal to -- Sir ALEX FERGUSON.
A brand: Apple. Quite simply the brand of our times.
A marketing campaign: Since Nike found its soccer voice 10 years ago, watching its soccer business evolve through a series of consistently brilliant campaigns has been fascinating.
A trend: The revolution in sports and entertainment marketing created by social media.
An innovation: Real-time and location-based marketing: '12 will, I suspect, be a breakthrough year.
A Twitter user/account: I follow around 200 people, but if I had to single out one it would be PAUL KELSO (@pkelso), the Daily Telegraph’s chief sports correspondent, who is consistently intelligent and entertaining.
A story that bears watching: The evolution of sports marketing in the BRIC economies.
An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Facebook.
A fantasy job: Founder, Time Machines Inc.
What I Like About…
My job: The people I work with.
Sports: Matchups between immortals, such as [MUHAMMAD] ALI v. [JOE] FRAZIER when I was growing up, or more recently [ROGER] FEDERER v. [RAFAEL] NADAL.
Sports business: The energy.
Sports media: Nowadays, the ability to customize it.
Sports technology: In golf, it¹s helping me to improve despite getting older!
Competing: Winning.
The future of sports business: The inevitability of improved governance.
Sports fans: The humor.
What I Would Like To…
Change: The overcommercialization of much of sport in recent years.
Change in what I do: Have less competitors!
See: More of my wife and daughter.
See more of in sports: Good governance.
See more of in sports business: Marketers.
See less of in sports: Poor governance.
See less of in sports business: Salesmen.
See different: An increased emphasis on qualitative research.
Eliminate: Rights holders making cut-and-paste pitches to brands without doing any prior research on them as businesses.
What I Don’t Like...
In general: Apathy.
Pet peeve: Poor spelling and grammar.
In sports: Cheating.
In business: People who live by rules rather than values.
About sports fans: The minority who use their support as an excuse to be anti-social.
What I Like…
People: Who always give their very best.
That would surprise those who know me: I find a lot of sports boring.
Above all else: Spending time with my family.
About myself: I’ve been a non-smoker for over a year now.
Heroes: NELSON MANDELA, SEVE BALLESTEROS.
Players: GEORGE BEST, TOM WATSON, VIV RICHARDS, Roger Federer, LIONEL MESSI.
Team: FC Halifax Town.
Olympic sport: Anything Team GB wins a medal in at London '12.
City: New York City.
Possession: Wedding ring.
Memento: My late father's wallet.
Time of year: Summer -- I love the heat.
Music: I have eclectic tastes but default to MILES DAVIS.
Books: I love IAN FLEMING’s James Bond stories. So much better than the Bond movies.
Authors: If I had to choose one it would be CHARLES DICKENS.
Magazines: I occasionally buy a golf magazine.
Websites: Too many to mention. I do virtually all my reading online.
Gadget: Kindle.
IPad app: Anything we’re creating for a client.
Chore: Mowing the lawn.
Hobbies: Golf and the gym.
Trip: We love heading up to the North Norfolk beaches.
Movies: Any good thriller.
TV: “The Wire.”
Concerts: London theater and musicals.
Artist: CARAVAGGIO.
Food: Sushi.
Dessert: Ice cream.
Drink: Vodka.
Scent: Freshly mown grass.
Vacation spot: Miami Beach.
Car: Mini Countryman.
Aftershave: Davidoff Cool Water.
Singer: DAVID GILMOUR.
Quote: I'm hoping to hear JACQUES ROGGE say "This was the greatest Games ever" at the London '12 Olympics Closing Ceremony in August.
