Editor’s note: This week SportsBusiness Journal begins a yearlong editorial feature highlighting the most influential people across various sectors of sports business. It will culminate in late December with a list of the most influential people in the entire industry.
Who's got the "juice" in sports advertising? There's no simple answer. Selecting the most influential people in sports advertising presents a series of much larger questions that speak to the very definition of influence, and point to just how complex the dynamics of the business can be.
Unlike some other sectors in sports, where decisions can often be traced to a few individuals who use their gut or emotional attachments as their guides, sports advertising is the product of an intricate food chain involving high stakes and many high-powered executives.
From the top marketing executives at America's largest brands to the agencies that represent them, from the creative minds taking a concept from the storyboard to the screen to the network sales representatives who individually oversee hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions each year, an amalgam of people generally weigh in on strategy, creative and execution.
How do you pull one person off that assembly line and declare him or her to be the most influential? It's not easy, but there is an elite group that does manage to stand out. It's filled with people who have the position, the pocketbook and the personality to affect the marketplace as a whole.
Staff members of Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal identified the people we believe are the industry's most influential when it comes to sports advertising. The list is based on our own analysis and research, as well as interviews with several industry insiders who were asked who they believe should be identified as the most important players in the business.
A consensus emerged that influence stems primarily from money, how much you have to spend or — to a lesser extent — the value of what you have to sell. Also important is how entrenched one is in the sports and advertising communities, and whether an individual is in on most key decisions.
The one person that virtually everyone agreed embodied all those qualities is Anheuser-Busch's Tony Ponturo.
The company's vice president of global media and sports marketing, Ponturo oversees Busch Media, its in-house buying agency, and all advertising and sponsorship decisions. Spending more than $250 million on sports advertising each year — more than any other company with the exception of General Motors, which does its buying on a brand-by-brand basis — Anheuser-Busch also stands out because more than 70 percent of its marketing spend is devoted to sports.
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| Anheuser-Busch executives (from left) Steve Uline, Bruce Hudson, Tony Ponturo and Peter McLoughlin guide the company’s sports marketing efforts and in turn drive the industry. |
Ponturo is flanked by able deputies Peter McLoughlin and Steve Margosian, who handle the direct buying. Some argued that they also belong on the most influential list, by nature of the sheer volume of business they do. Other key members of Ponturo's team are Steve Uline, group director, sports marketing and Bud sports, and Bruce Hudson, senior director, international sports marketing. But there is widespread agreement that it is Ponturo who sets the strategy and the tone of the company.
"He is somebody who understands that there are two sides and that networks have needs," said Mark Lazarus, president of Turner Entertainment Group. "That mentality has been carried down in the way their organization handles themselves in the marketplace. You want to work with a company like that."
Ed Erhardt, president of ABC Sports/ESPN Customer Sales and No. 3 on our list, said that when someone on his staff has a new idea, it's Ponturo they call first for feedback.
"I think Tony and Anheuser-Busch are the ultimate validator," Erhardt said. "They approach their business extremely strategically. They're tough, detailed, but fair. You can bring them new ideas, and if they like them, they'll move on them very quickly."
Ponturo, a 21-year veteran of Anheuser-Busch, said the company takes its responsibility as the industry leader seriously. That means not only spending wisely, but also using its clout to get sports properties and networks to protect the quality of their products.
"I think at times our industry gets a little myopic," Ponturo said. "I think we're looking for them to be smarter about enhancements and the whole look of the broadcasts. That critical 21- to 34-year-old consumer doesn't want to be banged over the head with commercialization."
He praised the NFL for taking the first step by limiting commercial enhancements during its game broadcasts, but said the never-ending flow of network promotions has created even more clutter and "defeated the purpose" of those limitations.
It's an issue Ponturo has raised before, but he says Anheuser-Busch will be even more vocal about it in the future, and is willing to speak with its pocketbook.
"We haven't leaned on this too hard in the past, but I think it's [an issue] that is growing to the point that we now need to address it," he said. "It's something that needs to be a constant drum we're beating. We have to get our message across. Commercials underwrite sports. But we would be the first ones to say less is more and we would even pay a premium for less."
He called on network sales executives in particular to guard against watering down the quality of broadcasts and the value delivered to advertisers. Sales people who simply look to extract the most dollars from week to week, he said, do little to advance the industry. But those who take a longer-term view can be as influential as any deep-pocketed brand marketer.
That view is reflected in our list. While there is disagreement on just how important the sellers are in the overall process, even those who generally felt the buyers and brands had more clout also cited Fox Sports sales chief Jim Burnette and ESPN/ ABC's Erhardt as two of the industry's most influential. The pair stood out for both the enormous volume of business under their control, and their seemingly ubiquitous presence.
They are exact opposites in style and reputation. Burnette is described as the "consummate insider," a hands-on player who shies away from the press but has his finger on the pulse of the marketplace and always gets the best deals. Erhardt is a media-friendly executive who leaves much of the heavy lifting to his top deputies, Lou Koskovolis and David Rotem. But with more than half the sports market's gross rating points under his sales stewardship, and with him firmly in charge of a sales organization that spans multiple networks as well as ESPN The Magazine and espn.com, Erhardt is widely recognized as a key industry figure.
Filling out the list of sports advertising's most influential were several key buyers at agencies. While they don't make the major strategic decisions as to how much to spend, they sit on the front lines of all the key negotiations. OMD's Tom McGovern handles about $500 million in sports business each year, and was cited by all of the network sales executives as among their most important contacts.
Of course, no one can forget the creative types, people such as legendary commercial director Joe Pytka or BBDO creative director Jimmy Siegel. Their work, for many, is the highlight of the Super Bowl each year. The emphasis on the humor or emotional power of Super Bowl ads has become so great that this year the ads themselves will be replayed on both the NFL Network and on AOL.
Nervous executives will fret not over the score of the game or even the ratings as much as over USA Today's Ad Meter, which ranks Super Bowl ads for overall quality. Like a New York Times restaurant review, the Ad Meter can make or break careers. Despite all the money, analysis and expertise that goes into creating an advertising campaign, sometimes success or failure is measured by the water cooler quotient.
Ultimately, the agencies, brands and networks all have the same goal — to get America talking.
Research support:
Ad spending comparison
Ad spending rundown: Through June 30, 2003
