Trends 2017

17 FOR 1717 FOR 17SPORTS MARKETING TRENDS

OUR ANNUAL LOOK AT WHATS ON THE HORIZON

17 FOR 17

TABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTS

SPORTS FOR THE SHARING GENERATION

ESPORTS

DATA & TECHNOLOGY

NEW MEDIA

DO THE RIGHT THING

06

22

44 62

72

THE POWER

OF

PASSION

THE POWEROF

PASSION

THE POWEROF

PASSION

G L O B A L C E OPEDRO AVERY

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T

THE POWER

OF

PASSION

Is there a more powerful human driver than passion? When we are passionate we put greater energy and determination into something. We stop at nothing to achieve our goals. It is this compelling, superhuman force that marketers are eager to tap into, to propel their latest brand engagement strategies.

As digital marketing enters its teenage years, its clear that consumers enjoy their social fix. They demand content to share with their mates (according to Pew Research the average Facebook user has 300+ friends...). It is this content that will fuel the next generation of brands looking to create meaning-ful experiences that our digital hungry consumers demand.

When compelling content is coupled with a passion it ignites magic. Brands who have embraced this have raced ahead of their peers. Passion based marketing is here for good. Thats why we at Havas Sports & Entertainment believe in the power of passions. Its simply the best tool to connect with people, not as consumers but as fans.

We also believe in the need for innovation to look forward, stay a step ahead, and be part of the changes in our industry. This year we have decided to focus on the trends coming our way in sports in 2017. From the not-so-niche eSports, to machine learning, live streaming, startups, women and integrity, we have covered a broad spectrum to bring you the key trends we believe will fuel the debate next year.

Our trends are designed to tickle your appetite, and hopefully encourage you to take the bold step and embrace passions as part of your marketing mix.

Enjoy!

Havas SE USA6 7

SPORTS FOR

THE SHARINGGENERATION

SPORTS FOR

THE SHARINGGENERATION

SPORTS FORTHE SHARINGGENERATION

8 9

FOREWORDFOREWORDFOREWORD

P R E S I D E N TMIKEY HERSOM

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T U S A@mikeyhersom

Its never been better to be a sports fan. Thanks to social media, you can cheer your team on, engage with athletes, see highlights, check stats, watch the action live, all while conversing with your friends and other fans on one single platform. Its never been easier to take part in the sports story, and share your POV.

The stats speak for themselves, particularly if we look at this summers biggest sporting event: the Olympics. Over 187m tweets were sent about #RIO2016 gener-ating 75bn impressions; over 227m people had over 1.5bn interactions around the Games on Facebook; and in the first week alone, over 50m people, one in three daily users, watched Olympics clips on Snapchat in Live Stories.

In this age of the "sharing generation" where eyeballs are divided amongst screens, sports properties and

their partners need to understand their younger audiences and their media behaviour, to ensure their content and how it is accessed allows fans the oppor-tunity to discover and make that content their own.

We are proud to have helped Coca-Cola, the oldest Olympic partner, bring the Olympic #ThatsGold campaign to teens in Rio through a dedicated space and event programme just for them through a series of concerts with MTV and Facebook Live, shareable activities like #JustDance competitions and photo opportunities with the Olympic Torch.

The Olympics remains a source of inspiration for new generations of sport fans. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), their partners, broadcasters, marketers and the rest just need to understand where and how to engage them!

/ SPORTS FOR THE SHARING GENERATION

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GETTING MILLENNIALS

INTOTHE GAMES

GETTING MILLENNIALS

INTOTHE GAMES

GETTING MILLENNIALS

INTOTHE GAMES

M A N A G I N G PA R T N E RCATHERINE INKSTER

S E V E N 4 6@Inkster_sport

The next Summer Olympic cycle will see a significant shift in the way people consume Olympic-related content as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its partners seek to win over the coveted 12-34 demographic.

Millennials declining interest in the Games sparked headlines in 2016, when the age of the average US viewer rose to a record 52.4 as a storm raged over the IOCs ban on Olympic-related GIFs, the format so beloved of the sharing, co-creating generation.

In truth, GIFs alone are unlikely to reverse a 20-year trend mirrored in the audiences of most major sports proper-ties and rooted in a fragmenting global culture that simply offers young people more options.

But the story goes to the heart of the problem facing the Olympic Movement: exclusive long-term TV rights deals that account for three quarters of the IOCs revenues at a time when young people everywhere are switching off from traditional scheduled TV in favour of an always-on, multi-channel digital ecosystem a place where they can be active participants and not simply spectators.

This is a generation whose instinct is not just to consume but to discover, create, edit, interpret and share. Who dont just want to be shown content, but to be given content to own and play with.At last, rights holders and their partners

are starting to rethink the way they package sports content for a millen-nial audience, navigating the shift away from one-way storytelling and towards a more dynamic, bottom-up approach.

This could be seen in the proliferation of influencer marketing around Rio 2016 and in NBCs unique Snapchat and Twitter distribution partnerships.

And the strongest indication came after the Games with the launch of the IOCs own multi-platform content solution, The Olympic Channel, a major initiative part-funded by global Olympic brand partners.

Its mission is to sustain and grow a millennial audience between Olympic Games through live (including hyper-local) sports feeds and original real-time content pushed out across social media platforms and in highly shareable formats.

The Channel also offers third-party integration. For example, users can download the Spotify training playlists of their favourite athletes or track and share their own training data via a partner health app.

THE REAL KEY TO ENGAGING

MILLENNIALS IS TO OFFER MORE,

AND MORE INDIVIDUALISED WAYS

TO PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY IN THE

OLYMPIC STORY


1312

The real key to engaging millennials is to offer more, and more individual-ised ways to participate actively in the Olympic story not just during the two weeks of the Games, but 24/7/365.

From VR to GIFS, edits, data visual-isations and community hang-outs and events, Olympic partners should get ready to take advantage of a much wider window for engagement and a deeper and more varied terrain for connecting with young people through the Games.

Given everything we know about millennials, its clear that the values, authenticity and global, social purpose of Olympism offer a natural vehicle for engagement. They just need the tools to get involved.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

In response to millennials declining interest in the Games, rights holders and their partners are rethinking how to package sports content, offering more and more individualised ways

for this audience to participate actively in the Olympic story. The

Olympic Channel, with its live sports feeds and real-time highly shareable

content, is a step in the right direction.


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HOW SOCIAL MEDIAIS CHANGINGTHE GAME



H E A D O F C O N T E N TSTACY FULLER

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T U S A@stacykfuller

Sports fandom has always been an enormous passion that unites people all over the world, and thanks to social media that connection is stronger than ever. Platforms are shaping the way fans interact with each other, how they engage with their teams, and even how athletes behave after the buzzer. Here are a few examples of just how big an impact that tweet has on your team.

1. Same game, different screen

Fans are still gathering together around screens to watch their favourite teams. But now that screen is in the palm of your hand instead of in your living room, and the game analysis isnt just between your buddies but might include fans on the other side of the country or even the world. For example, although the partnership with Twitter and the NFL to stream Thursday night games has been slow to gain ratings, video is anticipated to account for 82% of all internet traffic by 2020. As viewing habits continue to evolve, Twitter is well positioned to capture both the attention and the real time conversation of fans.

2. Watch less but know more

Facebook, in contrast, has embraced the fact that fans want to follow their favourite teams without having to be glued to a screen to participate. With the launch of Facebook Sports Stadium, fans can follow real time scores, get live stats, see what their friends are saying, and even ingest commentary from jour-nalists, leagues and teams.

3. Play the game < Play the social media game

Like many celebrities in recent years, athletes have started to develop their own brand presence on social media platforms. But this year weve seen athletes get into the tech game them-selves, the biggest being LeBron James Uninterrupted and Steph Currys Slyce. Both are trying to help athletes create better content and deeper engagement with fans.

4. More than a game

Social media has amplified all the pageantry that happens around sporting events, making it more accessible for casual fans and allowing more parti-cipation. No better example of this is what happened during this years World Series with the Chicago Cubs. Super fan and actor Bill Murray was avidly followed online as he invited fans to sit with him, then he sang Go Cubs Go on Saturday Night Live, a popular US late-

VIDEO IS ANTICIPATED TO

ACCOUNT FOR 82% OF ALL

INTERNET TRAFFIC BY 2020


1716

night comedy show. There was even a live stream showing the outside of Wrigley Field where fans had gathered; folks just wanted to see the reaction of the local crowd. Content is expanding to cover the entire sporting experience, and this provides brands that have and havent traditionally been involved in sports massive opportunities to connect with larger audiences.

5. #mannequinchallenge

Teams, athletes, and leagues have mastered social media in a more sophis-ticated way than many other indu-stries. They are some of the first to embrace new platforms, and to jump at the chance to participate in memes and movements. In many cases, they catapult new content into mainstream culture. Im still in awe of the close to 12,000 people at the Perth Arena in Australia that pulled off the mannequin challenge at a Perth Wildcats basketball game this past November. Not only should brands learn lessons from the sports industry, they should leverage the power of the sporting world to give their own social movements a winning edge.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Social platforms are shaping how fans engage with their sports passion they now feature live sports (NFL

games on Twitter); real time scores, stats and commentary through the Facebook Sports Stadium; direct access to athletes on Uninterrup-

ted and Slyce; and new memes and movements (#mannequinchallenge).

They have become THE place to access sports content.


1918

THE NEXTBIG

YOUTH SPORT

THE NEXTBIG

YOUTH SPORT

THE NEXTBIG

YOUTH SPORT

E N T R E P R E N E U R I N R E S I D E N C E/ H E A D O F E S P O R T S

JONATHAN PAN

B R AV E V E N T U R E S@notvert

Were past the point of debating whether eSports is here or not. At the professional level of eSports, the top tournaments sell out whole stadiums, the top players earn millions of dollars, and there are more non-endemic brands in eSports than ever before. Whats less talked about is the nascent youth eSports market, which has an oppor-tunity to disrupt the $9bn US youth sports market.

Youth sports is supposed to be about providing kids with life-long com-pounding benefits from physical activity, teamwork, and leadership. Instead, youth sports has become very expensive, financially and emo-tionally. Only those from families with a strong financial footing can afford the training, equipment, and participa-tion fees required to advance and excel through the system. According to Travis Dorsch, a professor at Utah State Uni-versity specialising in youth sports, up to 10.5 percent of a familys gross income could be spent on sports. That means a family earning the median household income of $55,755 in the US, could be spending $5,854 on sports.

Meanwhile, the quality of coaches is far below what is expected in high school coaching and beyond. The typical background required of these coaches is former participation in high school sports, but it should also require experience with child development and physical education. The subpar coaching adds to the emotional stress of parents

trying to justify their financial invest-ment.

Youth eSports can provide what youth sports was meant to provide at a much greater scale and at a fraction of the cost. The fact that every interaction inside the game and outside (key-strokes, mouse clicks) is collected makes it possible to generate insights and analysis from each and every game. This type of self-coaching can be done for millions of people for minimal server costs. However, there is sometimes a benefit to getting a real coach. eSports coaches typically charge $15 - $50 per hour, a stark discount to private coaching in sports, which can cost hundreds of dollars per hour. A standard gaming PC plus accessories costs around $600 and can be used for education, work, and a variety of other functions besides gaming. Both computing platforms and internet access are cheaper and more accessible than ever before.

Beyond the greater scale and cost savings of youth eSports, it also teaches teamwork, leadership, and strategy. Like sports, it is often teamwork, not

An expert in all things eSports, Jonathan is Head of eSports / Entrepreneur in Residence at BRaVe Ventures, a strategic advisory firm that specialises in the technology, media, and entertainment (r)evolution. He started out as a Product Manager at Riot Games, before becoming the CEO of Ember, a North American League of Le-gends Team. Prior to Riot, he was a Senior Consultant in Financial Services at Ernst & Young. Jon received his MBA from NYU Stern, specialising in entertain-ment and finance, and a BA in Economics and Philosophy from Baruch College. He is a veteran of Afghanistan where he served as a Captain in the US Army. www.braveventures.com

THERES ABSOLUTELY NO

QUESTION TO ME THE LEVEL OF

SKILL, TRAINING AND DEVOTION

IT REQUIRES TO BECOME A

PROFESSIONAL GAMER.


Michael Phelps

2120

individual play, that decides victory. Like sports, it is the in-game leader making the clutch calls in the final moments of a match or motivating a team to comeback from a bad play. Like sports, different strategies are built against different opponents. And building strategies for five-dimensional chess, as Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, famously described eSports, requires tremendous mental horsepower.

Last but not least, naysayers point to the lack of physical activity in eSports to prove that eSports arent sports and that eSports athletes arent athletes. According to Michael Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medallist, the naysayers are wrong. He said that theres abso-lutely no question to me the level of skill, training and devotion it requires to become a professional gamer. Phelps presented the eSports Player of the Year during The Game Awards 2016 to his fellow athlete Marcelo Coldzera David, a Brazilian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player.

Whilst physical activity isnt involved in the act of competitive gaming, physical fitness has become a staple for pro-fessional eSports teams. The most successful teams have physical fitness regimens for their players because it takes a tremendous amount of disci-pline and energy to compete and win at the highest level. This has trickled down into youth eSports as well, since the best players in youth eSports want to mimic their pro eSports player role models. One example of this is the Get fit with Snoopeh campaign. Stephen

Snoopeh Ellis is a former professional eSports player who did a small workout based on his performance during his previous games and his viewers began to copy him, improving their physical fitness.

What we can expect in the near future for youth eSports is the continued pro-fessionalisation of collegiate eSports. Riot Games and Blizzard Entertainment are the two game publishers leading the charge into collegiate eSports by hosting leagues and tournaments where students can win money towards their college tuition. As the infrastructure for collegiate eSports matures, we can expect to see more activity at the high school level. In the US alone, that represents as much as 15M high school students (public schools). It wont be long until many parents recognise that youth eSports can help their kids with teamwork, leadership, and even physical activity.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Move over basketball, football and tennis eSports has the potential

to become the next big youth sport, providing kids with physical activity

whilst teaching about leadership, teamwork, and strategy at scale and

a fraction of the cost. Collegiate eSports is leading the way, and high school level eSports should shortly

follow.

Ollie Taylor


2322

Thomas Leuthard

ESPORTSESPORTSESPORTSESPORTS2524


M A N A G I N G D I R E C T O RJIM DOWLING

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T C A K E U K@jimdowling

Dont be fooled by eSports.

Its name with the prefix of an e for electronic implies another technology or innovation that us mere mortals with human brains in our heads have to understand. For sure, there are new platforms and channels for us to grasp. Aligned with some mind boggling audience and engagement figures, a sense of urgency exists around eSports that if we dont jump on board now, were all going to miss the bus.

But dont stress. As the following writers will demonstrate eSports goes beyond gaming and digital to reveal human trends that we see in other areas of entertainment. Young people are turning their backs on the billboard heroes of global sport and entertainment properties and instead forming new relationships with the authentic characters and personalities of YouTube, Twitch and Fnatic.

Welcome to the new world!

/ ESPORTS

Thomas Leuthard2726

AN EXPLOSIVE

YEAR AHEAD

AN EXPLOSIVE

YEAR AHEAD

AN EXPLOSIVE

YEAR AHEAD

H E A D O F E S P O R T SCHRISTOPHE AGNUS

V I V E N D I@cagnus

First off, lets be clear: with worldwide revenue at around $700m in 2016 (0.7% of the video game industry), eSports is not THE big thing. But if you look at the trends (40% annual growth), you might consider it as the growing thing that should be big soon.

Looking at demographics, eSports has many, many young fans, around 150m worldwide, with 75% under 34-years-old (according to Deloitte). As a brand you should definitely add eSports to your list of priorities. And then of course, theres passion. Go to an eSports event and you will discover the extreme passion of eSports loversjust like traditional sports fans.

2017 is going to be an explosive year.

There are three reasons for this:- Structure: In the beginning of eSports, competitions were organised by game publishers at an international level. In 2017/2018 we will see structured national and regional championships paving the way for potentially more relevant national and regional brands to have direct access to the eSports audience, not just the big global guys.- Professionalisation: Tens of football clubs, including Manchester United and Paris Saint Germain (PSG), have created eSports teams that will compete with established eSports teams like Vitality or Fnatic.- Distribution: Following the popu-larity of online streaming on Twitch, YouTube or Dailymotion, commercial TV will start broadcasting events. Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) is doing it in the USA as is Canal Plus in France.

Others will follow. All for the good of quality production.

All these developments are going to enhance the global role of eSports, and make it accessible (and understandable) for an even wider audience than today. But it can also turn wild and messy, like anything growing at a frenzied pace.

The challenge for the publishers will be to control the quality and a logical order in the competitions. They will then have to work closely with the broadcasters and the events organisers to form a win-win partnership.

For everyone, its now time for invest-ment in events, championships and teams to build the foundation for this next big thing that should, in a few years, compete with football and bas-ketball for media attention. Its certainly worth a try.

Christophe is a digital entrepre-neur who has founded multiple award-winning media and inter-net start-ups. He is the former CEO of Mondadori Digital, the French digital branch of the media company and was a Se-nior Reporter at LExpress News magazine, where he created the digital edition. He now heads up eSports at French multinational mass media and content group, Vivendi.www.vivendi.com

THE BIG TAKEOUT

With annual growth at +40% and a growing fan base of 150m, eSports is set to explode globally in 2017,

thanks to structured competitions, new professional teams, and TV

broadcasting. A good bet for investors and sponsors.

FOOTBALL CLUBS, LIKE MAN UTD

AND PSG, HAVE CREATED ESPORTS

TEAMS THAT WILL COMPETE WITH

ESTABLISHED ESPORTS TEAMS.

/ ESPORTS

mickiel2928

YOU AINITSEENNOTHINGYET!




,,,

B U S I N E S S D E V E L O P M E N T D I R E C T O RDARREN NEWNHAM

F N A T I C LT D@DarrenNewnham

Following this years trend of large US sports teams entering eSports, 2017 will continue to see outside investment and in some cases purchases of top and mid-tier teams.

The NBAs Philadelphia 76ers purchase of Dignitas (EU) and Apex (NA) as well as Magic Johnson et als investment in Team Liquid has sparked an apparent gold rush in this space and until one of these investments proves negative, it will only continue.

Broadcast TV will go from having its toe in the water to a more mainstream offering. Turner Broadcasting Systems (TBS) ELEAGUE in the US has bucked the trend of Friday night shows losing viewers.

According to Digiday, ELEAGUE viewers have watched 13.3m hours of content across Twitch and TBS. Sky and ITV in Europe have invested in Ginx eSports TV, offering 24-hour eSports content. Expect the likes of ESPN to be reacting to this soon.

One of the areas most in need of improve-ment and growth in eSports over the next 12 months is stats and analytics. Until now, eSports teams and organi-sations have been very emotive. We all know that any brand that engages with eSports fans will be well received and will get likes on social media if the campaign is organic and has an eSports feel to it. But actual conversions and valuation of CPA etc lacks platforms and tools behind the scenes to accu-rately measure ROI. There are several sports agencies now moving into eSports

to offer these services, but investment in this area for an eSports centric stats platform would see results.

Finally, the games themselves will have all eyes on Blizzard, as the publisher of two of the six games that eSports fans consider the Premiere League of viewing.

Overwatch will continue to grow and overtake League of Legends in viewership and fanbase, prize pools will go into the multi-million-dollar mark (although not reaching the heady heights of DOTA2s $22m TI6 final prize in Seattle in August 2016) and more teams will join the tournament roster. For Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard have announced a new league and season structure to the years competition, which should increase viewership and make scheduled programming easier around the live events, as well as make the game stronger against its compe-tition (DOTA2, LoL).

Overall 2017 will see exponential growth in eSports (from its already huge 150m fan base), and this is without including the new upcoming grassroots opportu-nities, the rise in player vs player com-petitive gaming (Streetfighter, FIFA, Mortal Kombat, F1 etc) and much more.

As we say in the industry, GL & HF (good luck & have fun).

Darren has been in the games industry for over 20 years, holding senior positions at Disney Interactive, SEGA, O2 and Three where he built and managed high quality, industry leading teams. He is now responsible for all business development and com-mercial sponsorship opportunities for one of the worlds largest and most successful eSports teams, Fnatic. He works with a diverse portfolio of partners guiding them through the high speed, high drama and changeable landscape of eSports.www.fnatic.com

The hottest trends to watch - outside investment & purchases of teams, a more mainstream eSports offering on TV, improvement in stats and

analytics, and the publisher Blizzard and the evolution around its games.

PRIZE POOLS WILL GO INTO THE

MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR MARK.

/ ESPORTS

Ochre Jelly

30 31

HARDER, BETTER, FASTER,

STRONGER


STRONGER


STRONGER

60 SECONDS WITH...

C E O & C O - F O U N D E RPETER WARMAN

N E W Z O O@pjwarman

What are your predictions for the growth of the market in the next few years? How do you make your projec-tions?Currently, we foresee a global audience of 215m eSports enthusiasts and $1.1bn in revenues (merchandise, ticketing, media rights, direct advertising, sponsorships) in 2019. Currently, $3.5 in revenue is generated per fan on an annual basis. This is extremely low compared to more traditional sports, hence the invest-ments of sports celebrities, companies and clubs into this space.

We anticipate this to grow to $6.0 in 2019 on top of the growth in fan base. You could call this conservative but there are still many challenges that need to be overcome before eSports will deliver the revenues per fan as sports leagues do (e.g. $60 a year for every NFL fan).

One thing that is holding eSports back is the traditional nature of media and sports agencies that service brands. eSports is never the core of campaigns that they propose to brands but a nice icing on the cake with limited budgets. Media agencies are reluctant to invest in market intelligence as this field is still extremely marginal in terms of media spending. At Newzoo, we have spoken to them all but hardly any of them are willing to invest money or serious time into this space.

Who are eSports enthusiasts? Why are they valuable targets for brands looking to get involved in gaming? For some it is the same target group as they now try to reach with sports. Millennials are shifting hours from sports to eSports. On the other hand, a large share of eSports fans arent fans of tra-ditional sports and are extremely hard to reach or engage with. Gaming as a whole has always been hard for brands to use as a platform to engage with this target group, but now with viewing teams and live events, it fits a lot more with the media approach they are used to.

Broadcasters around the world are starting to give airtime to eSports. Is there a chance that eSports might bypass traditional sports with young people? If so, when? Yes. Amongst millennial males 20-35 years old, its already challenging hockey and baseball in the US. eSports provides the mix of involvement (playing and streaming), entertainment (viewing) and live events (attending) that the new generation has come to expect.

How do you measure the gaming market in terms of the audience and revenues? Newzoo has been researching, modelling and reporting on the games market since 2009. In 2013, we earmarked video streaming and eSports as a key growth trend for the industry, illustrated in our report PC Gaming, Power to the People,

A frequent speaker on the business aspects of the games industry, Peter is CEO and co-founder of Newzoo, the international games market research specialist that services clients such as Facebook, Tencent, YouTube, Blizzard, Microsoft, EA, and Red Bull. An expert in all things digital, he previously managed sales and development for Europes largest interactive agency (LBi) and led the commercial development for a multiplayer online game for children. www.newzoo.com

/ ESPORTS

Viktor Hanacek 3332

published in the fall of that year. It also marked the start of a 9-month effort to segment, classify and model the new space as well as research eSports engagement amongst consumers in over 25 countries.

The huge consumer research effort has continued on a bi-annual basis and forms part of the input for our Global eSports Audience and Revenue Model that projects towards 2020 on a country, regional and global scale. Other data input includes an array of economic growth KPIs per country as well as viewing hours on platforms such as Twitch, YouTube and its Chinese coun-terparts such as Douyu and Panda TV. Then there is prize money and atten-dance data that we gather or track ourselves. We also track player behaviour amongst 20m core PC gamers across the globe continuously, to spot changes in eSports franchise popularity.

A key component comes from the main players in the eSports economy: many provide insight into their actuals in terms of revenues and audience and/or validate the results of our analysis before we publish anything. Our recent formal partnerships with top teams such as G2, Immortals, Fnatic, Navi, The Alliance and Chinese LGD Gaming are aimed to cement this and confirms our belief that the teams will take an increasingly central role in eSports and its revenues.

Where does the data come from and how has it evolved since you started? For global and local brands, our consumer insights are the key component for

brands to decide if and how to invest in this space as they match the audience demographic with that of their brands and products. For players in the eSports economy it is the combination of big data (tracking viewing and playing behaviour) and consumer insights that makes the difference. Our Global eSports Audience and Revenue Model has increased in complexity and granularity enormously over the years. We are investing in the next level of granularity that I cannot say anything about yet as the big traditional research and marketing companies all want to become a player in this space and we are dedicated to remaining the world-leading specialist in this field.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

In 2019, Newzoo predicts the global eSports audience will grow to 215m and $1.1bn in revenues, with the current $3 in revenue per fan set to double. eSports enthusiasts

represent a valuable target for brands as millennials switch from sports to

eSports, which is already challenging many traditional sports. Despite this growth, sports marketing and media

agencies still need to catch up.

camknows

/ ESPORTS

3534

HUMANAFTER

ALL

HUMAN AFTER

ALL

HUMAN AFTER

ALL

G L O B A L I N S I G H T S& A N A LY T I C S D I R E C T O R

BAPTISTE TOUGERON

H AVA S M E D I A G R O U P@TougBat

SteelSeries

eSports is definitely starting to become a data & analytics driven industryand its just the beginning. We all know the industry stats: number of players, views during the World Cups, fans at live events in stadia, number of downloads, big money prizes, etc etc.

eSports is clearly well established and is still enjoying an amazing progression. To reach this level, you can be sure that a lot (though not everything) relies on the evolution of data & analytics practices. When we start to talk about big money in a specific sector, you also need to start talking about data, statistics, per-formance and ROI.

If we rely on a few best practices in terms of data & analytics, they should be: First, the use of data to personalise the mobile gaming experience based on the customers behaviour, feeding him/her with the right options and situations to increase engagement. The right experience for the right target with the right content; every marketer should dream of this combination for their ads! Second, the use of analytics to predict (with a very high level of certainty), which team could win a multiplayer game thanks to a complex algorithm based on the profile of the players, their past actions, their opponents, and

each decision they take during a game. Amazing in terms of data sciences!

But lets step back a little bit. Data & analytics have always been at the centre of all highly rated sports, of any competition really, where every single movement or combination is tracked, the impact of weather changes precisely measured, and even players are trained based on stats; everything is done to optimise performance. So whats different with eSports?

In fact, data is starting to be as prevalent as in other sports like football, basket-ball, cricket or rugby, with a little plus: access to data is much easier, faster, bigger since a majority of the action is online (which obviously reminds us of the Big Data mantra), with even more opportunities for brands to be more meaningful for fans.

In the end, what also makes eSports a normal sport is that any final decision is taken by a real person, and will always lead to unpredictable results. Thanks to this, we can be confident predicting that the industry should last for a long time. eSports is dead, long live eSports!

ACCESS TO DATA IS MUCH

EASIER, FASTER, BIGGER SINCE

A MAJORITY OF THE ACTION IS

ONLINE.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Access to data in eSports is much easier, faster and bigger as so much

of the action is online. Thanks to data about player/viewer behaviour, the

gaming experience can become more personalised whilst analytics can help predict who will win. Opportunities

abound for brands to create meaningful experiences for fans.

/ ESPORTS

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RETIREDAT 25RETIRED AT 25RETIREDAT 25

S E N I O R A C C O U N T D I R E C T O RRANDI CONNER

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T U S A@RandiConner

2016 has been marked by some of the biggest investments in eSports, from major media groups such as Turner Broadcasting and Vivendi; to brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, Red Bull, Pizza Hut, and Intel; to professional sports teams who are launching their own teams and leagues (ie French Ligue 1 launched eLigue 1 in partnership with EAs FIFA17, Europes first professional eSports football league).

This year also marked the first genera-tion of eSports legendary players to hit retirement.

Team SoloMid fan favourite Brian TheOddone Wyllie retired at the age of 25 after playing for four years; European legend Pete yellowpete Wppen left Evil Geniuses at 25; and Dignitas legend Michael imaqtpie Santana moved on to a much more lucrative career in streaming at just 22. These retired players are now moving behind the scenes and into the workforce, thus helping the eSports industry grow.

The explosion of eSports and the fact it is hitting mainstream audiences will consi-derably grow the number of players, both amateurs and professionals. Many will be willing to give up everything to pursue their passion and try to make a living out of it. However, their gaming career will be very short-lived.

Due to the intensity and mental strength required of gamers, the pro-gamer

career is surprisingly brief, with many of them hanging up their controllers well before their 30th birthday. As a result, players have to make a decision about what to do next with the career they built at such a young age.

Some retired players end up becoming managers, coaches, or creators of teams, leagues or games. For example, Stephen Snoopeh Ellis, a former League of Legends player who retired at age 23, is now working in business development for US-based eSports betting platform Unikrn, which allows fans in the UK and across Europe to bet on eSports matches.

Former professional League of Legends player Alberto Crumbzz Rengifo formed an agency for professional eSports, APE. The agency will represent players, providing services to clients such as contract negotiations, individual spon-sorship deals and post-career manage-ment, thus increasing transparency in the sport.

In the coming years, well see a growing number of players leave the stage, and unlike other major sport associations like the NFL, this discipline does not

IN 2017, WELL START TO SEE THE

PLAYERS TAKE A LARGER ROLE

BY TAKING BACK THE GAME THEY

KNOW AND LOVE.

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like the NFL, this discipline does not yet have a developed organisation set up to truly support the interests of profes-sional players and their transition from competition to retirement.

What is available currently is in its infancy and supported by industry leaders like game developers and investors. We are only beginning to see more player organisations, such as the Professional eSports Association (PEA), come on board in 2017, but time will tell if these organisations will truly support the needs of the players.

Whilst gamers started this industry, it is attracting attention and investment from media and brands with very little knowledge of the space. Gaming is all about legitimacy and as the industry is developing so rapidly, many claim it may be losing its credibility. We believe that in 2017, well start to see the players take a larger role by taking back the game they know and love.

We must also not forget the professional players, and their potential as they retire. Brands have a big role to play and can partner with retired players, either supporting their integration into the educational system, or by helping them leverage their experience in their new careers. There is currently a big void surrounding professional player engagement, and a real opportunity for brands to play a meaningful role to bring back credibility and legitimacy within

the industry. Successful brands will be those that seize this opportunity early and are committed to helping protect and support these athletes in their life after stardom.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

eSports gaming careers are short, and players are starting to retire, mostly in their mid-20s. Support

for retired players is sparse, as player organisations are only

now developing. Brands have an opportunity to fill the void and create meaningful partnerships with retired legends, and thereby highlight the

true value their involvement brings to the sport.

SteelSeries

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GO FORTH& CREATEGO FORTH& CREATEGO FORTH& CREATE

G L O B A L H E A D O F E S P O R T S

@ h o k u m _

LESTER CHENY O U T U B E

60 SECONDS WITH...

As a gamer yourself, what does your experience from having been on the other side add to your role at YouTube?Being a former player has given me invaluable insight and experience in a currently crowded space. Having a deep understanding of the values and motivations of eSports organisations and players is paramount to the growth of eSports. Questions like the following intrinsically help predict and guide our team to better business decisions when making content investments. What kind of skill gap exists within a game? Is there a large enough competitive player base for the eSports title to exist long term? What rulesets and regu-lations need to exist? What balance issues does a game experience? Is the game spectator friendly? What makes the game entertaining? How accessible is the game to casual players? How genuinely different is one game from the next?

Being on the other side has allowed me to gain insight into what makes a pro player or an eSports enthu-siast tick. In order to create compel-ling content, you need to know the best way to communicate and design programmes that will touch the core motivations of your audience. Gamers are the quickest audience to sniff out something unauthentic, so being able to inject an educated opinion on topics ranging from press releases to sponsor messaging is crucial.

What made the Clash Royale Kings Cup (YouTubes first foray into mobile eSports) such a pivotal shift for the brand within eSports? The Kings Cup was very much a test tube event. Mobile games dominate

YouTube as far as gaming goes, so we wanted to put our foot forward in the mobile space. Last year Twitch as an entire platform did 4bn watch hours of live stream content whereas mobile alone on YouTube did 1 1.5bn watch hours this year. We realised we have a lot of power here and we should tap into this market.

The creators are paid talent within the YouTube space. At an event like this, how does the agreement differ to a traditional sponsorship deal?Its not very clear-cut - at least that is how the creators look at it. This is a great opportunity for them to gain exposure so whenever there is a big event they naturally want to compete. We did pay them to participate but it wasnt as simple as us sponsoring them just to come out. The creators were the stars of the show. They were flown out early just so we could shoot interviews. They were promoting, creating the content and even singing the theme song. They were an integral part of the show from top to bottom. We didnt ask these guys to commentate - they wanted to. It was very free form. We told them the rules and they did it within the broadcast. Yes, we paid them to participate but the value that we got out of that was immense.

Do you think the event would have been as successful without the impact and the influence of the creators?It would have died. If there is no gateway through which people can realise the competitive nature of a game, they will never gravitate towards it. Using the creators to bridge the gap between casual and competitive was the best way to get eyeballs to this event. Its impossible for a game

Lester was a professional gamer from 2004-2006, back in the days of major league gaming when console games were explo-ding. With a background in live programming from his time at Machinima, He now focuses on making in-roads into live through eSports at YouTube.

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to grow a following if no one knows what the game means at a competitive level, so it was critical that influencers were there. The creators we used had a combined total of 10m subscribers. They were our entire marketing vehicle. We used them for content creation as well as promo-tional methods. We got a lot of organic pick up that we didnt have to pay for, as just having them involved was a huge focal point and kept the voice authentic.

It will be interesting to see what the viewership is if Supercell goes on to fund their own organic tournament. Im curious to know how an event like that goes without the big creators involved.

Are you thinking about how or what you could do to stretch the engagement (onsite or online) at future eSports events?Right now brands are playing around with experimental dollars. Here at YouTube our business is content distribution. We are a huge platform dealing with many different verticals and siphoning eyeballs in many different ways. Widening the funnel is our number one priority. We could just go and buy all the content or try to invest our way into acquiring content but that is not going to grow the pie. How do we use 100m logged-on gaming users who dont have any idea of what eSports even are and who have stayed away from the Twitch bubble? Were conscious of getting the next million if not billions of gaming users to watch this content.

Is it more about leveraging the creators and the content that you have and then presenting that back to brands in an effort to get them involved?Its a mix. We think about packages that we try to sell to brands. We like to have the live content but we also want to package a selection of the creators. We have so many niche pockets of gamers that were able to create big moments within the gaming space. The diffe-rence between YouTube and Twitch or any other platform is that we have these content creators who have their own communities and that becomes incre-dibly valuable if youre a brand. You not only get a live event but you can also work with the actual voices themselves to push your message even deeper. Its a two-layer approach that allows a brand to tell many stories and go beyond the one big moment

What is the future of eSports and gaming for YouTube in the next 12 months to 5 years? If were able to get more and more eSports content on our platform we will have a hotbed of gaming content with an audience that are ready to consume. Increasing this audience and reaching more first time viewers of eSports content will allow us to bring new amounts of viewership and further legiti-mise eSports. Our sales team will then be able to bring brands in to help keep that hamster wheel of content, acquisition and brands getting in and reinvesting the content and going after new content. If and when we get all the content on YouTube, there will be a better treadmill to drum up bigger audiences. More brand dollars in the space unlocks our ability to create bigger events and reinvest dollars to bigger and better programmes where one hand will feed the other.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Mobile games dominate YouTube as far as gaming goes,

with 1-1.5bn hours watched. Content creators are central to YouTubes eSports strategy (both around live events and online) as they populate the

platform with gaming content, add their unique voice, and grow and engage gaming

communities. They can be a valuable partner for brands

that want to engage eSports audiences.

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DATA &TECHNOLOGYDATA &TECHNOLOGYDATA &TECHNOLOGY

46 47


G E N E R A L M A N A G E RFRANCIS COADY

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T A U S T R A L I A@HSE_AUS

Apart from being ubiquitous buzzwords, what does data and technology concretely bring to those of us working in the sports & entertainment industry?

From groundbreaking talent and innovation springing from sports technology start-ups to AI that personalises and reveals, we can uncover hidden moments across the media landscape that may unlock the next viral narrative or truly customise each client interaction to the individual.

2017 will see a continued blurring of traditional

disciplines that will aim to highlight what motivates and what endures in the minds eye of the consumer.

With greater budget accountability, the measurement of data, utilising complex modeling and algorithms, will assist agencies and clients respectively to better channel funds that will ultimately secure greater returns and value for all parties involved.

With more and more data, theres more learning ahead!

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MARKETSOF ONE:

COGNITIVE INTELLIGENCE ENABLES

MASS PERSONALISATION

MARKETS OF ONE:

MARKETS OF ONE:

G L O B A L H E A D O F M A R K E T I N G I N N O VAT I O N& G L O B A L B R A N D D I R E C T O R

JASON JERCINOVIC

H AVA S@j jercino

We are sitting on a gold mine. For quite a while now, we (brands and marketers) have been collecting a treasure trove of digital information on everything from changing weather patterns to the spread of infectious diseases. We have digitised the history of the worlds literature. We track and store the movements of automobiles, trains, planes and mobile phones. And we are privy to the raw, real-time sentiments of people through billions of social media data points.

Individually, each of these digital resources has been immensely useful, applied to solving specific problems in dozens of industries. But collectively, when integrated, cross-referenced, and analysed, this body of information represents the most powerful natural resource the world has ever known. And it is growing exponentially.

It is reasonable to expect that within this untamed corpus of data lay the secrets to the worlds biggest problems, things like defeating cancer, reversing climate change, or managing the complexity of the global economy. But until recently, we have not had the means to mine this resource properly. It was too big, too messy, and too disparate.

For the first time, the tools we use to process and analyse data are catching up to the tools we use to produce it. Some call it artificial intelligence. Others call it cognitive computing. Whatever the name, the potential to quickly and purposefully analyse the worlds information and put it to use is available to us now. Using machines that learn, reason, and understand, we can now interact with the vast amounts of complex, ambiguous information. We

can now have insight or intelligence into this data, including things that dont fit neatly into databases or spreadsheets: images, video, text and sound.

This capability holds profound impli-cations for nearly every company in every industry. But for those of us in the marketing profession, it brings us ever closer to reaching a long-sought-after goal: markets of one.

Its easy to misunderstand or underesti-mate the implications of this concept. In part thats because weve been promised this capability for years, but all weve gotten is incrementally smaller market

segments or personas. Now were finally in a position to literally tailor millions of customer relationships to each indivi-dual, from the way their products and services are designed and delivered to the way their customer service requests are addressed.

The impact of this capability will go far beyond improvements in marketing efficiency and customer satisfaction. In our lifetimes, we could be seeing the disintegration of mass markets, the death of one-size-fits-all, and a redefining of economies of scale. In fact: it is actually already happening.

HOW DO WE USE COGNITIVE

INSIGHTS AS A WAY TO

PERSONALISE RECOMMENDED

PRODUCTS AND CONTENT TO

CUSTOMERS IN A MORE INDIVIDUAL

AND IMPACTFUL WAY?

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At Havas we employ IBM Watson as a cognitive intelligence resource in our client accounts. But the future of marketing started to come into clearer focus recently when we started seeing our clients use these insights to create custom personal platforms.

What happens when that same capability is applied to marketing? Or advertising? This thinking is not just theory; we are doing this now with many of the brands in the Havas portfolio. For example, Havas recently worked with adidas on a cognitive product recommender termed miWay. The challenge was how do we use cognitive insights as a way to personalise recommended products and content to customers in a more individual and impactful way. Using a cognitive powered intelligence, we are analysing customers social media to get a sense of their customers personalities. Based on that profile, we created a custom look book of products, and a mix of personalised influencer content which aligns with each users own personality. The result is that each and every feed is customised to each individual user. This is a great example of marketing to the market of one.

But this is not just sports and athlei-sure. What about investing? We are currently working with TD Ameritrade

to use artificial intelligence to gauge each investors risk tolerance, financial sophistication, and the clarity of their goals. It doesnt do this by asking them to fill out surveys (which we know are inaccurate and rife with bias) or have a conversation with an investment advisor (which doesnt scale.) It assesses the investor by having a natural language conversation, chatting about real life stuff. Stuff we care about like sports, food, fame and of course money. With these insights we are able to then offer unique investment advice. Each user gets a custom response. A market of one.

The fundamental building blocks of this future are in place: broadband, data centres, cloud, analytics, and IoT. They are the drivers of modern day insight. And together they will yield a new understanding of the complex systems that facilitate life on this planet and drive the majority of economic development.

As a marketer, Im excited about the prospects of mass customisation. But as a global citizen, Im even more excited about the potential to mine the worlds greatest natural resource its data for centuries to come.

What can you do with Cognitive Intel-ligence?

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Armed with a growing library of digital information and the tools to analyse it through machine learning

and AI, marketers can now tailor customer relationships to the indivi-dual. Its the end of mass marketing and the start of the market of one.

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THE GOLD MINE OF PASSIONS

AIMEETS

SPORTS

AIMEETS

SPORTS

AIMEETS

SPORTS

D ATA P L A N N E RCIARAN POWER

H AVA S H E L I A@theciaranpower

The on-demand nature of modern 24-hour news coverage means there is often an incredible focus on events that can easily be crystallised into one moment for publication that will generate the most clicks and views. These spectacular episodes crash in, taking centre stage in the moment, often to the detriment of the more subtle paradigmatic shifts those genuine insights made by people over longer periods of time with continued exposure and interpretation of the subject. Strong bonds, like the complex rela-tionships we develop with an athlete or sports team, are rarely made in one moment, or even across a series of discrete, disconnected events, but over time. By using AI for social listening, we are able to cut through the noise to understand the authentic considerations of real people, not just what the headlines tell us they feel, and how these elements of cultural capital accumulate. A great example of this is eagleAI an artificially intelligent programme we created to help inform the UK broad-caster ITVs live coverage of the US election, through a continuous analysis of the most shared articles on social media. As the media focused on the major scandals and sharp talking points, an article titled Why Im Voting for Donald Trump by Kelly Quelette, a pro-life coffee shop manager from a small North

Carolina town, was quietly garnering a massive 1.5m shares nationwide. An estimated 150k of these were in the key state of Florida, which Trump won by 120k votes but this story was hidden from mainstream news coverage.

eagleAI hummed away in the back-ground, gathering data and insights from stories like this, analysing the more nuanced and slowly-developing feelings of everyday people that were often overlooked by traditional media and analysts. As the majority of polls predicted a Clinton win, eagleAI was one of the few sources that accurately predicted a Trump victory, calling 4 of the 5 swing states in the process.

ITV News Programme Editor Alex Chandler praised eagleAI for enabling the network to conduct a deep dive on millions of data points, in a way no programme has been able to do before.

In sports marketing, artificial intelli-gence could be used to cut through the media noise and PR bluster to understand fans authentic passions and feelings and identify the authentic next big thing.

This could mean picking up the gradually building sentiment towards an emerging

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD

BE USED TO CUT THROUGH THE

MEDIA NOISE AND PR BLUSTER TO

UNDERSTAND FANS

AUTHENTIC PASSIONS AND

FEELINGS AND IDENTIFY THE

AUTHENTIC NEXT BIG THING.

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team, like the controversial football team RB Leipzig (who are backed by energy drink Red Bull and rapidly climbed from 5th division to the Bun-desliga while betraying its fans and German football traditions due to its commercial structure), in measuring the rapidly rising buzz one might expect from the next rising crossover star, tracking the rise of a new Neymar, or keeping abreast of the new key terms and platforms in a constantly evolving culture. After this, it could be imple-mented in programmatically determi-ning the right people to target for the resultant campaigns based on tribal allegiances, expressed interest, and even their individual personalities.

We are just on the cusp of the AI revo-lution, which promises to become a continuous source of insight into fans, fan engagement, and fans relationship with sports by making connections we never could before. Expect sports marketing to become smarter, more targeted, and more creative as a result.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

As demonstrated by eagleAI predic-ting Trumps win, AI, through social

listening, has the power to reveal what is often hidden to traditional media what everyday people are

really thinking. When AI meets sports, well be able to better unders-tand fan sentiment by measuring the buzz about an emerging team, a rising

crossover star, and new terms and emerging platforms, to name just a

few.

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AND SPORTSINNOVATION WILL

NEVER STOP

STARTME UP... STARTME UP... STARTME UP...STARTME UP...

A C C O U N T D I R E C T O R& F 5 I N N O VAT I O N L E A D E R

CHARLES BAL

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T F R A N C E@CharlesBal1

Muhammad Ali, Dick Fosbury, Billie Jean King, Ayrton Senna, Antonin Panenka Sports history is full of unreasonable men and women who triggered major shifts and memorable advances in their respective disciplines. These athletes chose to think outside the field to disrupt their sport, inaugurate new forms of expression and bring their discipline into a new era.

In 2017, who will be the next game changers? Athletes? Sponsors?

I bet on START-UPS!

I bet on those whose raison dtre is to cleverly, usefully and substantially challenge the status quo. Start-ups are already disrupting todays sports industry with new products and services offering new experiences or revenue streams for athletes (ex: LSee* and its metabolic tracker analysing fat-loss bio-markers from a single drop of blood), organisers (ex: NextVR which has partnered with the NBA to broadcast one game per week in virtual reality), fans (ex: VoGo Sport* allowing in-stadia spectators to access live multi-camera angles and replays from their mobile phone), and brands (ex: Running Heroes*, allowing runners to redeem their km for exclusive offers from brands). This trend will only multiply in the coming years.

In fact, the explosive attractiveness of the sports market for tech investors

provides solid proof. According to TechCrunch, venture funding for sports tech start-ups has been growing nearly 30% per year since 2012. VCs, brands, as well as professional teams and athletes are all investing big money (such as Intel which in October 2016 announced a $38m investment into 12 sport tech start-ups) in the creation of investments funds, accelerator programmes, and product development for and with start-ups.

Thats precisely why we, at Havas Sports & Entertainment France, decided to launch a comprehensive and ambitious innovation plan in 2016, entitled F5 (press this button on your keyboard and youll understand :-), which involves an exclusive partnership with Le Tremplin, the leading sports start-up accelerator in France, and the incubation of several sports start-ups inside our own walls.

Innovation through collaboration with start-ups will be a major new driver of growth and opportunity, for our development as an agency and for new offers for our clients. We recently launched United Heroes, a joint offer with Le Tremplins Running Heroes, to promote sport practice at work. This is how we have reasonably chosen to innovate, thanks to unreasonable men and women!

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Venture funding in sports tech start-ups is growing 30% per year, with big investors like Intel jumping

in. Creating new services and products for athletes, organisers, fans, and brands, sports start-ups have immense growth potential.

*Start-ups incubated at Le Tremplin (www.letremplin.paris/)

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THE BEST NEW METHOD

FOR SPONSORSHIP VALUATION

ECONOMETRICS: ECONOMETRICS: ECONOMETRICS:

H E A D O F A N A LY T I C SDR ANNA SEMENS

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T C A K E U K@annasemens

Say the word econometrics, and youll probably get a blank stare. At a very broad level, econometrics is about using mathematics to describe rela-tionships between variables and giving empirical context to those relationships. There are many different econome-tric methods, which we wont go into of course, but they tend to share the commonality of using fairly complex data sets to uncover simple patterns, that explain whats happening in the economy.

Traditionally sponsorship deals have been valued based on advertising equivalent value or even just gut feel, but given the vast amounts of money involved in these deals, we need to make sure that both brands and rights holders are getting fair value for money.

More and more deals are being signed that are based on brands benefiting from a positive association with a par-ticular property as opposed to tangible rights that were traditionally sought and therefore the method of valuing those deals must also evolve. Econometric methods can help us with that.

Havas SE Cakes sponsorship database includes thousands of sponsorship deals,

their realised value as well as contrac-tual terms and intangible associations. Using this data, econometrics can help us to determine which relationships between variables are significant and what each combination of variables is likely to be worth, both in general and for individual industries or brands. This gives rights holders the confidence that they are maximising the value of their rights, and brands the confidence that they arent overpaying and have the optimal rights needed to gain a return on their investment.

Weve never had access to more data than we do now, but without being able to make sense of it, data is of little value. Weve long been able to use econome-trics to determine the ROI of adverti-sing and other parts of the marketing mix. By borrowing techniques that are widely used in finance and the sciences, we can now also accurately determine the ROI from sponsorships and other marketing assets.

So how exactly will econometrics shape the future? Whilst we dont think that econometrics should be used to answer every marketing question, being able to isolate relationships between variables can certainly prove useful in determi-ning how to optimise campaigns. For example, weve been working with a

WEVE NEVER HAD ACCESS TO

MORE DATA THAN WE DO NOW,

BUT WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO

MAKE SENSE OF IT, DATA IS OF

LITTLE VALUE.

ECONOMETRICS CAN HELP US TO

DETERMINE WHICH RELATIONSHIPS

BETWEEN VARIABLES ARE

SIGNIFICANT AND WHAT EACH

COMBINATION OF VARIABLES IS

LIKELY TO BE WORTH.

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large telecoms brand to ensure that theyre getting the best value for money from their partnerships. We do this by undertaking a property pricing assess-ment and calculating the value of the media coverage generated around the partnership. This enables their spon-sorship team to demonstrate the ROI compared to the initial investment in rights, which proves the value of spon-sorship in the marketing mix, a question many board members and colleagues ask.

As we get access to more and more data, well be able to gain insights into how best to value and get value from partnership opportunities and campaigns.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Econometrics, traditionally used in finance and science, can help brands

optimise their ROI in rights by revealing which assets add value and

how.

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NEW MEDIANEWMEDIANEWMEDIANEWMEDIA

64 65


C E OADRIAN PETTETT

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T C A K E U K@aepettett

Some of the ideas, trends and analyses in this document will be wrong. Wed be deluded if we thought otherwise. The speed of change in technology, media and marketing are such that mistakes and bad bets are inevitable.

But theres one thing we know for sure: sport and entertainment will play a central role in creating the market for new technologies, new platforms and new ideas.

We know this because most media innovations are normalised for a mass audience by sport, music, film and television content. OTT and Netflix, live Twitter streaming and the NFL, football and mobile

video. Without fantastic content, many of Silicon Valleys brightest ideas can seem like a solution in search of a problem.

The other thing we know is that predicting the next tech explosion is just one part of the skill set required of a world-class agency. We see athlete-owned platforms as the next big thing in giving fans direct access to athletes and athletes control over their messaging. We also see OTT content as a slow but necessary disrupter of the traditional sports broadcasting model, which will make the TV viewing experience all the richer.

So stay tuned!

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ATHLETESARE THENEW MEDIA



G L O B A L C H I E F S T R AT E G Y O F F I C E RFREDDA HURWITZ

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T@FreddaHurwitz

I wonder what Joe DiMaggio would make of todays athletes, the notion of role model or the business of sport? Back in the day with no social media, lucrative sponsorship deals or own-brand sneakers, his success was 100% about what happened on the field of dreams, and of course, that time he was married to a certain Marilyn Monroe. Ditto for Babe Ruth, Carl Lewis, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Jackie Joyner-KerseeTheir global fan base revolved around how they performed, how American they were, how they made their teammates and fans feel, how humble they were (or werent) during the obligatory post-game interview.

Yes indeed, the times they have a changed.

LeBron James Uninterrupted in partnership with the Bleacher Report, Stephen Currys The Slyce, Derek Jeters The Players Tribune, Unscriptd and its numerous investors led by Andre Agassi, and one of the originals in this new age of athlete as medium - Big Papi with Off the Bat from the MLB FanCave. These arent simply outlets for players to engage directly with fans on their terms, sharing content that they deem important or relevant to their brand, one could argue that this is the 21st century version of a warm and fuzzy fireside chat.

And its working.

According to Unscriptd, the goal is to let athletes take control of their own narrative, the issues or stories that matter to them and deliver insight into their sport, which mirrors Uninter-rupteds CEO, Maverick Carter James business partner and childhood friend, Uninterrupted was created as a platform for talent to access their fans, and is now considered to be the go-to platform for some of the worlds most recognizable talent. When asked if this new trend in fan access to talent could bypass the role of the journalist, Carter felt that the two are complementary and would continue to co-exist. But down the line, will they?

Great athletes naturally command a certain reverence by the media and their fans. Throw in a loveable and/or tempestuous personality, enough good looks, perhaps the superstar other half, a heart (lets not forget the do the right thing mantra), and youre really onto something whereby said athlete is often driving the new agenda and calling the access shots. Where this leaves the traditional beat reporter remains to be seen, ditto for the post-game interview.

THE GOAL IS TO LET ATHLETES

TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR OWN

NARRATIVE, THE ISSUES OR

STORIES THAT MATTER TO THEM

AND DELIVER INSIGHT INTO THEIR

SPORT.

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68 69

Few athletes are as vocal as Allen Iverson in his heyday, so the ability to get up close and personal with an athlete you love (or even love to hate), is by default going to be a super exciting prospect for millions of fans everywhere.

Yes, traditional meet and greets and a guaranteed number of sponsor hero shots are often still the norm with contracts, but those athletes who have taken control of their destiny off the field are paving the way for a whole new dynamic, dialogue and commercial destiny.

It remains to be seen: will there ever be another Howard Cosell/Muhammad Ali partnership in this age of the athlete as the media?

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Uninterruped, The Players Tribune, Unscriptd, and Slyce are examples of athlete-owned online platforms

where athletes share the stories they deem important, driving the dialogue and agenda. A new era for athletes to call the shots and give greater access

to their fans.

400tmax

/ DATA & TECHNOLOGY

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LIVE SPORTS GO OTT

LIVE SPORTS GO OTT

LIVE SPORTS GO OTT

S V P S T R AT E G I C I N V E S T M E N T SJEFF GAGNE

H AVA S M E D I A N O R T H A M E R I C A

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Live sports content has been slow to go OTT due to the rigid TV

rights model. This content needs to be made available across a variety of distribution systems, or the risk is the loss of younger generations

of fans. Expect a calculated rollout for OTT sport content in 2017,

following the NFLs lead with live streaming on Twitter.

Well that was fast.

We are suddenly at a place in the rapidly unfolding history of media where Over-The-Top (OTT) services are no longer an emerging threat to the traditional television model, but connected television sets now actually rival the scale of cable. The math is simple: tech companies need to push out premium content so that the format is universally embraced to make money.

Since its inception, the only true thorn in OTTs side has been live sports, as the television rights model has been iron clad in protecting the major leagues contracts. But each time those major rights deals are renewed, room for additional content distribution seeps into the fold.

Perhaps leading the way, the NFL has been testing and learning about their OTT audience potential in live games: last year through Yahoo! and currently via Twitter to mirror their new Thursday night package. This is clearly a signal to the marketplace that changes are imminent and that television is no longer the sacred cow. Rumours are swirling about the PGA Tour and the NBA creating their own network exclusively distributed via OTT, which forces television executives to debate if thats a bluff to raise their own pricing

or a true and viable reaction to a mar-ketplace thats moving far faster than any contract can predict. Its frankly a tough bet.

Live sports are continuously toeing the line as an industry as they risk losing exposure to a whole generation of video natives: a Generation Z that will never meet a cable guy or have an intrusive set-top box on their mantle. The good news is this: making sports content available across a variety of distribution systems allows for both these younger demos to engage with their favourite sports and the avid fan bases to deepen their relationships via exclusive content.

In 2017 and beyond, we can expect a rapid, yet calculated roll out, much like the NFL is practicing now, instead of a rights revolution. Sports continues to be the most dominant and reliable performer on traditional television, but that wont be the case a decade from now if todays young sports fans were neglected along the way. OTT embraces the customisation that all digital content has succeeded on and places it back on the TV screen, where sports always plays best. Its perhaps the most necessary evil.

OTT EMBRACES THE

CUSTOMISATION THAT

ALL DIGITAL CONTENT HAS

SUCCEEDED ON AND PLACES IT

BACK ON THE TV SCREEN, WHERE

SPORTS ALWAYS PLAYS BEST.

/ DATA & TECHNOLOGY

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DO THERIGHT THINGDO THERIGHT THINGDO THERIGHT THINGDO THERIGHT THING74 75


G L O B A L C H I E F S T R AT E G Y O F F I C E RFREDDA HURWITZ

H AVA S S P O R T S & E N T E R T A I N M E N T@FreddaHurwitz

Spike Lee catapulted the sentiment of do the right thing into the stratosphere when he released his ground breaking film in 1989, bolstered by Public Enemys war cry - Fight the Power.

Do the right thing meant something on so many levels to cross generational audiences around the world; black, white, young, old. It broke through and got people thinking, talking, laughing, sharing, acting.

Here we are nearly 30 years laterand I wonder if the richness and responsibility of these four words stacks up in our equally challenging world, that is faced with racism, sexism, homophobia, abuse, deceit, deception, Trump (sorry, I had to)and I havent even begun talking about the sports industry yet.

When you apply this thinking to sports and the com-plicated ecosystem that shapes and guides it, who is ultimately responsible for taking on the wrongs and righting them: the athletes? The brands? The rights holders? The media? The fans?

Our prolific, outgoing, no holds-barred contributors have a thing or two to say about the state of the sports world today, embracing their role in helping to be part of the solution whilst calling out those who are still hovering around fist base. Get ready to take a stand.

/ DO THE RIGHT THING

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WILL IT ALWAYS BE KNOWN AS

WOMENIN

SPORTS?

WOMENIN

SPORTS?

60 SECONDS WITH...

WOMENIN

SPORTS?

M A N A G I N G PA R T N E R , Y S P O R T,C H A I R O F W O M E N I N S P O R T

SALLY HANCOCK

@Sallyhancock1

Where is womens sport currently?We have a lot to be proud of and celebrate. Womens sport has new heroes. Not only our hugely suc-cessful athletes in domestic (UK) and international competition, but the extraordinary numbers of women and girls getting active for the first time, and sharing their experiences with others. Sport Englands This Girl Can campaign has seen 2.7m more women and girls claiming to take part in exercise and activity as a result, although, still 1.73m fewer women than men are active on a regular basis.

Why does it lag behind mens sport? Is it for lack of funding, excitement, or is it a historical bias problem?For all the achievements of the last 18 months, the journey towards a level playing field in sport still has a consi-derable way to go. With the exception of the Rio 2016 Games, and a few dedicated broadcast partners, coverage of womens sport in the last 12 months, whilst having improved, still remains at the margins.

Womens sport can find itself trapped in a vicious circle a chain of depen-dencies around a lack of major events, lack of coverage, leading to a lack of sponsors, engagement and awareness. We need forward-thinking brands, sports and media to disrupt this, and enable womens sport to achieve the recognition and positioning it deserves,

and to inspire more women and girls to get active and engage.

What role does media coverage play?Media coverage is key but this has to be the right coverage. Too often sports women find themselves judged against their male counterparts, their sport compared to the mens version, their looks commented on more than their sporting achievements. For example, international media came under fire at Rio 2016 for undermining female Olympians achievements by linking reports to their male partners. Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu won gold in the 400m individual medley, beating the previous world record by nearly two seconds. Speaking on TV after the event, an NBC commentator referred to her husband and coach Shane Tusup as the man responsible for Hosszus record-breaking performance, sparking criticism on social media. This endless undermining of womens achievements is not helpful or motivating more opportunities for women to work in sport and media would be one step forward.

The Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games brought a great deal more womens sport to TV this summer. Looking ahead to 2017, how do you foresee this momentum being main-tained? The 2016 Games were great, with women winning a record 46% of all

Named one of the Most Influential Women in Sport by The Guardian in 2015 and UK Sponsorship Personality of the Year in 2013, Sally is an acclaimed leader in the field of sponsorship, co-heading the sports strategy and sponsorship consultancy Y Sport. Previously she was responsible for the Lloyds Banking Group London 2012 Olympic Partnership. www.y-sport.com


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Team GB medals at Rio 2016, making up 43% of the team, a success exceeded by Paralympics GB where female athletes won almost twice as many gold medals as men. And with the Womens Cricket World Cup, the World Athletics Championship, and the World Netball and Hockey Championships all taking place in the UK in the next three years, theres a great opportunity to showcase the best of womens sport and also fill the venues as the saying goes, you cant be it if you cant see it.

Should we treat womens sport just like mens sport? Or does it mean something different?Womens sport absolutely justifies the same level of interest from media and sponsors as mens sport. Women in Sport regularly analyse the market and trends in womens sport, and produce a regular insight pack on the state of play. Their latest report showed that 66% of sports fans (male and female) think that sponsors should be involved in womens sport, and 53% think that womens sport is just as exciting to watch as mens. Yet the reality belies the interest womens football spon-sorship for example, accounts for just 4% of the total football market. Y Sport forecast that this will equate to 5-10% of the total over the next four-year commercial cycle. We need to start playing by different rules in our approach to sport for women.

What value can womens sports provide brand sponsors? What is the business case for investment?I would be approaching the assessment of a business case for womens sport sponsorship in much the same way as

I would any sponsorship with a clear statement of ambition, objectives, strategy and leverage. The primary difference is the fact that there are, I believe, greater opportunities in womens sport than exist in mens competitive advantage and cut through are more easily achievable, with the right strategy and plan in place.

In your lifetime, what are the signifi-cant changes you think will be made, or will they?I wish I could say that there will be transformational change in the sector over the next 10 years. As it stands, progress is slow. Three steps forward and two back, too often. However, well start to appreciate more the value of womens sport to women, from a participation perspective and user experience point of view, to brands, as a valuable and profitable route through which to grow consideration and drive business, to media (however defined), as a point of competitive advantage. Its great to be a part of the movement!

THE BIG TAKEOUT

66% of sports fans (male and female) think that sponsors should be involved in womens sport, and

53% think that womens sport is just as exciting to watch as mens, but

sponsorship in the sector is peanuts in comparison with mens sport.

These undervalued assets represent a huge opportunity for brands to cut

through.


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IT'S SPORT,IT'S BUSINESSIT'S SPORT,IT'S BUSINESS

AND ITS GOT TO MAKEA DIFFERENCE

E X E C U T I V E C H A I R M A NJAIMIE FULLER

S K I N S@jaimiefuller

A renowned sports ethics campaigner (the Bob Geldof of Sport) and executive chairman of the compression wear company SKINS, Jaimie is a frequent commentator on integrity in sport and sports governance issues. He has challenged professional sports bodies from football to cycling, and is an ambassador for the Investec Private Banking Restless Spirits Campaign. He blogs regularly atwww.watercooler.skins.net

What is sport about in our post-fact world?

In recent years, as sport consumers, weve been assailed by news of corrup-tion, bribery, malfeasance and cheating.

Its all about money, were told. Its just business.

But hang on, thats not all sport is about.

Its one thing to run a business, make money, employ people, sponsor teams, athletes or events; its quite another to support sporting bodies or individuals whose business is conducted inappro-priately.

Its also the case that, as a business, you cant be responsible for every part of your supply chain.

For example, one of the most ethical companies around, Patagonia, found multiple instances of exploitation through human trafficking and forced labour in their second and third tier supply chain.

The difference between Patagonia and other brands? First that they found this out through their own internal audit. Second, that they didnt try to hide it. And third, five years later, they are still working to do something about it.

Patagonia is working with relevant NGOs and government authorities to improve the working lives of people involved in making their products.

They have increased their invest-ment in social responsibility; educated their workforce about how to identify problems across the industry; developed a new set of employment standards for migrant workers; and are educating their suppliers and brokers about an acceptable level of recruitment and employment practices.

But real change doesnt deliver a quick win. Patagonia will stay the course because making a difference is what their brand is all about.

For me, its a great example of a corporate trying to make a difference and its where I believe sports brands should be heading. Its certainly where were heading with SKINS.

It is why we launched anti-doping and governance campaigns in relation to cycling, athletics and cricket. It is why we campaigned against anti-LGBTI laws in Russia during Sochi. Its why we declared ourselves as the first Official Non-Sponsor of FIFA. It is why weve worked with civil society organisations in relation to anti-homophobia in sport.

As brands, as sponsors, we should be calling out bad sport, and leading the way on making it right.

Sport is too important to society not to do so. Its a way of influencing children and demonstrating great values such as fair play, integrity, discipline, inclusivity, hard work, teamwork, commitment and pure competition.


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Corporate values such as business integrity and human rights which so many corporates share - are just words if, for example, the organisa-tion you sponsor is described by the US and Swiss Attorneys-General as a mafia-style organisation, or if youre not prepared to stand-up when an event you sponsor is being hosted by a nation that throws LGBTI people in jail, or which has no respect for workers rights.

Many say we only do this to expose the SKINS brand. Yes, it does have a positive impact from a brand perspec-tive and isnt that great?

But those who criticise also miss the point. People who play sport and love sport want it.

Whilst sponsors who live in a post-fact world may want us to focus exclusively on the thrills and spills of a tournament or the exhilarating feat of an individual athlete, people who follow sport are more knowledgeable, more demanding, more organised and more vocal than ever before.

The platform is set for all brands (not just sportswear ones) to combine a genuine desire to do something good with the opportunity to market and grow their brands. Something tells me this is beginning to trend.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Brand sponsors have a duty to call out bad sport, particularly if they

want to stay true to their corporate values and those of sport in general.

With sports fans behind them, sponsors have an opportunity to do something good while promoting

their brands.


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THANKYOU!

THANKYOU!

THANKYOU!

FIND OUTMORE

FIND OUTMORE

FIND OUTMORE

A huge thank you to our host of industry experts who took the time to share their smarts, insights and predictions for 2017.

In the spirit of keeping sports at the heart of our Trends, well played to our editorial team: Julia Feldman, Fredda Hurwitz and Rebecca Anstey from Havas Sports & Entertainment Global. Another edition slam-dunked and at the back of the net.

Finally, great game (okay, okay well stop) to Anne Awad, our designer who brought this years vibrant, punchy and eye-catching edition to life.

Time for the final whistle (sorry couldnt resist).

Thanks for taking the time to read our 2017 edition of Trends. We hope that our look towards the future has inspired you and perhaps made you think differently about the year to come.

Any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations?

Get in touch with Julia Feldman, Global Marketing & Communications Manager: [email protected]

www.havas-se.com @Havas_SE

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