Last night I watched Novak Djokovic win the final of the 2012 Australian Open. It was the longest tennis match in Australian Open history (5hr 53 minutes). Apparently the longest professional tennis match was a shade over 11 hours and was played over three consecutive days (I think they even ran out of deuce). But anyway, the Djokovic / Nadal match was true emotional grit that had me up until about 2am. So forgive me if I wander off here… Being the marketing tragic that I am (and fan of the Gruen Transfer TV show), I focused on something that not many others may have picked up.
While all pumped up on emotion, Novak did something at the end of the tennis match which would be a cause for discipline in the football (soccer) league.
About 30 seconds after winning the match Novak ripped off his shirt before displaying a few primal screams. The crowd went wild and clapped like a bunch of bananas.
But if he did the same thing on a football field, he would have scored a yellow card because you are not allowed to remove your shirt on a football pitch. FIFA doesn’t like it. Although the rules don’t spell out why, occasionally the football powers explain it away by indicating that it could incite bad behaviour or waste time.
Sergio Tacchini. Here’s Some Sponsorship Exposure For You
Sounds like a load of squid’s guts to me. In fact it seems a prime example of the quote:
“There are two reasons why someone does something. The reason they say and the real reason.” Anon
FIFA’s explanation is laughable. But what could be the real reason? Enter our good friend the mighty dollar. Sport attract billions of sponsorship dollars every year as brands aim to be associated with the values and success of sporting teams. The sponsors obviously want a return for the money they spend. And this return is usually through exposure at the venue, on TV and through newspapers/magazines. All those little glimpses of sponsor logos combine to become recognised, understood and considered at a later more relevant time.
And when are these glimpses of the sponsorship logos the most important? When players score a goal and the cameras zoom in. Those photos could be on the front page of the newspaper, giving mass exposure to the visible sponsors. That’s when the sponsors logos work their hardest. And when they make the sponsorship executives smile the most.
That’s why football players get penalised for removing their shirts. It reduces the return on investment of the team sponsors.
The shirtless image of Novak Djokovic was reprinted across the World, sometimes even on the front page. As a result his primary sponsor Sergio Tacchini missed out on extensive exposure. Bummer, considering all the money they must pay. But Novak must have been hot after all that tennis.
Growing your small business,
David Moloney
Small Business Planned
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Hi David,
I thought that the photo printed across the world would give his sponsor extensive exposure and not missing out on it.
I have missed the point on how it works against sponsors for the player to take his shirt off. Could you tell me please?
Hi Jill. The sponsors logo is on Novak’s top. Therefore when his topless image is printed on thousands of newspapers world wide – his main sponsors logo isn’t present in the photos.
I too watched the epic game – and went to bed disappointed because I wanted Nadal to win
I turned the TV off so quickly after championship point I missed the above-waist strip. Yes, he must have been hot, but could he not have waited until he got back to his bench?
Yes, fine abs, but Rafa’s still my champion
Yeah I was actually going for Nadal too Jan. But I think Novak was a more deserving champion. His constitution and determination was phenomenal considering he played another 5 set match 2 nights before.
I guess tennis is not that strict about it as the sponsor had a lot of full on exposure, as the cameras constantly zoom in on the two (or max 4) contestants in the tennis match – less diversion than in a soccer game.
Another intersting thought from this is – you need to know the rules of the game you are playing as otherwise you might get yourself in trouble without knowing …
Gosh I don’t mind if he takes his shirt off…and football players – please do…it might make the game more interesting!
Jokes aside – I rekcon he did it to get more “pumped” to go on and win the tennis match….after all the crowd went wild! But is it a fair thing to do? Don’t think so!
Cheers
Lisa
David, Funny you noticed this, but I did as well. Guess, I am getting so used to sports star promoting their sponsors, that it caught my attention. Not saying if it is right or wrong, but it would feel like a lost opportunity to his tennis sponsors. In the end, just having people notice it helps the sponsors recoup it a bit, but there is no way to prove it.
Funny because you bring up Novak being hot after the tennis match because I have watched a fair amount of motocross over the years. I noticed that after a MX race while the rider is worn out, dirty, and very hot, the sponsor will run up and put a set of goggles and a hat on the rider plus possibly hand him a energy drink can with what looks like water and other times nothing in the can. This all makes me think of how it would have looked to have his sponsor run out and put the shirt back Novak.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, David