Dreams don’t die
A year ago, we were crying out for more sport. Today some are just crying whilst others are celebrating. Very few activities polarize our emotions in a way that sport does. The England football team were not expected to reach the final of EURO 2020 but having done so, losing the final in a penalty shoot-out was a painful reminder of how cruel sport can be. Dreams were crushed but congratulations to the magnificent Italians who lifted the trophy for the first time since 1968.
Off the pitch there were mixed experiences for sponsors who had to adapt campaigns that would have been more closely aligned with the tournament program. As Johan Cruyff used to say ‘every disadvantage has an advantage’ which is quite apt for TikTok. Five million fans signed-up to the official EURO 2020 TikTok account launched by UEFA before the tournament which is more than the 1.7 million TikTok followers on Twitter. Videos with #euro2020 were viewed more than 15.5 billion times!
Whilst social media increases reach and engagement with athletes, it also facilitates fragmentation and polarization between fans and nations. In his insightful book, ‘Rebel Ideas’, Matthew Syed explores the effect of ‘information bubbles’ and ‘echo chambers’ in the growth of white supremacism in the United States. Syed also studies the formation of social networks and how opinions, belief and trust evolve on a platform like Twitter. Reading this reminded me of the disturbing aftermath of the EURO final on social media aimed at black players in the England team. The culprits are often referred to as a ‘small minority’ which might be the case, but the causes of their behaviour go much deeper. Social media is all well and good but not at the expense of basic human rights.
The balance of power is shifting with athletes and brands using their content to combat inequality and social injustice. Sponsors MasterCard, Ambev, and Diageo withdrew from the Copa America due to the Covid pandemic in Brazil. Having paid $3 billion in sponsorship fees for the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese companies are concerned about the impact on their brands. A no-win situation for the brands, Japan, and IOC. A recent Nielsen Sports report stated athlete ‘advocacy posts’ generate 63% more engagement for brands compared to other owned social media content. And 95% of athletes with more than 5 million followers on Instagram advocated for causes on social medial in 2020.
The well-known phrase ‘head versus heart’ often features in marketing and sport. Not having the evidence or insights to make a decision results in emotion taking control and we ‘go with our gut’. Well, research is getting better as demonstrated by YouGov’s ‘Women in Sport Report 2021’. Research from 13 markets across five continents presents a clear picture of why and how women’s sport can grow and become more accessible to millions of players and fans. Low engagement is caused by low levels of media coverage, a lack of marketing and a lack of information or knowledge around women’s sport. No doubt funding is also critical to further development. No time to dream, time for change.
A summer that contains the EUROs and Olympics competes with events such as the Tour de France and Wimbledon. The achievement of Mark Cavendish drawing alongside the Belgian great Eddy Merckx with 34 stage tour wins is amazing. Ashleigh Barty winning her maiden Wimbledon singles title on the 50th anniversary of idol Evonne Goolagong Cawley is heartwarming. And the 20th Grand Slam title for Novak Djokovic as he equals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is the stuff of legends.
If you have never heard of Will Claye, that is understandable, but he is a three-time Olympic medalist and favourite for Triple Jump gold in Tokyo. After the Olympics were postponed in 2020 Will produced a song to raise the spirits of athletes everywhere. He sent it to Red Bull, and they matched it up with Red Bull athletes and spread it around. It is worth a look (https://youtu.be/m-InomB_oUY). The title is ‘Dreams don’t die’. As the feeling of defeat softens, players and fans everywhere can look forward and dream again. Enjoy your sporting summer!