Added Time. Adam Szreter

Transcription

1 Added Time 5 In recent years the football stadium has become a particularly fertile ground for watch brands eager to take on the sport that is loved and respected on all four corners of the globe. But while the tussle for sponsorship deals heats up, QP asks why this trend has been so slow in the coming. Adam Szreter

2 Sports 59

3 60 Sports Corridor of uncertainty Way back when, Planet Football was a dark place where few watch brands dared to go, boldly or otherwise. The terrain was deemed too rough and unpredictable for luxury to survive. But in February last year something strange happened: Hublot announced they were to sponsor the second biggest football event in the world, EURO Then, four months later, Ebel struck a deal with Arsenal and followed that by signing up three more top European clubs. What was going on? Those with long memories will remind you that there is nothing new under the sun in watch marketing (or anything else). For the 1954 World Cup final, the twin towers of the unfortunately named Wankdorf Stadium in Berne were both Football is really growing up, it s getting more prestigious, more exclusive, more exciting, and the visibility you get through football is simply unbelievable

4 Sports 61 bedecked with Longines clocks, while in the 1980s Breitling dabbled with football when the famous English striker Gary Lineker wore one of their watches. Kick off But the earliest sign of the recent wristwatch/football phenomenon can be traced with greater precision back to 1998 when, just prior to that year s World Cup finals in France, Tissot signed up another English striker in the form of the 17-year-old Michael Owen. It turned out to be a move of some prescience on Tissot s part, Owen went on to score the goal of the tournament and instantly became a global mini-brand in himself. Both Hublot and Ebel have strong track records in sports marketing, Ebel being particularly involved in tennis and motor racing in the 1980s and Hublot more recently in polo and sailing. But both are acutely aware of the need for credibility within football and each unveiled special watches at Basel this year. In Ebel s case it was the first ever proprietary movement to keep step with football match time: Calibre 245 (standing for 2 x 45 minutes) is part of their expanding 1911 line. For Hublot it was a Big Bang with a 45-minute counter in black ceramic limited to 2008 pieces, naturally. Despite the fact football subsequently exploding into a global behemoth thanks to the growth of satellite television, the only incident of any note over the following decade of this slowburning love affair came in 2003, when Sowind Group president, Luigi Macaluso, brokered a four-year sponsorship deal between Daniel JeanRichard and Italian footballing giants, Juventus. Once again though, the initiative failed to turn into a trend. Until last year. Midfield maestro Hublot s bid for EURO 2008, this summer s football extravaganza in Austria and Switzerland, was regarded as audacious, even by the standards of the brand s maverick CEO Jean-Claude Biver, but he quickly consolidated by adding the Mexican national team to Hublot s nascent soccer portfolio. Ebel then slipped into bed alongside English Premier League club Arsenal, with brand ambassador Gisele Bundchen and Arsenal s French striker Thierry Henry doing the honours for the cameras. Germany s Bayern Munich has recently been added to Ebel s new football family. (Top Right) Ebel sponsor Premiership club, Arsenal and celebrated the association with their own Arsenal timepiece (Opposite page) During 2006 Hublot presented a Big Bang designed for the Swiss national team, modeled by Swiss football star Johann Vogel

5 62 Sports Marking up If you look at the sports landscape today it has become very crowded, says Ebel s marketing vice-president Marc Michel- Amadry. Last year there were nine watch brands involved with 13 boats racing to challenge Alinghi for the America s Cup. At the same time there are sports that have traditionally been ignored by luxury brands, but have made very big moves in terms of prestige, image and identity. Football over the past ten years has clearly evolved that way. It could be said that German car manufacturer Audi opened the door on football to luxury brands by sponsoring a number of top European clubs such as Manchester United and Real Madrid as well as Bayern. World famous architects, like Norman Foster who designed the new Wembley stadium and the Swiss firm Herzog and De Meuron who were responsible for the Allianz Arena in Munich, are also adding to the game s allure. Something we like very much is that every time you have a new stadium, the quality of its design both inside and outside has substantially improved the atmosphere, says Amadry. I was recently invited to Wembley and I was really amazed at the quality on offer at every level, even the cafeteria, everything is of the best standard. Football is really growing up, it s getting more prestigious, more exclusive, more exciting, and the visibility you get through football is simply unbelievable. Golden goal Jean-Claude Biver may not have been the first in the watch industry to spot the potential of football but he was the first to commit to it in a substantial way. For Biver, though, visibility is not so important; indeed, he is very proud to tell you that This is not a one-off, we are in football for the next 10 years

6 Hublot have waived their rights to advertising space inside the stadiums at EURO 2008, donating them instead to football s Unite Against Racism campaign. We are in luxury and we have to use football as an education process, says Biver. Financially I don t even need the EURO to happen, I have already got my money back. Everybody has been asking how such a small company with a 150m turnover can become a sponsor of such an event, so the PR has been huge. Also, I m now a friend of [UEFA President and former French star] Michel Platini, of [Chelsea s Ivorian striker] Didier Drogba and all the presidents of different clubs; we ve been approached by the Mexican football federation and have made a watch for them, and by the Colombian and Spanish federations, so the networking we ve done and the contacts we ve made in football is major. This is not a one-off, we are in football for the next 10 years. We did not become sponsors of the EURO just because it happened to be in Switzerland. The partnership between Tissot and Owen has endured, recently celebrating its 10th anniversary. Longines, though, showed no further interest in football until late last year when they quietly resurrected their relationship with the Berne stadium, just in time for EURO After ignoring it for so long, is Planet Football about to become the watch industry s next marketing battleground? 8 Further information: (Opposite Page) Hublot are a National Supporter of Euro 2008, taking place in Austria and Switzerland. Michel Platini with Jean Claude Biver. (Opposite Page) Hublot has recently created a watch for the Mexican Football Federation. (Right) JeanRichard have redesigned the Bressel Classic Chronograph with the Italian football team Juventus.