It's St James' Park!To say there’s been some opposition to Mike Ashley’s rehash of his previously botched plan to sell the St James’ Park naming rights would be an understatement.
However as more details have emerged it’s become ever more obvious that this 2.0 version is scarcely better than the previous one, and it seems more than likely that the club will once again end up with the worst of both worlds, a cheap tacky stadium with an awful name and nothing whatsoever to show for it.
Referring to sponsorship consultant Tim Crow’s “Six golden rules” of stadium naming rights, quotes from experts from the world of sports sponsorship about the naming rights offer, and some of my own personal thoughts, I will attempt to outline some of the reasons even this revamped naming rights offer will have scant chance of success.
Let’s begin with golden rule number one:
1. The stadium must have only one short name. If there are two names, one of which is the sponsor’s, guess which one the media, and the fans, will edit out? ‘The Reebok Stadium’ works: so does ‘The Emirates’. Conversely, horrors like ‘Sports Direct.com@St James’ Park’ always quite deservedly bomb.”(more…)
To be replaced by Sports Direct?Newcastle United’s stadium renaming farce has caused quite a stir, although a ‘top marketing consultant’ hails it a success. Meanwhile Northern Rock have pulled out of the shirt sponsorship deal early. Are the two events related?
A marketing gadgie called Jonathon Gabay, who is – according to his website – “trusted by some of the world’s top brands”, has hailed the St James’ Park renaming debacle ‘a good decision’. This might be expected because, according to The Journal, he was ‘unofficially consulted’ about the renaming by the club. Anyway, he said:
“It’s a good decision because of what it’s going to do.
“I couldn’t say what sort of company will come forward. That’s not for me to say but I think there will be a lot of brands that realise the opportunity.
“I already believe sponsors will know what a great place the North East is – the region, the football, the fans – and being associated with that is a fantastic opportunity for brands.
“If there were a suitable brand then I couldn’t see how it can be something that the fans wouldn’t like if the money would be put back in the club to help them do even better.”
And with that last sentence he perhaps hits the nail on the head with: “if there was a suitable brand”. (more…)
What's in a name?Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley’s bright idea to change the name of St James’ Park to ‘The Sports Direct Arena’ is still dominating the Toon news.
Just as Ashley was seemingly gaining some ground with fans after a fantastic start to the season on the pitch, it seems he’s now off a lot of peoples’ Christmas Card lists again thanks to his idea to turn St James’ Park into a shrine to Sports Direct.
Ashley’s popularity is a bit like a game of snakes and ladders. We climb a few ladders here and there as things improve a bit, only to land on an enormous snake and go right back to the start.
Various newspapers, pundits, ‘blogs and of course fans have been having their say on the whole name change issue. Even the Council have said they’re not going to recognise the name change as far as they’re concerned. The Council’s statement read:
“The name of St James’ Park has been synonymous with Newcastle United football club and the city for over a century.
“It is recognised around the world and the decision to change it, without consultation, will upset the overwhelming majority of fans who loyally support the team week in and week out.(more…)
Mike Ashley: Has he lost all credibility now?After the uproar of the announcement this morning and much discussion with the lads at work, I’ve come to the feeling that Ashley has completely lost any trust that he has managed to claw back over the past few months.
As a previous nufcblog.org article has already pointed out, Derek Llambias has previously gone on record and stated that the St James Park would never be dropped from our grounds name. Bet he regrets putting that comment in the press now.
I honestly think the timing of this announcement is terrible. Newcastle are finally getting themselves back onto an even keel, why risk upsetting the apple cart?
I’m also none too impressed about the way he has suckered people into committing themselves to additional cheap season tickets, and then made the announcement about changing the name. He knows people have paid good money to be there, so there won’t be any risk of financial loss by mass walkouts. I’m sure there will be a few belated protests, but to be honest it’s not going to change anything. (more…)
Mike Ashley: Shrewd? Or just plain lucky?I think I am more upset that I’m not as upset as the majority of fans are about the nasty re branding of St James Park.
I was surprised to see the new name as I thought it was going to be blah blah blah @ St James Park, but we all knew this was on the cards and I’m afraid it’s a fact of modern day business winning over football tradition.
Unfortunately the stadium rights are there to be sold and its now a complete package that basically says your name on the roofs, on the inside, on the outside and on the name for the right price (I’m so pleased Ashley doesn’t own Kit Kat as well!) I am gutted but that dominant, mighty fortress and jewel in the Geordie crown will always be St James’s Park to me and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this.
What interests me more is that this seems like Mike Ashley has thought about what hes doing first and finally has a strategy in place for Newcastle United football club. Most entrepreneur’s like him are years in advance when it comes to business strategy and with the timing and leaking of this with things the way they are makes sense as it will probably all have died down come the Manchester City game? It also asks the question do we have a long term plan in place, ie buying cheap players with something to prove, no big contracts, selling players at the right time etc… (more…)
