Sadly the Hammerettes just can’t compete:

Like the hologram in the film the viewer will be able to move around the image to see it from different angles. This technology has been developing rapidly over the last few years with Reebok using a hologram of Lewis Hamilton at the announcement of his endorsement deal.

The development means that 3-D images can be “recorded in one location and show it in another, in real time, anywhere in the world” according to Nasser Peyghambarian from the University of Arizona.  This has a multitude of everyday applications but i’m interested in what this could mean for sport.

Imagine being able to watch a 3-D real time hologram of a football, rugby or cricket match, basketball or baseball game, the Olympic 100m final or a Formula One race? For fans that are priced out of attending a sports fixture or for fans who want to come together in one country to watch an event that is taking place in another, this technology could have a serious impact on the popularity of fan parks and experiential events put on by sponsors or a governing body. Very exciting.

However, there will always be some people who’ll struggle with getting somthing like this off the ground:

It has been speculated that Saracens have fallen out with the owners of their current home, Watford’s Vicarage Road, which has prompted them to seek out a new home. Their desire is to move closer to the centre of London in a bid to make themselves a true London club, but also to take advantage of the business and sponsorship opportunities that may arise from being closer to the square mile. As a permanent move to Wembley is not possible, the club faces a difficult decision as to where it can go in time for the start of next season.

Sarries have built up a good following in north London but they’re not securing attendances anywhere near the likes of Harlequins, Bath, Northampton or Leicester. The question is whether Hertfordshire and North London has enough rugby followers to sustain a club with high aspirations.

I understand the club’s desire to chase additional revenues in the square mile as sponsorship and corporate hospitality opportunities are vital to the lifeblood of any club. But as corporates come and go, a strong fan base is the cornerstone of any sports club and finding a suitable base will be essential for the club’s survival. 

Unlike football, there is currently only one Premiership Rugby club per town or city, so they don’t have to compete with each other for spectators from the same catchment area. (They may, however, have to compete with other sports for share of voice/attendance.)

Wasps, Quins and Irish all have their respective catchment areas. London Wasps ground share with Wycombe Wanderers out in High Wycombe as the two clubs share a common owner. London Irish are celebrating 10 years at Reading’s Madejski Stadium and Harlequins have the benefit of being in a rugby heartland, a stone’s throw from the well-trodden path to Twickenham, the home of English Rugby.

As the other three ‘London Clubs’ are all west of London in Middlesex, Surrey and Buckinghamshire, perhaps this is an opportunity for Saracens to make a bold move and relocate to a town in the southeast where they could be the number one draw in town.

Copthall Stadium in Mill Hill is being considered as a possible home but this has angered Barnet FC who had plans rejected in 2001 to turn the site into a 10,000-seat venue. Other options for Saracens include moving to another football stadium, such as Craven Cottage, Upton Park, Brisbane Road or Loftus Road but the club’s owners need to determine if they are prepared to invest in developing a new ground or investing in the team. Funds are unlikely to be available to do both.

Saracens essentially has the whole of the southeast to choose from. If I had to make the decision, and was tasked with securing a long-term state-of-the-art home for the club, I’d be speaking to West Ham and Newham Council about a ground sharing agreement and joining their bid for the Olympic Stadium.

Moving to Stratford would give Saracens access to the most modern stadium in the country, a Westfield shopping and entertainment complex on the door step and excellent transport links with Crossrail, the tube and intercity trains to Kings Cross and Kent every three minutes. The Olympic Park will be accessible for Sarries existing fans to get to, plus opens up the club to a new area of fans in east London, Essex and Kent.

Admittedly this couldn’t happen until the 2013-2014 season, as a year of re-development is needed before the stadium can re-open. In the interim, West Ham’s new owners are in the market for cost saving/additional commercial opportunities so Upton Park could provide a temporary home. What better way to ease into a new partnership than to test the water for a few seasons first?

But how have these sports managed to get under the skin of European and Asian audiences over the last thirty years without game presence, and consequently, how has football and rugby failed to capture the hearts of Americans? 

The answer: Hollywood.

In Europe the entertainment industry has transformed how we consume sports, but not necessarily how we think and feel about those sports. No one has done more for the perception of American sports than the movie business.

Remember the Titans, White Men Can’t Jump, Any Given Sunday, Coach Carter, The Waterboy, He Got Game, Friday Night Lights, Teenwolf (great basketball scenes) – all have that intense Hollywood styling: dramatic music, a race against the clock, a twist of fate that will see the team fail, a moment of individual skill or choreographed move and then the underdogs comeg good.

What do we get? Bend it Like Beckham, Up ‘n’ Under, When Saturday Comes, Mean Machine and the dreadful Goal trilogy.

There are however two shining lights, Invinctus and Escape to Victory.  If anyone has seen any other decent football/rugby films, please let me know.

Finally, and just for good measure a few clips:

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the inaugural NFL International Series game in 2007 where the Giants took on the Dolphins. The stadium was packed and had an amazing atmosphere, not to dissimilar to a rugby international, where fans from all areas of the country show their personal allegiances by coming dressed in their team’s shirt as well as showing their support the game/teams on the field. I must have seen club shirts from half of the NFL teams represented in the crowd (it’s been a long while since I’ve been able to get up early enough at the weekends to see an episode of Trans World Sport so couldn’t recognise them all).

Giants V Dolphins, Wembley Stadium

Despite being in our seats for roughly four hours there was never a moment where I disengaged from the experience as the entertainment just kept coming – pre-game warm-up, cheerleaders, anthems, first-quarter, cheerleaders, t-shirt giveaways, second-quarter, half-time show, cheerleaders, third-quarter, cheerleaders, ticket giveaways, fourth-quarter, cheerleaders.

The game was given extra spice by the fact that it was a regular season game and so had real meaning for the players and their league position.

This is in contrast to the NBA’s Europe Live series game between the LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves that took place at the beginning of October. Despite not having any bearing on the league and lacking a little bit of competitiveness, I have to say it didn’t make the experience any less entertaining.

In spite of the tube strike, thousands of fans packed into The O2. The court was a hive of activity with the pre-game warm ups taking place, cheerleaders (them again), celebs, mascots and VIPs all on the floor to soak up the atmosphere.

Lakers v Timberwolves, London's O2 Arena

Every ounce of time was dedicated to entertainment and the spectacle of the NBA. Players announced individually to the floor, cheerleaders at every time-out plus ticket and merchandise giveaways, music throughout the game to encourage fan chants, entertainment from the team’s mascot’s and dunk team at the end of each quarter, and a half-time show (which was actually quite terrible and not very NBA at all!)

There was a strong focus by the MC on the celebs and sports stars that were in attendance (Chris Moyles, James Corden, Nicholas Holt, Carlton Cole, Cesc Fabregas, Nicolas Bendtner, to name but a few) which is all part of the appeal of the NBA and how they market their sport.

Lakers v Timberwolves London's O2 Arena

Admittedly the format of basketball and American football games does allow for what some traditionalists might see as interruptions. But credit where it’s due, they do maximise all possible engagement and commercial opportunities to keep fans interested and spending.

Out of all the sports that I watch regularly I’d say that only Formula One comes close to this. Now I don’t mean the racing itself as I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but attending a Formula One Grand Prix also includes a full day of support races, a drivers’ parade, autograph sessions for fans, an experiential/merchandise area, concerts following the Grand Prix and sometime parties that follow the concerts. 

Although rugby, cricket and football in the U.K. are starting to up their game, they all still have a long way to go.

The first NBA league matches to take place in the UK will be in March. For more info and to buy tickets click here.

The campaign would like us to believe that Tesco refrains from spending millions of pounds sponsoring a Formula One team, a Premiership football team or a golf championship so that it can provide more rewards for its customers. This is somewhat true as they do not currently have any such sponsorships, so it’s an easy claim for them to make. However, the claim is misleading.

Tesco’s is one of Britain’s biggest brands. The simple truth is that Tesco doesn’t need any of the brand awareness raising sponsorships highlighted in the advertisement. It does, however, need to continuously distinguish itself in a competitive retail landscape that sees the likes of Sainbury’s investing their marketing spend into a number of successful advertising campaigns featuring Jamie Oliver and Morrisons’ buying up every C-list celebrity in the land to push trollies across the country (literally in the case of Richard Hammond).

Contrary to the claims in the ad, Tesco has chosen to sponsor a big football team – arguably the biggest team in the country (no, not the mighty WHUFC) – England. Tesco is the official supermarket of the England football team. It also happens to be an official partner of the FA Women’s Premier League, The FA Women’s Premier League Cup, England women’s internationals and the FA Women’s Cup.

Before a brand chooses to include sponsorship as part its marketing strategy, it must first set out clear aims and objectives for what the sponsorship is required to achieve. This could include goals ranging from brand awareness, increasing sales, employee engagement, community engagement, corporate social responsibility, relationship management and corporate hospitality, improving brand favourability, etc etc.

It’s clear that the sponsorships that Tesco has undertaken are highly targeted at their core audience with activity focused around the major tournaments and big international games with the intention of increasing sales. But with one in every four pounds spent in U.K. spent at the supermarket, Tesco must feel the need to give something back to the community and have activated the sponsorship through initiatives such as the FA Tesco skills programme.

So although Tesco may not have spent millions sponsoring a Premier League team like Manchester United, they have invested in sponsorship with the national team, which wouldn’t have been cheap, but I’m sure they can afford it.

Here’s what the European Sponsorship Association had to say: http://news.hollis-sponsorship.com/news/tesco-mobile-ad-misrepresents-sponsorship-says-esa/

I’m now working in rugby with the business insurance specialist, QBE (not to be confused with shopping channel QVC), which has been keeping me very busy for the past six months. All in a good way you’ll be pleased to know, as rugby was one of my earliest sporting passions. Sadly, a professional career in the sport eluded me so to be back in it, working with some of the game’s biggest names, is fantastic.

Since May I’ve hosted 300 guests at Twickenham for the Guinness Premiership final, launched QBE’s employee engagement programme, Developing Talent, signed England No.8 Nick Easter as a QBE ambassador and launched two rugby competitions with the RFU and Premiership Rugby.

There’s a busy international and Premiership Rugby season ahead so I’ll be posting updates intermittently from now until the end of May.  Posts from the NBA and NFL, to F1 and Football, and Touring Cars to Tescos are in the pipeline so please check back soon.

To keep up-to-date with all QBE rugby news either sign up to receive our newsletter updates (register at the bottom of the page), visit our rugby videos page or follow @QBERugby on Twitter.

The Australian should have won the race by a healthy half a minute margin but for four safety car periods that ate into any lead he built up. The first, caused by Nico Hulkenberg on lap one with a spectacular crash in the tunnel under The Fairmont Hotel, was followed by team-mate Rubens Barrichello getting out of shape at Massinet 30 laps later, capping off a very unproductive day for the Williams team.

After his crash, Rubens threw his steering wheel out onto the track only for it to be collected by a passing HRT. I’m surprised that there was no action taken against him by the race stewards, but Frank is likely to kick his ass for chucking away £40,000 worth of equipment. Williams can hardly spare the cash after all.

A loose drain cover saw the very sexy Mercedes SLS (pictured below) out for a third time and then again five laps from the end as Jarno Trulli’s Lotus tried to mate with Karun Chandhok’s HRT at La Rascasse.

Ferrari won the prize for ‘best strategy call’ by bringing Alonso in early for his mandatory pitstop during the first safety car period to give the Spaniard an inspired opportunity to jump from 20^th to sixth. All this hard work, however, was almost undone by a cheeky move from Schumacher up the inside of Alonso on the last corner of the last lap. It’s taken six races but Schumacher is slowly starting to show signs of his old self.

Unfortunately for Schumi, his old foe Damon Hill was the ex-driver steward for this race so given the pairs history there was no way that Schuey was going to get away with it, no matter how unclear the new rules are. A twenty-second penalty saw him drop to seventh and out of the points.

F1’s jewel in the crown event didn’t disappoint with this year’s instalment of glitz and glamour – film stars (Gerard Butler, Michael Douglas, J-Lo), rock stars (Mick Jagger) and professional hangers on (the Sugababes and Paris Hilton) were all seen at the race.

Vijay Malla’s Indian Empress was the super yacht of choice on Thursday night with many other VIP parties taking place on yachts and in hotels across the principality. Check out Adam Hay-Nicholls blog for all the behind the scenes gossip and parties.

This year it’s the helmets and steering wheels of Jenson and Lewis’ that get the diamond treatment.

This is the third year that I’ve seen a similar Steinmetz story so I’m surprised they’re still finding places on the cars or drivers to stick their product. The basics element of the pr story remain the same but year in year out it picks up a ton of coverage.

Any creative pr agencies specialising in luxury goods might want to give them a call…

If you look a little deeper, the big brands Autosport mentions that left F1 – Toyota, BMW and ING – either owned the teams that promoted them, making it a little easier to pull out, or exceptional circumstances allowed them to exercise a clause relating to protecting the reputation of the brand in to get out of their deal. Had circumstances been different, would they have been able to leave the sport when they did?

I believe that F1 is experiencing a sponsorship time lag. A number of existing sponsors signed long-term deals before the economic meltdown really got into its stride. We know that every global brand has been affected in some way by the financial crisis so it is natural to assume that several current sponsors have been feeling the pinch, some harder than others. Contracts in F1 are as watertight as you can get so it will take some time for the true effect of the recession to reveal itself. We have already seen some F1 brands reducing their marketing activation and we are yet to see whether these brands will remain in the sport at all once their contracts come to term.

Whilst this may be doom and gloom for commercial departments across the Paddock, it’s not all bad news. There is now a significant opportunity for potential sponsors that have weathered the storm to get the jump on their rivals. I would argue that now is the best time for a new or challenger brands to enter F1 as the price of a sponsorship, even with the top teams, has come way way down, whereas Bernie’s long-term TV deals will ensure that media exposure remains high. Although races are not currently as actively attended as past seasons (as demonstrated by the multitude of empty seats in Monaco), the popularity of the sport is largely undiminished.

There is some light on the horizon as hospitality spaces on yachts the Monaco harbour were completely sold out. This is an indication that sponsor budgets are on the mend, but not yet up to the level of Formula One Paddock Club, which has been under attended this season.

 The message to teams is clear – adapt, cut costs, show that F1 is value for money and we’ll be back.