Sports Sponsorships and PR: A Case from Cricket
I am not a cricket fan. In fact, I find the game quite boring. So why am I even writing about cricket in a blog that is supposed to be on PR and the Law?
Image Source: www.hindiblogs.com
This blog post explores yet another facet of the relationship between PR and the Law — restrictive trade practices or trade monopolies or anti-competitive measures. Sports sponsorships, in general and cricket sponsorships in particular, are very anti-competitive and I could think of no better example than cricket to explore this topic.
In India, cricket and cricketers are worshipped with something close to fanaticism. Top players like Sachin Tendulkar have their endorsements and public image managed by a professional agency. It is, therefore, not surprising that the game and it players garner more than the lion’s share of sports sponsorships there — I believe that it could be as much as 95%!
Not surprisingly, too, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the richest sports body in India. The BCCI also has, arguably, the strongest financial clout among the cricket boards of other cricket-playing nations in the world, and is often referred to as a ‘bully’.
In early 2003, the Indian cricket team nearly boycotted the Champions Trophy tournament because of differences involving individual and event sponsorships. This was because many of the Indian cricket team members had endorsements that clashed with that of the event sponsors and also breached the exclusivity that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had promised the event sponsors.
2005, p.256, Berg Publishers
Non-participation of the Indian cricket team would have lead to massive tournament losses, something that the ICC wanted to avoid. On their part, the BCCI wanted to avoid the inevitable litigation they would be embroiled in if the Indian team did not participate.
This row was resolved after a massive PR exercise undertaken by both the ICC and the BCCl to ensure the participation of the Indian team and to prevent litigation.
All this and more is discussed in a book by J. Amis and T.B. Cornwell titled Global Sport Sponsorship, which provides a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary analysis of the sport-commerce nexus.
The book has devoted a lot of space to cricket sponsorships. It also cites many instances of sponsorship campaigns being hijacked or the official sponsors being left out of the public mind, due to aggressive campaigns by competitors. For example, cola wars in cricket (Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola), credit card wars in Olympics (Master Card Vs. Visa).
The PR implications for restrictive trade practices are immense. In this day of monopolies, mergers, and anti-competitive practices, the PR practitioner has an important role to play. It is the PR practitioner who stands between the client and lawsuits!
Endnote: The very same BCCI, which organises the Indian Premier League, is now being accused of anti-competitive tactics for barring Indian cricket players from playing in the English county cricket or rival cricket leagues like the Indian Cricket League.
Tags: Anti-Competition, Book review, Cricket, Law, PR Practitioner, Public Relations, Sports Sponsorships
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December 29, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Today’s topic was pretty interesting since, as an avid sports fan, I find it amusing to see supererstar players going here, there, and everywhere with their PR agents whose job it is to basically babysit them, speak for them, and pry them away from legal predicaments in which they so easily become entangled because of their restrictive and heavily-conditioned endorsements and the fact that their lives (in and outside their respective sport) are so much in the public eye and a part of public interest.
Really, I think the anti-competitive measures upheld in Law are ridiculous in the first place since the world of sports is all about competition; sponsorship clashes are inevitable sometimes and blowing it up into a litigation matter only takes away from the players, their sponsors, the event, and the sport itself. But at least PR professionals will always have their jobs and their work cut out from them if such practices remain law
And since monopolies and mergers seem likely to increase because of, rather than in spite of, our globalization era, then it is left to PR professionals to find a way to make everybody happy and prevent the drawn-out proceedings of litigations and their likely dire repercussions for all parties involved. PR to the rescue! 
December 30, 2008 at 12:02 am
Hi. I’m a lawyer. Are you sure you’re a student and not a teacher? Very informative blog. A suggestion, you could consider PR and religion and law. I know, its hot stuff. I’d love to hear what you feel about it.
January 4, 2009 at 2:11 am
Hello Hal. Thank you for your comments. I am very much a student. I like your suggestion about PR, religion and law. But I feel it is not really within the scope of this blog. But maybe another blog?
January 1, 2009 at 8:52 am
I can think of other sports too. PR has given boxing- the sport of two muscle bound beings beating each other to a bloody pulp- the respectability and riches that it enjoys today. How much more perverse can it( PR) get?
January 1, 2009 at 4:15 pm
In the history of World Sport, it has always been a case of where audience and average citizen enjoys the ups and down that sportsman goes through. In US it could be the Baseball, Basketball or NFL player. In UK it could be the EPL Players and in India it is the Cricket Players.
Sports has now moved from Entertainment to Proffessionlism and PR as discussed in the earlier topics, is an important part of a Sportsmen’s life.
In the US we have had the case of OJ Simpson, the legendry Baseball Player, who despite having killed his wife, was able to avoid the law because of his excellent PR Exercise (It is a different story that Law did catch up with him eventually).
Similarly, Magic Johnson who despite being infected with HIV Virus, has used the good offices of PR to be able to reach out to the global audience and gain respectability.
What I am trying to say is, PR is a necessary evil for the professional sportsmen. However, care needs to be taken for the kind of image that is portrayed. It is also a source of revenue for the so called agents and in some case is upto about 40% of the endorsment fees.
PR is a good excercise that attempts to connect to an audience. But as mentioned by Cynic, if it is Perverse, it has lost all values like WWF or others.
Cricket in India is a religon. The good part is, it brings the entire country together whether one likes it or not, similar to Bollywood. However the flip side as mentioned earlier is the arrogance of the Board. That needs to be checked probably by the judiciary itself.