The Sports Product and Brand-Building Decisions

Abstract

In this chapter we consider the concept of the sports product and the various dimensions upon which it is built around. As is the case in all business sectors, sports marketers have to constantly grapple with the challenge of remaining relevant to its core fan-base and also to attract new categories of fans.

Innovation and product play a critical role in addressing this challenge. We note that innovation does not necessarily mean creating a “new to the world” sport. It can address issues such as refining the rules and regulations of the existing product or introducing new technologies such as “Hawkeye” and VAR to improve the quality of the product and the fan experience.

We assess the role played by such diverse industries as medical science and the pharmaceutical industry in driving improvements in areas such as the mobility and physicality of the athlete and in the tools that are available to coaches.

We examine the importance of collaboration in the innovation process. By working with key stakeholders such as sports equipment and accessories manufacturers, the sport can benefit from improved performance and new records.

We also examine the importance of branding in relation to the sports brand.

Appendix

Discussion Questions

• 1. Assess the approach adopted by Brailsford. To what extent would you agree with the view that such an approach damages sport and encourages bad behaviour at best, unacceptable practices at worst?

• 2. What are your opinions on the theory of marginal gains?

• 3. Do you believe that the strategies employed by Brailsford can be sustained into the future?

• 4. To what extent would you would agree with the view that the use of technology places too much emphasis on medal-winning?

8.1 I Want to Ride My Bicycle

8.1 Introduction

For decades cycling in the UK at the elite level of sport did not exactly generate much success at the Olympic Games; arguably the barometer of measuring success (by winning medals). Since the British Cycling organisation was set up in 1959 it achieved only one medal at successive games up to the early 2000s. This was to change dramatically at the Beijing Games in 2008 where UK cyclists won eight of the ten medals available on the track cycling events. This was matched once again at the next Olympic Games in 2012 which was held in London. The 2004 Games in Athens was actually the beginning: cyclists won two medals and this marked the change in profile for the sport of cycling. This was their best performance since 1908.

Why have we witnessed such a turnaround in the sport? This was not a “one-off” achievement. In the 2016 Games at Rio de Janeiro the UK cycling team once again dominated proceedings by winning 12 medals: eight of them in the “gold” classification.

Likewise, with respect to road cycling, UK cyclists achieved tremendous success in the Tour de France; the premier road race in the calendar. In 2012 Bradley Wiggins became the first UK cyclist to win this event, with another cyclist. Mark Cavendish also finishing prominently. Their team - Team Sky then proceeded to dominate subsequent editions of the Tour de France. Chris Froome has won the event on four occasions: 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Another team member of Sky, Geraint Thomas, from Wales, continued the British domination of this event by winning it in 2018.

8.1 The Arrival of David Brailsford

In 2002 British Cycling appointed David Brailsford as the overall Performance Director. He had always been involved in cycling and started his career as an export sales manager for a bike company in Yorkshire. He also competed as a cyclist.

He started with British Cycling as an advisor when the UK Lottery was introduced in 1997. This formed the basis for the funding of sport in general in the UK. Cycling received substantial funding from this source. It established its headquarters in the city of Manchester. As well as locating its offices there, it gradually developed facilities such as a velodrome and training facilities. During this time Brailsford also qualified with an MBA which stimulated his thoughts in the direction of strategy.

8.1 The Philosophy Adopted by David Brailsford

Brailsford applied a deeply analytical and strategic approach to his new position at British Cycling. Always an avid reader of management techniques and principles, he was particularly influenced by the Japanese approach to quality management and innovation. Theories such as “kaizen” was prominent in his thinking. Kaizen, also known as continuous improvement, is a long-term approach to work that systematically seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality. This approach was used extensively in Japanese manufacturing. Companies such as Toyota were to the fore in promoting this approach to quality management back five decades ago.

Brailsford analysed the sport of cycling and set about working on the “theory of marginal gains”. In essence, this was based on the Japanese principles of “kaizen”. From his analysis of the sport, Brailsford strongly believed that if you can break down each element that goes into making a bike and performing on it in competition, you can identify areas for marginal improvement within each step in the process. If you can subsequently develop improvements in such areas, this can give up a 1 per cent increase in performance. This can make you more competitive and allow you to achieve success. In a sport such as cycling where the thinnest margin can lead to success Brailsford argued that this could lead to substantial gains overall.

He applied this philosophy with rigour.

This was demonstrated in a number of different ways. Such instances included the following:

• He experimented with a wind tunnel. Initial analysis indicated that the typical bike used in professional cycling was not sufficiently aerodynamic

• He identified that a simple thing like dust on the floor of training areas undermined bike maintenance. He had the floors painted to identify such impurities. This led to improvements in the performance of the actual bikes

• He insisted that cyclists used anti-bacterial gel to cut down on infections

• He worked closely with engineers and scientists from a number of companies to derive improvements in the design of the bike. This was predicated on the belief that better design and more innovative use of materials in their construction can generate significant improvement in terms of speed and overall performance relative to the competition.

A good example of this focus on partnerships with other companies is demonstrated in an agreement that British Cycling entered into with Cervelo, a bike supplier, in 2014. This occurred long after Brailsford had left British Cycling and moved to Team Sky. This partnership took the form of a five-year agreement where R&D personnel from both organisations worked jointly to develop, design and manufacture the fastest bike in the world. Proof of the success of this venture was demonstrated in the 12 medals won at the Rio Games in 2016.

The following quote from an interview with Brailsford encapsulates his approach.

“By experimenting in a wind tunnel, we searched for small improvements to aerodynamics. By analysing the mechanics area in the team truck, we discovered that dust was accumulating on the floor, undermining bike maintenance. So we painted the floor white, in order to spot any impurities. We hired a surgeon to teach our athletes about proper hand-washing so as to avoid illnesses during competition (we also decided not to shake any hands during the Olympics). We were precise about food preparation. We brought our own mattresses and pillows so our athletes could sleep in the same posture every night. We searched for small improvements everywhere and found countless opportunities. Taken together, we felt they gave us a competitive advantage.” (► https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-1-performance-improvements-led-to-olympic-gold).

British Cycling established a unit which it labelled the “Secret Squirrel Club”. This group focused on analysis and development to drive continuous improvement and essentially formalised the approach of the organisation to innovation. They worked closely with engineers and scientists, in particular with the Cervelo R&D team. This was demonstrated in the development and launch of the £10,000 Cervelo T5GB bike which was introduced at the Rio Games. The approach was not to reveal the new bike until “competition time”. This ensured that competitors could not get time to study the design and make changes to their bikes.

Brailsford argued that such a philosophy would be ineffective if there was insufficient “buy-in” from staff, coaches and cyclists. Thus much of any success would be dependent on creating the right culture and environment to allow such a philosophy to thrive and prosper.

This is reflected in the focus on identification and recruitment of potential cyclists that could eventually be in a position to “medal” at the Olympic Games. A talent team was established to develop an under 15 apprentice programme. From an assessment of talent across the different geographic regions of the UK, 70 cyclists were signed up as apprentices. This involved them taking part in intensive “boot camps” and training programmes. This number was reduced (after assessment of their performance and potential) to 16 riders who were invited to join the Academy Programme. This group was then reduced to eight members who were identified as having the capability, drive and mental as well as physical strength to win medals at future Olympics. On average one medal winner would come from this programme (which started out with 70 participants).

British Cycling also recognised the importance of the contribution of “Big Data” to the process of continuing with their strategy of producing medal winners.

It established a “Readiness Index” in 2014. Twenty of the coaches employed by British Cycling focused on the development of the pathway riders (young riders in the system).

The index built up a detailed profile of each individual rider. Data was collected on such aspects as physiological changes to their bodies - a key performance indicator being increased in upper and lower body strength. Issues such as speed and finishing time improvements were also tracked and logged.

A “playbook” was developed for each rider. Every 3 months each rider underwent a thorough assessment to see if they were “measuring up”.

The Index also carries out a detailed analysis of competitors and the performance of their cyclists in competitions. Patterns are identified which might help British Cycling to identify areas where marginal gains could be derived.

Allegations have been made that the culture imbued in the British Cycling organisation encouraged a regime of bullying and discrimination. Female cyclists in particular appeared to be victims of these practices and high-profile cases were exposed in the media.

The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009, with the major sponsorship provided by BskyB (now known as Sky Television). The company were searching for a sport in which they could have a positive and wide-ranging impact through sponsorship. British Cycling first began their relationship with BSkyB in 2008 with a £1 million sponsorship in the Sky Track Cycling team following the Summer Olympics in which British cyclists excelled. This launch would hopefully enable them to establish credibility and visibility in sport which captured millions of “eyeballs” on TV across Europe and beyond.

Brailsford joined them at the beginning as General Manager, with responsibility for setting and implementing the strategic direction of the team. He set the objective of providing the first cyclist from the UK to win the Tour de France by 2014.

The sport of cycling - particularly with respect to road racing had been riddled with allegations of cheating and doping. Many cyclists were caught and served terms of suspension or were banned from the sport. The most high profile case arguably involved the USA rider Lance Armstrong. He dominated the sport for years but was eventually exposed as a drugs cheat.

Brailsford, in response to these problems with the sport argued that his team would only recruit riders who were totally clean and had never been involved with drugs. He established a “zero tolerance” policy in this area - anyone caught would be dismissed from the team. This was implemented and one of the Sky Team coaches, Bobby Julich was sacked in 2012 when he admitted that he had used EPO when he competed as a rider in the 1990s.

Team Sky maintained close connections with British Cycling and located its offices beside their HQ in Manchester. This made sense given the investment that British Cycling has made in the infrastructure and facilities. This was demonstrated by a velodrome and track made of Siberian Pine Wood (which was identified as the best material for training on).

Brailsford continued with his application of the “marginal gains” theory. The team won the 2012 Tour de France when Bradley Wiggins came through to finish first on the podium. As mentioned earlier this success was flanked in subsequent years by Chris Froome.

Team Sky, backed by substantial investment and the strategies of Brailsford quickly established itself as the dominant team on the road-racing circuit since its inception in 2009.

Like many successful teams in sport they are not well liked by competitors, the cycling media or indeed many of the fans.

Brailsford’s attention to detail is reflected in the use of a “super bus” which has been designed to allow riders to recuperate at the end of each stage. Again we see evidence of the theory of marginal gains in operation.

More worryingly, the team has been accused of “skirting around the edges” of potential cheating. This was evidenced in the case of Bradley Wiggins. He received a therapeutic use exemption (in effect a medical clearance) to take the banned corticosteroid triamcinolone drug to treat him for pollen allergies. While this technically did not infringe any rules many athletes use it in order to improve performance. They get away with it due to the medical clearance.

8.1 Further Scandals Involving Wiggins and Team Sky

UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) launched an investigation in 2016 into the contents of a Jiffy bag delivered to Wiggins at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. In a written statement to a parliamentary hearing, the medical doctor for Team Sky insisted the package contained only the decongestant Fluimucil but Ukad has still not been able to verify that claim because of the lack of medical records.

The doctor subsequently resigned. He claimed he was not well enough to be interviewed by Ukad. An enquiry could not get any information on the background because a Team Sky official claimed that the data was lost because of a stolen computer.

In November 2017 Ukad admitted defeat and declared Team Sky and Brailsford free of any doping charges. However, they expressed serious concerns about what happened and were especially critical of the lack of proper documentation and recording of data. Without saying so they indicated that this was the only decision they could arrive at.

However, Team Sky was damaged in the general media. The general public and indeed many cycling fans are cynical about claims that the sport of cycling is clean. The case with Wiggins only served to exacerbate these perceptions.

Wiggins quickly retired from road racing a couple of years after winning the Tour de France. Many people suspected that this was in response to any possible charges being levelled against him in the future.

In September 2017 Chris Froome was caught up in a similar type of allegation.

Four-time Tour de France winner Froome had double the allowed level of legal asthma drug salbutamol in his urine during September’s Vuelta a Espana win.

However, under governing body UCI’s anti-doping rules, the presence of specified substances like salbutamol in a sample does not result in a mandatory provisional suspension and the body has asked Froome for more detail.

Many cyclists and media journalists felt that if this was any other cyclist, a suspension would have been automatic and the cyclist would have been stripped of the Vuelta win.

Froome stated that he was happy to cooperate with the authorities and reiterated his total horror of using drugs in sport. In May 2018, just before the Giro D’Italia, Froome was cleared of any wrongdoing by the International Cycling Federation. He subsequently went on to win this tour with some sensational stage performances. This meant that he was the champion of the three major tours: Tour de France (2017), the Vuelta (Spanish tour in 2017) and then the Giro D’Italia. This achievement, together with his previous wins in the Tour de France, arguably left him as one of the most successful cyclists of all time.

8.1 Summary

British Cycling and Team Sky have been the key organisations in driving the sport of professional cycling from being a peripheral sport to a dominant one in terms of medal success for UK sport in the Olympics and the major road-racing events in Europe.

Sir David Brailsford (knighted by the Queen in 2013) has been at the heart of such achievements. It can be strongly argued that he applied scientific and strategy-based principles to seek improvements in performance from his riders in both organisations. In doing so he has made use of technology and data to drive such success.

Sources: (Compiled by the author from various sources on the Internet).