New EPL Champions Manchester City have scuppered Maybank's Manchester United "Card of Champions" product.....

Maybank, Malaysia’s largest bank, have created a partnership with Manchester United and recently launched a “Champions Card”…..

Oh how they must be wishing that they had waited until the end of the season….and this means the 95th minute of the last game of the season (0therwise ironically called Fergie time….)!!!

Do you think that they will now rename it the “Runners Up Card”? Doesn’t really have the same ring about it……oh dear! Who’s head is rolling for this decision?

I presume that as it was launched in April when Maybank’s Manchester United supporting Marketing Team  arrogantly assumed that

or as it's now called The Card of Runners Up......

Manchester United would still be champions in May….they never expected Manctester City to spoil the party and to actual become the real champions.

They could always change all the strips to light blue and change the logo and change all the players. No longer Wayne Rooney’s ugly mug but David Silva or Vincent Kompany lifting the Premiership trophy………i.e change it to the real champions!

In terms of partnership/sponsorship marketing this has to be one of the costliest mistakes ever made. Every bit of marketing that Maybank have launched from social media to TV campaigns, poster campaigns to point of sale in all stores shop fronts, marketing on all ATM’s and on every counter top in every Maybank market (including Singapore) and all newspaper adverts all say “Own the card of CHAMPIONS”

The new champions' manager Mancini celebrates scuppering Maybank's Manchester United Card of Champions product......

You couldn’t make it up, the 95th minute winner which propelled Manchester City to being Premiership Champions in the most dramatic style….

Purely under trades descriptions this is now out of date and inaccurate….I know Alex Ferguson is having trouble accepting that the power has moved from United to City in the Manchester area as well as in the English Premiership but champions they are no longer under any category you wish to mention!

The benefits of the card itself, 10% off the terrible Manchester United stores in Marina Bay Sands and CityLink Mall in Singapore for example  along with five times points earned on what a cardholder has spent when Manchester United win at least showed this confidence and creativity.

They just chose the wrong time to launch it……….or maybe they knew this would happen and got in their quickly with the “Card of Champions” line knowing that they would have to change all creative at vast expense a month later………

Time's Up.....Manchester United and Hublot's Champions Tour of Asia will have become the Runners Up tour this year.......

The core focus of the association is a  synergistic, advertising partnership entitled DEWeezy, complete with advertisements, appearances and the building of a skate park in Lil Wayne’s hometown of New Orleans.

The DEWeezy campaign has already begun buzzing on social media sites with images of the iconic artist appearing in the form of street art and painted murals.

Creative is anchored in Lil Wayne’s touring presence and outside interests including skateboarding and the rebuilding of New Orleans. Mountain Dew see themselves as an iconic, cutting edge lifestyle brand and think that Lil Wayne who is constantly pushing the envelope through his music and celebrity is a perfect match. Mountain Dew certainly gain some great endorsement and brand association from the relationship. Presumably Lil Wayne will be collecting sacks of cash……

Lil Wayne is a multi-platinum and Grammy award winning recording artist, who has sold well over 10 million records including the latest album Tha Carter IV, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.

Lil Wayne is a busy boy as you can tell, clearly keen to make as much impact as possible in what can be a notoriously short career for a rap star. He has also continued the development of his business portfolio with the launch of TRUKFIT, a contemporary street wear brand. TRUKFIT, Lil Wayne’s first ever foray into the apparel industry

Blueprint Group, who created the cool partnership, has long been celebrated for their creative branding initiatives,having aligned their artists with brands such as but not limited to AT&T, Belvedere, Blackberry, Def Jam Rap Star, Gatorade, Louis Vuitton, NBA, Nike, Sprite and T-Mobile.

Innovative refreshing Coca Cola Pure Michigan campaign

I love this brand partnership just because it’s so innovative and unusual. Coca Cola and Pure Michigan have created a partnership marketing campaign.

Images of Michigan’s sparkling waters, white sandy beaches and exciting destinations will soon be featured alongside the Coca-Cola logo in numerous places to inspire people to experience Pure Michigan.

There may be an issue here in terms of none of these places really have a  connection with Coke or have similar brand values to Coke as Coke is not natural like water for example but Coke is an all American brand which reflects Michigan’s values.

Coke and Michigan have decided that they are great brand partners and like other examples of drink brands and countries coming

Coca Cola funded creative promotes Coke's roots and heritage with Michigan while also promoting Pure Michigan

together like Visit Scotland and Highland Spring it works.  The celebrated Pure Michigan campaign (its fresh, iconic scenes and simple

music, invented in 2006)  is so hot that brands want to link up with it and Coke has joined this bandwagon by paying for all the media and creative so presumably they saw Michigan as being a great brand vehicle for them to hook themselves too.

The collaborative effort will feature joint Pure Michigan and Coca-Cola branding on billboards, Coca-Cola delivery trucks, vending machines and in-store signs statewide. Michigan have come up with a masterstroke of marketing collaboration that is amazing in terms of ROI.

This is very similar win-win scenario that Visit Scotland and Highland Spring created whereby creative was mutually promoting both the country and the drink (see example) and was jointly paid for. A great example of win-win brand aligned partnership marketing.

Some of the 20 million people on Coke Rewards in the US will have the opportunity to win one of four Pure Michigan vacations through MyCokeRewards. Winning destinations include Mackinac Island, Traverse City, Detroit and the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

They got there first: Visit Scotland and Highland spring in jointly funded mutually beneficial advertising campaign

Coca-Cola has a strong Michigan presence, with more than 2,300 associates and more than 36,000 customers statewide. The Company has eight distribution centers and three manufacturing facilities in cities across the state including Bay City, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Sault Ste. Marie and Traverse City. Coca-Cola has been operating in Michigan for more than 100 years.

Globally, Coca-Cola is interesting in pursuing initiatives that encourage healthy, active living in local communities (well you have to get rid of the sugar somehow!). This partnership aligns with that vision by supporting Pure Michigan in its promotion of local destinations and activities that encourage people to enjoy active family fun in the Michigan outdoors – possibly would have been a better idea to promote Coke Zero and Diet Coke rather than Coca Cola itself). Nevertheless it’s a great example of a truly community based, win-win and creative brand partnership.

Marina Bay Sands, Art Science Museum and the Flyer (the largest ferris wheel in the world, 33% larger the London Eye)

Singapore recently emerged as Asia’s most competitive city and third most competitive world wide in a recent Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey. Singapore was just behind New York and London in the survey.

Yet Singapore is the upstart in the Asian region and leads where other mightier and much larger countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam try and follow.

The question now is how can they keep growing and keep that competitive edge?

The worlds most relaxing and efficient airport with award winning design, Singapore's Changi Airport beats any other for speed of entry and exit

Whether Singapore as a developed country can keep pace with developing countries and their double digit growth is one question.  Cities growing at rapid pace on the heels of Singapore include Abu Dhabi in the UEA, Bandung and Surabaya in Indonesia, Pune in India, Hanoi in Vietnam and Dalian, Hangzhou and Qingdao in China.

The other factors are the non-economic factors that the survey from the same people who run The Economist magazine fascinatingly

Singapore CBD is central to its competitive nature

revealed.  Singapore rated high in six of the eight factors: economic strength, institutional effectiveness, financial maturity, global appeal, physical capital and environment and natural hazards.

Singapore fell down on grounds which everyone in government and who run companies in Singapore know about; Human capital and social and cultural character.

The ongoing debate on whether there are too many foreigners in the country is part of the first part of a lack of population growth and fostering an entrepreneurial and risk taking attitude.

Singapore has one of the lowest levels of fertility in the world and therefore to keep growing it needs more skilled talent from overseas

Singapore's East Coast Park - a centre of cycling and running events and exercise that keeps residents mind and body competitive

which the debate in Singapore is centred upon.

In many respects this is a self made problem, one of which Singaporean citizens seem reluctant to take responsibility for. At the same time they complain about too many foreigners taking jobs which either wouldn’t exist or they couldn’t fill without foreign help anyway.  Ultimately everyone benefits from a growing economy, primarily Singaporean citizens.

Creating entrepreneurial zeal and risk taking skills are not easily taught but Singapore has been investing heavily in these very areas in education but this has still not manifested itself in creating new companies and running companies in Singapore as much as they would like. Time will tell whether this factor will rise in the EIU survey.

The lowest score Singapore gained was social and cultural character where it is only 42^nd in the survey. This includes controversial aspects such as freedom of expression, human rights and ethnic diversification and more culturally desirable aspects such as the quality of restaurants and the presence of international book fares.

There is an argument to say that these two factors are connected, risk taking and entrepreneurial spirit would be better accentuated

The outstanding LV flagship store island shows how Singapore thinks outside the box and competes in the retail world with the rest of Asia

through more freedom of expression without the fear of what was said or done leading to shame on a family or worse.

Singapore’s ambition is not just to remain as one of the most competitive cities in the world but to become a thought leader in the world too.

Many have come to Singapore to learn about the amazing growth through the government’s own risks with the amazing success of the two integrated Casino resorts, the amazing Changi Airport, the ultra reliable public transport, the social housing and the openly ethnical diversity and true multiculturalism.

As the major of the top city in the EIU index, New York, Mike Bloomberg said

A world's first, The Singapore Night Safari adds reasons to visit Singapore

“Singapore has always had a desire to win, to change with the times, to be open. Singapore will have to fight every single day with rival foreign cities and that’s good. Competition is Singapore’s ray of hope, which keeps it going”.

Mad Men marketing...if they can't get it right no one can.....

“Mad Men” is a marketing phenomenon….yes I know it should be, it really would have no excuse if it wasn’t!

Now into it’s 5^th series and still retaining that cool brand image and compelling content  that still gets talked about and highlights showcased across the world.

I chaired The Integrated Marketing Communications conference in Jakarta, Indonesia last week and no less than three of the presentations contained some kind of visual or video reference to Mad Men! What a tribute!

There are dozens of Mad Men clips on YoutTube, mostly containing Don Draper scenes, of course, that can be used to demonstrate and highlight so much of what is good and bad about agency-client relationships and the creative process.

http://youtu.be/5y4b-DEkIps

Brand partnerships have also played their part in accentuating the cool nature of Mad Men.

For the third season, the clothing brand Banana Republic (BR) partnered with Mad Men to create window displays at its U.S. stores,

Banana Republic Mad Men suits - dress as daper as Don.

showing clothing inspired by the fashion of the show. The store also ran a “casting call” competition, in which participants were asked to mail photos of themselves in period fashion for a chance at a walk on part in the show.

The BR website even promotes the fact that you can “dress like a character from Mad Men” for the Season 5 premiere as they unleash a new limited-edition encore of the Banana Republic Mad MenCapsule Collection, available now in-stores and online.

The BR Mad Men Spring Capsule offers fans a fresh twist on ’60s era panache, taking its inspiration from country club scenes featured. After they presumably ran out of non suit collections….as Draper is permanently in a suit  and doesn’t appear to own more than a couple of those in the show the range of both formal and non-formal wear than BR can remake  or be inspired by must be dwindling by now! It looks cool in their windows anyway!

Brooks Brothers 60's style Mad Men suits

Another clothing promotion from the series’ third season includes a “Mad-Men Limited Edition” suit offered by American clothing retailer Brooks Brothers. The suit is designed by the show’s costume designer, and is based on an actual style sold by Brooks Brothers in the early 1960s. I am not sure whether that is a good thing or not……

In spring 2010, Mattel released a series of limited-edition collectible Barbie and Ken dolls based on the characters Don and Betty

Not sure who the Mattel Mad Men dolls are aimed at but they're wearing allot of makeup.....

Draper, Joan Holloway, and Roger Sterling.  I am not sure who this was supposed to be appealing to….adults?

If it was kids there would have to be an 18 label on them or at least a great deal explaining from parents on the dolls likelihood to smoked constantly, drink, have heart attacks and have a series of affairs with dolls not even created! (they could just substitute some real Barbie dolls for some of the women that Draper and Sterling have slept with throughout the five series!!!)

Mad Men nail varnish anyone?

The fourth season saw the announcement of a collaboration between Janie Bryant and Californian-based company, Nailtini, to produce a limited-edition line of Mad Men nail polish. The four shades are entitled Bourbon Satin, French 75, Deauville and Stinger and are reported to have been inspired by the fabrics used to make cocktail dresses in the 1960s.

You know what’s missing don’t you? The two most used props in the entire series, certainly the early ones, anyway….cigarettes and alcohol….so where are the Mad Men cigarettes, Mad Man cancer charity/hospital ward/hospice/breathing apparatus, Mad Men Whiskey, Mad Man AA meetings, Mad Men kidneys…….

Oh dear..who looks worse the dodgy car salesman in classic estate agent suit or dodgy former pop star who still fools people into thinking that she is a brand......

Hot on the heels of the worst brand partnership of all time, Trump’s Success (http://chrisreed.brandrepublic.com/2012/03/30/the-world%E2%80%99s-worst-brand-partnership-ever/) comes a very close second….Victoria Beckham and Range Rover.

British automaker Land Rover is creating hype for its Range Rover “Evoque” model designed by “model, singer and fashion designer” (I use these terms very lightly…..singer, really?, fashion designer, really?, model, really?) Victoria Beckham that the automaker has limited to 200 vehicles for sale worldwide (is that because that’s the most that the she can hope David will pay for?).

Land Rover created a viral multichannel campaign surrounding the vehicle release by putting on an event in the Chinese capital of Beijing April 22 that was backed by social media marketing via the automaker and Ms. Beckham. Why Beijing? Was she hoping that this would mean no one would criticize her and this terrible brand partnership?

“Any time there is a partnership between two brands with two unique identities, you need to ensure that there are compatible equities to share between the two brands,” said Karen Kreamer, President (it’s always bad if they are president….) of Ks Brand Consulting, Overland Park, KS, who put the deal together, clearly not recognizing any irony to what she was saying. Really? Range Rover and Victoria Beckham? What possible shared brand values do these two “brands” have?

“In the case of Range Rover’s collaboration with Victoria Beckham, there are shared equities between the two brands that make sense in terms of a brand partnership such as the British legacy, award-winning design credentials and global brand awareness,” she continued to justify her job with…so the fact that they are both British is enough is it? Award winning design?

Global brand awareness?….what evidence is there of this and if she is known for this it’s for all the wrong reasons….she’s a laughing stock.  No one takes either of the Beckham’s seriously…or if they do they are perpetuating the myth that brand “Beckham” means something to someone not related to either of them or trying to sell celebrity magazine or newspaper……!

Apparently Ms. Beckham worked with the Land Rover design team to create mood boards that reflected her personal style and

Victoria and "friend"....and very tacky logo....

translated that into the bespoke vehicle. For example, Ms. Beckham inspired the use of rose gold from a similar-colored men’s watch she wore. If you were writing a parody of a celebrity endorsed car this would easily be produced and shown on Channel 4 as a “mockumentary”…….this surely cannot be taking itself seriously….is it April 1st again?

The automaker hopes to draw the attention of affluent consumers in international markets such as China, Russia and Brazil where Land Rover is growing and where no one has heard of the Beckhams…or if they have they are the same sad people who clad themselves out in Burberry from top to tail and believe that they are both fashionable and tastefull…..and haven’t yet realised that they look like a joke.

Ms. Beckham recently joined Facebook and is sharing news, photos and videos on her page about the vehicle. The Facebook page has accumulated more than 134,000  very very sad fans. That in itself says a lot about the kind of people on facebook…..and stupid enough to follow a plastic celeb.

The automaker is also using a microsite to showcase the vehicle at http://victoriabeckham.landrover.com that shows artistic (no not that type of “artistic”…..) photos of Ms. Beckham next to the vehicle….no really…it does….the days of naked ladies next to cars in the 70′s springs to mind…….Donald Trump, all is forgiven, suddenly “Success by Trump” makes so much sense……..

Nu-metal, new sound and something different for the Mad Men to market

The challenging thing about music marketing is that it’s totally dependent on something that is beyond the control of a music marketing director, the artist.

The product is not controlled by a design council or new product development team or research and development. It’s completely (well almost!) down to the artist.

Clearly they will take advice from gurus/managers/sycophants but ultimately the artist has got to be happy with the product as music, unlike any other form of product or service, is profoundly personal.

It’s from the heart of an artist and about the artist.

A great example of this is one of the world’s greatest bands, Linkin Park.

When they first came on the scene with Hybrid Theory  and “nu metal” they completely changed the way that music sounded. Rap and guitars came together to form an angry and passionate noise that rocked a generation. The Mad Men had a real marketing positioning to take, distinct, new, youthful, edgy, a whole new sound to market.

The album was a phenomenon. ”Hybrid Theory” has sold over 24 million copies worldwide, which makes it the best selling debut album of the 21st century.  The follow up, “Meteora” had the same distinct sound and also sold in the millions and spawned 4 US number ones. The music marketing teams were loving it, it was a license to print money. Marketing was easy.

Then something happened. Linkin Park, having created this amazingly successful sound decided to alter it and go in different and varied directions. This led to the less successful but more mainstream “Minutes to Midnight” and the sales diving and fan splitting “A Thousand Suns”.

The latter was a step too far for many fans as their sound became electronic and softer. In the words of the Linkin Park architect Mike Shinoda it was a bit like they had invented the ipod with the first two albums and then instead of naturally progressing to the ipad they then went  in a completely different direction that bore no resemblance to the sound that had made them successful and famous to start off with! They tried to reinvent the wheel and the wheel came off.

Reading between the lines of what the band now say they realise they all went too far. You could almost feel sorry for the marketing people at Warners when they got the “Thousand Suns” product and went “what the hell are we supposed to do with this….”.

Linkin park had built up so much power and authority that they literally got away with murder, murder of their original sound.

However all has not been lost. Linkin Park clearly had a jolt, they came back down to earth. They couldn’t fly after all. They couldn’t change their product and expect their fans to just buy it. Fans/customers of music are more discriminating and discerning than any other product.

They are not always brand loyal, partly because artists produce a product every 2-5 years which causes extensive brand promiscuity and partly because music you loved at one stage of your life for one reason or one relationship is no longer applicable for another stage of your life and a different relationship.

This means that music marketers have to work that much harder to engage both existing customers of an artist and discover whole new customer segments. You may argue that changing your sound and therefore your product the way that Linkin Park did should help achieve that but if you lose all your existing customers and don’t replace them with enough new ones the result is disastrous sales.

The signs were all their on their last tour. I was lucky enough to see them up close at the amazing Singapore Grand Prix with 50,000 other mad fans going bonkers at the Padang, inside the F1 street circuit.

Singapore laps up classic Linkin Park at the Grand Prix

It was one of the best atmospheres of any concert I have ever seen. The band played only three songs from their latest “Thousand Suns” album and the rest of the set was a greatest hits collection of the harder edged guitar and rap rock music that the original fans all lapped up.

It was clear that the music that the band themselves loved to play live was the rockier ones not the softer “Transformers” mainstream ones. They had realized that the customer wanted Classic Coke not New Coke.

Thankfully the signs are good for the new Linkin Park album, “Living Things”, out June 26^th (it’s already a red letter day for me!). Hurriedly brought out in less than two years since the last one (having taken an average of 3-4 years between albums previously) the new single  “Burn it Down” is a step in the direction of the “Hybrid Theory” recordings.

Harder, edgier with guitars as well as rap as the lead singer Chester Bennington said recently they have created a “wall of sound” that is reminiscent of their earlier recordings and further away from their recent ones.

You can almost feel the relief of the Mad Men, phew, they can market Linkin Park to existing fans and try and reconnect. The challenge now could be persuading those lost fans to give them another try and to see how many of them have actually changed their lives so much that a “wall of sound” with angry, passionate hard edged guitar and rap rock music combined may no longer be applicable.

While both Shinoda and Bennington say they don’t regret their transgressions into other music genres and sounds they have ultimately listened to the customer and changed their sound back to the original, with a 2012 updated feel. Ultimately the music buying customer is always right.

or for marketing professionals who should know better?

Does a “like” on facebook mean a consumer has engaged with your brand? Two recent surveys apparently say no.

Although a recent eVoc survery said that 59% of respondents have liked a brand on facebook in the past 6 months. Most likes are for food brands, TV shows, music, movies and clothing.

So all good, millions of new buying consumers? Apparently not. There appears to be a difference between someone liking your brand on facebook and actually buying it.

According to a study from the Ehrenberg- Bass Institute just 1% of fans of the biggest brands on facebook actually bother to engage with the brands on the site.

They studied the top 200 brands and through examination of activities such as likes, comments, posts, shares the research group found that there was nothing substantial to link a brand’s facebook presence with loyalty.

Virtually no consumer engagement with brands on Facebook suggests that there is a massive disconnect between reasons why consumers actually “like” a brand and the reasons brands think consumers are “liking” their page.

When the CMO Council asked Facebook users in Q4 2011 about their expectations after “liking” a brand on Facebook, the top expectation (67%) was to be “eligible for exclusive offers.”

However, when the CMO Council asked marketers what they thought it meant when a consumer “liked” their brand page, a quarter of marketer respondents answered, “because they are loyal customers.” Clearly some miscommunication here.

Is this any surprise in reality as most people are driven to “like” a brand on facebook as a direct result of being given a “free” offer of some kind. So yes of course, like Pavlov’s dog, consumers have been conditioned  to expect more offers as a result of “liking” the brand as that is how the relationship started.

There is no facebook loyalty, the consumer will move onto the next brand as long as they do offer more freebies and money off promotions than the last brand. Where’s the loyalty and why would CMO’s think otherwise?

The link between “likes” and loyalty remains unclear. Although consumers respond favorably about their likelihood to purchase from a brand they follow on Facebook, that’s not overly evident on their Facebook time lines and actual actions.

Marketers should keep in mind that for consumers, Facebook remains primarily a place to interact with peers and share experiences. Although many consumers have opened up to brands that are present on Facebook, brand marketers should not expect loyalty each time a consumer clicks the “like” button. They have to work a hell of a lot harder to gain that.

Which social network engages brands most? At these 0.0 rates who cares?

Linkedin connects globally and locally.....

I have just celebrated 5,000 connections on LinkedIn and it has changed my life in a very positive way.

I first came to Asia in 2009 and moved here permanently in 2010. I arrived with no confirmed job but through LinkedIn was offered two then a third which I still currently enjoy.  None of which were advertised. All were gained through LinkedIn.

I knew virtually no one in Asia but soon built up contacts and connections through meeting people virtually on LinkedIn and then subsequently in real life or on Skype who then recommended other people on LinkedIn and so it began…..

I then began to truly realise the enormous potential that LinkedIn has if you work at it and make it work for you. I arrived with 300 connections, I now have over 5,000. I unleashed the power of LinkedIn and it repaid me aplenty.

We had a handful of local clients at my current agency when I arrived but now have dozens of blue chip global brands – 90% of whom have come through connecting on LinkedIn first.

It works. It works more than anything else. Purely from an ROI point of view it’s the best value business development targeted marketing you can possibly get.

Asia Pacific is vast. It contains two thirds of the world’s populations. It contains the two countries with over a billion people in. It includes many more with over or nearly a 100 million people in from Japan to Indonesia and Vietnam not far behind on 90 million.

There isn’t the time and efficiency in visiting people in every country from China to Australia, Philippines to Thailand that our clients

linkedIn v's facebook - i choose linkedIn....but haven't yet had the tattoo done......

cover. LinkedIn brings everyone close and then Skype/conference calls can do the rest.

I am not paid by LinkedIn in case you wondered. Many people do as I rave about it freely because evidence and experience has shown me that it works.

It does indeed create connections across the globe that produce the ultimate in partnership marketing. Shared business objectives, you always learn something from connecting with someone on LinkedIn. Always.

I have my entire team here in Singapore signed up on LinkedIn accounts because people and relationships are what we’re all about.

There is no better place to connect with business in mind. I would heartily recommend it to you!

Visit Scotland couldn't have paid for the amount of great PR this film generates for them.....

When the UK Government decided in their infinite wisdom to close the UK Film Council and restrict the BBC’s budget they clearly were only thinking small short term rather than long term and holistically.

Anyone who doubts this should go and watch a charming UK Film Council/BBC funded film called “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”.

A film has the power to keep on marketing a product forever through a symbiotic partnership. Partnership marketing effectively.  This can be both great if you’re brand that doesn’t change (Visit Scotland’s Scottish Highlands for example) and disastrous if your product is second rate or is being constantly redesigned or improved (any technology brand….).

The film shows some amazing shots of the Scottish Highlands which will inspire people across the world, (and bear in mind that I watched this to a packed house in Singapore), therefore marketing Scotland (if not London or Surrey as visiting suburbia and the Ministry of Fisheries probably isn’t top of people’s list….) as well as parts of Morocco  (as it wasn’t filmed in the Yemen bizarrely….they surely could have called the film Salmon Fishing in Morocco…..?) as they appear stunningly in the film for many minutes at a time with some breathtaking views of lochs and countryside.

The beauty of film partnership marketing  is that it is a partnership that keeps on giving! Every time someone sees the film via DVD, streaming, pirate copy, TV, ipad…wherever they will see the great Scottish countryside and admire it…and maybe wish to visit. There is nothing quite as a powerful as a editorial advert for a tourist destination in a film where people are engaged and focused on the  happenings within the film and, in this example, laughing at the majority of the film and therefore connecting happiness with the delights of the Scottish Highlands…..(and not forgetting Morocco….).

Rivals.net branding still appears in the Mike Bassett England Manager film through an innovative brand partnership that lives on forever....

One of the most cost effective partnership/sponsorship deals I ever did was between what was at the time the UK’s No.1  sports website, Rivals.net (see Rivals.com for what it looked like but with a UK sports slant) and the English football film Mike Bassett – England Manager.

To this day that film is still used to criticize English managers! My deal means that whenever the film is shown on Channel 4 or watched on DVD or on line the Rivals.net brand still appears and it still being promoted to a targeted football audience. The brand, long dead since Sky bought it and killed it off, features on the football perimeter boards and background press conference boards featured in the film quite prominently to this day and forever!