Betting


Paddy Power outpaces LOCOG


Few firms get the better of LOCOG, but Paddy Power’s latest advertising wheeze has seen the bookmaker come out on top.


MARKETING N


otorious pro- moter Paddy Power has lived up to its reputa- tion by going


head to head with London 2012 organiser LOCOG, and winning. The bookmaker launched a cheeky poster campaign in the English capital to coincide with the Olympic Games which cir- cumnavigated the extensive protection that surrounds association with the event. LOCOG had demanded


that billboard JCDecaux remove all Paddy Power’s posters, but eventually backed down with the book- maker on the way to the High Court for an injunction against the order. The change of heart by


LOCOG, which was commu- nicated by its law firm Fresh- fields, was


taken just


moments before Paddy Power’s law firm, Charles Russell, were set to enter the High Court in London seeking


a court order


against the Olympic organ- isers. The legal ruling was sought by Paddy Power on the grounds that its cam- paign does not breach LOCOG legislation on adver-


tising Games.


The poster depicts someone asking via Face- book whether the book- maker ‘had any plans to upset LOCOG’ under which the bookamker proclaimed itself to be: ‘Official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London this year! There you go, we said it.” Further below was the clarification that it is referring to the village in London in France, where Paddy Power has said it is going to sponsor an egg and spoon race. The Paddy Power billboards form part of the bookmaker’s on-going ‘We Hear You’ marketing campaign. A spokesperson from Paddy Power said “We pride ourselves on listening to our customers and what we’ve heard loud and clear is that LOCOG have got their priorities upside-down.” The draconian advertis- ing legislation prevents usage of any combination of words that would create an association with the games, including London, 2012, games, gold, athletics and sponsors. There are also a reported 300 officials being employed during the games


around the 2012


PADDY POWER COVERED NIKOLAS BENDTNER’S FINE FOR SHOWING HIS BRANDING UNDERWEAR


BETTINGBRIEFS


WORCESTER STRIKE COUNTER PRODUCTIVE


Ladbrokes’ corporate affairs director Ciaran O’Brien has criticised the recent trainers boycott at Worcester races: “This is a poor way to treat racing’s primary commer- cial partner and a poor way to treat betting shop customers. Racing cannot expect bookmakers to pay increased media rights charges on the one hand, and increased Levy fees on the other and con- tinue to be blamed for low prize money - it doesn’t add up. Betting revenues from racing are falling and media costs are going through the roof, while racing continues in-fight- ing over the spoils - it is unsustainable.”


ANALYSIS


Paddy Power’s latest bout of guerilla marketing appears to have been cheaper than the stunt it played in this summer’s Euro 2012 football tournament. Getting Nicklas Bendtner to wear underpants branded by the bookmaker and then to show them off to world when he scored may have received lots of coverage, but also landed Bendtner with a 100,000 euro fine from UEFA. Paddy Power was all too happy to cover the bill having taken a big enough risk on Bendtner scoring in the first place. The latest stunt even manages to place the bookmaker on the side of the ‘good guy’ given the perception of LOCOG’s heavy handed approach to guerilla marketing.


to clamp down on any guerilla marketing stunts. However, it appears that Paddy Power has pitched its wording perfectly and accused LOCOG of a gold medal winning U-turn. The bookmaker said that ‘tens of thousands of Paddy Power fans’ turned to social media to show their support for the ad campaign and to vent their anger at LOCOG’s threat to pull down the ads, resulting in the bookmaker trending on Twitter in the


UK earlier today. No doubt sensing a bit


more mileage in the promo- tion, the bookmaker has also confirmed that it will be seeking to recoup its legal costs from LOCOG and if successful will donate the full amount to grassroots sports initia- tives across the UK. The


spokesperson


added: “This is a victory for common sense and for each and every one of our cus- tomers and fans who sup-


ported us along the way. The athletes of London, France will be breathing a collective sigh of relief this afternoon.”


A statement from LOCOG said: “We can take a joke, but as you would expect we had to draw the line at the provocative ref- erences to LOCOG. We also have a responsibility to ensure that no-one thinks betting companies have any sort of official connection to London 2012.”


Two racecourses to close this year A


RACING


s the recession starts to bite, Hereford and Folkestone have become the first tradi- tional racecourses to close. Owners Arena


Leisure and Northern Racing have announced they will shut down the courses at the end of the year, although Folkestone may yet get a reprieve. Tony Kelly, managing director of the enlarged


Group, explained: “Hereford is owned by Here- fordshire County Council and run under a lease arrangement. Attempts to extend the lease, which has 17 years remaining, have been unsuc- cessful. Despite being unviable for several years we have supported the racecourse but much-needed investment, required to breathe new life into the racecourse, cannot be justified in the absence of a long-term future for the busi- ness.”


Kelly said that Folkestone suffers from out-


dated facilities and has been the subject of detailed discussion between the previous man- agement, Arena Leisure, and Shepway District Council for several years now. The firm had put


12 BettingBusinessInteractive • AUGUST 2012 BHA’S PAUL BITTAR


forward a proposal for the site which incorpo- rated significant residential development and would have enabled a new racecourse to be constructed with ‘much enhanced amenities’. He continued: “However, these plans have been delayed following the recent Examination in Public of the local plan. Discussions will con- tinue with Shepway District Council in the hope that there will be approval of development plans which would secure the future of the racecourse. If they succeed, work to reconfig- ure the racecourse could commence in 2013.


“Every effort to continue trading at these racecourses has been explored but it is with regret that a variety of circumstances means that this is no longer possible, therefore both Hereford and Folkestone racecourses will there- fore cease trading at the end of the 2012 season. The fixtures will be transferred to other race- courses within the group, where we will be able to offer increased prize money and better quality facilities for connections and racegoers alike.” Chief executive of the British Horseracing


Authority (BHA) Paul Bittar commented: “While British Racing is immensely popular on many levels, and enjoyed record attendances last year, the fact is that the sport’s financial model remains badly outdated. This undoubtedly makes life very difficult for all who depend on the sport for their living and it also impacts upon racecourses, particularly smaller ones. The priority for the whole sport remains the modernisation of our funding mechanism to underpin the future of British racing and ensure a fair return for all participants.”


METRIC EXPERIMENT IN RACING


Racing is experimenting once again with metric measures, this time in the hope that some of the international tourists visit- ing Britain for the Olympics will be more familiar with the terminol- ogy used. Three London racecourses, Epsom Downs, Kempton Park and Sandown Park, are to trial the use of metric dis- tances and weights this summer. Rod Street, chief executive of Racing for Change, said: “Imperial measures don’t mean a great deal to kids and tourists, so it makes sense to trial the use of metric information. This summer, our London racecourses are expect- ing a significant number of overseas visitors, as well as British families taking advantage of free entry for U16s at most racedays.”


JOGIA BANNED BY WPSBA


Snooker player Joe Jogia has been banned from involvement in the game of snooker and billiards until the conclusion of the 2014 World Championship by the WPSBA and ordered to pay £2,000 as a contribution towards the cost of the hearing and investigation of the case. A series of suspicious bets were placed on one of Jogia’s matches in January and he withdrew from the contest citing injury. Phone records linked Jogia to two people attempting to place bets on the match in the Leicester area. WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said: “The integrity of our sport is of paramount importance and this outcome highlights how seriously the WPBSA will treat such matters.”


REUTERS/EDDIE KEOGH PICTURE SUPPLIED BY ACTION IMAGES


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