1) Who’s worth talking to in Cannes?
“Look out for the uncredentialed.” That was Fara Leff’s advice to me on how best to navigate Cannes when we sat down for (€27-worth) of coffee at the Carlton Hotel this week. Fara is the COO of Klutch Sports and UTA, one of many agency groups going big here on the French Riviera this week. The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity has exploded into a quasi-professional Bacchanalia of networking. It has long since evolved away from being a haven simply for advertising creatives – almost every major global industry is represented here, and in recent years the sports delegation has surged. Fara is here with talent. Draymond Green is hosting a series of private lunches. Ademola Lookman is politely talking with clueless journalists. And she’s right: uncredentialed big hitters are here too, and they’re worth seeking out. I bumped into Shad Khan writing notes at the back of a talk at Omnicom’s activation space. He’s here supporting his son, who is pushing a wrestling property. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy wore his hair long, but his lanyard tucked away somewhere else. For companies like Klutch – founded by a group of NBA players in 2012 as a representation agency and since expanded out into property sales and brand consulting – this is an opportunity to make a mark on a wider media and marketing landscape. Whether they – and the myriad other sports brands investing in a Cannes presence this year – succeed will be measured further down the line. Look out for more considered reflections on a relentless and confusing week on the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast.
2) What does momentum look like?
a) Try MotoGP, where there are continuing signs of change under the ownership of Liberty Media. Like F1, also under Liberty’s ownership, the series has struck a deal with CAA to support on global commercial development, but perhaps more significant is news that MotoGP and its five current manufacturers – Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, KTM and Yamaha – have come together to sign a five-year technical, sporting and commercial agreement. That’s a first for the series and, coming after years of painstaking, piecemeal and occasionally heated negotiation, paves the way for further change as American ownership of MotoGP itself continues to blend with its established Spanish management.
b) Or SailGP, which, as we’ve noted over recent months, has been quietly and effectively selling off its teams, moving from a centralised to private model, with the aim of generating value in team brands. And they’ve attracted credible groups such as Ares Management, Quantum Pacific Group, Mubadala, as well as celebrity investors such as Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Anne Hathaway, Kylian Mbappe and Sebastian Vettel. As of this week, that process is complete: MSP Sports Capital has acquired a majority stake in New Zealand team, the Black Foils, becoming the 13th and, for now, final team investor. Reports suggest the team's valuation is above the $60 million for the previous SailGP record sale, earlier this year when the Danish team moved into American ownership. The whole process will surely leave CEO Russell Coutts and MD Andrew Thompson more than satisfied. Now their focus moves to expansion: a 14th team is in the works.
3) What happens when Nic Coward meets KSI?
Congratulations to Nic, former General Secretary at the Premier League and one of the sharpest cookies in the sports industry biscuit tin, on his new role as Chair of the National League, the 72-team section of English football’s pyramid known as non-league - essentially tier 5 and below. It’s a role which may well put him face to face with celebrity influencer KSI, who acquired a minority stake in sixth-tier Dagenham & Redbridge, in March and the latest example of club investment at non-league level where new owners – among them Americans - have spotted an opportunity to enter a hot market for relatively little, with the aim of making it to the English Football League. And creating compelling content along the way, taking at least some inspiration from AFC Wrexham’s A-list ownership and advantage of a media deal with DAZN. See also former Goat agency founder Harry Hugo at sixth-tier Farnham Town; American businessman Nick Semeca, who has taken a controlling stake in fifth-tier Wealdstone FC; and the new owner at fifth-tier Tamworth FC, American investor Abdullah Ashraf of Dawn Group International.
4) What are the platforms we don’t talk about enough? (What did you think of this question and would you recommend the answer?)
They rarely get – or indeed sometimes covet – the sports industry chatter, but if you want to sound in the know about these things, your answer should probably be Reddit and Pinterest. Those that do are busy working Reddit to generate feedback or take the pulse of what fans are thinking, in a broadly constructive environment; Pinterest’s regular trends reports, meanwhile should be a must for anyone in the industry, based as it is on user recommendations and activity. Unsurprisingly, both platforms have shown up in force at Cannes this week, taking the opportunity to unveil new tools. Pinterest is rolling out new AI-powered features, notable the launch of a standalone Ask Pinterest app, initially in the US, designed for more conversational shopping experiences and recommendations. And Reddit is further utilising its Community Intelligence engine, which scans the 25 billion plus posts and comments onto the platform, with a free-form ad generator that helps create adverts with Reddit’s best practices in mind.
5) What’s French for cinéma?
Despite an underwhelming performance at the Le Mans 24 Hours earlier this month. Peugeot is on something of a business roll at the moment, fuelled largely by positive electric vehicle sales – and, it turns out, an approach to sponsorship that seems to involve much less sport than its competitors. This week it’s added the Venice Film Festival to an intriguingly cinematic partnership portfolio across Europe that also includes the annual BAFTA awards, the Alpe d’Huez Festival and the Annecy International Animation Festival. The star of this show? Phil York, Peugeot’s SVP of Global Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience.
