Fast fix needed on brand balls-up
Stuchbury was also in a mobile phone blackout zone when Forbes was trying to contact him with news of his making the 30 Under 30 list, away camping in New Zealand’s hinterland.
Being on the list gets Stuchbury a place at the July Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 Summit in Hong Kong, but he won’t be going alone.
He’ll attend the event with the two other directors of Motion Sickness – his best friend, Alex McManus, and his life and business partner, Hilary Ngan Kee.
‘‘Some people say don’t go into business with family and friends, but it’s worked out really well,’’ Stuchbury said.
The summit will offer networking opportunities, which fits well into Motion Sickness’ aim of becoming an internationally renowned creative agency.
‘‘We have never really had a formal business plan. We have just done what felt right,’’ Stuchbury said. OPINION: It’s been a very bad week for the brand of cricket.
Since the Australian team’s ball-tampering escapade in South Africa, things have unravelled for a sport that was once synonymous with fair play, honesty and being the ‘‘gentleman’s game’’.
I had thought we’d probably all agree that, for cricket, those core brand values were already firmly dead and buried and awaiting a headstone given the bad reputation the sport has been attracting over recent years.
Well, apparently not. Almost everyone involved in the incident, including those in the sport’s governing bodies, talked last week about the importance of the ‘‘spirit of the game’’.
They believe the ‘‘spirit of the game’’ – which they claim is allimportant to fans – can be resurrected despite years of loutish behaviour, match-fixing allegations and the past few weeks of sledging, send-offs, dissent against umpires’ decisions and ball-tampering.
Watching International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson talking about the incident was like watching a light go on. He said he finally understood that cricket’s history and tradition was the sport’s unique selling point, the thing that sets it apart from all others.
Unique selling points are what marketers spend lots of money and time looking for as a way to differentiate their products from the competition.
Sport is no different. All codes want more fans and the sponsorship dollars and television fees which come with that.
So is it too late for cricket to reignite its core brand? Or is it time for a brand reinvention?
Cricket’s public relations and marketing machines have done a lot in recent years to bring the sport to the masses and get us to see it as accessible entertainment.
There’s been investment in developing new forms of the game, such as Twenty20 and the rise of the Indian Premier League, which has brought new fans and new money to the sport. There’s been a focus on bigger hits, more sixes, faster run-rates and more excitement.
Players are contracted and trained to act like celebrities and to build their own brands on social media and through brand endorsement and advertising.
In reality, the old brand of a gentlemanly game and the reality of modern cricket have been growing apart for years, like a couple with nothing left to say to each other over dinner.
If cricket wants to get back on track then it needs to toughen up and hold these, and other players, to account.
That may not be easy to do given there’s been enough tears – crocodile or otherwise – shed in the past week to open a reptile park worthy of Steve Irwin.
Rookie fielder Cameron Bancroft arrived back in Australia on Thursday, fronted up to the media, took responsibility for his actions, acknowledged he had tried to cover up the cheating and shed the first tears.
There were more tears and regrets from the former captain, Steve Smith; yet more from former vice-captain David Warner over the weekend; and then more from outgoing cricket coach Darren Lehmann as he announced he’d be stepping down.
But in all this hand-wringing, tears and regrets, it can’t be forgotten that they cheated and fully knew what they were doing wasn’t in ‘‘the spirit of the game’’.
I’ve written before about the three R’s of PR when you make a total balls-up: Repent and say you’re sorry; take responsibility; and tell people what you’re going to do to put it right.
Well, the Aussie cricketers have certainly done those three things in spades, but this debacle requires a bit more than the standard PR approach, fellas.
The three R’s don’t work when you’ve deliberately and premeditatedly decided to cheat and then tried to cover it up.
Getting brand cricket back on track is going to take some serious soul searching and some hard and fast action from the sport’s governing bodies.
If I was being honest, I still think the old values are on a ship that has sailed and that cricket is heading into the uncharted waters of a rebrand. ❚ Sue Allen has worked in journalism, communications, marketing and brand management for 15 years.
The three R's of public relations don't work when you've deliberately and premeditatedly decided to cheat and then tried to cover it up.