A book about a top tennis player has to have something in there about advertising. The reality is that the top players earn much more from sponsorship deals than they do from prize money, and some will go to extremes to capitalise on their fame. Maria Sharapova apparently was considering changing her name to advertise her Sugarpova confectionary range. Miss Sugarpova to serve - now come on!
My character Lewis Macleod is not big on advertising. He sees it as a distraction. But in The Journey Away he is forced to deal with a situation whereby his clothing sponsorship is cancelled at short notice due to adverse publicity. For Lewis this is no big deal, but for his new friend Lee Porter it's a golden opportunity to show what he can do. Here's how it starts off...
“These will do fine. Thanks, Fiona.”
“You should cover the logo, though,” said Lee as he emerged from Lewis’s bedroom, fully dressed once again. “No point in giving them free advertising - let them pay you to market their brand. It would weaken your position as well when you come to negotiate a new deal.”
“Aye, that’s true enough,” said Jim, appreciating his wisdom and the fact Lee was now clothed. “You need to start thinking about things like that, Lewis.”
Lewis looked at them both incredulously. “It seems a lot of fuss over a bit of kit. Surely it won’t make much odds having a wee logo on display.”
“It will,” replied Lee. “Cover the logo, then you’re making a point. The marketing men will notice, work out what’s happened, and then start bidding, probably very quickly. If you’re going to have a new sponsor, then they’ll want their logo on display in the final. They’ll want to capitalise on it. Win tomorrow, and then start a bidding war. You did say that none of the other manufacturers have a top player, so they’ll all want to sign you, as it sounds to me that they can’t afford to be choosy like your old sponsor. Who’s controlling this anyway?”
What Lee said was making sense. Lewis screwed up his face. “A bunch of amateurs by the sound of things!” he answered. “Why didn’t the management agency suggest this, Jim?”
“You’ve never given them any encouragement to be creative, Lewis. I could speak to them again if you want,” replied the coach.
Lewis considered this for a moment then shook his head. “No, leave it. I don’t want the distraction, and I don’t want you distracted either, Jim. There’s too much at stake to be fraffing around with a sponsorship deal at present.”
“I’ll handle it for you, Lewis,” said Lee brightly. “I know how to broker a deal... We still need to involve the management agency, but I can do that instead of Jim. Let me do this as a friend. I lost you one deal - let me replace it with a better one.”
My character Lewis Macleod is not big on advertising. He sees it as a distraction. But in The Journey Away he is forced to deal with a situation whereby his clothing sponsorship is cancelled at short notice due to adverse publicity. For Lewis this is no big deal, but for his new friend Lee Porter it's a golden opportunity to show what he can do. Here's how it starts off...
“These will do fine. Thanks, Fiona.”
“You should cover the logo, though,” said Lee as he emerged from Lewis’s bedroom, fully dressed once again. “No point in giving them free advertising - let them pay you to market their brand. It would weaken your position as well when you come to negotiate a new deal.”
“Aye, that’s true enough,” said Jim, appreciating his wisdom and the fact Lee was now clothed. “You need to start thinking about things like that, Lewis.”
Lewis looked at them both incredulously. “It seems a lot of fuss over a bit of kit. Surely it won’t make much odds having a wee logo on display.”
“It will,” replied Lee. “Cover the logo, then you’re making a point. The marketing men will notice, work out what’s happened, and then start bidding, probably very quickly. If you’re going to have a new sponsor, then they’ll want their logo on display in the final. They’ll want to capitalise on it. Win tomorrow, and then start a bidding war. You did say that none of the other manufacturers have a top player, so they’ll all want to sign you, as it sounds to me that they can’t afford to be choosy like your old sponsor. Who’s controlling this anyway?”
What Lee said was making sense. Lewis screwed up his face. “A bunch of amateurs by the sound of things!” he answered. “Why didn’t the management agency suggest this, Jim?”
“You’ve never given them any encouragement to be creative, Lewis. I could speak to them again if you want,” replied the coach.
Lewis considered this for a moment then shook his head. “No, leave it. I don’t want the distraction, and I don’t want you distracted either, Jim. There’s too much at stake to be fraffing around with a sponsorship deal at present.”
“I’ll handle it for you, Lewis,” said Lee brightly. “I know how to broker a deal... We still need to involve the management agency, but I can do that instead of Jim. Let me do this as a friend. I lost you one deal - let me replace it with a better one.”