SportsKenya: Branding in Sports : Lessons from Usain Bolt

Saturday, 7 November 2009

Branding in Sports : Lessons from Usain Bolt

(Photos courtesy of NMG & Reuters)

He came, he saw, he conquered. Just like he's done on the 100 & 200m tracks, this athletics wonder-kid was at it again when he landed last week. He was even accorded audience with the powers-that-be, at one point even jokingly patting the Head-of State as they addressed the Press.
What do we learn from this?
1. Put a class act on the field :- Even before thinking of any antics (like Bolt gestures to cameras as he tries to calm his nerves) let your performances speak for themselves. Not just ordinary, EXCEPTIONAL !
2. Consistency :- In sports as in many things in life, consistency is a very important thing. This helps you remain relevant among the clutter of events you maybe participating in.
3. Committed :- Do not engage your fans if you are not committed to your sport. Fans will always see through any nonchalance and mediocrity means suicide not just among your fans but the purses too ( you can ask Mike Tyson).
4. Commit to a Cause :- As much as possible, commit to a cause beyond your sporting exploits. This helps you focus energies in the chosen cause and also helps stay grounded instead of engaging in harmful exploits and stuff that may cost you.
5. Flamboyance :- Though it may sound like a bad idea, be flamboyant in a nice way. We all know there are athletes, sports heroes who excel in their sport. But the GREATEST always EXCEL in their SHOWMANSHIP. Jordan, Ali and McEnroe are just some of those I can mention here.
6. Invincibility :- This is closely related to consistency. If you achieve the unachievable, please do not let us see your weaknesses. The minute we start seeing you tottering like a has-been gone is your hero status. Maradona in the 1994 World Cup is a good example here( maybe even NBA's Allen Iverson)

7. Smart Sponsorship(s):- As much as possible, DO NOT choose irrelevant products or brands to endorse.If they do not align with your goals and are not taking the extra mile to be what it takes, you go down with their premise. Be smart while choosing this.

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Profile of a Kenyan Sports Personality

This is a look at a Kenyan personality who may have influenced and continues to affect sports in Kenya and inspires all and sundry in sports. It is our hope that you shall reflect on this, take a moment to appreciate the sacrifices and efforts these heroes made. We do take a bow and wave our hats as we cheer true Kenyan patriots in sport!

This one takes a different twist. Having seen individuals grace this column, we have sought to recognize a team of individuals who did some exemplary work and set what has been an unbeatable national and indeed continental effort.

Kenya has never been a major power in shorter races 400m downwards. Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, this was a different script especially with the more exciting relay races. It is in 1968 when Kenya’s dominance came into play and with it a retinue of athletes who would become legends of their era.

The 4x400m races are usually the climax in the athletics calendar of events and in Mexico ’68, Kenya’s team including Charles Asati, Naftali Bon, Munyoro Nyamau and Daniel Rudisha ( the latter being the father to David Rudisha - current World and African champion in 800m) had other ideas coming 2^nd to USA.

In 1972, the 4 x 400m team was tweaked a bit and the final race was run by Charles Asati, Munyoro Nyamau, Robert Ouko and Julius Sang blazing the track to come up with the only other Gold medal from the Munich Games. But for this unprecedented move and none that has been done before by any other African nation, we salute our compatriots making them the Kenyan sprint legends!

Know your Sport

Swimming

Recently at some social setting we were engaged in a club quiz and one of the questions was about swimming. This sought to know which stroke was not among the competitive ones till 1956. One of our team-mates (we were 6 said that it was back-stroke while I argued it was butterfly, and the majority thought the former ….guess we should have stuck with my answer though!)

All the same, this sport has become one of the most competitive sports in any major sporting extravaganza in the form of the All-Africa Games, Commonwealth or indeed the Olympic Games. Kenya has lately featured in this very involving and energy-sapping sport. Thanks to the exploits of the Dunford brothers who have shone the spotlight on the country away from traditional sports in athletics, football, boxing and rugby. But what do you understand from the sport? Here’s a brief of it from different sources;

According to Wikipedia, swimming is based on the human act of swimming, that is, locomotion in water by self propulsion, with the goal of completing a given distance in the shortest amount of time. Swimming is distinguished from other aquatic sports (such as diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo) that involve swimming but the goal is neither speed nor endurance.

Competitive swimming consists of four strokes: butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle (or front crawl), and backstroke. When all four strokes are done during a race, it is called medley swimming (otherwise known as the individual medley, or I.M.). It is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA).

The goal of competitive swimming is usually to have the fastest time to complete a given distance. Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century. Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 13 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50 meter pool (long course).

There are 36 officially recognized individual swimming events – 18 male events and 18 female events; however the International Olympic Committee only recognizes 34 of them – 17 male and 17 female. Most swimming sport events are held in special competition swimming pools, which are either long course pools such as those used in the Olympic Games (50 m) or short course pools such as those used in the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) (25 yards or 25 m). Competition pools have starting blocks from which the competitor can dive in, and possibly also touch-sensitive pads to electronically record the swimming time of each competitor.

In most competitions, the competitors are required to wear swimwear/swimsuits to adequately cover their bodies for the dip. However some suits have created controversies which have seen FINA coming up with standards to adhere to ensure competitors do not have undue advantage over each other.

The sport can also be pursued for personal fitness and is considered by fitness enthusiasts as one of the few that does an all-round job body of keeping the body in shape. It also requires healthy diets and rehydration (yes even if your body’s dipped in water)! Famous names in the sport include Mark Spitz – 7-gold medals winner 1972 Olympics and Michael Phelps – 8 gold medals - Beijing 2008.
For more info, check www.fina.org

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Saturday, 7 November 2009

Branding in Sports : Lessons from Usain Bolt

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