Euro 2004 may see David Beckham face further allegations of sharing his affections - but this time with partners of a commercial nature.
For Beckham is the very public face of a problem that is becoming a pest for all concerned, but one that was inevitable given the commercialisation of football.
With a string of personal endorsement deals, team partners and tournament sponsors all vying for a piece of Brand Beckham - however diluted that may be - there will be an inevitable clash between some well-known rivals.
Pepsi has an estimated £5m personal deal with the star, which is supported by its access to the England team through a £20m partner deal with the Football Association (FA) and its tie-up with Beckham's club, Real Madrid.
But at Euro 2004 these deals will clash with the tournament sponsorship of arch-rival Coca-Cola.
Beckham also has a £3m personal deal with Adidas, which dovetails perfectly with the company's contract with Real. However, at Euro 2004 he will be turning out in kit made by rival brand Umbro, courtesy of its £15m sponsorship agreement with the English FA.
The England captain is not the only football star whose team of lawyers and commercial advisers will have to tread carefully on and off the Portuguese turf. Michael Owen has a personal deal with Asda, which competes with FA partner Sainsbury's; and Wayne Rooney has personal deals with Nike and Coke, conflicting with the FA contracts of Umbro and Pepsi.
Such clashes are difficult to avoid, according to Louise Quinn, partner at the sports unit of law firm Hammonds. 'There is no such thing as a water-tight contract,' she explains. 'If brands sponsor an individual, there is very little they can do about limiting conflict at events in which those individuals participate, other than doing some due diligence before they enter into the contract.'
Yet it is not necessarily a wise move for brands to try to control sports stars. Beckham, in particular, is so iconic that the public is highly aware of the brands he endorses. 'Any brand serious about maintaining credibility with savvy football fans will not look to be a me-too by replicating a relationship with a player involved with a direct competitor,' says Chris Masterson, former football marketing controller at Coca-Cola Enterprises and managing director of consultancy Midfield. 'A number of iconic players such as Thierry Henry, Michael Owen and David Beckham will be seen with multiple endorsements in the run-up to Euro 2004, but they have the gravitas to split their image across different sectors.'
This may explain why the tournament has no major sportswear brand as an official sponsor. With such strong team and personal deals in place, brands such as Nike and Adidas know they can mount a major campaign without having to pay an extra £20m to be an official partner.
Commercial danger
From an agent's point of view, a clash of sponsors is not worth the risk to the commercial clout of the client. According to Clifford Bloxham, head of athlete representation at sports marketing giant Octagon (commercial agent for Arsenal and France star Patrick Vieira and Chelsea and England's Frank Lampard), it is typically the status of the athlete that dictates whether the club has significant influence over personal endorsements. But he says he would not look to sign a player to any brand if it competed with a major club backer, as he would consider it unprofessional.
'We would agree not to clash with the shirt sponsor,' he says. 'To be honest, it looks negative for the player if he signs a conflicting deal with the main team sponsor. Patrick Vieira having a deal with Vodafone, given Arsenal's deal with O2, would not be a good move.'
Bloxham admits there is little or no legal protection for brands when it comes to national team sponsors and event partners. 'It is a challenge for the marketing guys,' he argues. 'In an ideal world it is something we would want to avoid, because it is better for everyone when there is a consistent message. It also makes players look more professional - it looks silly if they are linked with Coca-Cola one day and Pepsi the next.'
The two soft drinks giants clashed at the FIFA World Cup in 2002, when Coca-Cola, a commercial partner of the England team, used Beckham on its can design, and Pepsi, which had personal endorsement deal with the star, did exactly the same. The result was a war of words across the world's press.
Yet the prospect of further conflict is not deterring brands from getting involved. Indeed, many are digging even deeper into their budgets to ensure their association with the top names and events.
'The marketing buzz-phrase around Euro 2004 is commercial clutter, and to achieve some form of stand-out is becoming increasingly difficult,' says Andy Sutherden, director of sports marketing and sponsorship at Hill & Knowlton. 'It is not enough just to buy yourself an official partner status, because you are up against other brands and ambushers. One way brands have tried to stand out is to work in parallel by signing personal endorsements.'
Individual arrangements
Individual deals can deliver benefits that are not available to other sponsors. 'For a personal endorsement,' says Quinn, 'your main security comes from the fact that no other partner, team sponsor or event sponsor will have access to that player for any marketing material.'
It is now a standard condition across the industry that other sponsors, such as official event partners, must feature players in groups of at least three, with no undue prominence given to any one player. Also, individuals cannot ever use their team number, shirt or anything that resembles it in their own personal endorsement deals.
'The advisers earn their fees by balancing this equation and making sure that all brand sponsors are appeased with the outcome,' says Masterson. 'They know that the rest of their client list may well need to work with these overlapping brands in the future.'
For its Euro 2004 campaign, Coca-Cola has signed personal deals with several major international players, Everton's Rooney among them, so that it can feature them on its cans. Uniting these deals with its tournament sponsorship, Coca-Cola has found an expensive but effective form of endorsement marketing that sidesteps the legal issues surrounding use of a player's team shirt or badge.
'Coca-Cola's on-pack promotion uses the official Euro 2004 logo and a picture of Portugal captain Luis Figo, but he is in a white shirt with no markings on it. The company obviously has an individual deal with him and tied it up with the event sponsorship,' explains Quinn.
The same goes for Lampard, who has signed an endorsement deal with Sainsbury's, giving the supermarket the use of his image to back up its tournament campaign.
Sector exclusivity
What seems incredible is that in an age when money can make a famous face do pretty much anything, brands cannot secure complete exclusivity.
They can, however, gain exclusivity within a sector. 'You assume players' advisers will look to keep open as many revenue-earning avenues as possible,' says Masterson. A player may sign up to endorse a soft drink in the sports and energy category in order to retain the possibility of carbonates, juices or waters sponsorship.
In the retail sector, such multiple deals might not always be possible.
A player deal with Tesco or Sainsbury's would naturally extend across their trading platforms, meaning the player could not look for separate deals in, say, the convenience store category. But a deal with Asda, for example, would leave the way open for endorsements in areas in which the supermarket is not involved, including convenience outlets. 'Clarifying the "exclusivity" definition allows negotiation for additional income to lock out the additional areas,' says Masterson. 'Or it keeps open the option of an extra, gilt-edged arrangement from a related, if not direct, competitor category.'
With players such as Beckham, who have an array of personal endorsements, Sutherden believes the various deals work most effectively if the person who manages a star's commercial schedule ensures that each brand is publicised separately. 'What has been fundamental to the success of how Beckham has managed his portfolio is that his management team has regimented his diary so that each sponsor has an exclusive spot,' he says. 'There is no crossover. The Pepsi campaign does not start at the same time as an Adidas push.'
According to Tim Gardiner, managing partner at marketing consultancy Iris North, though, the dozens of brands clamouring for attention may deter others from getting involved. 'The biggest brands will always look to make the biggest noise and invest the money to do so,' he says. 'But a lot of brands will be put off by the clutter. They will sit back and wonder why they should invest so much when there are so many brands trying to capture attention.'
These brands, adds Gardiner, will simply try to capitalise on the good feeling created by these events. They will then launch their own campaigns at a different time, when they can make themselves heard for a lot less money.
That said, there is no doubt why there is such a commercial buzz around Euro 2004 and the huge audience it delivers. 'The bottom line is that ambassador programmes or celebrity endorsements have demonstrated time and again that they deliver sales,' says Sutherden. 'It has been proved that they motivate consumers to purchase.'
And as long as sponsorships continue to deliver sales, marketing directors will be able to justify that part of their budget - whatever the conflicts.
BECKHAM BRANDS
Personal
Pepsi, Vodafone, Police, Adidas, Gillette, Marks & Spencer
Club: Real Madrid
Siemens Mobile, Telefonica, Adidas, Pepsi, Mahou (beer), Audi, Sanitas (private medical), Rexona (men's hygiene), Viceroy (watches), El Caserio (cheese), Solan de Cabras (water)
National team: England
Nationwide, Carlsberg, Pepsi, McDonald's, Umbro
Event: Euro 2004
Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Canon, Hyundai, JVC, MasterCard, McDonald's, T-Mobile
SPONSORSHIP - CHECK LIST
1. Make sure the player is not too closely involved with a competitor in any capacity.
2. Give an incentive to be loyal to the brand - for example, a bonus if the player performs off the pitch as directed.
3. Limit the number of other partners the player can have in any category.
4. Specify how long and where the marketing material should be used. Don't sign a two-year deal when you have to wait seven months before you get rights clearance. Make sure you agree that a percentage of your marketing material will be approved first time.
5. Define carefully your brand sector. Keep it as broad as possible to ward off any perceived rival product.
6. Clarify exclusivity of diary. Make sure you get to use the player when you need him.
7. Find out the length of the player's club contract. Check out sponsors of the club and of the events it will compete in.
8. Buy a relationship for a period of time over which the player can deliver a measurable return.
THE BIG THREE
England's most marketable stars
DAVID BECKHAM
Deals include
Gillette £7m
Pepsi £5m
Marks & Spencer £3m
Adidas £3m
Police £1.5m
Vodafone £1m
MICHAEL OWEN
Deals include
Umbro £5m
Persil £1.5m
Burton £1m
Lucozade £1m
Nestle £1m
Asda £500,000
WAYNE ROONEY
Deals include
Ford £1m
Nike £650,000
Coca-Cola £500,000
MasterCard £350,000
Pringles £200,000
TOP 10 FOOTBALL EARNERS
Player Club Total earnings
(pounds m)
1 David Beckham Real Madrid 15.09
2 Ronaldo Real Madrid 11.12
3 Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 9.30
4 Christian Vieri Inter Milan 7.48
5 Alessandro Del Piero Juventus 6.81
6 Ronaldinho Barcelona 6.74
7 Raul Real Madrid 6.27
8 Michael Owen Liverpool 6.13
9 Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich 5.96
10 Luis Figo Real Madrid 5.72
Source: France Football magazine. All figures are estimates
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