AEG & The Home Depot Center: A case study of synergy and excellence

When I attended the David Beckham unveiling I spoke of a well coordinated marketing effort by AEG, owner of the LA Galaxy, but that's selling them short. It's a lot more than a well coordinated marketing effort, AEG is demonstrating that they are a well coordinated organization, utilizing all their assets and capabilities, and optimizing their commercial opportunities. That was clear when going to see David Beckham's debut against Chelsea this past weekend.

To understand AEG, you have to first take a look at how AEG describes itself... The Ultimate Fan Experience. Although AEG does many things in the sports and entertainment world, including owning sports teams, promoting concerts, and producing movies, it's primary focus is on the fan experience, and therefore, on the venue. Their list of venues is growing, but two of their most prominent are located here in LA so I've had a chance to experience them firsthand. The Staples Center is home to the NBA's LA Lakers and LA Clippers, as well as the NHL's LA Kings. The Home Depot Center is home to MLS' LA Galaxy and Chivas USA.

The HDC certainly put its best foot forward on Saturday. Beckham's debut was part of a doubleheader called the World Series of Football. It's not often that the Galaxy sell out, but as you can imagine, it was absolutely packed for Beckham. And like everything else that AEG has done around his arrival, it was another well executed day on all fronts. Here are a few examples...

The signing and participation of top flight sponsors such as Samsung & Best Buy...

...and adidas was there in full force as well with a strong presence outside the stadium.

Inside the stadium there were tents that allowed the 27,000 attendees to interact with the sponsors.

And perhaps my favorite... getting LA Sheriffs to hand out Simpson's masks that were used for an in-game promotion for tickets to The Simpson's Movie premier.

Special room was made for the extraordinary amount of media, with ESPN's broadcast studio out in full view.

The outer concourse of the stadium is filled with food and beverage concessions, and is more than adequate to service a sell out...

...oh, and they had a few Beckham shirts available for purchase (both inside and outside the stadium).

There was even a celebrity or two (or twenty) on hand to add to the media buzz.

AEG has designed a superb stadium complex in the HDC. It's perfectly sized and laid out for soccer (though they host other events, such as the X Games, HBO Boxing and concerts, and the adjoining tennis center host a WTA event while the track & field center is home to a Major League Lacrosse team), and it's operated in a way that reeks of class. They truly are delivering an "ultimate fan experience" by utilizing all their assets and executing with excellence. Heck, the day even won over curmudgeon sports writer Bill Plaschke!

"It's exhausting being fabulous" - Posh Spice

I lived in London from 2000 through 2004, and David & Victoria Beckham were like royalty there... they were loved by the people, but they remained distant. After watching Victoria's Coming to America special tonight, I'm convinced that she and David are going to be bigger than ever. She was smart, genuine, clever and quick, and America is going to adore her. David always impressed me as being a very good public speaker in interviews, but he's gotten much better. His performances during and after the press conference last week were superb. Keep an eye on these two (and their manager, Simon Fuller) because there are many lessons to be learned about speaking, PR, branding, and marketing in general, in the things that they do.

UPDATE: The show got trashed in the reviews, but that's probably a positive sign (not surprising that the US press doesn't understand a bit of Brit humour)... everyone that I've spoken with loved it.

Goooooooal!!!!

Is this great marketing of a so-so product, or what?














As an LA Galaxy season ticket holder, I was at the David Beckham "unveiling" this past week (when sports teams make a big free agent signing they hold press conferences, however, when they acquire a world icon, they have unveilings). Look behind the scenes and you'll find two of the very best marketers on the planet and some great lessons. Philip Anschutz and his AEG, owners of the Galaxy and the Home Depot Center that they play in (as well as numerous other sports teams and venues), were the people with the vision and guts to pull this move off. It's a move they laid the ground work for several years ago when they partnered with Becks to open up his David Beckham Soccer Academy here in LA. On the other side of the table was David's representation, 19 Entertainment. Unless you're in the entertainment industry, you probably haven't heard of them, however, just about everyone knows who the brains are behind 19... none other than Simon Fuller, creator of American Idol and manager of the Spice Girls.

Every step of his arrival to America has been orchestrated and executed with unbelievable precision. It started as soon as the deal was signed several months ago. Although David was still under contract with Real Madrid until June 30th, Victoria started making high profile appearances such as lunching with Katie Holmes at The Ivy in Hollywood, throwing out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium, and appearing at the MTV music awards. And, it's culminating in a well coordinated roll out that began with the arrival of David, Victoria and their kids on Thursday night at LAX in front of close to 1,000 people and just about every important outlet of the world press.

The press conference on Friday morning was again, superbly executed. His wife, Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice), was the first to appear, dressed to the nines in a stunning fuchsia dress, striking a perfect pose for the hordes of photographers. The conference itself was flawless, with everyone saying just the right things (they also had the right people speaking as well... Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas, AEG Prez Tim Leiweke, Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop, MLS Commisioner Don Garber and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa). The arrival festivities continue with Victoria's reality show tonight on NBC, and then wrap up with Beckham's first game on Saturday against English powerhouse Chelsea (which will be broadcast on ESPN).

The crowd of 3,000 season ticket holders was buzzing (not bad, that's about 20% of the season ticket holders showing up for 10am Friday event), singing songs and chanting "There's only one David Beckham". More importantly, the fans were buying the newly released LA Galaxy jersey (a release that was delayed from the beginning of the season to coincide with Beckham's arrival). Tim Leiweke has said that they've already sold 250,000 shirts. At $80 a pop, that's $20 million in revenue before Becks has even put on one those of shirts. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Real Madrid claim that they sold 1 million shirts within the first 6 months of Beckham's arrival in 2003, and that total merchandising income for the 4 years he was with them was in excess of £300 million.

So, although there may be much debate over the subject of David Beckham's soccer skills and whether his arrival is the beginning of a new era for US soccer and the MLS (or the beginning of the end, like when Pele arrived), there can be no debate over a few things here...

• So-so footballer... maybe; so-so soccer league... maybe; but David Beckham is a first class product being managed by first class marketers. He's in a class of marketable people that includes maybe only 2 or 3 athletes and 2 or 3 actors. He is one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, with a following that has demostrated their willingness and ability to support his commercial partners. The financial reward to AEG, 19 Entertainment and the Beckhams will be significant.
• The introduction and rollout of David and Victoria in America has been handled superbly. They've gotten major exposure, but, and this is hard to believe, they have not been over-exposed. There are still many significant opportunities to continue building the brand and reaping the reward. The Spice Girls have already announced a reunion tour (at AEG venues), and, regardless of whether the LA Galaxy win or not (Real Madrid, the most famous and most successful soccer team in the world, didn't win a thing with Beckham until this past month), the team will continue to be a financial winner through increased ticket & merchandise sales and sponsorship/partnership opportunities.
• This rollout is a great example of a perfectly timed and coordinated marketing activity. Months of preparation and focus are resulting in maximized promotion that is tied to commercial opportunities. There has been no waste in this marketing effort, as the opportunity available is optimized and seized.

As a Galaxy fan I'll be watching the wins and losses (in my nice new Beckham jersey), but as a marketer I've already seen a win.

Update: The Marketing Maven: THE MARKETING PHENOM - DAVID BECKHAM has a great post on this subject.