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352 articles.

I predict a prediction

Here we are, January 2019. I know, I can’t believe it either. It’s a time of year I enjoy, a time to reflect and a time to plot some new challenges, both personally and professionally. It’s also the time of year that some of the marketing industry’s top ‘experts’ come out of the woodwork. They […]

Five Trends That Guided Sporting Innovation in 2018

In 2016, our Future of the Sports Fan report identified eight key trends that would shape the next few years for fans – both the evolution of the fan experience and fan communities. Comprising interviews with rights holders, brands, academics and industry experts, the study was not designed as an exercise in future gazing but instead […]

Triumph Motorcycles – Inspiration Ride – Queen B

To bring the “For The Ride” brand message to life, we worked with a series of famous Triumph riders. Each was asked to take their favourite Triumph Motorcycle on a journey that meant something to them. Queen B took us on a journey along the famous Fosse Way to visit her parents.

Middle East team shortlisted for MEPRA Award for work with Cadillac

The Dubai team, in partnership with Cadillac, has been shortlisted for a MEPRA Middle East PR award later this month. Under the Category ‘Best Use of Sponsorship’, the team has made the final cut with its entry for the ‘Letters to Andy Warhol’ exhibition that formed a central part of the Sole DXB festival last […]

Football fans in KSA: Saudi Women cheering on the sidelines

Some call the game of football ‘the language of the world’; it connects more people together than any other spoken language. Nevertheless, the culture of the sport differs from one place to another. Fans in Europe associate it with groups of friends, beer and bars. In Egypt it’s known for Shisha and outdoor screening of […]

W Series – a championship too far?

It’s likely you’ve been living under a rock this week if you’ve not heard about the announcement of the W Series to both backlash and backing from those in and out of the industry. What’s the fuss about? Wednesday’s announcement stated that the female-only racing championship had the aim of getting female drivers into a […]

100 ball cricket: Do we really need another new format and can sponsors get cut through?

While I’m still recovering from the drama of Alistair Cook’s final test match and a 10 hour T20 Blast finals day TV marathon, a new format of cricket is readying itself for inclusion in the English cricketing summer. Last year the ECB, in an effort to widen the appeal of cricket, went back to the […]

Is Rugby Union finally catching up with Football in social engagement?

Rugby Union. A sport steeped in history and tradition. However it could be this tradition that has held the game back. In terms of club sizes, pay packages and TV viewing figures, it significantly lags behind other mainstream UK sports such as football, tennis or cricket. The game only turned professional in 1995 and some […]

RIGHTS HOLDERS MUST MAKE BETTER BROADCAST CHOICES IF SPORT IS TO SURVIVE

I love golf. I’m not alone. There are loads of us – it’s the eighth most popular sport in the world, after all. That’s why it was so disappointing to see one of the game’s great events – the US PGA Championship – mired in broadcasting controversy. Some might consider it the lesser of the […]

Is Test cricket a dying breed?

Historically Test cricket has been the pinnacle of the sport. However in recent years the game has failed to engage younger fans in the same way white ball cricket has. Having worked at Lords myself, I’ve witnessed the sell-out T20 Blast matches in comparison to the nearly empty county championship matches. The viewership figures for […]

Top 5 tips to writing a successful blog

At Performance, we pride ourselves on creating insight-driven content. Typically our focus is on delivering this content for our clients rather than ourselves. Sometimes, however, we do create videos to highlight our work or write a blog on subjects about which we’re passionate – normally sport and cars. By publishing interesting and engaging content, we […]

Explore More

Known for rolling out algorithms, makeovers and new features on a regular basis, Instagram (the Gok Wan of the social media landscape) has finally got it right. Well, for brands anyway. Last month, Instagram introduced the new explore page to select users and has since rolled it out to everyone. The new page sees everything […]

My journey to discovering brand purpose

In the past 12-18 months, we have seen an increase in the level of attention paid to the subject of brand purpose. However, ‘purpose’ has almost become one of those words that everybody uses and yet nobody really understands. And nobody dares to admit it. But I had to. I have recently started working with […]

24 hours in search as an England Fan

We regularly use a host of insight tools when planning our campaigns but this week, I wanted to use Google Trends to track the rise – and fall – of interest in the England football team. In the past 48 hours, interest in the World Cup came to an abrupt end for England fans. Meanwhile […]

How the FA led the communications agenda

So England is out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But we came close and there are a lot of positives we can take from the tournament. There are plenty of pundits giving their opinion on England’s on-pitch performance but this article looks at how the team and the FA performed off the pitch, from […]

Size isn’t everything

Stop sniggering in the back…As the old adage goes, it’s what you do with it that counts. Especially when it comes to influencers. There are many ways to judge the importance, or influence, of an individual, be they on Instagram, Twitter or a newspaper. If you remember the 3R’s then you will be much better […]

Is F1 still entertaining enough in 2018?

At Performance we have the full spectrum of F1 fans. From the full-on watch-every-weekend addicts to those who probably couldn’t name more than two drivers (and this is probably more down to Lewis Hamilton’s latest haircut or social media gaff than his driving). But what do they make of this season so far? We take […]

Infamous sporting rebrands

For decades, businesses have refreshed logos, straplines and more recently websites. Sporting teams have done it too over the years, some to greater success than others. However sport evokes a passion in people that most companies can only dream of. So from something as simple as redesigning a club badge to changing a club name, […]

International Women’s Day: The Bandwagon

8th March was International Women’s Day. Some brands saw it as a way to do something that would empower and inspire women while some saw it as an opportunity to do something to get attention, no matter what. Some, like Mattel with its Inspiring Women collection, did it to great success. Others, like Brew Dog to […]

Performance ups the ante for General Motors at Dubai International Motor Show

American automotive giant, General Motors, set the standard at the Dubai International Motor Show (DIMS) late last year, unveiling some of the key models at the event. The Performance Communications Middle East team were on hand to support Cadillac and GMC, for one of the first major events since the Dubai office started its relationship […]

The Magic of the Winter Olympics

The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games have now finished but it’s not all over as the Paralympics kick off on 9th March. I love watching the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. I first got the bug eight years ago when I was lucky enough to go to Vancouver 2010 with my former employer and global Olympic […]

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