Sports Marketing in Pakistan Today & What to Look Out For
By: M Faisal Mirza
Tags: Pakistan, Management, Solutions, Sports, Leadership

Our Moments in the Sun

Part — I: MY TAKE, from M. Faisal Mirza

ME

Just so you all know what you’re getting into — this will be a piece more on Sports Management and the current scenario in Pakistan but also more on who I am and why you should care. So, without further ado…

People generally know me (more) for my 140 character persona than anything else. Before we delve into anything else, here’s a little about me. The reason I’m going into this is so you have an idea why I am someone who can be talking about this. I’m (by quite a few years!) the first ever Pakistani to formally pursue both an Undergrad and Graduate degree focus in Sports Marketing. My alma mater at the time, the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, was the top-ranked institution worldwide to offer a degree in the discipline at the time. Like many others, I was at first satisfied with what I perceived to be my foreseeable future — graduate with the degree and become a regular (over-achieving) worker drone in the US Sports Marketing landscape. After interfacing with quite a few leading brands and later being interviewed by others, I was certain I would be able to cut it too.

But somewhere along the way, there was this “awakening” too — a “disturbance in the force,” (yes, I’m an unabashed and complete @StarWars fanboy!). A realization, if you must, that I was uniquely positioned and obviously blessed to be in the position I was in. It was this realization, borne of the fact that I hailed from a family of sportspeople — one Uncle an Olympian, others, including my Father, having been serious pro-/semi-pro sportspeople; not without at least a few standout achievements myself, so a sense of the gravity of this and needed empathy was natural. But also from the fact that the family is somewhat military-origin and the rest hardcore-Pakistani-pride based, most of us obstinately so… and then the timing, the fateful 9–11 tragedy and subsequent polarization (unmasking) of a people firsthand — it was a bit of many things happening inside and around me, but it wasn’t just these things, and one that I’m sure isn’t singularly unique to me, and that at later times I was often forced to question too (though I digress). The realization (epiphany?) was simple — having been blessed with the opportunities I was blessed with, witnessing and learning the inside workings of sports in the market where they are most developed, both as a participant and as an organizer/stakeholder, and a degree plus experience in the field — LET’S HEAD HOME!

I guess this was a full-circle from a game my mentor and Sports Marketing guru, Dr. Richard Burton would often subject his classes to — a 30-second personal pitch he called “Who am I and Why Should You Care,” during the first game of which I said I’m the first Pakistani who is doing a Sports Marketing degree and I want to be able to go back halfway across the globe and somehow impact the way Sports Management is run back in Pakistan. So it happened — in less than 48 hours I put away more than a decade’s worth of hoarded books and shoes (I’m a massive #SneakerHead too), among other things, packed away and en route to a storage facility, I was on my way to JFK International for a one-way flight back to Lahore. Allow me a short diversion here, as it was prophetic of what lie ahead. While boarding, or getting ready to board I believe, there was the phone-call first — a leading sports apparel and manufacturing brand (which shall remain unnamed), saying I had been finalized to walk into what was (till 48-hours back) a dream job for me and that the offer was already in the mail. Apologizing profusely, I explained where I was and why I was there. The whole process had been so long, drawn out and hotly contested, my would-have-been boss didn’t quite comprehend and told me to head back soon, preferably within a couple weeks, to start! It took a few iterations but I finally communicated what this flight meant for me, again apologizing — a conversation I used to think back to in my darkest hours some years later and play out a different version of it too, living out an alternate life, had I perhaps not taken a split-second decision, but at the time, as I said, I was HEADED HOME! Following the call, there were The Lines. The many, comprehensively categorical, lines — boarding lines that is. There were the couple for US passport holders, other nationality passport holders, Pakistani passport holders with valid visas or working permits, those without these, those desirous of renewal, those wanting to relinquish citizenship documents, deportees, and so on. While the people in these lines were organized and I saw a pleasant sense of civilization, these were quickly done away with as soon as the Lahore-bound plane was entered, different people checking in at the door and entering! This was indicative of the HOME I was headed to after having spent quite a bit of time away from it.

Getting back to the main plotline (thanks for putting up with that walk down memory lane), in the past nearly decade and a half (!!!), I’ve had run-ins with various fields — sponsors, brands, agencies, media, stars, organizers (or de-organizers/”devolvers,” perhaps) and have learnt throughout (you either win or you learn!). Experiencing a rapid rise to a position of power in the media and broadcast landscape, I turned out to be too apolitical for that space and bowed out and headed to the Social Sports for Development space, an equally, in fact more gratifying experience personally and professionally. During that time I attempted (for the first time-and-a-half) to start the PPL/PSL, but thanks to “indecision” a few times, it finally didn’t happen, but when it was destined to, I got a call to come help out with the PCB. Probably a little more autobiographical than originally intended, let me get down to the few things I originally wanted to talk about.

US

First off, the Sports Management industry in Pakistan is in an infantile phase and has sadly just starting getting there in the recent past. Let me add here, it’s a rotten infant that soils its clothes and gets its pants dirty too often for anyone’s liking (and in this case, “daagh tou acchhay nahin hotay!”) — but I guess that was bound to happen with so many incompetent foster homes around!

A little rant here — “Sports Management professionals or consultants,” is a term too easily and excessively thrown around here. We have ONLY A HANDFUL who really are that, with even fewer who are actually qualified enough to legitimately claim they are. 1, being a sports fan or an avid follower doesn’t make you one, like watching ER or House, no matter how many times you’ve binge-watched them, doesn’t make you a qualified doctor! So stop it, stat! 2, if you are working in the field, you aren’t one, but more importantly, don’t just do as you see, it’s the blind leading the blind here mostly. Get research done, find best practices, adapt these to local solutions and then get work done. 3, those working as commercial stakeholders don’t automatically become area experts, in fact rarely are even proficient — don’t take their word for it. OK, rant done.

Back to where this started — that rotten little child! As with everything Pakistani being judged, let’s look at its pedigree and lineage. The Mother, Pakistani Sports, has had her ups and downs, showing excellence during the 70s through the 90s, and though she’s fallen away a bit, there’s still the odd moment in the sun every now and then. That father though — Pakistani Marketing, his background is shady at best. With regular, sordid, tepid affairs with the likes of Corruption, Ineptitude, Greed and Collusion — and that isn’t even the complete list, but the experiences rear their head regularly, showing off his often nasty past. So it’s no surprise, having spent most of its time under the tutelage of its father, Sports Marketing Pakistan, even though still an infant, is already manifesting its weak inherited character traits and inadequacies — let’s work on growing it up better. Not risking taking the analogy any further now — there are some basic problems, one of the chief among which is the unfortunate fact that MOST who are in positions of power are often political appointees, cronies, or often both. Until and unless area experts and professionals are empowered and placed in these positions, the ongoing cycle of inadequacy is destined to self-perpetuate unhindered. Now you could probably apply this same principle across the board in various disciplines, but this is an area where the perceived need for skills-based appointments is almost criminally neglected and one where, as I’ve said earlier too, fans often think of themselves as experts. Remember, it’s not all gloom and doom here but there are definite areas that require revisits and concerted, focused efforts.

Aside from that actual lack of people in the right places and positions, what really ails the sports business industry? That it’s a spoilt rotten child, yeah, that too. But there’s more. The abridged version:

1, independent systems are either non-existent or where they do exist, are severely under- or mismanaged;

2, a significant lack of adequate resourcing toward developing earning streams;

3, Lack of creative and solution-driven brainstorming to create customized and workable, practical ways to solve for operational and developmental objectives to create long-term sustainable success for the country;

4, I swear I’m not beating a dead horse here but the right people with a transparent accountability mechanism is missing;

5, Monopoly and collusion market conditions in the media rights and sponsorship market perpetuated by insecure (incapable?) sports federations; and

6, Department versus Regional structure is a valid debate to be had and the “new” school of thought actually had absolute value, BUT (there’s always one isn’t there?) ONLY when done holistically, not in its component parts, as standalones, in SILOs, or superficially, as some suggestions making the rounds these days seem to be suggesting, across all sports.

7, the GOOD NEWS — all of this is fixable!

While most of these things are self-evident, the one topic of heated debate naturally these days is the last. Though debated, it is neither fully understood nor debated in its entirety to the depth that such a discussion warrants. Want to get into it? Sure, but it will take a little longer and a little bit of an effort too. Most of all though, it requires an elaboration of the most critical element — the “G” word, with a complete understanding. You know the one, people like throwing it around a lot but not too many fathom the gravity and ramifications and you’re halfway there if you get it from that preamble — yes, GRASSROOTS. While getting into it though you will have to have an open mind and read through the whole thing.

Here goes — to get anything to be systemic (not systematic, systemic), community buy-in, participation, sense of ownership and loyalty, and actual grooming, the type that comes with a multi-tier, long-term endeavor, requires a comprehensive system built from basic activity engagement for the youngest, gradually growing and progressing in participation and skills with age and exposure (hence, grassroots).For a successful implementation, not only is at-home engagement paramount, but equally, so are successful progression systems complete with incentives and payouts (not financial necessarily), as well as multi-venue participation across sport. For a country like ours where school enrollment numbers are not indicative of attendance and we have a massive out-of-school population, a system that envisages both at-school as well as at-home/in-community programs will be critical to creating a successful grassroots development system. This must come with a cognizance of what ground realities are too though, and while sport participation benefits aren’t always immediately manifested, there are some realities often hard to digest.

For instance, I came across a few families while I was in the social sports-for-development space who actually saw and realized the benefits sports participation brought, so their reluctance to let their children participate despite that was baffling. After incessant prodding, they eventually gave in, saying the only reason they weren’t willing to let their kids go for sports was that the day the children played sport, they went home hungrier, needing more to eat and the families couldn’t afford that. Yes, that’s the sort of world we live in.

While there are such real and heart-wrenching impediments to creating these programs, being aware of them and tailoring for them will better help in addressing real needs and adapting to solve for them. For a real grassroots sports system (I’ll get to how to and why the current discussion of moving from Departmental to Regional system isn’t a real shift to Grassroots, as many are purporting it to be), we must tackle the basic question of reaching children in homes, places of community congregation and common areas as well as schools, while not only making it easy for children to have access but also for parents and communities to accept and in fact encourage participation. And for the record, those who know me wouldn’t even ask, but I want to make it clear here, this applies cross-sectionally, for both girls and boys — in fact, if it were up to me, more for girls than boys, they’re so much more worth it!

These systems eventually become feeder systems for communities, regions, provinces and ultimately the elite national levels for sport through organized events, regular evaluation and archival processes that are closely scrutinized through independent, skilled judges, creating earning, learning and vocational occupation possibilities. Children who come through comprehensive systems such as these would automatically have had access to the best available facilities and with rigorous, regular competition, enabling top talent to be identified, honed and fast-tracked to the top if and when the situation demands.

If you’re beginning to comprehend the sheer magnitude and scale of such a massive undertaking in a nation where roughly 50 million are under the age of 12, another 65 million classified as youth, your head is probably spinning with the initial understanding of how shallow the discussion of “department vs. regions” currently is! For some who know this, skip on, but most of us don’t realize installing a system actually starts at the lowest, most organic level and actually emanates UPWARD from there, not the other way around.

To continue the discussion, for the time being, let’s stay a little strategic, BECAUSE WE NEED TO (at all levels)! Pitch and ground quality, cricket ball type, coaches, system flaws, all, for where we are right now, are immaterial, or at least secondary for the time being. When faced with such fundamental shortcomings, all of those things are secondary (and I reiterate, all fixable). ONCE a basic framework is in place and we are able to instigate sustainable activity based on regular participation and evaluation, then we can get to the issues that will add real quality to individual and group activities. The short route is that we organize and create programmatic and custom delivery of progressive training mechanisms across the boards that will help upgrade and create a comprehensive mechanism for all sport development.

God knows there’s tremendous talent brimming around the fringes that needs to be highlighted and showcased for want of a better solution till the time comes around that it becomes a practical reality. I know of a tiny 8-year old girl who is one of the best talents around the international circuit and who has the ability and drive TODAY to become a world-title contender in a few years; there are the Syed Hussain Shahs, Naseem Hameeds and “Wolverines” of the nation who are written off to annals of history as only semi-fond memories for the few people who know of them. Let’s make sure this little treasure, among others, don’t go the same way as the rest!

IT

What of our conundrum du jour though — the Pakistan domestic cricket restructuring that was promised (yes, that was a #GameofThrones reference), “Regions to replace Departments?” First off, enough of this “it’s straightforward” nonsense, that “departs” (sic. departments) back off and become sponsors for regions who play as provincial representatives of five to six and the subsequently formed teams will be paid much more — hurray! How simple, no? (I was actually asked this so simplistically that I was simply at a loss too, simple.) The proposal, in this simplified iteration is not only over-simplified, it is partial and ludicrous in that it displays a lack of deep situational awareness, local cognizance and creativity in solving for so many issues flagged earlier and doesn’t solve much except for a sense of appeasement.

As an analyst, perhaps simplifying for discussions’ sake, but this doesn’t work, for any sport and especially for Cricket. Here’s why — departments are accustomed to (in their own false vanity) operating cricket and looking after its sustained well-being and WILL NOT simply take a back seat or be excluded or relegated to the status of “just” sponsors without a say; while pandering to their whims won’t change anything. Even with new stakeholders/sponsors (much easier said than done!), without the provision of a safety net for not only their expectations but specifically for staff, venues, coaches, support staff and players, this type of a shift will create a massive void, creating a roughly 300–400 family size fatal tsunami atmosphere they may never recover from. If we’re requiring people to make sacrifices for the greater good, let’s at least consider whether it’s a sacrifice they can make. This seems like the players left out have gotten drafted into military service, but instead of being given the opportunity to (even if reluctantly) serve, are summarily sent in front of a death squad for immediate execution. Lastly, regions without clearly defined cricket AND BUSINESS KPIs will be as ad hoc and rudderless (also corrupted) as the system they are wishing to replace. Just swapping out the current system for another from another cricket-playing nation without catering to local nuances will not solve anything. (For those interested, I will do a follow-up analysis comparing what I’ve written in the preceding paragraphs to what comes about and analyze the validity of the solutions too)

As far as cricket goes, PCB will need to own and face the problems/issues that will arise and solve for these too. A few recommendations:

1. Start with the internal preparation plan. Immediate obstacles to an effective implementation will be that they’ll be working against time and may realistically have to create a contingency to under-write the whole first season at least.

2. Assume the current departments (or at least a majority) will not return as sponsors or significant stakeholders.

3. Immediately formulate annual calendars of activity (the current people doing so are incapable of doing so by the way) that will be required of and from all regions.

4. Hire the competent people to place in key positions to manage the regions.

5. Hire central as well as regional sales/business development people to scope out plausible rights partners and engage with them post-haste.

6. Upgrade production (also evaluate purchase of a complete facility) standards and platforms to ensure maximum engagement.

7. Make sure this whole initiative is not relegated to the dredges of every internal department’s priority lists as in the past but that it is the showcase of premium cricketing content the Board puts out on which all will be judged. (This may rock the boat a tad bit.)

8. Invest in regional partnerships and branding to maximize regional outreach and consequently buy-in and create loyalty programs for ease of attendance and interaction.

9. Create a media consumption cycle that facilitates maximum viewership and consumption, not one that caters to easy scheduling.

10. Work on venues, equipment, supplies to ensure the jump up to the next level is not a world-class Carl Lewis jump but a more doable leap our best talent is able to make realistically.

11. Immediately create a fund to cater to the loss of earning that the fringe cricketers will end up losing — who ARE the Board’s responsibility, whether we like it or not, while upskilling and helping develop alternative earning potential.

12. While showcasing the property, ensure that this is not a cosmetic exercise and is integrated with a comprehensive regional plan, as highlighted before, to fulfilling a complete system installation.

13. Engage with media and various stakeholders from the outset to ensure maximum transparency and understanding on what will be happening in the foreseeable future.

14. Lastly, facilitate the creation and operation of a Players’ Association, a process that’s long overdue and much needed, to be viewed as a progressive organization that is more a collaborator and consultant than an adversary — a constitution to reflect this may be collaboratively drawn up accordingly.

The approach right now in almost all sport is top-down — there’s a reason the solution is called grassroots, not rainfall, and I hope this effort I’ve made to highlight some of the benefits and considerations to have in mind can make it clear why that is the case. With a sportsman as PM, a concerted focus on sports is warranted, almost taken for granted, but for all sport, not just one, with an empowered cohort of people who are capable and can get it done. Here’s hoping…

(Those still around, next “article” up will be Sports Financing and Innovations and if before then a plan is installed for domestic sports restructuring, I’ll do a follow-up to this one)