handle with care

I once had a football coach who achieved the impossible

He made football obsessed teenagers dread playing football

He was vindictive and a bully

Training and matches became ordeals

As dreadful as it was, it was a remarkable feat


Taking the thing that people love the most

And sucking all the joy, fun and pleasure out of it

I thought about that coach recently

When I saw a piece of content from a brand and Man Utd

It wasn’t vindictive, bullying or mean spirited

I’m sure everyone involved had good intentions

But it was bone achingly boring

So boring that it made me angry

That someone could take the thing I love

And suck all the joy, fun and pleasure out of it

It’s easy with sponsorship to believe the hard work has already been done

That partnering with something people love means your halfway there  

But I think the opposite is true


If you’re holding what people love the most


Then you better make work that lives up to it

Adds to it, reveres it

In most forms of marketing being boring is a one-off offence

Money wasted

You’ve been ignored

Better luck next time

In sponsorship being boring can leave a legacy

That’s the gamble

The safety warning on all briefs should read

Caution, you are holding the thing someone loves

Don’t let them down

Handle with extreme care