CSBN Exclusive: Interview with David Donnelly — Director of Marketing & Communication, 2017 Men’s World Handball Championship
The 2017 Men’s World Handball Championship is coming up in France, and we’ve got the inside scoop.
A few words about the event:
The 2017 Men’s World Handball Championship will take place from January 11 to 29, 2017 in 15 different cities in France. The renovated arenas will have a capacity ranging from 4000 in Brest (President’s Cup matches) to 25,000 in Lille (Stade Pierre-Mauroy). The final weekend will be staged in the AccorHotels Arena in Paris (16 000 seats).
I had the opportunity to speak with the team’s Director of Marketing & Communication, David Donnelly, to understand the significance of handball in France’s sport landscape.
— Where does handball stand in the French sports environment?
“In the professional sports environment, I would say it is one of the five biggest sports in France. Professional sports, meaning in terms of supplier of medals (European Championship, World Championship, Olympics), of media power and of marketing attractiveness. In France, needless to say, football (soccer, for our Canadian friends) is first. Rugby is second, followed by basketball, handball and then individual sports such as cycling and tennis.
In amateur sports, handball is one of the biggest sports in France. It is very well represented in school sports despite it losing a bit of popularity in the last few years in schools. Ultimately, one of the objectives of the World Championship is to revitalize the passion for the sport in school gyms.
Otherwise, it is a major sport in terms of license holders, we have over 500,000. It is one of the largest participatory sports in the country.
What’s important is that handball is a true mixed sport; it’s a real advantage when comparing to other sports. We have almost the same number of male and female license holders, which is a really important element [in growing our sport].”
— What are the main sources of revenue for the organizing committee?
“For starters, all of the rights of the competition belong to the International Handball Federation (IHF). The IHF has selected the French Handball Federation (FFHB) as the designated host of the 2017 World Championship. The French Federation launched an organizing committee, which is an association led by the President of the French Handball Federation.
Within this committee, different work areas have been given to specific [sports and hospitality] agencies due to their expertise in their domains. It is a real distinctive feature, which allows us to form an organizing committee that is very professional from the start.
The preliminary planning began two years ago, which is quite early. An agency called Keneo is in charge of the the overall event coordination, including HR, volunteers, operations, logistics in arenas, administration and finance. Then, Infront Sports & Media with its partner agency, Sella Communication, organize the communication and the marketing strategy. They manage the hosting rights delegated to the committee, specificaly the hospitality, marketing (rights bought from the IHF), and ticketing aspects.
Regarding the structure of the budget on the revenue side, it is constituted by around 50% coming from ticket sales, 40/45% from subsidies and the other 5/10% coming from diverse revenues such as hospitality, support from the IHF and other operations.
This means that the 50% of the revenue based on ticket sales is by definition, uncertain. We don’t know in advance if people are going to buy tickets. Secondly, those revenues arrive very late. Fans generally don’t buy tickets for an event a year in advance. Some do, but the majority will buy it one, two or three months before, and even at the last minute.
There is a true gap between the financing available at the planning stages of a major event and the months (and weeks/days) leading to the event, which are unpredictable. ”
— With respect to ticket sales, how many nationalities have you been able to reach so far?
“We’ve reached about 15 different nationalities. Some are marginal but it is interesting to see that even if it is a World Championship, this is not a universal sport such as football. This sport’s appeal is similar to rugby. It is a very European sport that is popular in Africa. It is not really developed in North America, but it has begun to grow in Central and South America, specifically in Brazil and Argentina.
Brazil organized a wonderful Summer Olympics, and represented handball very well. Our first game is between France and Brazil on January 11 to mark the opening of the competition in Paris.
This sport is less present in Asia, despite having counties like Qatar hosting the previous World Championship, which has crafted an impressive team. When you consider the world geography of handball, 15 nationalities is a good number for us. ”
— What are the marketing objectives in hosting this type of competition, especially in terms of legacy and sports development in France?
“The legacy objective for the French team is to use the World Championship as a lever to continue to elevate the marketing appeal for handball in France. In other words, through the intermediary of the competition and of the national media window, we would be able to bring partners to handball that commit to the French Federation — and to the sport of handball. In addition to sponsors and the hospitality programs available in arenas, there is a need to bring business owners, especially at the local level, towards handball so they will see value in being involved in this sport. Handball, like many other sports, is always looking for new directors for amateur clubs, new partners for leagues and professional clubs in different regions. Building such a community naturally presents a great opportunity to leverage its reach to further grow the sport.
The objective of the marketing program is to primarily create a legacy for handball. Once the competition end, the goal is to have the sport well represented nationally and regionally.”
— I know that you are innovative when it comes to communication operations. What are your top 3 activations/projects so far?
- Rok & Koolette (Learn more about the official competition mascot here)
- Feder (Feder’s track LORDLY will be the handball Word Championship’s official soundtrack — learn more here)
- Claudia Tagbo (Learn more about the phenomenal ambassador for the World Championship 2017 here)
“All of these have different objectives. The mascot allows us to gain support from the handball world. They have to find themselves in the World Championship. Feder and Claudia Tagbo help us widen the audience that is not already connected to handball.”
— What is your advice for students aspiring to work in sports?
“Many people want to work in sports because their career pursuit identifies strongly with their passion as a sports fan. It is a trendy and sexy field. Be careful, the jobs are the same at every company. I say company because every sport organization is still a real company: a soccer team is a company, a marketing agency is a company, a sports federation is a specific type of company but still operates like one. This means there will be hierarchies, politics, and a myriad of office challenges that come with any job position… there is a risk of disappointment.
For those who aspire to work in sports, they need to ask themselves of why want to pursue a career like any other student. You don’t take any jobs in sports only because it is in sports.
If you want to work in finance but you take a sports marketing job because you ‘love’ sports, it will most likely not resonate with you.
My first recommendation is to be careful to not set your sights only on one dream job. This is why it is good to take on diversified opportunities within different areas of the sports world. It is good to make your own opinion about your experience, learn how these areas of sport operate, and then decide on what you would like to pursue.
Nevertheless, it’s a true joy to work in sports — and probably better than other work sectors!”
I had the chance to work with David as an intern for 6 months and he was kind enough to take some time to answer my questions for this interview. A big thank you to David for sharing his insights!
The interview was conducted in French and translated in English by myself.
For more information about the event, visit the official website of the competition here and their different social media accounts below:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
Fun Fact: A few weeks ago, the trophy was brought at the top of the Mont-Blanc!
About the author:
Hugo, living in Paris (France), is a sport business enthusiast, an International ambassador for CSBN and a dual-degree graduate student @Skema Business School.
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