AVPI blog post on May 18, 2011
Reinventing the AVP
Posted On May 18, 2011 In Featured, News
After all that has transpired, why reinvent the AVP?
Because the AVP still matters. In fact, it is the only brand in beach volleyball that matters. The AVP is not just the brand that Los Angeles knows, it is the brand that America knows.
AVP.com has had an overtly cryptic placeholder with nothing more than a relaunch date — today, May 15 — since April 4, and yet, it remains the most trafficked beach volleyball site on the web. If you care about the sport, you go to avp.com. Why? Because for 27 years, the AVP has been the brand synonymous with Beach Volleyball.
And people do care about this sport. 17.5m play indoor or beach nationwide. Volleyball is the second most popular sport for girls ages 12-20. It’s the only domestic sport with more than 10m participants that is also growing at least 10 percent each year. And over the past five years, more than 200k unique visitors per month have tuned in to find out the latest at avp.com.
Since 2001, $150m has gone into building the brand. Are fans even aware the acronym stands for Association of Volleyball Professionals versus American Volleyball Professionals? Probably not, but they’re fully aware the AVP stands for professional beach volleyball. And that only the AVP brand means names like Karch Kiraly, Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, Phil Dalhausser, Holly McPeak, Kerri Walsh, and Misty May.
In fact, that’s exactly what the AVP is: the greatest players in the greatest moments the sport has ever known. Hell…
The AVP IS Karch Kiraly ripping down the net in Rhode Island after a phantom fourth-touch call by a referee known only as ‘Winchester’…
The AVP IS Mike Dodd and the late Mike Whitmarsh’s epic come-from-behind win over Kiraly and Kent Steffes in Seal Beach ’93…
The AVP IS Tim Hovland and Mike Dodd coming back in dramatic fashion from 1-6 down in a double-final game to 7 against Kiraly and Steffes at the ’93 Phoenix Open, marking their last Open win together as a team…
The AVP IS Kiraly miraculously covering Steffes at 6-6 in a double-final game to 7 against Randy Stoklos and Sinjin Smith in San Diego ’92, and then scoring the next ‘real’ point to win as the time cap expired…
The AVP IS Vegas Line — or Sean Rosenthal, City of Sin ’05, if you’re not one of the 100k+ to have witnessed it via YouTube…
The AVP IS George Roumain’s infamous kong block / broken finger combo platter during the Huntington Beach Open Finals ’04 — which he won…
The AVP IS the gnarliest rally scoring comeback of all time in Santa Barbara as Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers stormed back from 9-14 in the 3rd set to prevent Brad Keenan and John Hyden from earning their first, and what would have been their only, Open win together…
The AVP IS Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh’s unprecedented 112-match winning streak. Yes, 112…
The AVP IS Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, and Beijing, or three men’s and two women’s Olympic gold medals in only four Olympic Games…
The AVP IS the greatest the game and its players will ever give the sport… Period.
Restart
What begins today isn’t necessarily a ‘start,’ it’s a restart. It is a continuation of the dreams of endless fans, athletes, and sponsors. It is a reigniting of the AVP passion in true beach volleyball fashion.
But it is also the reason the AVP has been silent for more than nine months. This relaunch has not been done casually; it has been done with a great deal of thought. Forensically broken down over 27 years of operations, TV budgets, and sponsor requirements.
And what is clear is this: the former operations model — for which these purposes is defined as 2001–2010 — does not work. It has never worked. The Tour has simply never turned a profit.
Oldmodel
Lease an office, staff it with as many high six-figure executives as you can find desk space for, drive 18-wheel trucks coast-to-coast with every ounce of brand collateral one company can produce, operate and cover entire cost of events, buy media time (which sponsors valued at .60 cents on the dollar), produce media in three-hour segments that not even the most hardened beach volleyball fan could sit through, and sell sponsorships, signage and branding to try and recoup a small percentage of the costs.
Then?
Raise additional capital to finance mounting costs, get bailed out one too many times, bring in a new majority owner who has passion for the sport but not enough to justify $10m in losses, lose $7m in sponsorships in less than three months when the economy turns, financially engineer one more season (2009), strip and lean out costs from the business, and pray for new sponsors with contracts that won’t rely on media ad allocation and television visible signage.
And the real question on Black Friday, August 13, 2010? Do investors put more money into a model that has never worked, or does the AVP shutdown early, rethink, reinvent, finance it through bankruptcy (now over $1m and counting), take responsibility, and utilize a clean canvas to create a model that actually works for everybody — investors, fans, players, and sponsors alike?
Remodel
First step of the new AVP? A realization that it is not the NBA, the MLB, or the NFL. It needs an alternate operational model altogether. To wit: 70% of revenues generated by mainstream professional sports teams comes from TV licensing and ticketing. The AVP not only has to pay for TV, but ticketing is limited by city councils, coastal commissions, and the size of stadium that can be constructed on the sand. And since those stadiums are temporary (and exorbitantly expensive), every operational expense falls on the AVP’s already heavy shoulders.
In order to flip the model, tournament promoters and operators must be incorporated. Which means a brand new promoter agreement that ultimately makes financial sense for both parties (unlike agreements created in the past). In addition to an event footprint that is streamlined, redesigned (jointly), and built specifically for on-site revenue production — while also keeping the event title sponsorship category available (similar to ATP events, such as the “BNP Paribas Open” in Indian Wells) despite the eventual title sponsor of the AVP accompanying the brand nationwide (also similar to the ATP and their $30m premier partnership with Corona Extra).
Unlike any point in the brand’s history, the promoter agreement will be established with only one goal in mind: making the promoter money. It won’t be a $2m net return like Klagenfurt generates for promoter Hannes Jagerhofer on the FIVB, but if those types of numbers weren’t feasible — or the ultimate goal surrounding these types of events — the AVP wouldn’t be pursuing them. It’s only possible, however, with 100-percent community involvement and support, and first-class attention to detail. In turn, the best beach volleyball players in the country supply the competition, and the actual event becomes the draw.
New Event Model
AVP Championships
Annual season-ending event with largest winner’s prize purse in the sport
Brand new, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly footprint
Mediterranean-style festival atmosphere with live beach-themed music all day
New Unified Rankings System that will incorporate all tournaments offering prize money worldwide, allowing the AVP to draw qualification points from every event taking place in 2011 (including CLWO, NVL, USAV/IMG) and increase participation across the board
Top four teams per gender at end of qualification period (AVP Cup Standings) with required number of tournaments played will qualify for championship event
Full breakdown and rendering of event vision (masterful artistry courtesy of John Gibb) here…
Promoter-Based Events
Unique tournament footprints in specific markets that will be grown organically as a reflection of their own individual communities
Target number of promoter-based events is four in 2012 and eight in 2013
Finding capable promoters in each specific community is essential — Nashville may not scream “beach volley,” but they have the people, the wherewithal, and the connections to understand what it’s going to take to bring a professional beach volleyball event to their community and own it from the ground up
Promoters that must satisfy mandatory seating, design, sand depth, athlete liability insurance, main draw player hotel accommodation, licensed medical, professional referee, on-site qualifier, local media/marketing/promotions, and all eco-friendly requirements in order to be considered
If the promoter isn’t there, if the fit isn’t right, the AVP won’t go
For the first time in the company’s history, the AVP won’t chase money or events just to fill a schedule
New Operational Structure
AVP will no longer operate as an events management and media sales-based company
Aside from the AVP Championships event each fall, the AVP will utilize promoters in specific markets to produce UNIQUE, high impact, media-driven events that will be operated locally instead of nationally
Each aspect of the company’s operation will be outsourced to either qualified agencies (media/marketing/operations) or experienced individuals (accounting) familiar with the sport to maximize production value and resources while minimizing overhead
Shrinking operational and staff expenses will allow for an unprecedented percentage of sponsorship dollars to be allocated towards developing better on-site and online activation, new creative marketing and advertising campaigns, and a truly professional player prize purse for the first time
Promoters and sponsors will be guaranteed attendance by the top players in the sport as the AVP name will accompany all athletes who qualify for the AVP Championships event and earn official AVP Player Card (as long as scheduled AVP events do not conflict with FIVB “Open” or “Grand Slam” events during Olympic qualification period, or FIVB “Grand Slam” events during non-Olympic qualification period)
New First-Class Philosophy
Players
AVP remains the lone aspirational brand in the game
Qualifying players for AVP Championships event will earn official AVP Player Card (similar to PGA Player Card) in the form of a branded, signature prepaid credit card garnering an evenly split percentage of gross revenues over $1m
Players also receive two-night stay at tournament host hotel, are guests of honor at black-tie dinner Friday night prior to event, and take home “Top-Shelf” goodie bag featuring sponsor provided merchandise and apparel
Brand Image
Marketing collateral stands for only three things moving forward: clean, class and cool
AVP will only strategically align itself with first-class, eco-friendly partners in an effort to redefine its marketplace brand association
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But this explanation only comes now because the former AVP shrouded its entire existence in secrecy. It’s time for fans and players to finally know exactly what the AVP stands for as it attempts to restore faith in both the brand and sport.
Reinvent
The sport isn’t broken. The Tour’s operating model was just unfixable in its former state. But now with almost zero overhead and a new, clear-cut vision on how to make the business of beach volleyball sustainable, the AVP can finally approach sponsors with a realistic pitch that doesn’t include funding half-million-dollar salaries or $10m staff/office expenses, and instead begin pitching individual activation strategies that can literally thrive in the young, healthy, active, fun and beautiful lifestyle demographic that is the AVP. Not to mention the thought of actually contributing sponsor dollars directly to the players in the form of bigger prize purses and revenue sharing.
It will take time, and the critics will be skeptical, but all the AVP can do now is understand exactly who it is and never again pretend to be who it is not.
AI
