Something about Vodafone and England
We’re not interested in sponsorship really. However, we do hate people with corporate titles and we outright loathe meaningless PR speak, so we did actually make the effort to read the news about Vodafone not sponsoring England any more.
We also hate Vodafone because they have ‘-fone’ in their name, as if wilfully misspelling the word ‘phone’ somehow makes them cutting edge.
Ian Shepherd, consumer director of Vodafone UK, said:
“We’ve enjoyed a successful relationship with the ECB and the England team over the last 12 years and the sponsorship has provided us with a platform to build the Vodafone brand and add value to our customers.”
How has having ‘Vodafone’ written in various places during cricket matches made their customers more valuable? It hasn’t added value to their customers. Vodafone have no influence over the worth of their customers.
People are employed to come up with these comments. They clearly want to use the word ‘value’ and the word ‘customer’ and have no idea how to link them together.
Ian Shepherd also used the phrases ‘brand ambassadors’ and ’sponsorship portfolio’ in his comments on the subject.
If we were Ian Shepherd, we might be able to stop crying about ourself by about 2016. Then we’d consider what mum must think of us and start crying all over again.
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I’m sure his mum is proud to be associated with Ian Shepherd and is delighted with his efforts in maximising the potential of the vodaphone sponsorship portfolio. His selection of brand ambassadors undoubtedly adds value to vodaphone brand.
I would have thought that if he is talking cricket sponsorship he should have least have added “in the right areas” to the end of his statementette. Would not have made any difference to the sense but would have pleased the cricketing hierarchy
Simon Hughes used the phrase ‘in the right areas’ on TMS the other day and immediately apologised.
What’s so wrong with it?
So by pulling out is it fair to say they’ve removed some values from their customers?
It’s true Moses, I was worth tuppence hapenny before they pulled out, now I’m worth swett FA!
Or even sweet FA
Not ’sweat’ then?
Their premature withdrawal has had disastrous consequences for my chastity.
I’m also surprised that Vodafone didn’t remark that they have taken ’something positive’ from their association with English cricket, as it seems that every bloody cricketer is on some kind of incentive to get that into each interview (Matt Prior being today’s culprit).
I work for Vodafone, and I’m thoroughly ashamed. I hope that by confessing that here I will start the long road to recovery.
Obviously we still want to add value to that undervalued “sport”, Formula 1.