Paddy Power Lords The Manor

With six of the 12 man European Ryder Cup team making their debuts at this year’s event, you would be forgiven for thinking that Colin Montgomerie had more pressing concerns in his opening team talk than the pros and cons of social media. Perhaps a sign of the times in modern sport, or a reflection of recent outrage in the golfing world, (no names mentioned Tiger), Montgomerie was quick to warn his team of the perils of a spontaneous tweet.

Despite his optimistic reviews of his own team, Monty knows that to beat the American’s is no easy task, despite the fact that they have not won in the last three European editions. The only certainty is that this weekend will be a very competitive affair. With play being postponed after only two hours on the first day, even further pressure is on the teams to perform, and it seems the Twitter accounts are back up and running.

Through the recent economic downturn, golf has remained one of the most lucrative professional sports in the world, with the last European event, at the K Club in Ireland in 2006, generating an estimated £50 million in revenue and around £10 million profit, according to George O'Grady, the Tour's current executive director. With the attention of millions around the world, this year’s event has so far generated little to fuel the press apart from Ian Poulter’s relentless tweets. Similarly tenacious communicating was seen by Paddy Power earlier in the week, and given the substantial finances and high viewing figures in the sport, it is unsurprising that they attempted to ambush a slice of the Ryder Cup pie. They were successful in their efforts to gain unofficial, but highly visible advertising space at Cheltenham Festival last March, but it appears event organisers are becoming more aware of methods to prevent this outlandish practice.

Following the lessons learnt from the World Cup, and this latest restricted attempt from Paddy Power, it might appear that ambush marketing is steadily being handled. A recent survey from Reuters would suggest otherwise however, and highlights that ambush marketing is very much at the forefront of sponsors and event organiser’s minds. Paddy Power may have been ordered to remove their sign, but they still erected it in the first place, and generated enough coverage to get their brand name visibility. Until this very grey area is given the colour of actual legislation, ambush marketing will continue to be very difficult to police, especially in large events.

Christian Brown