Quick: Who Sponsors the U.S. Open?

If you knew that without googling, you're likely a J.P. Morgan employee or client.

I know the answer better than most, for reasons that still make me smile.

Years ago, as the new head of marketing for Olympus Americas, then a $700M digital cameras business, my CEO asked me whether we should sponsor the U.S. Open Series tennis circuit for five years for $60 million.

My gut response: don't do it. Perhaps surprising coming from an avid tennis player and watcher of all four Grand Slams. Canon had spent years building the link in consumers' minds between cameras and tennis through advertising with legend Andre Agassi. Olympus putting its logo on a wall wasn't going to dislodge it. The professional photographers on the sidelines? Nearly all use Canon or Nikon. Instead, give me half the money on top of my team’s ad budget, so we can go sell soccer moms across America on the world's smallest DSLR and toughest compact camera. A mass market, not a niche tennis audience.

When he returned from his Tokyo HQ quarterly: we were doing it, and my job was to make it work as hard as possible. He reminded me not to overlook the key account angle: a U.S. Open suite could be a perk for our buyers (e.g., Best Buy, Target, Costco). 

If he expected an argument, he didn't get one. I wanted to hug the man for getting to work on a Grand Slam tourney! My team and our experiential agency activated the sponsorship to our utmost, and on Championship Sunday, the suite was ready.

The only people in it? Me, our VP of Sales, and his 11-year-old daughter. Not a single customer.

I started the Olympus job exactly one month before Steve Jobs put a camera in an iPhone, so I was a dead man walking. I went on to work for our largest customer (Best Buy) while the U.S. Open sponsorship ran its course.

Now contrast that with today.

My daughter works at JP Morgan in New York. Every September she takes her private equity clients to the matches. Last year: Djokovic and Alcaraz on consecutive nights. Tickets are coveted inside the firm and among its clients. JP Morgan is a global firm whose nerve center is in the same city as the tournament. The people in those seats are the ones they want there.

Has she invited her dear sweet dad? She can’t, as the tickets are used exclusively for clients, which I think is fantastic.

The M&A connection: every agency has its version of the Olympus spend; scaled down but just as invisible. The season’s tickets to local sports teams that go unclaimed. The software subscription nobody audited. The trade show nobody measured. When it comes time to sell, buyers will find every one of them in diligence, and each becomes a discount.

The question isn't how much you're spending. It's whether you can prove it's earning its keep.

At Parallel-49, I help marketing services firm owners exit wealthier. Thinking about an exit? michael@parallel-49.com 

(Part 1. Click here for Part 2)