DREW BARRAND
Commercial all-rounder
- the industry version of being dubbed the next Ian Botham
Best pitch presenter you’ve ever seen:
M&C Saatchi’s Steve Martin (annoyingly predictable but it’s true – the man has a silver tongue)
Best sports marketing campaign (that wasn’t yours):
P&G Thank You Mums Olympic campaign. Big corporate with a creative approach and a clear, relevant and impactful message. Oh, and it actually positively affected the company’s bottom line performance – an objective most activations conveniently forget.
Best agency (that isn’t yours):
The one making the most margin on fees. The hardest part of running an agency – actually turning a profit.
Best young industry talent:
Whoever is running the European Tour’s social content.
Best sporting event attended:
Liverpool vs AC Milan – 2005 UEFA Champions League Final. The moment I no longer had to wonder what a naked Scouser running across a roof at 3 in the morning looks like. Honourable mention for England v India at Lords in 2002 and watching Michael Vaughan, fresh from a sublime century, bowl Tendulkar through the gate 3 short of the Little Master’s own three figure score. Only marginally ruined by being in a hospitality box full of intellectual property lawyers.
Best sporting event on TV:
The Masters – it just looks so damn beautiful.
Best brand ambassador:
Hard to beat Beckham although Pele’s brief sojourn into promoting sexual performance products opened up a whole new market sector for sponsorship sales teams.
Best industry event or conference:
Love me an Awards do although none of them understand the concept of brevity.
Best film containing a scene depicting the sports business:
Jerry Maguire (the bit where he gets fired for momentarily thinking the sport business is about anything other than generating cash).
Best book recommendation:
The Captain Myth (I forget the author’s name).
Best bar or pub:
The Old Plough in Cobham – where an unnatural number of industry execs have relocated to contemplate middle age.
Best restaurant:
Bocca di Lupo in Soho – the rabbit is sensational.
Best box set:
The West Wing – the ultimate piece of fiction.
Best holiday resort:
Barbados (preferably in the middle of an England away series against the West Indies).
Best influence on your career:
Alcohol (also the worst influence).
Best dinner companions (min 4, max 6):
Eddie Pepperell, Peter Crouch, Geoffrey Boycott, Roy Keane.
Best job in the sports biz:
Greenkeeper at The Masters.
Best professional regret:
Telling everyone who would listen that Paris was nailed on to host the 2012 Olympics.
Best skill you most covet:
Video editing – it’s harder than it looks.
Best trait you admire in others:
The ability to get genuinely excited by research.
Best overrated virtue:
Self-belief. In most cases it’s just bloody-mindedness.
Best ambition:
To become an MCC member (I believe I’m number 1,043 on the waiting list).