Right after Donald Trump was elected to the presidency I asked a friend of mine, a deep Washington insider who had worked on numerous campaigns and had spent a good amount of time around the Kushner family (even though he was a hard line Democrat, that’s business) if all the things the newly elected POTUS said and did were part of a plan to deflect and move forward or they were just chaos. Was it part of a master plan to get people looking left while everyone pushed through the door stage right?
“No, he said, it’s just chaos, there is no genius plan.” Ok so maybe I was looking for too much at that time.
I thought of that question of organized chaos as LIV Golf got going this week, along with the idea that in the ultimate drama to drive the best story you need heroes and villains, ro as my former boss the late Jay Larkin used to say, you need an Avis to someone’s Hertz. It keeps you on your toes and always looking to see what you can do to stay fresh.
ST ALBANS, ENGLAND – JUNE 09: <> on June 09, 2022 in St Albans, England. (Photo by John Phillips/LIV Golf/Getty Images)
Now is that the communications plan to make LIV thrive as a property? To take all those Saudi millions and disrupt to find a better way to make a business, professional golf, more compelling for brands, fans and media partners while taking on the status quo of the established, traditional PGA TOUR? It certainly seems so, to yin when most of the world yang’s, to absorb the body blows being out on players, on leadership in the hopes that at the end of the day people, casual fans, media, brands, diehard golfers, talk about it, engage and help drive exposure to an endeavor that is certainly not of the norm for what the cadence of professional golf is.
If you do take the money, or stand in front of the podium, or align with values many may see as controversial, you should always ask “Is the juice worth the squeeze?”
That idea of the disruptor, or the fixer (which we wrote about here), came up more than a few times this week, especially after so many industry insiders and media folks were taken aback by what many called “a trainwreck of a press conference on Tuesday” run by former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. Now you can read all about the details and the criticism here and here, with many questioning why a guy who challenged Saudi dollars when in an old job is taking their cash now (again maybe that’s business?), but at the end of the day, unless you are in the room with the decisionmakers, and those who are fronting all the cash have done a great job of avoiding the limelight and letting their spokesperson (Fleisher) and their golfers stand front and center to answer tough questions, you don’t really know what the end game is?
Is it the feeling that we want our guy out front, who we like because he has worked on massive crisis out front to tweak the media and show them who is in charge? Have we told him to cause nontraditional disruption and not worry about it? Are we selling this on best in class experience with millions for the golfers in the hopes that all fans and brands care about are names and results, and personalities and politics don’t really matter if the content is good? Do we want to have UFC-like disruption which will play to an audience that thrives on bucking the status quo and hope that the audience we find thrives on chaos and uniqueness.
Are we willing to sacrifice integrity in the name of the dollar and are we gambling on the fact that people just want to watch, and if the golf is good, the user experience strong, the amenities first class, that no one else will care about the politics internally or not?
We have seen this time and again with reality shows, disruptive brands, media companies even sports properties all looking to crash the party, or in the case of LIV, build their own party which the brashest may attend while everyone else stands outside the velvet ropes wanting to get in on the action.
And if you choose to attend the party, is the juice worth the squeeze for you, be you the communications person, the brand, the golfer, the broadcaster or the caddie?
Now there is also something to be said for the global economy and the fact that many, if not all sports properties who engage on the global scale at very high stakes will find a risk/reward they have to weigh. Look at the NBA and China, The Premier League and Oligarchs, the upcoming World Cup, the Olympics, The Special Olympics taking place in conservative Florida and on and on and on. If you choose to take the money, you go in with eyes wide open, or you choose to bury your head in the sand.
Again, is the juice worth the squeeze.
Now in the case of the cringeworthy moments at the press conference this week, more than a few respected media members and those in the communications community were aghast, disappointed and a little surprised when Ari Fleischer turned the spectacle of a simple q and a into a sideshow which he was a part of. It really flew against tradition and decorum and frankly, relationship building. Again was it a plant to be that way, is that what your bosses are asking you to be, are you doing it to send a message you are in charge? Does the public really care or did they again enjoy the spectacle and have moved on? All up for debate but…
Again is the juice worth the squeeze.
So will LIV Golf succeed in breaking the status quo of golf, and become whatever it will be at very high stakes, and its disruption a permanent hum or just a ping that could fade away in a Quibi moment?
More importantly does anyone care about rude press conference hosts, PGA TOUR defections, streaming golf and amenities for caddies beyond compare? Or do they just want to watch the stars.
For those jumping ship on every level, or for that matter, those staying with the status quo…I ask again.
Is the juice worth the squeeze.
It’s not my call, but we are in an age where we can easily justify our choices, see if people remember in a world where memories are short and hype is big, and see what success tastes like. It may taste different to many, depending on the flavor of the day and the opportunity.
We will see what it tastes like, and what it costs, literally and figuratively, those in and around the venture in the weeks to come.
For now, one thing is certain, the spectacle of LIV Golf ruled the week, for better, for worse, or for at least a disruptive and distractive period of time got what they probably wanted. Lots of black hats and a seat at the table of public opinion.
Villans and heroes on the links indeed.
