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Calling the groups in charge of professional tennis a cartel, the players’ association co-founded by Novak Djokovic filed an antitrust lawsuit against the women’s and men’s tours, the International Tennis Federation and the sport’s integrity agency on Tuesday in federal court in New York. The suit by the Professional Tennis Players’ Association says the organizations that run the sport hold complete control over the players pay and working conditions and their setup constitutes textbook violations of state and federal law that immunize professional tennis from ordinary market forces and deny professional tennis players and other industry participants their right to fair competition. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and wants players to gain access to more earnings, arguing that the governing bodies that oversee the four Grand Slam tournaments Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open and other professional events cap the prize money tournaments award and limit players ability to earn money off the court. The WTA Tour and ATP Tour issued separate statements Tuesday saying they would vigorously defend themselves. The WTA said it has committed to a $400 million increase in player compensation in recent years and labeled the PTPA action a baseless legal case that is regrettable and misguided. The ATP touted a major increase in player compensation that created a jump of $70 million in the past five years, and called the PTPA’s case entirely without merit. The PTPA has consistently chosen division and distraction through misinformation over progress, the ATP’s statement said. Five years on from its inception in 2020, the PTPA has struggled to establish a meaningful role in tennis, making its decision to pursue legal action at this juncture unsurprising. The ITF and the International Tennis Integrity Agency which investigates and adjudicates doping and corruption cases declined to comment. The PTPA was founded by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil in August 2020, aiming to offer representation for players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport. One of the goals made clear along the way was to become a sort of full-fledged union that negotiates collective bargaining agreements like those that exist in team sports. For the past few years, the PTPA, an organization Ive worked on tirelessly since its inception, has made countless efforts to collaborate with the tours in hopes of achieving positive change for players. Despite these efforts and attempts to engage in constructive dialogue, we were met with resistance and a lack of meaningful action. It is because of this ongoing disregard for players that we were left with no alternative but to take action of our own, Pospisil posted on social media. For too long, players have been forced to accept a broken system that ignores our well-being, undervalues our contributions, and leaves us without real representation. Djokovic is not one of the players listed as a plaintiff. His support for this is already explicit. Its redundant since PTPA (is) named as plaintiff, and he is on (the executive committee), PTPA spokesman David Cooper wrote in an email. He wanted to allow others to step up since this is not just Novaks (organization). The PTPA said it met with more than 250 players women and men, and a majority of the top 20 in the WTA and ATP rankings before going to court. Tennis is broken, PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar said in a news release. Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardizes their health and safety. We have exhausted all options for reform through dialogue, and the governing bodies have left us no choice but to seek accountability through the courts. Fixing these systemic failures isnt about disrupting tennis its about saving it for the generations of players and fans to come. Howard Fendrich, AP tennis writer
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The European Union’s law enforcement agency cautioned Tuesday that artificial intelligence is turbocharging organized crime that is eroding the foundations of societies across the 27-nation bloc as it becomes intertwined with state-sponsored destabilization campaigns. The grim warning came at the launch of the latest edition of a report on organized crime published every four years by Europol that is compiled using data from police across the EU and will help shape law enforcement policy in the bloc in coming years. Cybercrime is evolving into a digital arms race targeting governments, businesses and individuals. AI-driven attacks are becoming more precise and devastating, said Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle. Some attacks show a combination of motives of profit and destabilization, as they are increasingly state-aligned and ideologically motivated, she added. The report, the EU Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment 2025, said offenses ranging from drug trafficking to people smuggling, money laundering, cyber attacks and online scams undermine society and the rule of law by generating illicit proceeds, spreading violence, and normalizing corruption. The volume of child sexual abuse material available online has increased significantly because of AI, which makes it more difficult to analyze imagery and identify offenders, the report said. By creating highly realistic synthetic media, criminals are able to deceive victims, impersonate individuals and discredit or blackmail targets. The addition of AI-powered voice cloning and live video deepfakes amplifies the threat, enabling new forms of fraud, extortion, and identity theft,” it said. States seeking geopolitical advantage are also using criminals as contractors, the report said, citing cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure and public institutions originating from Russia and countries in its sphere of influence. Hybrid and traditional cybercrime actors will increasingly be intertwined, with state-sponsored actors masking themselves as cybercriminals to conceal their origin and real disruption motives, it said. Polish Interior Ministry Undersecretary of State Maciej Duszczyk cited a recent cyberattack on a hospital as the latest example in his country. Unfortunately this hospital has to stop its activity for the hours because it was lost to a serious cyber-attack,” boosted by AI, he said. AI and other technologies are a catalyst for crime, and drive criminal operations efficiency by amplifying their speed, reach, and sophistication, the report said. As the European Commission prepares to launch a new internal security policy, De Bolle said that nations in Europe need to tackle the threats urgently. We must embed security into everything we do, said European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner. He added that the EU aims to provide enough funds in coming years to double Europol’s staff. Mike Corder, Associated Press
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Its never been a more complicated time to be a marketer, but connecting with consumers in a meaningful way is as important as ever. For brands like Liquid Death, GoDaddy, and Taco Bell, that sometimes means embracing another product or experience entirelythink: an adult diaper for concerts, celebrity-created goggle glasses, or a live experience for taco fans. Of course, not every risk pays off. But when a weird idea works, it can really work, as marketers from the three brands shared during a panel discussion at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW. The power of an idea that can transcend channels and reach and connect with consumers is really important, said Taylor Montgomery, chief marketing officer in North America at Taco Bell. When Taco Bell dreamed up its first Live Mas Live event in 2024, Taylor recalled how the team didnt know if anyone would watch or like an event modeled after the Apple tech launchesbut for tacos. Live Mas Live was just cool and weird enough to work, however, so Taco Bell held its second such event earlier this month in Brooklyn, ensuring a vast majority of invitees were diehard fans, he added. It is a way to invite consumers in to have a relationship with the brand and for us to be just really real and raw and vulnerable and authentic, Montgomery told the audience. We try to stay really anchored on what’s in it for the fans. The comedic connection Comedy can be a good entry for finding a new audience and converting them to fans. Liquid Death has done several collaborations with not-obvious collaborating brands, and even launched items that have very little direct relevance to the brands lineup of beverages. Late last year, Liquid Death collaborated with Depend on a limited-edition, metal-inspired $75 Pit Diaper so that music fans wouldnt have to brave the bathrooms at a concertand it sold out within hours, said Dan Murphy, senior vice president of marketing. Its also found success with past collaborations on new products with brands like Yeti, E.l.f. Beauty, and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. The goal, Murphy said, is to combine Liquid Death with an unexpected brand to reach a new audience and have fun. Often, the result is a parody of marketing or humorous content that doesnt smell like an ad and creates engagement with consumers and the media, he added. The metrics you should look for are saves and shares, Murphy said. If somebody’s going to go back and watch that again, if somebody’s sharing that with a friend, there’s that viral coefficient that is telling you you’re doing it right. Revising the playbook GoDaddy took a similar approach with a Super Bowl ad this year that followed actor Walton Goggins using the companys artificial intelligence-powered tools to launch a small business: Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses. As with Liquid Deaths diaper, consumers can actually buy the sunglasses and the ad marked the companys return to the biggest advertising day of the year after an eight-year hiatus. Our take was if we’re going to show back up at the Super Bowl, we’ve got to do something wacky and weird enough that people get pulled into the story, but the story has to be true, has to be authentic, and ultimately it’s got to be about the evolution of the products that we’re selling, said Fara Howard, chief marketing officer at GoDaddy. For people who may recall the controversy-laden ads that made GoDaddy a household name in the first place, this years ad illustrated the transformation journey the brand has been undergoing for several years. Being bold, taking risks has been what put us on the map to begin with, Howard said. Using that playbook, but in really different ways, has been our strategy. Finding what works Of course, not every weird idea resonates with consumers. Murphy said thats why Liquid Death opts for a small bets approach that helps it de-risk because it instead churns out a lot of content that often costs about $30,000. Brands with much larger budgets often miss the mark by mistaking their idea for more than it is. Its very easy internally to think your content is great when it’s really not, when it’s just an ad, Murphy said. People don’t like ads.” Liquid Deaths goal is to be the funniest thing in your feed on a given day, Murphy said, and the marketing team workshops ideas with comedians using a Hollywood-style writers room approachwhich means keeping the non-funny operational people out of the room. Likewise, Howard said its important to know whose feedback isnt a necessary part of the creative process. All youre going to do is make a saltine cracker, she said. If you ask everyone, do you like it, do you like it, do you like it, do you like it? And you take their feedback. All you’re going to do is water down the work. Finally, its important not to get stuck looking backwards but to forge on when an idea doesn’t work, Montgomery said. Despite a lot of hype around Taco Bells launch of a Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme, it didnt deliver what consumers wanted, but he said the company found success with other ideas. There are always going to be setbacks; listen to the consumer, but just keep swinging, Montgomery advised marketers in the audience. If youre not failing, youre not trying.
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