There is no playbook for recovery from the shock to the system that sport and sponsorship have taken over the past five months.
We are all learning how to adapt and to make the most of what resources we have at our disposal.
This week Core Sponsorship publishes a new State of Play report on what might lie ahead over the coming months for sponsors and rights holders looking to do just that in the run to the end of the year.
There are messages of hope. The introduction to the report highlights that “The role of sponsorship as a strategic business and marketing tool has been reinforced in its absence. The majority of sponsors say sponsorship is more strategically important to their business now, compared with before the pandemic. In addition, fans are recognising the sponsors important role more than ever.
The review is based on interviews with key sponsors and a national representative survey conducted in June 2020. It serves as a great companion piece of research alongside the Sport for Business Membership Onside Sports Impact Monitor, the third wave of which will be undertaken in the next two weeks.
72 per cent of fans said that sponsors have an important role to play in helping to get sporting events back on again, while 67 per cent felt this was a duty of sponsors and 55 per cent said they would think negatively of a brand exiting a partnership.
This has to be tempered though by the massive financial impact that the pandemic has had on the overall economy. Some of the sponsors may have increased their revenues over the period, particularly those in food retail, but costs will have risen and for many others including those in travel and automotive, two key areas, the hit has been hard.
Add in the fact that supporting sponsorship of summer events like the GAA Championships through TV advertising will be far more expensive in the autumn and winter than in the summer and there is a clear pinch point for brands.
The return to sport on-screen and in venues will see a marked divergence in activation strategies. The report states that “Sponsors will be keen to engage with fans who have been eagerly awaiting the return of their sport and it is perhaps a unique opportunity to interact with a receptive body of fans at their most engaged.”
“Brands that have demonstrated their ability to be nimble during the lockdown should reap the rewards when they increase their presence further, giving them the edge. They will build on their awareness, connection to the fans and the goodwill their support generated at a difficult time.”
The survey asked sponsors about their preparedness for a return to activity and the answer came back as an average of 6.3 out of 10 so there is plenty of work to be undertaken.
This is especially so when it will be tough to cut through the clutter of what we hope will be an incredibly busy calendar with events piling on top of each other that would in a normal year have been spaced apart.
The uncertainty that still hangs over rising numbers of cases makes for tough decision making and nobody would suggest it will be easy to get right.
At Sport for Business though we are confident that such a strong group of individuals and teams operating in the Irish sponsorship sector are more likely to get it right than wrong. Information will help along the way.
To get a copy of the report and talk through some of its findings and implications contact Core Sponsorship here.
Coming Up in tomorrow’s Sport for Business we will have an interview with Core Sponsorship Director of Intelligence Noel Martyn where we will dive a little deeper behind the numbers.
