Sponsorship can mean many things to many people. In the first part of a series posing the question of what it means to individuals working in the sector Scott Graham of PSG Sponsorship takes us through his perspective on what sponsorship is, where it’s going in 2017 and who is doing it best.

G               Growth

The sponsorship industry is expanding and this growth looks set to continue in 2017. 71% of sponsorship managers intend on spending more on sponsorship in 2017 than they did in 2016 according to new PSG Sponsorship research. With the Irish sponsorship industry estimated to be worth in the region of €165m in 2016 the figure could be closer to the €190m region by the end of 2017.

H               Heartfelt Emotion

One of the greatest differentiators between traditional marketing methods and that of sponsorship is the ability for brands to tap into fans heartfelt emotions and to weave their brand into stories that truly resonate. Aer Lingus are masters of this and evoked the passion of a nation with their #HomeAdvantage video ahead of the RBS 6 Nations tournament back in February 2016. The 1 minute 30 second video struck a chord with fans at home and abroad soaring to 2.4m Facebook views.

 

Expect to see brands tapping into heartfelt emotion on an even greater scale in 2017, after all we are a nation of storytellers.

I                 In Game Activations

As the entertainment and fanfare around games becomes almost as important as the action on the pitch, In Game Activation is becoming an important realm for sponsors to bring their partnership to life.

One of the best recent examples of this is from New Zealand brewer Tui beer who gave cricket fans the chance to win a share of $1 million dollars. All fans had to do was wear the brands distinctive orange t-shirts and make a one handed catch in the crowd. The activation was a home run with 120 million media impressions, 25% of attendees wearing a Tui beer t-shirt at games, a 54% increase in game attendance following the first catch and the brands popularity increasing by 12.7% making Tui New Zealand’s most popular beer.

Closer to home BT, official communications partner to Ulster Rugby, handed over a cool £1,500 to one lucky contestant who managed to strike the crossbar from the 22 metre line in front of a crowd of almost 19,000 in the BT Crossbar Challenge which took place minutes before kick-off at Ulster v Clermont in the European Rugby Champions Cup.

J                Jaguar

Jaguar is using big data to showcase its innovation and ‘excite the senses’ at Wimbledon. The car brand used smart wristbands to track the emotions of the crowd using biometric data to show heart rate, body temperature, crowd density, noise and energy levels. The data was used to create over 600 pieces of real-time mobile and social content allowing Jaguar to share the most thrilling moments throughout the tournament.

The result was 65 million impressions, #FeelWimbledon was the most used hashtag of all the Wimbledon sponsors and perceptions of Jaguar as a modern, innovative brand increased by 20%. Expect big data to be even bigger news in 2017.

K               KPI’s

Proving the success of sponsorship is still seen as one of the biggest challenges to the industry according to a recent PSG Sponsorship survey of sponsorship managers.

Sponsorship evaluation has become increasingly sophisticated with more tools than ever available to determine if brands are getting bang for their buck. With budgets under increasing scrutiny it pays to invest in evaluation and KPI measurement that backs up your sponsorship strategy and it’s becoming rare for the sponsorship whims of senior managers to last the distance without a solid and measurable return to the business.

L                Long form content

With limited attention spans and fast fingers mobile video content must catch the eye quickly before it’s simply scrolled over. However at the other end of the spectrum brands have been producing gripping long form content which national broadcasters are increasingly receptive to carrying, to offset their own production costs, and sports fans are setting their reminders for. We saw it in 2016 with Vodafone’s #TeamOfUs documentary which brought viewers behind the scenes on the Irish Rugby team’s tour of South Africa and previously with AIB’s The Toughest Trade.

Read the other posts in this series:

Sponsorship A-Z Activation to Fifa

Sponsorship A-Z Growth to Long Form Content

Sponsorship A-Z Minority Sports to Snapchat

Sponsorship A-Z Table Tennis to Zuckerberg