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.
A Activation
Now more than ever the success or failure of a sponsorship is determined by its activation. Gone are the days of a simple badging exercise being accepted by fans and rights holders, and with increased competition in the sponsorship market, brands and sponsorship agencies must make use of all the assets and activation tools at their disposal.
B Brand Awareness
Depending on the property and how it is activated, sponsorship can deliver on a wide range of marketing objectives from staff engagement and client hospitability to altering brand sentiment, but brand awareness is still king. 73% of sponsorship managers cite increasing brand awareness as the most important in terms of sponsorship deliverables according to PSG Sponsorship research.
C Credibility
We’ve all been irked by strange sponsorships that we just don’t believe in. Junk food brands sponsoring the pinnacle of human performance at the Olympic Games? In 2017 the winning formula means a partnership between a brand and rights holder who share the same values and have an authenticity which is clearly visible to fans. A perfect example is the recently announced partnership between not-for-profits Vhi and parkrun Ireland who share a vision for getting people fit, active and healthy.
D Digital
This isn’t exactly a new trend for 2017 but it’s certainly becoming increasingly important with each passing year. More than half of Irish people dual-screen while watching live sport on television, checking sports apps and websites, Facebook and twitter as the online conversation seems almost as important as the game itself. This being the case it’s important for brands to be where their customers are and that’s increasingly on mobile.
Under Armour did this brilliantly during the Rio Olympics posting their #RuleYourself: It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light video and congratulatory tweet minutes after Michael Phelps won his 20th Olympic Gold medal. Not being an official Olympic sponsor, Under Armour capitalised on changes to the so called rule 40 which ended a marketing blackout during the games for companies who sponsor athletes rather than the games itself. This allowed them use Phelps and their fleet of some 250 athletes to connect the Under Armour brand with the Olympics.
E E Sports
E Sports or competitive gaming sees amateur and an increasing number of professional players testing their gaming reflexes and skills in tournaments covering sports, racing, fighting and first person shooters and it’s a lot bigger than you think. Newzoo market intelligence predicts that over 200m people worldwide will be watching competitive gaming in 2017 and almost 70% of them are under 25.
For brands looking to engage with this demographic the weird and wonderful world of gaming must be seriously considered. The Celtic eSports League is the newest kid on the block and features top gamers from the UK and Ireland linked with professional football clubs over a 14 round format and is currently seeking sponsors.
F FIFA
Footballs global governing body is looking to make use of a new ‘digital replacement technology’ (DRT) for the 2018 World Cup. It’s a race against time and may be kicked out till Qatar 2022 to ensure smooth integration but essentially it will allow sponsors logos and graphics to be represented ‘virtually’ on LED advertising boards on different broadcast feeds around the world.
The technology would allow FIFA generate additional revenues across five global regions; North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia, with different sponsor logos served to viewers in each region.
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
