Sports sponsorship is a global business worth an estimated $60 billion in 2021. Each week we bring the Sport for Bussiness network a look at some of the biggest deals and trends that are continually reshaping the ways in which sport and commercial partners interact.
Today we highlight one of the biggest deals in world sport that the European Tour has agreed with DP World; how the laws on alcohol sponsorship activation in-stadia are changing here on Friday; how sponsors have reacted to ‘hot topic’ issues in England and the US; at the Future of Sponsorship debate taking place in Dublin and online tomorrow and more…
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EUROPEAN TOUR LANDS NAMING RIGHTS DEAL
Golf’s European Tour and DP World have announced a ground-breaking evolution to their long-term partnership, with DP World becoming the new title sponsor of the group’s main tour from the start of the 2022 season.
There has been no confirmation of the value of the deal but it is almost certainly one of the most valuable sporting partnership deals in history.
The Tour will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022 and will see a minimum €2 million prize fund for every tournament, as part of a €140 million overall prize structure, outside of the Majors and the WGC events.
DP World is one of the world’s largest logistics companies and is owned by the government of Dubai.
DP World’s association with the European Tour spans more than a decade, first becoming a presenting partner of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates in its inaugural year in 2009 before the Rolex Series event was renamed the DP World Tour Championship in 2012.
The Tour will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments in 27 different countries, including new tournaments in the UAE, Japan, South Africa and Belgium and an expanded Rolex Series comprising five events: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, the Genesis Scottish Open, the BMW PGA Championship and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
READ MORE ABOUT THE DEAL ON SPORT FOR BUSINESS
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THE FUTURE OF SPONSORSHIP
This Thursday, November 11th in Ballsbridge the Republic of Ireland Senior Men’s team will play Portugal in a World Cup Qualifier. Ronaldo is coming to town and it promises to be a night to remember in front of a packed Aviva Stadium.
The Portuguese lad will also feature in the conversation that will take place just around the corner from the stadium and which will be of equal interest to anyone working in the world of Sponsorship.
In the final session of the Public relations Institute of Ireland Annual Conference, Sport for Business’ Rob Hartnett will be hosting a panel discussion on nothing less than “The Future of Sponsorship”
We will be joined in a studio setting by the Commercial and Marketing Director of the GAA, Peter McKenna, by the Head of Sport at Wilson Hartnell Sarah O’Connor, by the Head of Sport at Teneo, Kelli O’Keeffe and by the new Head of Marketing at Allianz, fresh from announcing a brand new partnership with Team Ireland for the Paris Olympic Games, Mark Brennan.
That’s a power-packed group that has been instrumental in forging the way sponsorship has grown in this country over recent years.
We will be challenged on what the future holds by Dr David Butler, Director for the Centre of Sports Economics and Law at University College Cork who will kick off the discussion with his perspective on where we are and where we are heading in relation to the growing power of athletes, the dismantling of traditional media monopolies in delivering sport and plenty more.
FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN US ONLINE FOR THIS VIRTUAL SESSIONSPORTSPRO
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FRIDAY CHANGES TO ALCOHOL PROMOTION
This Friday, 12th November, the regulations about the promotion of alcohol sponsorship within sporting stadia in Ireland will become much tighter.
No longer will we see the painting of a major Heineken or Guinness logo in the centre of the pitch for games in the Heineken European Champions Cup or the Guinness Six Nations, at least for matches in the Aviva Stadium or Thomond Park.
No longer will we see the goalpost protection padding or the sideline flags bear those same logos.
The new legislation is part of a 2018 Act, the implementation of these elements of which has been postponed until now.
We started considering the changes that might happen a full decade ago and we wrote in 2015 that these very restrictions were to be part of what would be enacted.
It is not by a long way the worst-case scenario of what might have been imposed on the sport. There is no restriction on the ability of major brands to continue to support sport, and the restriction on promotion within the ground only applies to the playing area for the duration of the match.
Pre-match, post-match trophy presentations and pitch-side hoardings promoting those familiar brands in rugby, and that of Carlsberg in football, will still be allowed and it will become apparent from the application and the enforcement of the law, how strict things will need to be in terms of sleeve badges on shirts or the ball.
None of the restrictions will apply to Kingspan Stadium in Belfast despite the fact that its matches are governed by the one sporting body which will add to the sense of something different for sponsors, fans and players.
Last Week Sport for Business held a Members Event to discuss some of the changes and share information across some of our major sporting bodies, stadium operators sponsors and the agencies that advise them.
We are fortunate that we have a mature and responsible group of major sponsors in this space for whom operating within the regulations is accepted and pushing the boundaries is something that is not a default position.
The regulations will be in place for the Autumn Series Rugby International against New Zealand on Saturday, for the opening matches of the Heineken Cup in the coming weeks and for the Guinness Six Nations in the Spring.
It moves us closer to the regulations that have long been in place under the Loi Vin in France and we are now out of sync with our near neighbours in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
How that difference plays out over the coming years will be interesting to observe but the sense from last week’s meeting is that what needs to be done will be done and that what might in advance have seemed like a major change, will be adapted to by all those affected.
Our thanks to all those individuals and organisations who took part in the meeting. It was a fine example of doing what we do in bringing smart minds together to tease out issues of mutual concern.
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FA CUP PARTNERSHIP EXTENDED BY THREE MORE YEARS
The English FA has extended its long-standing partnership with Emirates for a further three seasons.
The competition, won last year by Leicester City, will continue to be called the Emirates FA Cup until 2024.
Emirates became the title sponsor of the competition in 2015, which gave the airline global and exclusive rights to its brand and properties.
The Emirates FA Cup involves more than 700 competing clubs and 10,000 players across ten levels of the English football pyramid.
Over 100 million domestic viewers tuned in throughout the competition last season, with 9.5 million for the Final alone, which was broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide. With the BBC being joined by ITV as the host broadcasters for the 2021/22 season, even more people will be able to enjoy its 150th anniversary season free-to-air.
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YORKSHIRE SPONSORS RUSH TO DEPART
Accusations of institutional racism have rocked Yorkshire County Cricket Club in England with sponsors once more being called to account for their association and quickly exiting under the pressure.
Azeem Rafiq’s detailed account of how he was belittled and referenced by racial slurs has put the club into a whit hot spotlight and day by day over the past week has effectively been cancelled as a sporting and community brand.
Politicians, media, and activists have jumped on an independent report which said the slurs were delivered ‘in the spirit of friendly banter,’ which seems like an incredibly dismissive way to find on what was clearly deeply enough felt treatment to merit Rafiq taking the action.
Emerald Group Publishing have ended their naming rights deal at Headingley Cricket Ground while Anchor Butter and Yorkshire Tea have also severed their long-standing relationship with the team.
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VACCINE COMMENTS END ROGERS HEALTHCARE DEAL
Comments by Green Bay Packers Quarterback about vaccination against Covid-19 have been deemed to be ‘out of bounds’ by a number of his personal sponsors.
Speaking on a popular radio show Rogers put forward a number of reasons why he did not feel the need for a vaccine as he was ‘immunized’ but there was a distinct lack of science behind the statements.
Prevea Health immediately ended their links with the star, who is one of the best-known players in the sport though his primary sponsor State Farm stuck with him.
“Aaron Rodgers has been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade,” the company said in a statement.
“We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view. We recognize our customers, employees, agents, and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances.”
They have come under fire for not condemning the misleading statements in a stronger way, with their reputation as an insurer being called into question on CNN and other influential outlets.
The value of aligning your star to a single sporting celebrity has obvious benefit but also obvious risk when they step outside the comfort zone of the playing area into subjects of ‘hot topic’ status.
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