Author: Adam Sorensen


China, The Sleeping Giant 12th January, 2017

China, a country already with the world’s second largest economy, made a bold statement in 2015. President Xi Jinping announced a goal to create a domestic sports economy worth $850 billion by 2025, a plan that also involves winning the football World Cup by 2050.

This has commenced rapidly, with Chinese Super League clubs paying stars like Oscar and Carlos Tevez at a premium, £60 million and £71.6 million respectively. The effect is simple – bigger names bring more spectators, more commercial interest and greater global reach. As teams gain more exposure around the world due to the leagues increased profile, they become an even more attractive property to brands. This heightened market activity has a knock-on effect to sponsorship fees throughout the rest of the world, as these large rights holders are able to command higher fees, smaller clubs can ride the coat-tails and leverage more expensive properties to their own benefit.

Outside of their home league, Chinese brands have become progressively active as sporting event sponsors and investors, lured by the potential profits of associating their brands with a sport, team or athlete to access a new market. Chinese brands are shown in each of the major European leagues – AIA at Tottenham, 138.com at Watford and Rastar Group gracing the jersey of RCD Espanyol, to name a few.

The biggest example is Hisense, who became the first ever Chinese sponsor of the Euros when aligning with the 2016 competition. Although the official sponsorship fee has not been disclosed, Hisense is said to have invested a sum of 370 million yuan (roughly £43 million).

It is not just football that China is attracted to, but also rugby and basketball. The levels of investment being seen will lead to an effect that can be likened to sponsorship inflation, as activity from within China develops rights holders into even larger properties. Global sports sponsorship investment levels have continuously grown year on year by 4-5% since the late 2000’s and with the sports industry estimated to be worth $73.5 billion by 2019, not surprisingly the bulk of that money will come from China.

Contrastingly, Western brands now have a way to penetrate the largely untapped Chinese market. With significant increases in awareness and media value, gaining a foothold in China would be a lot of brands’ number one goal, however there hasn’t been a platform big enough to promote themselves effectively, until now. The huge audience means Western brands now have a solid foundation to build exposure and revenue in this massive economy, just like the Chinese brands are doing in European sporting markets.

The next few years are going to be a very interesting period for sports sponsorship in China. An already global sport like football is becoming accessible to far more people, allowing rights holders to generate more money for their assets. While some may say that the money in sports is already at a ridiculous level without China’s new-found interest, it is another way of increasing globalisation by providing a platform for China to integrate with the West and vice versa.


The Engagement – Virtual Reality and Sponsorship 1st December, 2016

Virtual reality has now become a reality in the way we consume and play sports. It has come a long way since Nintendo’s foray into it, albeit briefly, during the 90’s with the release of their Virtual Boy console. Despite the name, there is one thing that Virtual Boy was not, and that’s virtual reality. The system was conceived during a period of fascination with VR and although being a failure, it could be said that Nintendo were the pioneers of VR… credit where credit is due.

The ATP Tour Finals staged at The O2 in London 2 weeks ago is the sport’s biggest indication yet that they are taking necessary steps to prepare themselves for the future, with tennis fans given an introduction to the future of sports spectating. Virtual reality pods stood alongside a multifaceted broadcast operation and taken note of the mass of cameras including, the Spidercam and ultra-slow motion cameras capable of capturing the flex and movement of each muscle. Inside the pods, fans were able to use the newly-launched PlayStation VR and its tracking camera and handheld controller to give fans a deeper look inside tennis and reinventing the sport spectating experience.

Sponsors jump on this technology as they can provide fans with never before seen experiences, such as becoming their favourite athlete with POV or taking them into the middle of the action from the comfort of their own home While it is early days, we expect to see sponsored messaging tailored specifically to the individual wearing the headset, allowing for much more targeted marketing that current networks cannot achieve broadcasting to the masses.

The use of VR has seen brands open up a whole new channel of engagement. In 2014 Jaguar partnered with IBM to develop a VR experience allowing consumers to choose the model, make, colour and features of their favourite Jaguar. Consumers were even able to hope inside the car to check out interior features with a 360-degree view, and to make real-time changes all through the use of a headset. Jaguar have had such success with the use of VR, that they built on their technology with Andy Murray as part of the #FeelWimbledon Campaign, providing a Centre Court experience to feel the atmosphere while hitting the winning shot as Andy Murray.

The biggest asset VR has is its story telling power, taking users on a journey to breathe life into the brand is one of the main components of a content marketing approach and encourages the target market to develop a personal connection with a brand. The opportunities are endless for platforms to provide an immersive experience for users to gain a life-like experience, Moto GP could use this approach providing fans the thrill of riding a race spec bike in excess of 300 Kilometres per hour around Silverstone. It is this type of experience that engages someone on a deeper level, something that product distribution or branding simply can’t tap into.

While it is impossible to predict the future and whether VR will play a vital role in our daily lives, one thing can be said for sure, brands will continue to deliver unique and innovative experiences to engage with consumers and connect with them in ways never seen before.


Engaging Fans, the Digital Way 25th October, 2016

In an age where digital plays a vital part in keeping individuals connected with what is going on in the world, the sports we consume are becoming increasingly delivered through our smartphones via live updates, streaming, betting or apps. With this in mind brands and rights holders are now focusing on engaging fans through innovative ways, rather than deploying their resources on stagnant marketing activities that don’t acquire significant ROI – it is all about plugging the gap between reaction and action.

As traditional forms of advertising near extinction, brands are figuring out how to link marketing, social media and the second screen, to create compelling, memorable experiences across all advertising and social platforms. Rather than having a logo plastered along pitch side LED’s in the Premier League, brands are using hashtags to provide incentives, exclusive content and rewards to consumers for taking part in their marketing.

In 2014, 76% of adults used a second screen while watching a sports match on TV, this stat has no doubt significantly increased over the 2 years since. Companies like Kwangl were born out of the concept of engaging fans with what they see on TV; through the device they are holding. Jonas Olsson, the West Brom star used Kwangl to increase his engagement with the team’s fans. Using two incentivised hashtags (#JonasOlsson3 and #JonasOlssonWBA) to run multiple competitions, fans taking part could win a signed pair of boots and a signed shirt in what proved to be a successful way to reach out and connect with them.

As fans participate in marketing campaigns through a unique call to action – they are in fact seeing a tangible result for being aware of the brands marketing, a win-win for all parties involved. The issue with this though, is does it take away from the spectacle of the event as fans are more involved in the marketing ploy.

As media technology improved, teams found it increasingly difficult to fill stadiums as fans preferred to catch all the action through ref cams and slow-mo on TV. Fan engagement is being used to drive crowds back into the stadiums and isn’t just about on field action, smart arenas are becoming the norm enhancing the fan experience in new ways to keep them engaged. The new Sacramento Kings arena, Golden 1 Center, has a mobile app for check-in, ushering you to your seat, indicating shortest bathroom and concession lines, seat upgrade options (much like what has been done in the airline industry), cashless commerce and in-seat wireless charging. With this sort of experience, why wouldn’t you want to fork out for season tickets.

It is vital for rights holders to understand how to correctly engage fans, ensuring they find the right touch points in order to connect on the right levels. Smart arena’s as an example, allows fans to always stay connected enabling use of their second screen to have live stats updates. When fans are completely engaged, the end product being delivered is that much better so they feel they are getting the most out of the experience.

Sports sponsorship no longer means simply attaching a corporate name to a stadium. Rather, it has become a triangle of association between the team, the sponsor, and the passionate fan. It involves taking two products and creating an affinity between them, largely through social currency. It will be interesting to see sports evolve with the increase in accessibility through technology such as virtual reality and how it could play a role in the way we consume sports. Watch this space!