Women's Sport Draws Fraction of Sponsorship Investment, But Not for Long 18th November, 2011

Having read the recent articles from our most successful Paralympian ever, Baroness Grey-Thompson, I was saddened with how little revenue is generated through sponsorship in women’s sport in the UK. With some very successful elite teams based in the United Kingdom including football, hockey, and netball, I wrongly assumed this would also draw large sponsorship funding to the sport and players.

Perhaps I have been tainted.  I have always gone out with women who play sport and whether it’s been pretending to understand the rules of netball or be enthralled with a sublime left foot penalty, female sport has been nearly as big a part of my life as their male counterparts.

So why is it that the rate of interest has gone up but sponsorship hasn’t? Between January 2010 and August 2011 sponsorship of women’s elite sport in the UK contributed just 0.5% of the total market. Shocked? If not, you should be when you compare it to the 61.1% for men’s sport.  It is clearly time for a change.

A contributing factor for the significant difference in sponsorship investment is the amount of media coverage that women’s sport receives.  As audience awareness is a key benefit for sponsorship rights, this decreased media attention in women’s sport significantly affects the total sponsorship able to be retained.

However, it is possible that this is changing around – if even ever so slowly.  On a recent trip to Marrakesh, I was elated to be able to watch the women’s World Cup quarter final live! (albeit via the red button).  Also to note that this was due to an unprecendented 700,000 people who had watched England’s final group game.

When looking at the situation from a different angle, it becomes apparent that women’s sport is offering the rare opportunity for brands to associate with sporting athletes, teams and associations without having to compete with a plethora of additional sponsors and advertisers.

These opportunities also come at a heavily discounted price in comparison to the fees generally associated with sports sponsorship. With the London 2012 Olympics on the horizon, there has never been a better time to get involved with this relatively untapped marketing resource.

It seems to me that as long as the general public continue to be attracted to women’s sport in greater numbers, sponsors would be foolish to miss out on an ever growing opportunity as the cost of investment is sure to grow!

Is Barcelona Football Club Selling Out? 1st March, 2011

In a season where we have seen Torres leave Liverpool for Chelsea (not before he had ‘You’ll never walk alone’ tattooed on his arm) and Rooney demand a transfer only to reconsider once he had an upgrade, football fans would be forgiven in thinking that the game had finally lost its soul.

With all the cash being pumped into the Premier League and numerous new owners buying their way into the hype, as a fan you can’t help but feel less engaged with the game.

Barcelona Football Club is a great example of the shift in football sponsorship funding.  For years, Catalan purists raved about 111 years without a sponsor.   The positioning showcased their love of the game and created fan loyalty to their brand.  This year, they provided the main shirt sponsorship spot to UNICEF – providing this charity a fantastic opportunity to drive awareness and raise much needed funds to the cause.  Through this sponsorship, Barcelona was able to create an emotional response from their fans by supporting UNICEF in this way – further increasing their fan loyalty.  It also provided a stepping stone for the club into brand sponsorship ensuring that they didn’t isolate their die hard supporters.

The introduction of UNICEF’s sponsorship has helped pave the way for the Qatar Foundation to come on board as an official sponsor through a 5 year deal for a total cost of £125 million. The non-profit foundation funded by the Al-Thani family, has splashed out on one of the most lucrative sponsorship opportunities available.  This raised further issues with the winning bid for the 2022 World Cup with many of the rival bids believing the deal was in place before, as the Barcelona team had such an influential part to play in their selection.  

Speculation indeed, but whatever the answer this is certainly one of the most far reaching and eye catching sponsorship deals this year. Manchester United’s sponsorship deal worth £80 million over 4 years with AON in 2009 now seems like a distant memory.


Sachin Tendulkar: the last ethical man in sport? 16th December, 2010

So, with the England team about to complete a historic victory over the Australians in their own back yard, I read with interest a cricket story making slightly fewer headlines.

The darling of India, “The Little Master” and a genuinely good guy, Sachin has once again underpinned his iconic status both on and off the cricket pitch. As quoted on Cricinfo, the popular Indian saying goes; “Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God”.

The integrity of sponsorship and the importance of picking both a spokesperson and a target sport is crucial. Getting someone like Tendulkar on board to promote any product to the huge Indian market, would provide any potential company with a huge new clientele. Unfortunately for whoever was trying to get Tendulkars endorsement misjudged the maestro and were left with less impressive options.

Before he made it, Sachin was given a piece of advice by his father; “Never accept endorsements for alcohol or cigarettes, no matter what they offer”. It would now seem that these words have been fully adhered to. Reports say that this recent offer would have been the biggest deal for any Indian sportsman (No mean feat considering the package that MS Dhoni has just received!), but Tendulkar stood true to his morals and turned it down.

So far we don’t know the exact brand of alcohol that he declined to sponsor, but his agents (World Sports Group) did offer the following; “He did get an offer but we are not in a position to name the company or give details of the offer”.

What else would you expect from a character that has been in the spotlight since his introduction as the saviour of Indian cricket? The first man to deliver a double century in one day international cricket and now turning down a well paid (albeit moral bending) offer, Sachin can do no wrong and fully deserves the adulation of his adoring fanbase. That includes me if you hadn’t noticed!