Category: Blog


‘I Will Not Bow to Any Sponsor’ – Assessing the Evolution of Product Placement 12th May, 2014

The children’s movie Finding Nemo was a box office hit. It would seem however, that it wasn’t just Disney that reaped the rewards from the film’s success.  Since the film’s release in 2003, sales for clownfish (Nemo) and Pacific regal blue tangs (Dory) have rocketed. It’s safe to say that Disney didn’t have a deal with any pet shops and this increase in fish sales wasn’t ever an objective for the film. Nevertheless, the product (fish) placed in the film had an effect on the audience, who were inspired to then go away and buy their very own Nemo and Dory.

Product placement can be an effective additional revenue stream, providing a platform for brands to showcase their products, as well as providing producers with extra capital to use towards their shows. However, for this type of marketing to be effective, for both brand and televised/cinematic production, there are some key points that need to be followed, which I will explore through examples;

  • Brands suiting the audience; if products have no relevance to the programme’s demographic,  the product placement consequently will not deliver good return.
  • Products harmonising with the production; the contribution needs to be seamless so that it is not ‘chunky’ and awkward, but well enough placed so that the product sticks in people’s minds.
  • Interacting with the audience; sales are likely to rise if viewers actually feel involved with the show and are given accessibility to the products.

Brands suiting the audience
Still a relatively new phenomenon to the world of TV, product placement has been gracing our screens in varying degrees. One example that has been criticised, is the rather abrasive approach taken by Coca Cola through their partnership with American Idol. The show is also sponsored by Ford and mobile giant AT&T, but it is Coca Cola that takes centre stage. From huge vending machines to large red branded cups on the judges’ table – their logo is unavoidable. People have argued that this relentless plug not only has no relevance to the show itself, but it is irresponsible in terms of audience demographic; consequently being inconsistent with Coca Cola’s pledge to not directly advertise unhealthy beverages to children .

Products harmonising with the Production
As well as TV shows and films, music videos are a good medium to hit audiences. Adobe suggests that video content now makes up for more than three quarters of viral media posts. Music videos have a unique way of emotionally engaging with audiences, and therefore when brands take advantage of this, their grab is much stronger. Volvo teamed up with Swedish House Mafia for their rerelease of ‘Leave the World Behind‘ with Swedish singer Lune. Not only was this collaboration a charming homage to some of Sweden’s most successful exports, but the product placement of Volvo really captures the essence of the three DJ’s escaping the city and ‘leaving the world behind’.

Interacting with the audience
Online retailer SSENSE have also joined forces with System magazine to produce a series of e-commerce music videos which give the viewers access to buy the clothing worn by artists. SSENSE & System kicked off the series with Sky Ferreira’s ‘I Blame Myself‘ with SSENSE taking full advantage of the product placement by providing a direct link so viewers can purchase all clothing worn in the video at the click of a button.

In the UK, product placement has only been legal for the last three years. Although the UK is still in its infancy, there have been a selection of campaigns that have not only professionally fitted into the programmes, but have also engaged with audiences.

Very.co.uk collaborated with Big Brother last year, which saw the brand design a click-to-buy service which allowed the public to buy items from the Big Brother house as they appeared. Any fan of Big Brother loves the quirky house and furniture and therefore this interactive system gave people the opportunity to feel further involved in the show. Similarly to SSENSE’s music videos, the ease of access to products gives the audience more incentive to consume.

Product placement is an effective marketing tool that allows brands to access audiences in a way that advertising can’t. Product placement shouldn’t be deemed as just a pay package for the production teams either. Although it is subliminal advertising in their shows, the use of real life branded products can actually add to a programme and make the experience more realistic.  It is clear, however, that product placement has a long way to go, but has a huge amount of potential.  The recent surge in second and even third screening has allowed brands an additional layer of interaction with audiences – granting them the opportunity to engage with the viewer on a more personal level.


The Sponsorship Selfie 1st May, 2014

With June just round the corner, there has been time for a bit of light reflection about what 2014 has served up so far, and what a bizarre year it’s been. The list already includes conflict, flooding, missing planes, #moyesout, little Georgie, twerking and last but certainly not least, ‘the selfie’!

 

However lauded the ‘selfie’ might be, it can offer quite a good starting point for rights holders looking to gain sponsorship. Such introspection should be the first port of call when beginning the process of sourcing sponsorship, rather than the immediate ‘show me the money’ approach.

Making sure you know what you want to look like before your sponsorship selfie is essential; therefore, forming goals and objectives in order to create a pre-determined strategy will be key. So, how is this broken down – what should rights holders be concentrating on?

 

Engagement

Engagement is the acid test for any successful sponsorship. Making sure that sponsors are engaging with your audience and increasing the customer experience is essential; logo placement is never enough. This also helps drive other factors such as footfall, PR and unlocking extra assets within your platform. In recent years, O2 have been pioneers in engagement, using it to reduce churn and increase customer loyalty. This was subsequently achieved through priority moments, which amongst many things, offered fans a catalogue of benefits for being an O2 customer.

 

Added value

Sponsor activation and brand presence, if used strategically, should add value to your property. This has to be done with the brand image and objectives in mind, making sure that there is an authentic fit and your integrity is not challenged. Over the past twelve months integrated stadiums have been a hot topic; none showcase this more poignantly than the rise in Cisco’s investment. This activation fulfils a number of objectives, and ultimately allows the stadium to generate more revenue by offering mobile purchasing of refreshments, and the initial costs are offset by an exchange of assets in return.

 

Credibility

Having the endorsement from a big brand can revolutionise a rights holder’s public image, and provide the credibility needed to stand in an ever cluttered market place. British Airways’ new partnership with the Rooftop Film Club has done just this; an underground and relatively unknown rights holder has the backing of partner who will add kudos and an air of reputability (watch this space for 2014).

 

Not being blinded by the money is key to utilising any partnership to the full; a truly successful sponsorship deal must comprise all of the benefits above. However, going against the true spirit of the selfie – try not to be vain, consider the ugly duckling partnership. By broadening your horizons and keeping an eye out for the unlikely partnership, like ‘Good Earth Teas’ have formed with music supremo EMI, can launch something new – which is what partnerships are for, right?


Slingshot Sponsorship Appoints New Account Director to Launch Sport Division 23rd April, 2014

Slingshot Sponsorship announces that Alex Howells will be joining its London office as an Account Director to head up the agency’s new sport division, as it seeks to drive its ‘creative commercialisation’ concept to rights-owners within the sports industry.

 

Howells takes up the position at Slingshot with over 9 years of experience across the sports marketing and sponsorship sectors, with previous roles at the Football Association and E.ON.  Most recently he has been a key member of the Partnerships team at Sport England where he was responsible for growing Sport England’s portfolio of partners and providing specialist commercial support to national governing bodies of sport.

 

Jackie Fast, Managing Director at Slingshot Sponsorship, said: “We have been on the hunt for a new Director of Sport for some time as it is incredibly difficult to find senior people who have a combination of strong creativity and commercial acumen. Combining that with proven account management, Alex’s breadth of experience with both influential brands and sporting bodies was an ideal fit for our agency as we look to bring our sponsorship concept to the sporting industry.”

 

The new Sport Division will deliver fresh insight through the agency’s previous success developing unique commercial strategies and brand campaigns in music, arts and the charity sector.

 

Slingshot Sponsorship has developed a bespoke sport offering to the industry at a defining time in sports marketing.  Sports with smaller audiences are all too often overlooked for their partnership potential because of the lack of television reach, while mass market sports largely sell their sponsorship based on these figures.  Slingshot works with both brands and rights owners to look beyond the logo, aided by the advance of technology which is driving both innovation and speed.  Jackie Fast states that, “It is now the perfect opportunity to maximise the true potential of sport campaigns that drive engagement – rather than just brand awareness.”

 

Alex Howells, Account Director, Slingshot Sponsorship stated: “It’s a privilege to join the team at Slingshot.  Slingshot do things differently and the agency’s accomplishments in such a short space of time are an indication of the commitment, drive and energy of Jackie and her team.  I’m excited to be a part of it and help bring Slingshot’s creativity to sport.”

 

Howells will carry on the work with Slingshot’s current sport clients, while creating tailored offerings to the industry as a whole with a focus on maximising both participants and commercial revenue streams through effective marketing partnerships.  He will also be responsible for building the profile of smaller sports and women’s sport within the sponsorship industry as a whole.



Much Taboo About Nothing – Engaging new theatre fans through sponsorship 26th March, 2014

An emphatic drop in arts funding over the last decade has forced public funded organisations to re-think their commercial strategies in a bid to remain profitable. The ever increasing pull of the purse strings, combined with an overcrowded marketplace has lead theatres across the land to seek sponsorship in order to keep up. Yet with most discerning customers around who cannot be fooled or cajoled, the trick it seems, is bagging the right sponsor.

 

Barriers to entry for sponsors within theatreland have come from different directions; firstly, many see sponsorship as a taboo that can drive away the younger audience, and therefore brands trying to reach this demographic. Secondly, scepticism from the industry plays a vital role, with many wishing to retain ‘artistic independence’ from sponsors, choosing ones which don’t undermine the ethics they promote. However, over the past ten years with the ever increasing need to adjust, and with the need to attract new audiences, there has been an increase in more corporate sponsorships – has this brought the right brands in and has it benefitted the industry?

 

Subsiding theatre tickets in order to bring in a younger, and larger crowd has been the corner stone of many partnerships in recent years. Travelex’ssponsorship of the National Theatre has lasted for over ten years, offering over 2 million reduced priced tickets, 360,000 of these have been to first time theatre goers. Travelex themselves may not be recognised as the most  desirable sponsor, if you only remember them as taking a large commission off your holiday money at the departure lounge; they do, however, offer a break from a corporate dominated market. Whether you like it, don’t like it or are ambivalent, there is no denying that PWC’s investment in The Old Vic has had a considerable impact on the theatre, especially their investment which focusses upon nurturing young talent. Accenture have also been big supporters of the National, choosing to support more grass roots theatre, and showcasing their tech credentials by designing a touch screen behind the scenes tour of the theatre.

 

Sponsorship by corporates such as Shell and BP, have attracted plenty of criticism over the years with the feeling that this positive publicity is only there to service their corporate image, shining the spotlight away from their environmental records . BP has come under considerable criticism with their sponsorship of the Globe, which has famously been undermined by theReclaim Shakespeare Company who regularly publicise BP’s global mishaps.

 

Sponsorship is part of today’s theatre makeup, and its clearly better off for it financially; however, if their objectives are to be attracting new, younger or more customers then surely they should be looking for brands which represent this. Travelex is a step in the right direction, and shows this can be built by creating more engaging campaigns.


It’s Not Who You Know 10th March, 2014

Three questions you should be asking your sponsorship sales person before you hire them

I have been in far too many pitches where I dread the question and answer period at the end.  This is not because I don’t like answering questions, it’s because the questions are always the wrong ones.  It never fails that when people are looking to hire a sponsorship sales person (regardless of whether it’s an internal hire or contracted external agency) the questions they always ask are the same and include a variation of the following:

“How many brands do you know that you’ll be able to get to sponsor our platform?”

Sometimes the person in question is slyer and the question comes across as:

“In terms of relationships you currently have, how many of those do you think you would be able to approach on our behalf?”

It always comes down to the black book.

Now in theory this makes a lot of sense.  Obviously the more brands they know personally, the easier it will be for that sponsorship salesperson to put your platform in front of them.  However, this doesn’t address the whole point of sponsorship sales.  Sponsorship sales are not transactional – unlike selling socks or vacuum cleaners, you have to understand how to derive value from set assets to drive brand objectives.  Creative thinking is vital.  Sponsorship sales are specific and not all sponsorship platforms are the best fit for all brands.  As such, it becomes less about the relationship and more about how the platform can help the brand meet certain objectives.  Even though I have drinks with the Marketing Director from Pampers, but that doesn’t mean they are going to sponsor Tough Mudder just because I asked politely over cocktails.

In addition, any sponsorship sales person or sponsorship sales agency who has lasted longer than 1 year will inevitably have a good black book. And even if they don’t have a strong black book in your specific sector, they will know quite easily how to build one quickly.  That is after all, what they do and why there are at the pitch to begin with.

So rather than waste time on answers that really won’t make too much of a difference to your end result, here are the top 3 questions you should be asking:

  1. How long is your longest running client and why have they stayed with you for so long?
  2. Have you ever lost a client because of not meeting your sales targets?  *To note, there are many variables that can affect sponsorship sales so if someone hasn’t met targets I wouldn’t write them off.  Instead, try to understand whether they took on the project without being transparent to their client about their own concerns such as pricing that is overvalued or timing that is unrealistic.
  3. What do you think the key USP of our platform is and what type of brands do you think it would attract?

Happy hiring!


Slingshot Sponsorship signs Warranty Direct as Headline Sponsor of the What Car? Awards for a third consecutive year 26th February, 2014

For a third consecutive year What Car? has announced that Warranty Direct will again act as Headline Partner for the What Car? Awards –  Europe’s leading and most prestigious automotive awards programme showcasing the best new car releases from that year.

 

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards are the most coveted accolades in the automotive industry. The Awards are presented to cars that set the highest standards in their sector after being put through the toughest, most rigorous tests by the most experienced team in the business.

 

The benefits of the sponsorship deal includes the alignment with the most authoritative and trusted brand in motoring, brand positioning and awareness, extensive PR opportunities, networking  and brand association to the awards via a multi-channel promotional campaign.

 

Chris Lowe, What Car? ‘Publisher’ said: “We are delighted to be working with Warranty Direct for the third consecutive year, which is the industry’s leading provider of direct consumer warranties.”

 

Duncan McClure Fisher, managing director of Warranty Direct Ltd, said: “We are looking forward to working alongside What Car? as headline partner for another year of the awards.  The Awards themselves set a benchmark within the industry and it is an honour to be a part of such a prestigious event.  We also hope car buyers investing in these award winning cars will want to look after them and that Warranty Direct warranties will be their first port of call.”

 

Chris Lowe continued: “Winning a What Car? Award is good for a car maker’s business. The authority of the What Car? brand sells cars, plain and simple. It adds power to advertising and marketing campaigns and is a huge draw for customers.”

 

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards event is attended by more than 1,400 leading industry figureheads alongside the most influential motoring correspondents from the wider media.

 

The event is to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on January 7, 2015 with top-class entertainment yet to be announced. Previous headline acts have included Jonathan Ross, Jimmy Carr, Al Murray, Jo Brand and last year Jack Whitehall.



Hammerson shopping centres to host national sustainability roadshow – The Big Positive Weekend 24th February, 2014

Hammerson, the owner of some of the UK’s best known shopping centres, is launching a nationwide sustainability roadshow called The Big Positive Weekend.

 

Aiming to reach 2 million customers and inspire 200,000 positive pledges, The Big Positive Weekend celebrates the great things people and brands are doing for our communities and our environment.  The roadshow is designed to leave visitors inspired and motivated to take small actions that add up to a big positive impact.

 

The first road show of its kind to be staged by a retail property owner will visit nine of Hammerson’s shopping centres across the country throughout June, July and August, which attract over 200 million consumers a year. The Roadshow will start at West Quay in Southampton and include London’s Brent Cross and Bullring in Birmingham. With a combined  audience of over 6 million people, The Big Positive Weekend promises to give great ideas and advice on how to not only be more sustainable but also save money.

 

The headline sponsor for the Roadshow is Nationwide Building Society. Nationwide has been working hard to reduce its environmental impact and is keen to help individuals do the same, through its Green Homes Guide, which provides practical tips for sustainable homes. E.ON, the energy partner sponsoring the event, will have advisors on hand to help people use no more energy than they need by sharing energy-saving tips, demonstrating smart meters, and discussing free and discounted energy efficient measures which shoppers may be entitled to.

 

Shoppers will be able to engage with an array of different sustainability focussed activities and displays at each centre, all manned by our Big Positive Ambassadors.  As well as activities from our partners, shoppers can become part of a digital photo gallery of ‘positive people’ created live during the event and look at some of the most ‘positive products’ available from Hammerson retailers.

 

Louise Ellison, Hammerson’s Head of Sustainability, commented, “Our shopping centres present a fantastic opportunity to connect with millions of people; using that platform to raise awareness of sustainability in a fun way that inspires positive action, is a logical step for a responsible business.”

 

Stephen Uden, Nationwide’s Head of Citizenship said, “We are delighted to be the lead partner of the Big Positive Weekend and hope that it can inspire people to change their lives and their communities for the better. Nationwide has already engaged over two million of its members in its sustainability work over the last year and the Big Positive project will build on this.”

 

Hammerson is working in partnership with print, logistics and design companies piloting new techniques in order to deliver The Big Positive Weekend as sustainable as possible. Seacourt Printers will be providing print support, and Slingshot Sponsorship is working with Hammerson to source partners that will create a new event on the sustainability calendar.

 

The Big Positive event will be taking place at:

  • WestQuay, Southampton on 14th – 15th June;
  • Brent Cross, London on 21st – 22nd June;
  • Centrale, Croydon on 28th – 29th June;
  • The Oracle, Reading on 5th – 6th July;
  • Highcross, Leicester on 12th – 13th July;
  • Bullring, Birmingham on 19th – 20th July;
  • Union Square, Aberdeen on 26th – 27th July;
  • Silverburn, Glasgow on 2nd – 3rd August.

Bank of America restoring faith in Super Bowl mania 4th February, 2014

Ah, the Super Bowl – the time of the year that makes little to no difference to my life, apart from on Monday, whenAdweek provides us with the glory of the previous evening’s ad-off; with the added bonus of no touchdowns in between.

This year, we bore witness to a Clydesdale horse falling in love with a puppy and (to many people’s dismay) another showing of Bob Dylan selling a car.  Dylan sticking it to the man aside, the ad that struck me most was that of Bank of America.  The Bank used its prized slot as an opportunity to launch the company’s partnership withAIDS charity (RED).  The 60 second slot showcased U2 with the release of their first track in 5 years, ‘Invisible’  and directed fans to download the track for free off iTunes for 24 hours after the ad’s airing, with Bank of America donating $1 for every download (up to $2 million).

The showcasing of this partnership leads perfectly from the piece Patrick Nally wrote last week for #Synergy30.   Within the article, Nally makes the crucial argument that for the sponsorship industry to progress, it ‘needs to be directly involved in the debate and examination of the relationships between sports and the worlds of commerce, education, technology, governments and politics and society in general.’  For me, this 60 second ad did just that.  The Super Bowl had the world at their feet on Sunday (well, until the second half) and granted Bank of America, U2 and (RED) a platform not only to gain global exposure, but to raise awareness and funds for the charity.

What is emphasised through this partnership is the endless opportunity for corporates to use sponsorship/advertising at global sporting events as a platform for greater good.  Through the ad slot, over 3 million free downloads were purchased on iTunes – reaching the $2 million mark within hours, encouraging Bank of America to continue donating further into the night.  Such an overwhelming response to this partnership emphasises the influence corporates, global sporting events and even aging Irish rock stars can generate when given the right opportunity.  Of course, the Super Bowl is at the highest end of the spectrum, but what we need now is for more rights holders to offer platforms that can facilitate these partnerships, and for sponsors to recognise the undeniable value in them.

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