How and Why the Sponsorship Hunter is Changing in an Evolving Marketplace 19th July, 2018

Since the dawn of the sponsorship marketplace, rights holders have always been perceived as the “hunter” in the industry: having to approach brands directly for sponsorship in order to boost commercial revenue streams and maintain their position as a viable business.

Recent trends, however, indicate this could well be changing. As rights holders continue to innovate, develop and provide brands with high ROI and clear opportunities to achieve their corporate objectives, brands are waking up and becoming increasingly interested in what these platforms can do for them. It could very well be a case of the hunter becoming the hunted.

Sponsorship is fast becoming the most effective form of marketing. When executed correctly, it allows brands to genuinely engage and truly connect with their desired audiences – resulting in a host of short- and long-term positive outcomes for both themselves and the rights holders.

But what is the driving force behind these increasingly popular partnerships?

The importance of ROI in sponsorship

Broadly speaking, the most crucial consideration for a brand when deciding whether or not to partner with a platform or rights holder is simply the deal’s ROI. Therefore, rights holders must be able to prove to potential sponsors that they can generate or exceed a satisfactory ROI in order to have any chance of finalising a deal. Failure to do this will leave the rights holders with next to no chance of securing sponsorship.

So it is vital for rights holders to understand that in order to successfully attract brand partners, they must appreciate a “one size fits all” approach just isn’t good enough. Instead, rights holders must ensure they align their assets appropriately with their targeted brand’s ambitions.

For example, let’s imagine Brand X has an objective of increasing positive brand association across a mass audience. Understandably this will require a multi-faceted approach, particularly when compared to Brand Y – who simply wish to create specific B2B opportunities. Rights holders looking for sponsorship would never be able to give the same pitch or offer identical assets to both and expect success.

To create effective customer relations, rights holders must be able to offer the assets which will enable brands to truly engage with their audience. This means providing opportunities for brands to positively rebrand their image through relevant assets – such as social media channels and key influencers – and create sustainable long-lasting relationships.

What makes sponsorship opportunities so valuable?

The real value in sponsorship lies in how it provides brands with the potential to have a positive impact on all areas of its business. Examples of this could include on-site brand activations which generate increased sales; community engagement with leaves audiences and employees feeling worthwhile; or even social media takeovers which boost follower numbers.

These huge potential benefits put rights holders in a very strong position: owning unrivalled opportunities for brands looking to tap into a cost-effective alternative to traditional marketing which actually delivers results and ROI.

Key takeaway

As the industry moves forward, we are fast progressing to a stage where brands proactively realise the value of sponsorship when executed properly around their unique requirements. As rights holders move to master their propositions, we may soon see brands begin pitching to rights holders for access to their audience.

However, for this sponsorship pendulum to swing, rights holders must continue to invest in developing their own pitches to make them fit for purpose in the modern market. Achieve this, and the hunter could very well soon become the hunted.


Recognise the Value of Social Influencers for your Brand 18th January, 2017

Influencer endorsement is not a new concept, it has however taken on a completely new meaning since the emergence of social media.

A celebrity’s influence has become larger and far more valuable with the ability to personalise their endorsement of a brand. Through ‘organically’ integrating products into a social media post, followers become more susceptible to influence, and are more inclined to listen when it is in a celebrity’s own words.

Currently the most liked image on Instagram is a Coca Cola sponsored post from Selena Gomez, with 6.2 million likes and counting. When an influencer seems to genuinely like and use a product on social media it is arguably far more effective to a consumer than traditional advertising, even when that celebrity is featured. What Selena Gomez proves is that when ads are incorporated well, fans respond positively to the brand.

It is this fact that brands have come to recognise and is why paid social media posts are fast becoming celebrities most lucrative asset.

Sponsored content however, is not just for celebrities. Any ordinary social media user with enough followers can utilise their influence to make money from sponsored content.

Users with as few as 100K followers can make significant money from sponsored content, proving fame is not everything when developing a successful social media brand.

Many have found the secret to success is finding your niche and remaining consistent. Repetition is key to successful accounts. Followers respond when they know what to expect from an account and when you stray away from your niche, you lose followers.

Therefore, smaller accounts remain successful for brands to advertise through, as they value follower engagement over sheer number of followers. An account with 100 followers where all followers engage with posts can be worth more to an advertiser than one with 1000 followers where no-one engages.

You can’t make an impact with people who aren’t paying attention. Brands that recognise influential individuals and utilise their reach and personality well will see the results.


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.


E-Cigarettes – An ethical sponsor? 7th December, 2016

I’m sure by now everyone is familiar with the vaping phenomenon sweeping the globe and the E-Cigarette companies sprouting up at every corner. These are classed as a ‘healthy’ alternative to cigarettes and studies show both sides of the argument as to whether this is a true statement or not.

The large majority of rights holders, predominantly in the sporting sector, have a strict ‘No Tobacco’ sponsorship policy which is completely understandable. There is no link to tobacco and sporting performance and it is detrimental to the image of the club. Not to mention that any marketing of tobacco in the UK, and many countries around the world, is strictly prohibited.

However, E-Cigarettes and Vape brands are increasing their marketing and venturing into the sponsorship space as there are currently no laws in place saying they can’t.

St. Helens, the stalwart of English Rugby League, has recently announced its new Title and Stadium Naming Rights sponsor, leading e-cigarette brand ‘Totally Wicked’. Apart from the slightly odd naming of the stadium, which is now the ‘Totally Wicked Stadium’, it is interesting to see how the club has announced their new Title Sponsor.

In the press release St. Helens have said the e-cigarette brand contributes ‘not only financially, but also in supporting our wider health objectives’. They then go on to mention that they ‘have been able to create a supportive and vape friendly atmosphere at the club and believe the new deal will further their pioneering work by not only helping to raise awareness yet further of the damage smoking tobacco can do [but] also in deterring people from taking on the habit in the first place’.

It is proven E-Cigarettes are a much better alternative to smoking, but they are still addictive and contain nicotine. Whether you agree with this statement or not, it is interesting to see how from a PR perspective a controversial sponsor can be presented in a positive light.

The decision on whether a specific category of brand can become a sponsor or not is down to the rights holder or the governing body. In this case, St. Helens have simply secured a sponsor which will inject revenue into the club without breaking any rules, credit to them. It will, however, be interesting to see if more teams start to announce similar partnerships or if the league steps in to stop any similar controversial sponsors.


Our Top 4 Tips for Uncovering Sponsorship Assets 11th July, 2018

Over the years we have helped countless rights holders and sponsors come together effectively to great mutual benefit. However, that road isn’t always as smooth as it should be – particularly when it comes to sponsorship assets.

There have been many instances where we have witnessed rights holders only offering basic assets to potential sponsors, as opposed to its full armoury of options. Most commonly this translates into a focus around a logo and whilst this still does hold importance to a would-be sponsor, to get real value out of a partnership it is crucially important to ensure all potential assets are made available.

Allow us to put this into context for you. Imagine a fully-stocked supermarket that only sells items in the very first aisle to customers and blocks off the rest of the store. This will inevitably reduce the supermarket’s revenue and narrow the customer’s shopping potential. The same logic applies in the world of sponsorship.

The major problem with only offering some of the potential assets to a sponsor is that it’s impossible to know exactly what a brand requires to make the most of their sponsorship when reaching out before qualifying the lead.

As you may imagine, the chances of understanding exactly what a sponsor desires is increased simply by doing your homework and regular research, but there is still no better way to truly understand a brand’s approach than by speaking with them directly.

However, it is admittedly difficult to uncover all possible assets without previous sponsorship knowledge when you’re fully immersed in your own day-to-day tasks. So Slingshot is here to help with our top four quick tips for uncovering sponsorship assets…

1) Get into the brand’s mindset
Figure out exactly why a brand would want to be a sponsor and work out what you can specifically offer them that they’d simply be unable to get elsewhere.

2) Brainstorm with colleagues
Never tackle this sponsorship conundrum on your own! The more minds the better because, as with any ideas session, everyone thinks differently – which can be key to thinking outside of the box and uncovering assets which aren’t just a bog standard logo placement.

3) Travel the customer journey
Remember that sponsors ultimately want access to your audience. So travelling through the customer journey and understanding all possible touchpoints a sponsor can utilise to engage with your audience will showcase multiple key assets.

4) Check out the competition
Last but not least, try and get hold of your competitor’s sponsorship proposals to see what they are offering and how it differs to you. It may just spark a new idea or illustrate ways for you to improve your own platform for sponsors both now and in the future.

Case Study: Outlook Festival Knowledge Area

Back in 2015, we utilised our expertise of uncovering sponsorship assets to continue pushing the boundaries of the traditional festival model. We created something which added to the consumer experience and attracted brand integration at the Outlook Festival.

Named the Knowledge Arena, it was here we created workshops led by artists where guests could create their own music at the festival. This forward-thinking rights holder maintained focus on the consumer, leading to greater engagement and sparking brands’ interest in being involved with connecting to the audience in a deeper, more meaningful way.

Key takeaways

Any rights holders looking for sponsorship must think strategically before approaching a brand. Think carefully about the plethora of assets you can offer, particularly ones which resonate with certain target brands.

Once all assets have been uncovered, the goal then becomes ensuring these are effectively and aesthetically communicated in the best way possible to potential sponsors – and at the right price.


The Pitfall of Long Term Sponsorship Deals 27th July, 2016

English football team Chelsea and global sportswear brand Adidas outline the potential challenges that long termed partnerships can create. In early May this year, a mutual agreement was made to end the sponsorship deal that short-fell Adidas’ potential and failed to reflect the value of Chelsea FC.

The 10-year sponsorship deal ended after only four year on the basis that the partnership was not benefiting either party.  Chelsea felt the £300million deal did not reflect their success nor their value, whilst Adidas felt the deal was not in line with their new business strategy of maintaining a lesser number of sponsorships at an increased sponsorship sum for their sponsees.  Having recently made a £750million sponsorship deal with rival team Manchester United, Adidas left Chelsea FC feeling undervalued and believing they could achieve greater sponsorship than what had been offered to them 4 years ago. On the other end, with Chelsea’s shocking performance this past season, there was no incentive for Adidas to increase the amount of the sponsorship deal in a way that offered enough benefit and still aligned with their new strategy.

Whilst the partnership proved to be mutually beneficial for the initial years, in recent times with both parties growing and evolving it only proved to be a hindrance to their futures. With the sponsorship industry constantly growing and as a result its costs ballooning, Adidas prioritising their new strategy of a more focused portfolio.  Additionally, Chelsea’s acknowledgement that their partnership did not reflect their market worth today was vital in their growth with a new partner.

The sponsorship industry evolves at a rapid rate, shifting away from logo badging to strategic business deliverables. Simultaneously the sporting world, and more specifically the football industry remains somewhat volatile – with politics and the economy affecting players and transfers amplified by team performance (Leicester City).

Although signing a 10-year contract may seem beneficial, the pace of the industry and media landscape evolution creates more risk.  Long termed contracts in such changing conditions mean that partnerships can get to a stagnant point where neither party can maximise the initial benefits sought. The idea that an extensive contract will provide security is predominantly only viable when looking at the monetary side of sponsorship, but sponsorship is more than money.  This façade of security tends to be a contradictory ‘benefit’ – potentially being more risky than short term contracts that evolve as both partners evolve.


Uncovering the real assets in Sailing Sponsorship 15th July, 2016

With the Clipper Round the World race generating in excess of £4.7m media value per team and the Volvo Ocean Race generating over £45m in media, you can be forgiven for thinking that sponsorship in sailing is just a global billboard on water for luxury brands such as Rolex, Hugo Boss and Prada.  However, if you strip back the big numbers, it’s actually a platform that can deliver unrivalled engagement through unique assets that can’t be found in the Formula1 pit lane.

It’s All About Big Data.

Data is changing the world and brands who are heavily developing this area (SAP, Salesforce, IBM) are using it. Often overlooked, the value of data in races such as the Volvo Ocean Race are crucial for delivering a stand at the podium.  Being a one-design race means that other than visually, there are no differences in the boats – it’s a level playing field. Consolidating and making use of data gathered in remote areas such as the middle of the ocean truly showcase the capability of data-driven businesses – turning data into insight, and insight into narrative.

Sponsorship of platforms that require a data-led approach are everywhere and most recently at Wimbledon with IBM, a partnership that has been in place for over 25 years. Through this sponsorship, IBM utilises the need for turning thousands of pieces of data, from multiple courts, into insight and narrative immediately. Alongside this they also integrate security products, servers and cognitive capabilities.

Everyone Wants an Experience

Formula 1 provides unrivalled hospitality with Michelin star chefs, the thrill of the pit-lane and the chance to watch races in exotic locations. Sailing also offers this, but due to the nature of the type of competition, there is much greater flexibility providing a unique and often un-experienced opportunity to take part and actually race it against the other boats. This becomes far more accessible to not only key clients but also customers and fans in general.

Emotive Content

Perhaps something not solely unique to sailing but none the less extremely attractive is the content that can be produced from the numerous races and competitions. The Americas Cup boats dancing around in the wind with a back drop of Manhattan is an incredible image to support any marketing campaign. Storytelling has become increasingly important, whether it’s a consultancy firm trying to showcase how they influence change in a business or a sports wear brand proving their products are used by the elite athletes. Each market has become increasingly crowded and the differentiator then becomes about engaging native content.

Sailing offers a unique opportunity for brands to align with teams to showcase their own unique offering. These races are regarded as some of the toughest challenges in the world, the sailors cover whole oceans with no rest and little sleep and must do their job perfectly, whilst also working together to win. It is similar to any business, their employees each specialise in their own field, all working together for the good of the company. Sponsors can access the rights free imagery and create unique content to communicate how their company mirrors the sailors, taking individual expertise and working together to achieve their objectives.

Being Green

Sailing is also a sport with a clean and positive image, powered by natural resources. Teams are looking at new ways to reduce their environmental impact and promote conservation efforts. Sailors also have first-hand experience of the large impact pollution and waste have on the marine environment.

This provides a great opportunity for brands to align with sailing teams who aspire to have their environmental values ingrained within their ethos. Aligning with a sustainable team or race will not only improve public perception, but will also bolster their own sustainability programmes.

Because sailing offers such great media exposure, it’s often too easy to overlook the true assets that brands can capitalise on at a fairly cost-effective price tag.  Big or small, involvement in sailing sponsorship should be a consideration for all brands trying to truly engage their customers – even if they aren’t on the ocean.

If you are interested in discussing sailing sponsorship opportunities, please ensure to contact the Slingshot team on 0207 226 5052.


Treat Them Mean, Keep Them Keen – Not In Sponsorship 6th May, 2016

Now more than ever the sponsorship market is packed full of opportunities for brands, making the task of securing brand sponsors an ever harder job for rights holders. The need now for rights holders is to not only understand the value of their propositions, but also find a way to differentiate from the competition to bring in that much craved sponsorship revenue.

To do this, many rights holders are now investing heavily to upskill their sales teams. In doing this, rights holders are realising that there is a great deal of prior effort and expertise needed to secure sponsors, and therefore retaining sponsors is perhaps now even more important than it once was.

As sponsors become ever more precious to a rights holder you would assume that it would be fundamental for a rights holder to make sure they go above and beyond on delivery, however, all too often there still seems to be a disconnect, as many brands are miss-sold on promises that are never delivered.

This disconnect will of course hurt a brand when it comes to successfully activating their sponsorship, but for rights holders, besides the obvious initial financial void and short term pressures that come with that, this could have a far more adverse effect in the long run:

Bad Reputation – people talk. It doesn’t matter whether the brand has paid £5k or £5m, it’s a small world and word travels fast, especially in this digital era with a bad reference only a click away. Much like how happy sponsors are generally very willing to shout about you in a positive light, the same goes for a disgruntled sponsor who will have no remorse when shouting about you in a derogative fashion. Having a bad reputation as a rights holder when it comes to delivering sponsorship will undoubtedly plant seeds of doubt into any brand when they receive a proposal about investing in your platform.

Weakened Platform – in many cases sponsors provide a lot more than just cash, they can add significant value to a property though a variety of means such as increased promotion, engagement and consumer experience. Having successful case studies and previous positive relationships are great tools when selling to prospective brands, so not having these case studies will make a sale all the more difficult. In some cases, the sale of sponsorship could also depend heavily on who is already associated with the platform (especially in B2B sponsorship), so losing one sponsor could potentially result in losing a number of prospective ones too.

Regret – rights holders with multiple sponsors generally have a harder job to ensure a flawless delivery, and will often find it becomes a fine balancing act to decide which brand should be given the most attention at any given time. In these circumstances, it is often most likely to result in the lower tiered sponsor being neglected, and therefore walking away from future involvement (although there are cases of this occurring with high profile sponsors also). Either way, it is criminal for a rights holder to fail to deliver on their promises no matter who the brand is or what they have invested, especially in today’s climate when it is possible for brands to become world famous overnight. Imagine if that lower tiered sponsor turned out to be the next Uber or Spotify.

Selling sponsorship is never easy, in fact it is probably one of the most underrated skills in business full stop. Due to the nature of sponsorship and the regular changes in strategies for both rights holders and brands, it is natural that some sponsorships will have a short shelf life and often nothing can be done to stop the relationship coming to an end, but to lose a sponsor due to a poor relationship or miss selling is something that needs to be avoided at all costs!

To learn more about the ins and outs of selling and maintaining sponsorship effectively – attend our Sessions event on Thursday May 26th or call our London office on 0207 226 5052 for more information.


Will brands click play on creating an e-athlete megastar in 2016? 23rd February, 2016

E-Sports are fast becoming more popular as both a competitor and spectator sport in the West, with Wembley Arena playing host to large events such as League of Legends and a dedicated e-gaming space currently being developed in Fulham.

Despite numerous stalwarts’ draconian views and attempts to undermine the credibility of the platform, veteran e-sports journalist Rod Breslau commented in a VICE interview that it continues to surpass expectations in revenue and attention. A once tight knit community now draws in hundreds of thousands of attendees to events (surpassing many traditional sporting contests), eager to see their team take home cash prizes to $18million (The International 2015).

Already USA and Korea have ‘appointed’ superstar players (Faker, NadeShot), with the success of KSI (he would be the first to point out he is not a ‘gamer’) in the UK when will mainstream brands see the e-sports as a credible, substantial marketing platform? Red Bull were the first major brand to act signing Dave ‘Walshy’ Walsh in 2006 however relatively few brands have followed. Venturing outside traditional endorsements to capitalise on the expanse of the platform, Red Bull developed training labs focusing on nurturing and developing the e-sports athletes of the future, cementing their position and long term commitment in the sport.

E-sports is growing in size year on year with significant growth expected in 2016. The platform is already producing talent, major events and games which are capable of building and capturing a loyal fan base of elusive millennials. These can be reached through numerous, non-traditional channels including online streams and development YouTube channels, to note Matt ‘NadeShot’ Haag has over one million YouTube subscribers who follow his daily gaming sessions.

Yet Europe has yet to find their e-sports star on the same pedestal as their Asian counterparts such as Sang-Hyeok Lee, who is constantly in discussions with native Chinese companies interested in partnering.

There are a number of parallels with the growth of sports marketing in the 1970’s and the e-gaming platform of today with brands viewing the platform with trepidation as opposed to optimism. Brands should look towards e-sports as an exciting platform to engage with their market using all of the crucial buzz words of content and media coverage of the industry today (in 2014 over 70 million hours of content was captured from League of Legends online, with the BBC streaming the 2015 contest live on their IPlayer and Sport platforms).

2016 is set to be a monumental year for the growth of the e-sports industry, with tournament prize pools reaching up to $20 million and huge strides pending in the Western market.  With new launches of multiplayer sensations (such as Overwatch, Battleborn) sponsors will have the ability to engage in real-time with the audience something which is rarely achieved through traditional sporting means.

For those brands who position themselves as ground-breakers E-sports offers the perfect challenge. The only question is, who will click play?