World Taekwondo Grand Prix Secures Laing O’Rourke As Schools Partner 11th August, 2015

Laing O’Rourke has been announced as the ‘Schools Partner’ for the upcoming World Taekwondo Grand Prix with the agreement brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship. The event will see the Olympic, World and European gold medal winning GB Taekwondo in action within their home city of Manchester. Following involvement in the 2014 World Taekwondo Grand Prix, Laing O’Rourke have committed to a wider involvement for the 2015 event.

 
The partnership will see Laing O’Rourke integrate throughout the events school’s outreach programme in Manchester, culminating with activity at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix, 16-18th October held at the Manchester Regional Arena.

 
Tom Higgins, Business Leader for Laing O’Rourke Construction in the North of England, commented “Laing O’Rourke’s role as the Schools Partner of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix will enhance the work we already do with schools and communities across Manchester. We know sport plays an important role in helping to inspire young people, driving motivation, team work and aspiration – all qualities that are also important to our industry. We’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with GB Taekwondo and bringing some unique and interesting opportunities to young people in the city.”

 
As the Schools Partner, Laing O’Rourke staff & GB Taekwondo athletes will be visiting schools in the East Manchester area in the lead up to the World Taekwondo Grand Prix, to drive awareness of the skills and qualities needed to succeed as both students and members of the community. Over 1,000 local school children will also attend the event and cheer on Great Britain’s Olympic hopefuls as they look to secure qualification for Rio 2016.

 
Steve Flynn, Operations Director, GB Taekwondo remarked “We are delighted to welcome Laing O’Rourke once again as the Schools Partner for the World Taekwondo Grand Prix. They have been supportive of our schools initiative previously and have been instrumental in providing young people from across the city with the opportunity to enjoy world class sport on their doorstep.”


How Sponsorship Impacts Sport Participation in the UK 11th August, 2015

After the 2008 Beijing Games and the backdrop of London 2012 there was a dramatic policy change by the new Conservative government. The Department for Culture, Media & Sport changed their focus from sport as a social intervention to that of a performance and excellence goal. Entitled ‘Game Plan’, a strategy for delivering the governments sport and physical activity objectives saw a policy named ‘Playing to Win’ introduced. This created a new era in British sport and looked to redefine it. Instead of creating success through mass participation of sport in the country, ‘Playing to Win’ looked to increase participation through success for top level elite athletes. Funding was redirected from lower level and grassroots sport to fewer but higher level athletes. The next superstars of British sport. This decrease in funding saw the reduction of sports being available to the average child.

Sport in a young person’s life is vital, it can enable a healthy lifestyle and plays a vital role in gaining social skills. Sports that have had a funding cut need to find resources from elsewhere in order to continue providing opportunities for young people. Sponsorship is not only crucial, but innovatively at the forefront of enabling grassroots sport to be made possible.

The Laureus Project, a foundation that looks to use sport to engage youth is a great example. In some of central London’s most violent areas they run The Midnight Basketball League. Held from 10pm – 6am, the aim is to use sport to reduce social issues such as conflict and crime. In order for the program to continue, Laureus use large corporate sponsors to fund coaches, venue hire and equipment. Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen are the global partners and have both provided funding in excess of €60 million since the foundation began.

Another example can be seen with Street League, a football program that uses sport to engage youth in education, training and work. Youths from 16 – 24 attend the program which requires each individual to complete two hours in the classroom and two hours on the football field. The program has several partners such as Barclays, Capital One and Hyundai, helping support the interaction with over 1,000 young people each year.

Corporate sponsorship is demonstrating the substantial value and potential to the economy this platform can deliver, over and above traditional motivational aims. Nowhere is this more prominent than with grassroots sport. Due to the government’s policy change and grassroots funding cut, sponsorship is displaying a stark example of how it is bridging the gap where the government has left. If sponsorship wasn’t providing these resources and subsequent opportunities, young people would not take part in sport.


Wales Rally GB Powers Ahead With Shell 7th August, 2015

Wales Rally GB is delighted to announce that Shell will be the Official Fuels and Lubricants Partner to the British round of the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship (12-15 November), brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

Shell has a long and successful history competing at the highest level of global motor sport. In the FIA World Rally Championship Shell has a well-established Technical Partnership with Hyundai Motorsport, supplying the team with Shell Helix Ultra lubricants. The collaboration with Wales Rally GB represents another valuable platform for Shell to showcase its technology leadership, using motor sport as the ultimate product development test bed.

Last year, Shell supported Wales Rally GB’s ‘Rally Legend’ programme, which honoured legendary ace Ari Vatanen who – together with co-driver Terry Harryman – had famously won Rally GB exactly 30 years earlier in 1984.

“We are delighted to welcome Shell as an official partner to Wales Rally GB,” said Ben Taylor, Managing Director of Wales Rally GB. “Last year, we were able to leverage Shell’s amazing heritage in the sport but this year it is all about the modern day and the company’s exciting Technical Partnership with Hyundai.

“This event is growing quickly in profile and the endorsement of a company such as Shell lends further credibility to the ambitions we have for the rally in the coming years.”

A full range of tickets for Wales Rally GB is now on sale, offering considerable savings for those booking in advance, while access to the Deeside Service Park is free of charge. The latest event and ticket information is available on the official WalesRallyGB.com website.

For further updates, follow Wales Rally GB on Twitter @walesrallygb or join the conversations on Facebook at www.facebook.com/walesrallygb.

 


Can too many Sponsors Dilute a Rights-Holder’s Brand? 22nd August, 2013

In sports leagues around the world, success on the field is ultimately driven by commercial revenue. As a consequence, their response has been to bring in sponsors to help facilitate the gap in funding.  But this growing emphasis upon sponsorship has left many people asking – are too many sponsors diluting the right-holder’s brand?

Sponsors make the brand more vibrant

When discussing the ever increasing number of sponsors in sport, it would be hard not to mention Manchester United, having just signed another spread of partners across the globe. The club has recently signed the Indonesian tyre producer bringing the club’s sponsorship total to 33. It begs to ask the question – are these sponsors devaluing the Manchester United brand?

Jonathan Rigby CM for MU, has rejected that the club has anywhere near reached its limit. He states that by implementing a local model amongst the 77 countries they have sponsors in currently, they are appealing to each fan individually, making the brand more vibrant and producing a follow on effect which will ultimately benefit all sponsors involved.

This certainly seems to be the case when you look at their operating profit, which has increased this year by 13.7%. The club has also just signed a new shirt deal worth nearly £500 million over 8 years, increasing their commercial sponsorship revenue to £118 million annually.

More value lies in fewer partners

In comparison, Juventus believe going the other way is more rewarding. The club believes that having valuable relationships with fewer brands will bring you more credibility amongst your following, and as a result will lead to greater financial weight behind the deals. This is the case for Jeep who is currently their headline sponsor, and one of 15 corporate partners.  In a public image driven market, and where it is only public interest which governs your reach; keeping it close to home can be seen as vital.

It’s the end product that matters

Brands enter into sponsorship for a multitude of reasons, but generally speaking, brands sponsor rights-holders for the audience, exposure, association and to fulfill their own brand objectives.  For rights-holders, one of the main things they rely upon, aside from funding, is the fans/ their audience.  As a platform, sponsorship allows both the rights-holder and brand to connect to their audience in a wholly tailored way.

The focus, therefore, shouldn’t be based on the amount of sponsors, but upon the end product – what the partnership has created for the fan, the overall experience and the club. MU’s model works because it has such a wide fan base and global sponsorship platform that allows them to associate with their following in all corners of the world. Juventus, on the other hand, has had success through its emphasis upon a few partners that have a strong affiliation to the club, keeping it close to home allows them to stay true to both the sponsor and the rights-holder’s objectives.

The Outcome

So long as the sponsorship is delivered and is aligned to the brand’s objectives and these objectives align with those of the rights-holder, the end product should ultimately benefit both club and sponsor.  Dilution of the brand will come when parties lose sight of their overall objective.

Slingshot Sponsorship signs Carphone Warehouse as Headline Sponsor of Award-Winning Spring Online Campaign 18th February, 2013

Digital Unite has announced that Carphone Warehouse will act as headline sponsor for Spring Online, one of the nation’s largest, annual digital inclusion campaigns which runs between April 22-26 2013.

Over 7.5million people have never used the internet, of which around 6.5 million are aged over 55 years and many more don’t have basic online skills such as searching the web and sending and receiving emails. Spring Online is an award-winning campaign that provides a unique platform to help people understand, explore and enjoy digital technology. The campaign supports people and individuals to throw open their doors and hold free digital taster events for their local communities. This year, around 2,500 Spring Online events are expected to be held across the UK helping thousands of older people and other less confident users, to take their first steps online.

Carphone Warehouse’s CEO, Andrew Harrison, said: “We are delighted to support Digital Unite’s Spring Online campaign which complements our vision to help make people’s lives better through technology. Digital exclusion is something we all should be addressing and with our presence on every high street coupled with friendly, knowledgeable store colleagues, we’re ideally placed to facilitate this leading initiative. Furthermore, this campaign compliments our other corporate responsibility activity, Tablets for Schools, and of course our own Geek Squad.”

Now in its 12th year, Digital Unite’s Spring Online campaign has been instrumental in successfully helping tens of thousands of people make digital technology a part of their everyday lives. Joyce, a previous Spring Online attendee, was moved to tears when she saw photographs online of where she used to live.  “I never knew you could see things like this on the internet, this is wonderful, coming here today was the best thing I could have done.”

The local community approach of the campaign also enables people to integrate with the resources and support closely available to them and helps to enhance the foundations of a more connected society. Carphone Warehouse’s sponsorship of the Spring Online campaign will be administered by Digital Unite’s charitable arm, the Digital Unite Trust.

Emma Solomon OBE, Founder of Digital Unite expressed: “We are absolutely thrilled to have Carphone Warehouse as our headline sponsor for Spring Online this year. Having access to digital technology and being equipped with the skills to use it, is a must-have in today’s digital society. It enables people to become more active citizens and more discerning consumers and it can also help to reduce loneliness and open new avenues to pursue hobbies and interests.

With the fantastic support of our event holders Spring Online has helped to reach tens of thousands of people from a wide cross-section of society and inspired them to make digital technology an everyday part of their lives. Having Carphone Warehouse on board with us for 2013 will undoubtedly help to extend the reach and impact of the campaign even further and we look forward to making this the best year yet.”

Awards Programmes & Sponsorship: A Winning Combination 29th February, 2012

Awards programmes provide a unique opportunity to celebrate excellence across each and every area of a particular sector. Recognising those who are leading the way ensures the promotion of forward thinking, encouraging the overall progression of an industry.

In establishing a respected awards platform, an opportunity is naturally presented for organisations to sponsor the programme and be seen to support the leaders of their market place.

An association with those leading the way will always emphasise, and potentially enhance, an organisation’s reputation within their respective industry. Therefore awards platforms are often the first place to look when considering sponsorship opportunities, especially in the B2B arena.

Benefits of Awards Programme Sponsorship

  • Media institution association: Many major awards platforms are hosted by key publishers and media institutions within the industry e.g. Haymarket’s What Car? Car of the Year Awards, the most recognised awards programme within the UK automotive industry. Being recognised as the most respected publication for car reviews, the Car of the Year Awards was a natural progression in the acknowledgment of engineering innovation. Being the go-to brand for decision making on new car purchases, the awards not only provide the opportunity to partner with the automotive sector’s elite, but also allows for association with the authority on the industry.

  • Targeted sponsorship: Via category sponsorships, brands have the chance to associate with a specific area of the industry, whether it be a smaller brand aiming to gain brand awareness amongst the industry’s major players, or a larger organisation looking to highlight key performance areas. In doing so, brands also have the exclusive opportunity to network and establish a future relationship with both the winner and all shortlisted companies within their respective categories.

  • Networking: Award ceremonies provide the rare chance for all key brands within a particular market place to be in one place at the same time, therefore allowing for invaluable lobbying opportunities for all sponsors with the front runners of the industry.

Additional Revenue Streams

Although quite expensive to implement, awards platforms can prove to be a strong additional source of revenue when properly executed, offering an array of sponsorship assets and the opportunity for truly integrated partnerships. However, many organisers are yet to realise the full commercial potential of their awards programmes, simply sticking to the traditional revenue streams of ticket sales and basic sponsorship packages with partners only receiving the usual branding and standard PR presence around their involvement.

However, there are in fact a whole host of additional assets that can be added to the sponsorship offerings of an awards programme. The following are just a handful of ways in which value can be added:

  • Sponsored shortlist announcements: Being shortlisted for an award is still a major achievement and so the announcement is highly anticipated. This therefore presents an ideal opportunity for brands to get their name in the spotlight, as announcements are sure to be covered by all major industry media titles.

  • Ownership of on-site properties: In addition to headline and category sponsorships, there is the opportunity to break down the event by area e.g. VIP receptions and press lounges or even creating on-site brand experiences.

  • Luncheons: These events provide the opportunity to build hype leading up to the main event, whilst giving sponsors the chance to network with key awards stakeholders i.e. judges, comperes and major industry opinion formers.

  • Consumer promotions/competitions: Depending on the market place, sponsors can be given the opportunity to run sales promotions and competitions, presenting the opportunity for consumers to attend the awards and meet the stars of the industry.

  • Exclusive access: Awards shows are notoriously exclusive and sponsorship therefore provides the opportunity for brands to act as a gateway to exclusive content, including interviews, speeches, photos, performances and more.

With brands now adopting a much more integrated approach to sponsorship, it is crucial for rights holders to fully evaluate the assets offered to sponsors and allow brands to maximise their involvement with the platform as well as provide sufficient marketing channels for them to communicate their sponsorship activity.

By introducing new and innovative ways for brands to activate their association with an awards programme, the sponsorship can be developed from association with a single event to a year-round partnership, adding significant value at minimal expense either the rights holder or the brand.

My Top 5 Sponsorship Campaigns 4th January, 2012

In the ever-busy world of brand marketing, using the strength of brand partnerships to forge new channels and platforms is essential to generating sales, showcasing the brand and in some cases uniting millions.  Here are just five of my favourites:

1. Jay-Z & Bing – ‘Decoded’

With Jay-Z’s autobiography ‘Decoded’ due to be launched in November 2010, the rap mogul teamed up with Microsoft search-engine Bing to stir up some little needed hype.

Each of the book’s 320 pages was printed and placed in a different position across 13 major cities.  Locations were selected based on the contents of each page – for example, a reference to Jay Z’s youth in Brooklyn could be placed on a Cadillac, a restaurant plate, a basketball net or even on the bottom of a swimming pool!

Utilising social media, clues were released via Facebook & Twitter revealing the location of the secret pages in a draw to compete to be the first to unlock each one of the 320 pages.  Users were driven to Bing.com/Jay Z where they were directed to specific locations, while the first people on the scene texted a code to reveal the page to the whole community.  Within a month of the campaign going live, users had unlocked every single page of the book before it was even available for sale.

Bing received an 11.7% increase of visitors while the campaign was live with an average player engagement of 11 minutes.  Jay Z’s Facebook page received 1 million ‘likes’ in under a month and his autobiography reached 3rd in the New York Times Best Seller list.

The level of detail that went into turning every single page of Jay Z’s book into a real life installation was staggering, completely integrating and engaging the content of the book with readers.  Unlike most interactive campaigns where the user’s interaction ends at the computer screen, ‘Decode’ actively encouraged the consumer to venture out into the world and sample Jay Z’s life in person.  All sections of media were used, giving the individual a rich and unique understanding of Jay Z’s life that a purely internet-based campaign couldn’t have done.  Through Jay Z, Bing created the biggest online game the world has even seen.

2. Ralph Lauren & The New York Times

In September 2011, Ralph Lauren bought out a one-month, solo sponsorship of the New York Times iPad application.  The app takeover included online shopping, videos, a letter from Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren’s car collection, poems, details of how Ralph Lauren jewellery is made and the principles of the brand’s craftsmanship.  An online shopping bag, built directly into the app’s adverts, allowed consumers to shop straight away, rather than having to click through to a website – essentially making it easier than ever to buy Ralph Lauren.

This partnership highlights the failure of countless companies to fully utilise what’s available to them when they form a brand relationship.  Amongst the online shopping the reader is drawn to the beautiful imagery, the highly detailed information about the production of the clothes, and interesting little known facts about Ralph Lauren himself.  At no stage do you ever feel as though you are being led down the path to purchase.  It is always a gentle stroll, past a wonderfully crafted tweed suit, before you reach the checkout.

3. McDonald’s & 2008 Beijing Olympics – ‘Cheer For China’

With large sections of the Chinese population finding the Games remote and out-of-reach McDonald’s developed united sponsorship initiatives under the slogan  “Cheer for China”, which allowed the nation to become part of the Chinese Olympic dream.  In-store cheering stations, viral videos, interactive/click through banners and celebrity blog partnerships were just some of the ways that the ‘everyman’ was encouraged to participate in this episode of people power.

Through the cheering stations and online entries, the 10 best cheerers were chosen to take part in ‘The Cheer For China Online Reality Show’ that attracted over 7 million unique visitors to its website.  To conclude the show, the 10 best cheerers were whittled down to 5 winners who led 1,200 people at the Olympic Stadium to set a new Guinness World Record.  Throughout the campaign the Cheer For China website had over 25 million unique visitors and 1.2 million cheering entries.

This campaign illustrates how a well-thought out and flawlessly executed brand partnership can quite literally change a nation.  Faced with Olympic indifference millions of people, from Guangzhou to Changchun, were instilled with the Olympic spirit – no mean feat for an American fast-food chain.

The multi-pronged approach of the campaign also ensured that it didn’t fizzle out – once all the cheering entries were in, a fly on the wall documentary emerged, which preceded winners dancing  in the Olympic stadium setting a new world record.  Continuity was key and ensured that the entire nation not only cheered for China, but continued to do so long after the Games were finished.

4. The National Theatre & Phillips ‘Sense and Simplicity’

In 2007 The National Theatre teamed up with Phillips to help reduce the amount of electricity that the Southbank location used.  This partnership saw Phillips replace and enhance the National Theatre’s internal lighting system with state of the art, energy-efficient design costing approximately £500,000.  In addition to the immediate visual improvements in the theatre, the long term aims were to reduce the amount of energy of lighting up the iconic ‘fly towers’ by 70%, which in turn will save £100,000 a year.

While this campaign may not have everyone marvelling at its ingenuity, the simplicity allowed consumers to fully engage with the campaign and helped both organisations achieve more together.  The National Theatre was able to produce more productions and Phillips utilised a highly targeted audience platform to showcase their exceptionally high-quality lighting.  In addition, a substantial amount of energy will have been saved by the end of the 5 year deal, paving the way for other heavily lit buildings in the city to focus on their own energy consumption.

5. Emirates Airline & Transport For London

With Transport for London’s state-of-the-art cable car more than doubling its budget in a year (from £25 – £60 million), Fly Emirates intervened in what was one of the shrewdest sponsorship moves of 2011.

The 10-year deal costing Emirates £36 million provides the Dubai based airline naming rights on what is bound to be one of the focal points for the London Olympics.  It will be the first urban cable car of its kind in the UK, connecting Greenwich Peninsular over the river with the Royal Docks.  The new system could provide a crossing every 30 seconds carrying up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, equivalent to the capacity of 50 buses.  Users will be able to pay with oyster cards, as they travel at a minimum height of 52m over the Thames.

With the travel concerns high amongst visitors as well as residents, the Emirates Cable Car will not only be highly publicised, but also one of the few central transportation links.  In addition, it will remain a prominent part of the capital’s skyline for decades. Greenwich has a constant stream of tourists, throughout the year, who will all want to take a ride and witness the panoramic views that the cable car offers.  As a result, Emirates’ brand will be directly showcased to a large portion of the 30 million international visitors the capital attracts annually long after the London Olympics have left.