Tag: sponsorship platform

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?

Leverage vs. Rights: The Evolution of Sponsorship Spend 19th July, 2012

A weekend showcasing two of this year’s biggest boxing showdowns has prompted a blog looking further into sponsorship’s very own rights holder rivalry: the niche underdog versus the undisputed mass appeal property.

As sponsorship history goes, the large-scale established property has always been the primary choice for bigger brands to use as a marketing platform with such rights holders offering more exposure, better hospitality and a more expansive opportunity for activation than the smaller properties out there. However, brands are beginning to adopt a new approach by increasingly taking the power in their own hands via focusing investment towards leverage. No brand has received more success in this area of marketing than Red Bull. By taking ownership of smaller, less mainstream, properties from breakdancing to cliff-diving, the energy drink has been able to take control of brand messaging; completely tailoring their sponsorship, and the property, towards the values of their target demographic. With such success in publicising their presence within the actions sports arena, the brand has even gone one step further with the creation of Red Bull Media House, a platform allowing for extended communication of exclusive Red Bull content across TV, mobile, digital and print.

Where once it was a typical Haye vs. Chisora situation, where all bets and confidence were placed within the bigger name, brands are opening up to the concept of taking the side of the underdog, using their own financial and marketing resources to aggressively infiltrate the market, creating a more Garcia vs. Khan type scenario.

Despite 22% of global sponsors only investing in pure sponsorship rights with no leverage, the ratio of activation investment compared to rights currently stands at an all-time high of 1.7:1. So what is the reasoning behind brands shifting investment towards leveraging their sponsorships? Quite simply, when executed properly, activation spend is inextricably linked to return on investment. The more relevant a brand can make itself to an audience’s personal interests, the more likely the audience is going to buy into the concept. By working its way into the lifestyle fabric of a key demographic, a brand will naturally become the preferred choice among the numerous options available to the consumer.

As an energy drink, Red Bull has created a brand image that personifies stimulation and rebellion, pushing the boundaries in everything they do and showcasing the product’s core function on a truly emotional level. This innovative approach has in turn ensured that the original energy drink has continued to dominate the market, with competitors from Monster to Relentless all playing catch-up to Red Bull’s 42% market share – a true testament to the benefits of sponsorship leverage.

Slingshot Sponsorship win agency contract with Autosport for 2012 19th January, 2012

Autosport, the authority on motorsport, has appointed Slingshot Sponsorship to develop and implement a new sponsorship strategy for the 2012 Autosport Awards. Slingshot is briefed to increase awareness and commercial value for the event through the creation of additional opportunities and sponsorship platforms throughout the year.

Rob Aherne, Publisher at Autosport:

“We are delighted to be working with Slingshot Sponsorship on the Autosport Awards. They have proven themselves to be a vibrant company with lots of ideas about driving our event forward commercially, and we look forward to making plenty of progress together.”

Held every December at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane, the Autosport Awards are voted for by the readers and attended by the biggest names in motorsport including Formula 1, Motorsport GP, British Rallying & World Rally Championships. Winners of the International Racing Driver of the Year Award have included Sebastien Vettel, Jensen Button, and Lewis Hamilton.

Slingshot Sponsorship will assist Autosport with consultation and overall execution of a strategy that will attempt to forge new brand partnerships, whilst raising awareness of the programme overall for current sponsors Castrol, Mercedes-Benz, Perelli, Skoda, BMW, UBS, Parkalgar, and TW Steel.

Jackie Fast, Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship:

We can’t wait to get started with the Autosport Awards. It is a phenomenal event and can deliver real marketing value to sponsoring brands. We will be looking to enhance their current programme through the creation of additional touchpoints as well as integrating new sponsoring brands to help diversify and deliver additional value.