Tag: Sponsorship

Caterham Cars appoints Slingshot as Sponsorship Agency 30th April, 2012

Caterham Cars has appointed Slingshot Sponsorship to activate all commercial opportunities outside the Caterham F1 Team activity.

Slingshot will implement an extensive sponsorship strategy, including brand marketing partnerships, endorsement deals, licensing, corporate experience days, and much more.

The aim of the partnership is to create unique properties that can leverage the Company’s profile, and enhance the brand’s global appeal, capitalising on the brand’s entry into Formula One earlier this year.

Ansar Ali, Chief Executive of Caterham Cars, said:

We are thrilled to be working with Slingshot Sponsorship as their unique services complement the ambitious objectives of our brand, particularly now we are part of the Caterham Group.

As a British sportscar brand with the iconic Seven at the heart of our business, I have always felt we have much to offer brand partners, particularly through our motorsport and drive experience operations. Now, as part of the Caterham Group, we have so much more to offer in terms of value and brand awareness, and Slingshot Sponsorship is the right partner to deliver and leverage the commercial partnerships.

Motorsport is at the heart of Caterham Cars, with the Seven the original ‘race car for the road’; over 700 competitors racing the iconic model today in 11 countries around the world is testimony to this.

The acquisition of Caterham Cars by Tony Fernandes in 2011 and the Caterham F1 Team’s presence in Formula One has propelled the British brand to the forefront of a global audience.

With increased public and media attention from the Caterham brand’s first season in F1 and a recent track record of robust financial results, the company is now looking to further leverage its commercial activities. Caterham plans to facilitate this through Slingshot Sponsorship’s expertise in building existing assets into commercially-sustainable sponsorship platforms.

Furthermore, Caterham Cars also continues to reinvent motorsport following the recent announcement of a Caterham Motorsport-run karting championship in 2013.

Caterham will design and develop its own F1-inspired kart and thus provide young drivers with the opportunity to take their first steps in a career, in which it will be possible to progress from grassroots racing to the pinnacle of global motorsport. In addition, the organisation of Caterham karting will benefit from the firm’s 26 years of experience in running low-cost, high-value one-make race championships.

Jackie Fast, Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship commented,

“Being able to work with a brand that is on the brink of such change and innovation is what we live for at Slingshot Sponsorship. We cannot wait to begin delivering the creative concepts and brand partnerships that will help project Caterham Cars to a wider audience of new enthusiasts. The Caterham brand creates exceptionally strong advocates, both in Britain and internationally and we hope to turn this passion for the brand into a more holistic and accessible commercial property that can deliver real value for brand partnerships.”

The London Olympics: Marking the ‘Coming of Age’ for Sponsorship 25th April, 2012

Sponsorship is undoubtedly an exciting industry to be a part of at the moment – and it’s not just due to all of the outside media attention surrounding the London Olympics and its various sponsors. Granted that some of the individual sponsorship campaigns around London 2012 are fantastic in themselves; but what stands out, from a sponsorship agency’s perspective, is the universal shift in the way brands are approaching sponsorship and the remarkable levels of engagement that brands can create from such collaborations. A wide range of companies, from British Airways to McDonald’s, have launched a series of highly interactive campaigns designed specifically to get the customer using, tasting, watching, listening and experiencing their products through the Olympic platform.

Have these campaigns only come about because the need for cut through and ROI is so vital due to the high investment of the Olympic sponsorship rights? Are creative sponsorship campaigns only to be seen during this period before reverting back to the more ‘conventional’ strands of sponsorship, such as branding & hospitality?

Unlike naysayers in the industry, I believe that the sponsorship campaigns being created are the culmination of a growing trend of brands realising that well-positioned partnerships can offer far more engagement with a highly targeted audience across multiple media channels, than straight advertising or PR alone.

Cadbury’s activation of its Olympic sponsorship rights is a great illustration of this shift. The ‘Spot vs Stripes’ competition encompasses all forms of marketing and engages with the public far more than an advertisement campaign ever could. In fact, it all started with an advert – a 2 minute spectacle of animated marine-creatures, divided up into spots and stripes, participating in an underwater frenzy of Olympic-esque competition. Viewers were then urged to logon (spotsvsstripes.com) to join a team and compete in online games and earn points for their given side. Players could also earn points through taking part in physical competitions, like crazy golf, as well as downloading games to play offline. Hundreds of thousands of people took up the challenge and interacted with the Cadbury’s brand, albeit without a chocolate bar in sight!

When the focus point of this campaign – the Cadbury’s Challenge Bar – hit the shelves everyone had already chosen sides and was fully familiarised with the concept, guaranteeing cut-through to an audience that otherwise may have been reluctant to try another new Cadbury’s product. The bar itself, was divided up into 3 pieces; one piece each with spots or stripes on, with the middle piece tobe contested for via further games printed on the inside of the wrapper. The winner of the game won the middle piece and was also able to claim points back for their given side online.

From start to finish, this sponsorship activation campaign was a huge success. Cadbury’s capitalised on their partnership with the Olympics through interaction and competition – engaging with their audience through digital, social and physical.

This is the future of sponsorship.

Outlook Festival appoints Slingshot Sponsorship as exclusive agency 23rd April, 2012

Outlook Festival – Winners of the ‘Best International Festival’ at the Festival Awards– have appointed Slingshot Sponsorship as their exclusive sponsorship agency.

Slingshot Sponsorship will work closely with the Croatian-based event to increase awareness and commercial revenue through the creation of sponsorship opportunities as well as creating new digital brand partnerships. Keen to preserve the traditional values of the Outlook Festival, Slingshot Sponsorship will ensure sponsors are carefully incorporated into the fabric of the event, adding value to the 15,000 festival goers at the event and the millions of music lovers who engage with the Outlook brand online throughout the year.

Jackie Fast, Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship, commented:

We are thrilled to be working with Outlook Festival this year. They epitomise how growing organically and being true to a brand can create advocates exponentially. This is a fantastic opportunity for brands to be involved with an influential music festival in Croatia – not to mention UK brands building relationships prior to Croatia’s acceptance into the EU in 2013. The potential for audience engagement is like no other festival currently in the market because of their digital capabilities, making it an amazing platform for brands to be involved with.

Only in its fifth year, Outlook is already regarded as the biggest bass music festival in Europe, featuring the most prestigious names in the most cutting-edge dances across the globe. Acts already confirmed include Fat Freddy’s Drop, Skream, Digital Mystikz & Andy C with many more to follow, ensuring 2012 will top the incredibly high standards Outlook sets itself each year.

Johnny Scratchley, Founder of Outlook Festival commented:

I’m very excited to now be working with Slingshot Sponsorship, they have the perfect ethos for us as a festival and are expert inthe new areas of media we are currently focusing on.

Music Festival Sponsorship: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 17th April, 2012

We have been talking a lot about music sponsorship here at Slingshot. Mainly because we are knee-deep in a couple of very exciting music projects, but also because everyone is gearing up for festival season. Mostly I have been consumed with which festival to go to for our agency’s second birthday, but I have also been having some interesting conversations with both brands and rights holders on what is coming up this year and the current state of music festival sponsorship.

The Good

Festival sponsorship has always been a great platform for brand engagement – especially in the UK market with the English music lover’s ability to bare rain, sun, sleet, and a muddy tent with a smile on their face. It not only provides the perfect atmosphere for a receptive audience, but also the space to really leverage brand experiences. Festival-goers walk away with memories they cherish forever, which can provide a significant amount of brand recall for future years to come. Consider V Festival – the name so synonymous with Virgin Media it surprises many when you find out they don’t actually own this festival, but just act as the Headline Sponsors.

The Bad

Because festival s has been such a great sponsorship platform, brands have flocked in droves – creating a cluttered market. Instead of engaging with a couple brands, festival goers are often bombarded by marketing messages,samples, activations, offers and more. One festival had so many pre-sale sponsors that most people didn’t know where to purchase tickets and so opted to not do it, which consequently saw the festival getting cancelled as they couldn’t underwrite the loss nor project the future sales of tickets for a show that saw a disjointed initial promotion.

The Ugly

Not only are festivals becoming more cluttered making it difficult for brands to ensure cut through, more festivals are entering the market and then being cancelled for a variety of reasons (see above). This creates nervousness for Marketing Directors who really need to be confident that their marketing budget is safe and working for them. Plans, resources, campaigns are in place well in advance and having a significant portion of their plans cancelled at the last minute is just not an option in the current economic climate where budgets are scrutinised and sometimes wrong decisions can place your job in jeopardy. Last year alone saw 42 festivals cancelled and already this year many major festivals are also calling in the towel.

But all is not lost!

This is not to say that sponsoring music festivals is a bad idea – far from it. But there needs to be careful consideration into which music festivals brands do choose to partner with and also a solid strategy in which to activate. When both the brands and the rights owners work together amazing potentials can be created and tend to drive not only the experience for the muddied music lover, but also create brand advocates and sustain the festivals that can deliver these innovative types of sponsorship collaborations.

Red Bull Car on TRACKER's stand at Commercial Vehicle Show 16th April, 2012

Having teamed up with TRACKER to manage their logistical requirements for the Commercial Vehicle Show, Slingshot Sponsorship are excited to announce the presence of the Red Bull RB6 Formula 1 on stand 3A10. Stand visitors can also enter into a prize draw to win two tickets to the F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone, as well as a tour for two at the Red Bull factory, in Milton Keynes.

TRACKER, a leading telematics and vehicle tracking expert in the UK, will also be unveiling groundbreaking, patented technology and its fleet telematics used by Red Bull Racing to control their costs and focus on the safety of its team.

F1 World Champions Red Bull Racing combines its dedicated and passionate transport and logistics team with the expertise of TRACKER, its fleet telematics partner to ensure the Red Bull Racing team stays on the winner’s podium.

Red Bull Racing’s Formula One design and engineering team, Red Bull Technology, need to ensure the fleet is running as efficiently as possible in order to make vehicle, parts, equipment and team deliveries across Europe. But this all has to be balanced with a constant focus on safety and duty of care responsibilities, which is a challenge when time is in short supply.

With a fleet of 23 vehicles in the UK and across Europe, Red Bull Technology harnesses the power of TRACKER’s fleet telematics solution to deliver a detailed view of driver behaviour and fuel usage across each vehicle. This allows Transport Manager for Red Bull Technology, Ed Porter, to monitor speeds, journey routes and the general whereabouts of the fleet team.

Ed Porter, Transport Manager for Red Bull Technology explains:

I need to be able to manage a fleet that is spread across Europe, keeping in control of what is happening throughout the day without compromising the efficiency of the fleet. The nature of the Formula One industry is that we need everything yesterday, making time the most valuable commodity for me and my team. If I could buy time, I would, but TRACKER’s fleet tracking system goes a long way in helping me make the best of the time I have

Stephen Doran, Managing Director for TRACKER adds:

This is an exciting opportunity for people to come and see the Red Bull Formula 1 car at the Commercial Vehicle Show. We are also giving visitors to the TRACKER stand a chance to walk away with an amazing prize. And of course, the TRACKER team will be on hand to demonstrate the potential benefits our fleet tracking solutions can provide commercial vehicle fleet managers.

TRACKER Showcases New Technology At 2012 Commercial Vehicle Show 12th April, 2012

Leading provider of vehicle tracking services, TRACKER is showcasing its groundbreaking, patented technology at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show, on 24-26 April, at Birmingham’s NEC. Head to stand#3A10 to see firsthand the new level of data available with TRACKER Fleet and how TRACKER’s new battery-powered units provide fleet operators with a robust and flexible solution for valuable assets without a power source, including trailers.

TRACKER Fleet is a completely re-engineered product which, crucially, has been designed following a comprehensive consultation programme with TRACKER’s existing fleet customers, as well as potential users of fleet telematics. TRACKER Fleet provides important cost-saving benefits by identifying fuel inefficiency and supplying insight into driver and business behaviour and boasts a flexible reporting suite that can be customised to meet the specific needs of each of its customers.

One delighted TRACKER Fleet user is Northgate Vehicle Hire, which has been a customer of TRACKER for over 10 years and is experiencing the power of TRACKER Fleet. Stuart Fairbrother, Head of Non-Rental Sales says:

We are reaping the benefits of TRACKER Fleet for both our customers and our own service fleet of 60 vehicles. Our customers have been crying out for enhanced vehicle and driver behaviour information and TRACKER Fleet provides just that and more, invaluable information to both Northgate and our customers. TRACKER Fleet’s new mapping system incorporates advanced Google maps, such as Street View with a route replay function, which is a standout piece of technology. We have been able to use mapping to understand exactly where our service vehicles are and where they are needed. Crucially, we have harnessed the telematics data to reduce vehicle delivery times to improve upon our customer service levels.

Vital to TRACKER Fleet’s evolution has been the addition of new technology, such as its unique patented Transient Voltage Detection technology, which eliminates the need to connect to a vehicle ignition to allow for more accurate ‘idling’ readings. TRACKER Fleet even offers battery powered modules to ensure assets which have no built-in power supply, such as mobile units and trailers, can be monitored.

All these features have proved invaluable for Clancy Group, operating a fleet of over 1,500 vehicles and 10,000 items of plant. Bernie Stack, Associate Director for Clancy Plant Hire Ltd explains:

TRACKER’s telematics product has become an integral part of our business, providing detailed information on speeding, idling, driver hours, journey times and mileage. We are still finding new benefits the system can bring to our business and help look after the wellbeing of our drivers.

Apex Plant Hire has also embraced TRACKER’s fleet telematics offering. This enables them to monitor usage on and off-site, helping them meet employee Duty of Care legislation and increase efficiency.

David Marriott at Apex Plant Hire adds:

With TRACKER’s telematics on our HGV vehicles, we’ve been able to improve our day-to-day business practices which has boost customer service and fleet performance levels. The system locates the position of all our vehicles, allowing us to deploy the nearest vehicle to the next rental booking. We can also see if a job is running behind schedule without our drivers having to call in with updates, which means we can take action and enhance the level of customer service we provide.

Stephen Doran, Managing Director of TRACKER concludes:

We are looking forward to bringing TRACKER Fleet to the Commercial Vehicle Show. This product marks our commitment to continually developing and enhancing our products to meet the changing needs of our customers. Visitors to our stand will see how they can harness the power of TRACKER Fleet to ensure vehicles keep moving, while improving efficiency and reducing cost.

Slingshot Sponsorship team up with Oslo-based agency BITE for the Red Bull Cliff Diving Series 2012 20th March, 2012

Slingshot Sponsorship, the London based sponsorship agency, will work closely with their Scandinavian colleagues BITE to manage the sponsorship for the Red Bull Cliff Diving Series in Grimstad, Norway. The sponsorship and brand management specialists have combined to create commercialopportunities around the event – one of only 6 World Series Competitions worldwide – that add real value for both brands and the spectators.

The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2012 returns to Norway on 6-7^th July – two years after Kragero hosted the country’s first Red Bull Cliff Diving competition. The World Series is high diving at its most death-defying – an acrobatic descent into water from heights of up to 28m. Once in the air, the divers have approximately three seconds to coordinate their movements before they break the surface of the water at around 100kph (60mph).

Julian Gursky, Head of Events & Sports at Red Bull Norway commented:

We are excited to try a new combination of an international sponsor management approach for our cliff diving world championship stop in Grimstad, Norway by assigning the allied agencies BITE Agency and Slingshot Sponsorship to this challenge

Prospective sponsors will be fully integrated with the two-day event, in Grimstad, as well as during the 21-day day pre-tour, incorporating six cities across Norway, offering ample opportunities for activation, sampling, branding and online promotions. They will also have rights to footage shot over the two days, giving access to some truly unique content.

Jackie Fast, Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship commented:

The Red Bull Cliff Diving sponsorship platform is a great example of how brand platforms can be monetised. The Slingshot and BITE expertise of sponsorship and branding creates the perfect combination of services to really leverage these types of brand partnerships effectively. We are looking forward to launching this service with Red Bull!

Managing Director of BITE Robert Leinders-Krog also commented:

Approaching this local platform from an international perspective will both increase opportunities and give us a global brand activation arena – executed locally. Exciting times.

For more information on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series please click here.

The Evolution of Sponsorship: speaking at Bournemouth University 14th March, 2012

I was recently asked to present at the sixth annual Mike Warne Annual Marketing Communications Lecture at Bournemouth University in partnership with the CIM. My presentation was titled The Evolution of Sponsorship: A Sponsorship Agency Perspective (view on SlideShare here).

Arriving at Bournemouth University, not only was I amazed at how crowded the lecture hall was, but more importantly amazed they managed to secure a sponsor for their event – an energy drink Little Miracles. I was truly impressed by the whole evening!

My presentation provided a view of how sponsorship is shifting alongside the shift in marketing – how one way communications are now two way communications and what that means for the sponsorship industry. How traditional forms of sponsorship are becoming integrated messages utilising multiple platforms and how this development in integration is creating loyalty and cut through amongst the many consumer brand messages we receive each day. As a sponsorship agency, one of the areas we often discuss is how sponsorship is more than just signing off on the sponsorship proposal and ensuring that your logo is placed on the right billboard. Although this does form part of sponsorship, it can be so much more – truly uncovering synergies between brands to create something truly unique. For some examples of great sponsorship campaigns make sure to check out the Coca-Cola Polar Bowl and the JayZ & Bing collaboration.

The keynote of the evening was Jeff Dodds, Executive Marketing Director of Brand and Marketing Communications at Virgin Media, whose presentation showcased not only their sponsorship platforms, but more importantly uncovered the reasons behind why they chose to invest in those specific platforms. Alongside my favourite answer of WWRD (what would Richard do?), Jeff explained how sponsorship was used to demonstrate how being a Virgin Media customer and leading the Virgin Media life is better than leading their competitors. They activated this through the experiences that Virgin Media customers receive during their sponsored events – for example, Virgin Media customers receive VIP access and free stuff at V Festival just by being a customer. This is an excellent example showcasing how sponsorship can be used to increase loyalty and develop brand experiences beyond logos.

To get a complete run through of the event and what was discussed make sure to read Rebecca Crafts Blog here.

Sponsorship Sales: Make a Lasting Impression 8th March, 2012

So, your consumers and audience have been audited, your assets valuated and your sales materials designed. Now the time comes to really nail down specific brands that you will be approaching with your proposal. This is often not thought through. Far too often, rights holders are not taking into consideration the actual likelihood of the brand wanting to partner with the property or the brand’s objectives, this leading to a significant amount of time being wasted in getting knocked back by brands with little interest in discussing the opportunity.

This blog provides a brief insight into how to adopt an improved, more streamlined and strategic sales approach allowing you to encourage qualitative conversations, save time in approaching irrelevant prospects, close deals faster, improve sales staff morale and generally increase sponsorship revenue on the whole.

Sales Preparation

Prospect lists: It is easy to rush this process and simply name all brands within sponsorship categories that may be of relevance to your property. For example, motorsport lends itself to brands looking to promote the idea of luxury and wealth and/or simply raise awareness on a mass scale as a result of the sport’s extensive global following. Sponsorship categories therefore tend to consist of such brand areas as alcohol, telecoms, financial institutions, insurance, watches and consumer electronics to name those most prominent within the sport today.

Simply listing all brands within each of these categories without really looking into whether they will actually consider the opportunity can be highly time-inefficient and will also hinder the sales approach as the knowledge of each brand will not be deep enough to hold a sales conversation regarding how this opportunity is going to help this brand in particular.

Sales

A tailored approach: Take the brand’s objectives into consideration – there is nothing more off-putting than a generic call which screams “you are the 100^th prospect I have approached today.” Although initially being more time consuming, researching company and brand objectives will allow for a more engaging and qualitative conversation, giving your contact the incentive to find out more.

As a sales person, this is also much more satisfying than repeating the same old spiel to each prospect you speak to. Taking a thought-out approach will also prepare you to be more responsive when asked, “how exactly do you see us (the brand) getting involved?”

Little details: Research the prospect’s previous activity and make note of some specific points that relate to the platform you are offering. This will show that you have really considered the company and have a good knowledge of what direction they are looking to take the brand in.

Build a rapport: From first contact to signing on the dotted line, most deals will generally require a number of calls and meetings, so try to establish a rapport with your contacts from the get go. Be sure to make notes of any personal comments they have made, plans they have coming up, comments about their day, which football team they support – anything that can be brought forward to the next conversation will help emphasise the fact that you are being considerate of both them and their brand.

Also, keep it in mind that the opportunity you are presenting will be equally beneficial to both parties (the rights holders and the brand) and so a call should take the format of a conversation rather than a one-way sales pitch. By being personable, upbeat and positive, you will project the fact that you believe in your project as a sponsorship platform.

Relevant opportunities: Certain sponsorship opportunities will appeal more to different audiences. For example, financial institutions that rely on consumer trust loyalty may be more interested in hospitality in order to build and deepen their customer relationship. Alternatively, car manufacturers may be keen on utilising online and social media integration, exclusive content and promotions and competitions to build awareness of new product launches.

Feedback: Many disinterested brands will tend to simply state that the opportunity is not relevant to them, providing no further feedback. However, you should always try to ask for more detail on what their current objectives are, how they currently market themselves, and what sponsorships they may look to be involved with in the future. This will give you a better idea of how similar brands may react and how to deal with it as well as give you some key information about the company’s marketing activity. This may prove useful as it may be that they are more suited to one of your alternative platforms.

Sales are often looked at as the most difficult and daunting part of the sponsorship acquisition process; however when it comes to selling your proposal, it is important to remember that if you have a strong property with suitable lead time, are approaching the relevant brands and taking a strategic approach, securing sponsors should be a piece of cake. Just remember, Slingshot Sponsorship is here to help with the rest… and sales too!

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