Tag: Sponsorship

Sport Sponsorship Accessible for All Businesses 5th March, 2012

With new multi-million pound sport sponsorship deals secured almost daily, sport sponsorship may seem to only really work or be available for big brands.  Because of this perception many businesses will not even consider incorporating sport sponsorship into their marketing mix.  However, there are options available for SME’s and they can work better than you imagined.

In this two part series, I explore how small businesses can get involved with sport sponsorship.

Part 1: The Options

Community Projects

Sporting community projects can attract big name sponsors and funding but there are still hundreds of projects in the UK that do not have the funding needed. Although huge multi-national companies such as McDonald’s lead the way in community sponsorship, this can be replicated at a local level by local business. Sponsoring your local football community project can create awareness of your company and build the same brand trust that McDonald’s strives for. Involving your business in community projects also offers a unique chance for small businesses to demonstrate a local CSR programme and show that point-of-difference to your community that will set you apart.

Local Business and Local Sport

Local businesses sponsoring their local sports team is a great way to create brand awareness in your community. Local sports rely on sponsorship to bring in funds that otherwise would not be available. Less popular sports can struggle to attract central funding as well as new players and club members. This was a problem that faced Leicester Hockey Club who in 2008 lacked the financial input to take them to the European Championships in Azerbaijan. This led to a call for help, a call which Pukka Pies duly answered, enabling the team to compete. Pukka Pies have continued their support for Leicester Hockey Club and grown with the team through brand awareness and achievements helping them to success at the European Championships held in Holland.

Korfball

Don’t be afraid to test new waters. Lesser known sports can be great platforms for sponsorship. Not many people in the UK have heard of the sport Korfball (a mixed sport similar to netball), but that didn’t stop Squashed Newt, a UK based web design company from sponsoring the Welsh National Korfball Team. A growing sport in the UK and with an impending tour to the World Championships in The Netherlands, Korfball became the sponsorship platform for Squashed Newt in spite of the sports low national profile.

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Sports sponsorship is the easiest way for local business to market themselves to their own community with guaranteed exposure to their target market. The number of sport sponsorship platforms out there is enormous, but as with major sponsorship deals branding is not enough. Part Two of this blog will explore how you can maximise your sponsorship’s potential and generate real ROI for your business.

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.

Beginner's Guide to Social Media for Small Businesses 27th February, 2012

Social media is a topic we often cover, both with clients and the sponsors we manage.  So we thought we’d provide some more insight into the most recognised platforms and more specifically how it relates to small businesses.

From a sponsorship rights holder’s perspective, providing the opportunity for potential sponsors to integrate with you on social media is as important as ensuring that those channels are also engaging the audience.  And the same can be said for small businesses.

Small business owners should not expect immediate success throughsocial media.  A survey from the Chartered Institute of Marketing has revealed:  34% of 1,500 marketers questioned deemed their social media activity in 2011 was ‘not at all effective’, while only 13% said it was ‘extremely effective’.   However, small business owners should take note that the majority of those polled saw it as a tool of engagement (37%), or as support to other channels in a campaign (46%).  Having a presence on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin is unlikely to result in immediate sales.  What social media does allow you to do is promote your brand to an audience who is interested in hearing from you.

Engaging with your customers is not going to be easy and it certainly won’t happen overnight.  But if you put in an hour a day and approach it correctly you will be rewarded with subscribers, friends, or tweeps who understand who your company is, what it does and potentially why they should engage with it – hopefully leading on to them becoming brand advocates.

Whilst every company can benefit from some form of social media, not every form of social media will fit your company.  It is therefore important to choose the platform where your audience is, not the platform that may get the most press.  The main platforms small businesses are currently using:

Facebook

Set to hit 1 billion users in August, Facebook is undoubtedly the king of social media.  With the average user spending over 15 minutes generally surveying their Facebook terrain, you would think it was the perfect tool for smaller companies to engage with their target audience.  Yet a quick look and you’ll find countless business pages with 50 likes and fewer comments.  Sarah Orchard, from Orchard Marketing Associates, makes the point that:

‘Facebook is a social space, so users are not as receptive to business-orientated messages.  The question you have to ask yourself is: “is my business one that can tap into the emotional side of people’s lives?”

If your business fits this criteria then really try to make your Facebook page an interactive, enlightening and most importantly a worthwhile experience for the user.  If you put on an annual music festival, comedy show or quiz night in the local pub, get attendees to sign up to join your Facebook page as they leave. Then, use your page as a hub for anything interesting related to your event to create publicity.

One stand-out example of utilising Facebook and making each visit exciting is one of our newest clients: Croatian-based music festival Outlook.  Only 5 years old and Outlook already has 54,000 likes on their Facebook page.  With the build-up to festival season already under way, Outlook will  continuie to use their Facebook page as an ideal marketing tool hosting DJ competitions, posting reviews of artists scheduled to play and uploading videos from last year to create a buzz around the event.

Linkedin

With much more focus on business networking, Linkedin is a great tool tokeep in touch with former colleagues and find new prospects.  The Q&A function is a great way to both highlight what your company does and how it does it, as well as gaining useful advice to better run your own business.  Being a member on Linkedin also allows you to start, join and participate in group discussions.  If you provide unique insight on a given topic on a consistent basis you will become an authority on your area of interest – (you can even become a Linkedin designated ‘expert’!).  A potential client may be looking for information on your area of expertise, stumble across a post of yours that really connects with them and contact you as a direct result.

Pinterest

The site allows users to post images of your company’s product and link themback to your website. It acts as an online catalogue, except that images can be (much like Facebook) commented on and ‘re-pinned’ to other user’s boards.   It may be relatively new – the site was launched in 2010 – but Pinterest is already being touted as the most valuable marketing tool for smaller businesses on the web.  There are already 7 million registered members on Pinterest with a report from Shareholic claiming that more traffic is driven to company websites and blogs than Linkedin, Google+ and YouTube combined.  The major drawback of the site is that if your company’s product or services are not particularly visual, you may struggle to get across exactly what you offer.  On the other hand, it gives you a chance to be more creative, using evocative images that intrigue other users into finding out more about your company.  Here are 15 of the most popular pictures on Pinterest.

Twitter

Twitter is a great way to keep people interested in your business or project and remind them of what you are doing.  Your followers will be able to see your tweets on their ‘twitter-feed’.   The great thing about this is that they do not have to consciously go to your page for you to get your message across to them and already have chosen to be receptive to your messages by actively following you.   With clear and informative tweets you have the power to reach your client-base and build up a picture of exactly what your company does, which creates brand exposure.

Business Blogs

Business blogs are a no-frills way of sharing your company’s expertise and knowledge with a wider audience.  The software is incredibly easy to use (e.g. WordPress, Blogware etc.) and cheap (and in most cases free) to run, meaning you don’t have to learn HTML or spend huge amounts on a web designer.   If you post interesting content, people will return to your blog, retweet it or share it on Facebook.  A couple of great examples of blogs giving real value to the business are Gizmodo (gadget magazine) and Stony Field Farms (Organic Dairy Products).

And of course do not forget to sign up to the Slingshot Sponsorship blog so you can keep up to date on great tips just like these!

Slingshot Sponsorship Shortlisted at the Highly Anticipated Hollis Sponsorship Awards 16th February, 2012

Slingshot Sponsorship has been shortlisted for their work with the DMA &Equifax at the upcoming Hollis Sponsorship Awards.  They will compete with 3 other extremely successful campaigns – London Olympics 2012 & Lloyds, The Prince’s Trust & RBS and GE Capital Triathlon – for the highly coveted Corporate Sponsorship Award.

The Hollis Sponsorship Awards recognise and reward the most creative and effective campaigns to have come out of the sponsorship industry during the last year. Competition has been fierce this year, with entries up by 40% on 2011, meaning the judges have had to be even tougher than in past years.

Jackie Fast, managing director of Slingshot Sponsorship, commented:

I am absolutely thrilled that Slingshot Sponsorship has been shortlisted – especially considering the calibre of the other nominees.  To be competing against a campaign as big as London 2012 having only launched less than two years ago is an amazing achievement in itself.  It really shows that our unique strategy to creating innovative sponsorship campaigns is making an impact – not only for our clients, but also challenging sponsorship industry traditions.

Now in their 18th year, The Hollis Sponsorship Awards are the most highly prized sponsorship awards covering all sectors of the sponsorship industry.  Emphasis is on excellence in effectiveness ensuring that awards are given out based on result and not marketing budget.  The short-listed and winning entries will be celebrated at the industry’s Gala Dinner on March 27th 2012 at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square.

To see a full list of shortlisted campaigns click here.

Be My Sponsorship Valentine 14th February, 2012

Although I can already hear the grumbles of how Valentine’s Day is just another retail scheme to get our sterling, I happen to love it.  And it just so happens that keeping your Valentine happy follows a similar strategy to sponsorship renewals.

Getting sponsors can be tricky; however, keeping sponsors should be relatively easy if you follow our Valentines rules:

1. The little things mean a lot.

Sponsors should be treated as business partners.  You should take a keen interest  and really embrace their involvement with your platform.  If there are ever opportunities for you to invite them to other events or even take them out for coffee when they are in town, do so – don’t wait until the event that they sponsor to try and build the relationship on the night.

2. Find special gifts that are unique to them.

Sponsors’ businesses are ever changing and it would be impossible for you to keep up with their evolution.  However, by having an open dialogue and regular communication this will allow you to truly understand their strategies and objectives – making it easier for you to recognise when an added value opportunity within your platform could help their business.

3. Surprise them.

Everyone loves a surprise so try and surprise them with added value throughout the term of the agreement.  This could include new promotional advertisements you’ve managed to secure or even a Sponsors Lunch – additional benefits that weren’t on the original sponsorship proposal.

4. Don’t expect the world when you haven’t given it.

All too often sponsors are given the sales pitch about how this sponsorship will go above and beyond;  how they will work with the sponsor on PR and put together new ideas throughout the year.  However, more commonly the pitch is given, the sponsor signs on this basis, and then never hears from the property again – except of course for when it is time to renew.  It is important that when you make promises, you keep them.

5. The relationship should be easy.

Sponsorship should be an easy commitment if you are doing all the above.  Ensuring the basics are managed is a simple task and should not be left up to the sponsor. This leaves them with the time to be more creative and work with you on adding value elsewhere.  The easier the activation is for them, the easier it will be for everyone.

Good luck with your Valentine’s Day today and hopefully these tips will also come in handy when it comes to sponsorship renewals!

Sports Sponsorship: More Than Just Branding 25th January, 2012

Ever since Kettering Town became the first English football club to host a sponsor – Kettering Tyres – across their ‘famous’ red and white shirts, in 1976, corporate sponsors have been obsessed with branding. Every sport, from snowboarding to horse riding, is full of brands trying to get the most prominent position on a racer’s helmet or the best placed advertising board on any given sports field around the world.

The most pertinent example I can find of such blatant logo blasting is FX Pro’s sponsorship of Fulham – signed chiefly so the foreign exchange broker could have its logo streaked across the roof of Fulham’s home ground, which lies directly along the Heathrow flightpath.  A multi million pound deal, just so people flying in from Beijing can see your company emblem.  No message explaining what they do, how they do it or what their company ethos is – JUST the logo.

And for years this type of marketing has worked.

Exposing customers to logos has been a tried and tested formula, creating profit for brands for decades.  But in today’s market, where we are constantly blasted with logos of innumerable brands – many of which we don’t even recognize – is it enough?  And from a sponsor’s perspective, is it even worth it?

In today’s world a simple logo is no longer enough – it does not convey enough about your company to make a positive impression on the consumer.  With marketing budgets being slashed, brands are being forced to ENGAGE with their target audience, to ensure resonance.  Well-executed sponsorship activations can do just this.  They bridge the communication gap, allowing the target audience to experience exactly what the brand has to offer.  For the rights owner, such sponsorship deals offer the opportunity to provide a richer and more complete experience to their audience.

Whilst many sponsor relationships remain stuck in this branding culture (especially within sports sponsorship), some brands and rights owners are leading the way through truly innovating sponsorship campaigns.  One of the most forward thinking approaches is the partnership between Spanish giants Real Madrid and network provider Cisco Systems.  The agreement will see the installation of Cisco’s high-density Wi-Fi system at Madrid’s home stadium – Santiago Bernabeu – allowing fans to:

  1. Access specifically designed applications through their smartphones, encouraging them to engage directly with the Santiago Bernabeau.
  2. Watch Hi-Definition screens throughout the ground that will broadcast replays, highlights and interviews exclusively to those in the stadium.
  3. Utilise social media – encouraging match-goers to share tweets of their match day experience with those at the stadium and those around the world.

Whilst there is an argument from die-hard fans that such technological progressions may detract from the atmosphere on match-days, I actually think it has the potential to enhance it.  I’m not advocating everyone sitting on their iPhones, tweeting for 90 minutes.  Rather, at half-time or during injury stoppages people in the ground can watch a replay of a missed opportunity they couldn’t see clearly; get information about a new player; or even find out the words to a chant they weren’t aware of – meaning they can actively contribute to and thus improve the atmosphere in the ground.

Another interesting approach to sponsorship within the realm of football has been the recent  partnership between Manchester City & EA Sports.  Both partners have fully embraced the relationship, making user-interaction a far more engaging and rewarding experience both at match days and online.  A few examples of the activation have included:

  1. A virtual launch of the club’s kit for the 2011-2012 season, exhibited by a computer generated Manchester City eleven.
  2. Full motion capture of the Manchester City squad, making player movement even more realistic – resulting in Manchester City being the most commonly used team by online FIFA 2012 players around the world.
  3. A proposal to use FIFA statistics to simulate upcoming Manchester City matches.

All interesting stuff, however the innovation of this campaign lies in the way users are directed to the data.  The plan is to deliver the latest software – Sergio Aguero’s new haircut, up-to-date statistics, or the new Manchester City away kit – to users via smartphone, be it using a personalized QR code or the RFID chip on the back of fan’s membership cards.  Once the code is scanned, the fan receives unique FIFA 2012 data, which they can then trade with other consumers.  Friends could swap them via smartphone, match-goers could swap them at a game and online users could swap them over Facebook.  While EA Sports and Manchester City would create the initial software, the fans would be tasked with sharing the data – taking the EA Sports and Manchester City brand into a more social setting.

Although football sponsors have the tendency to simply ‘brand’ everything, Formula 1 sponsors are undoubtedly more culpable: every driver, every car and every available space is awash with corporate sponsors.  Such branding may still be effective to a point, but some companies are realizing that they can get so much more out of their sponsorship.  A perfect example of this realization is the ‘Step Inside the Circuit’ campaign, produced from Johnnie Walker’s sponsorship of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing team.

Viewers are directed to branded content via Johnnie Walker’s Facebook page, where they are then transported to the hustle and bustle of a Formula 1 track.   Users can mingle with the other drivers, check out the last minute adjustments to the cars or take a spin around the track to experience what it’s like for Lewis Hamilton or Sebastien Vettel on race day.  To further personalize the experience, photos are taken from the user’s Facebook, along with webcam input and text-to-speech technology.  The campaign culminates with 20 competition winners being taken to Silverstone for three days of training, finishing with VIP tickets to the Grand Prix itself.

It is still unclear, which of these different sponsorship channels will prevail and prove to be most rewarding for a partnership in the long-term.  Many of these alliances are still in their infancy and it is impossible to tell if anyone has already found a winning formula.  However what is clear is that, if done correctly, there are substantial gains to be made for the sponsors, right owners and fans themselves:

  1. Sponsors better engage with their audience and promote their brand
  2. Rights owners can offer a richer and more varied experience to their brand/event
  3. Fans receive a more interactive and diverse experience.

From what we’ve seen, it is clear that future sponsors cannot rely simply on branding alone.

Slingshot Sponsorship Partner with Scandinavian-based BITE Agency 23rd January, 2012

Slingshot Sponsorship and BITE have formed a strategic alliance that will see a union of expertise from two of the biggest prospects in sponsorship and brand management respectively.  The innovative partnership will work with brands and rights owners to truly grasp building a brand and then creating commercial opportunities from that foundation.

Having launched in the UK in 2010, Slingshot Sponsorship has quickly gained significant market share within the rights owner community working with diverse organisations including Haymarket Consumer Media, Mencap, and the London Irish Rugby Club.  Unlike other sponsorship agencies, Slingshot helps organisations build up their assets in order to become viable marketing platforms for brands.  As such, branding and brand identity is vital to ensure success with creating a sustainable sponsorship programme.

Based in Scandinavia, specifically Oslo, Norway, BITE is a newly formed team of international brand innovators, facilitating strategic brand activation through non-traditional methods.  By working together, both agencies will be able to follow their customers through their brand building and exploitation journey and help them realise their full commercial potential.  The ability to also access two unique markets will provide Slingshot/BITE clients with data that has not been available previously.

Jackie Fast, managing director of Slingshot Sponsorship commented:

This is such an exciting development and a natural progression on what we do.  By ensuring we have experts identifying and developing the core brand proposition, we will be able to help our clients become more successful when integrating commercial opportunities.  This has been a gap within our current clients marketing mix and so we are delighted to be able to fill this gap.

Robert D B Leinders-Krog, managing director of BITE commented:

In recent years we have clearly seen a major shift in the international marketing and brand sphere, with companies and organizations needing to holistically approach their marketing and branding strategies. This unique partnership will ensure our clients competitive advantage internationally with a profound base in concrete brand strategy and in-depth commercial exploitation. Our international approach combines European expertise with renowned Scandinavian innovation practices and will give our clients unique platforms of activation. We are very excited!

The partnership will enable clients to reap the benefits of a single agency who can manage the entire journey of brand strategy, activation and commercialisation from a completely unique market position.  That both companies are experts in their own field guarantees clients are provided with a tailor-made service, comprising the best from sponsorship and brand-management.

Experiential: 3 Ways to Maximise Your Assets 20th January, 2012

With the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching we are due an influx of experiential campaigns in 2012. With headline sponsors of P&G, Coke and McDonald’s taking the majority of the London 2012 marketing opportunities – both in sponsorship as well as ramped up advertising campaigns, other brands will be engaging in shorter term experiential marketing to capitalise on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Experiential marketing at its basics is a live brand marketing campaign allowing consumers to experience the product through their senses.  It occurs in real time and is a two way communication between the brand and consumer – creating a lasting connection with the brand, which is then amplified through other marketing channels. Experiential activation offers a great way to showcase a brand’s products, or simply demonstrate what the company can offer with immediate feedback.  Some examples of experiential campaigns we’ve run include Tracker’s Photo Booth for the What Car Awards 2012 and the EA Sports’ Game Hub at the London Irish Rugby Club’s St. Patricks Day Party.

Maximising Assets for Experiential Sponsorship Campaigns

1) Brand Positioning

With immediate feedback, experiential activities first need to ensure their audience is the right audience to be receiving feedback from.  Ensure that you are very clear who the target audience is first and then decide how best to reach them and more importantly where to reach them.

Being relevant to the right consumers will provide both the correct feedback, but also will enable you to drive the communications further through additional marketing campaigns.

2) Engagement is Essential

You have to be engaging in activity consumers can relate to and want to engage with. The message and positioning should be clear and concise ensuring cut through.  Providing people an experience that is on brand for the experiential activation, on brand for the company and also on brand for the sponsorship platform will create a cohesive message with all parties building resonance with the audience.

3) Make it Last

Even if your experiential activity is a one-off campaign, ensure you are making the most of it and that you have resources to support this.  If the objective is to create a viral campaign through the experiential activity, do not forget to include a social strategy that will drive this communication forward through user networks and your own company network through user generated content, videos, competitions, etc.

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.

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