The Strategy Behind Sport 10th August, 2016

Sports teams are built and developed – crafted over years of training, coaching, and trading.  Ironically the same strategic perspective is not invested off the pitch.  Although sport sponsorship is responsible for over 70% of the total industry, it still lacks the necessary expertise to execute a sustainable and robust rights holder commercial strategy.  With so much sponsor churn, the sport sponsorship industry reflects a transactional method of sales with the highest bidder taking ownership of sponsorship rights that are often not fully utilised, supporting marketing strategies that are often never realised.  Unfortunately, this hasn’t been an issue for most rights holders with sponsorship rights fees on the whole increasing.  Why fix something that isn’t broken?  Why undersell rights when you can oversell them?  And why, if money is all that you are after, not align yourself to a brand that has no relation or even tenuous link to the sport.

The answer is that now you have to.

It’s not only more imperative for sports sponsorship sales teams to start thinking more creatively about how a sponsorship activation will support an overall sponsor’s strategy, it’s also becoming crucial for fan engagement.  If sport supports brand messaging by harnessing people’s passions, then brands who aren’t contributing to the fan experience or advocacy fail to gain the cut-through they once had through logo badging.  Brands have needed to become more creative with how sponsorship is utilised; however, the sports rights still fail to recognise this shift in value.  Sports teams and organisers tend to complain about the lack of activation on behalf of a brand.  However, if the sponsorship rights package is skewed towards how many impressions they will get on broadcast then it’s impossible to deliver an activation that will resonate.

It starts with creating the right assets.

By strategically understanding the value in a sports sponsorship package beyond that of perimeter boards and logos on kits, rights holders will begin to build the foundation for a partnership that truly works for everyone – including the fans.  By offering the same sponsor benefits as everyone else, sports rights holders not only run the risk of relying on team performance to generate ROI for their sponsors, but also fail to differentiate from every other team.  The assumption that the way things have always been will work in today’s fragmented media landscape is naïve.  However, this ever shifting environment can create unique opportunities for rights holders to develop their assets and audience (social media) – making it a new playing field.

From a sport sponsorship sales perspective, the pace of change is extraordinary – and sponsor gains are being made everywhere.  Be a rights holder who recognises the brand requirement to be part of the experience by creating assets that brands can use.  Be relevant by understanding what assets drive your partnership opportunities – rather than where you can put a logo.


Identifying Potential in the Barclays Premier League’s Transfer Window 26th November, 2014

It’s not even December and the rumour mill is in full flow regarding the opening of the Barclays Premier League’s January transfer window. Already dominating football-related conversations in pubs and bars across the UK, can we take a leaf out of our American counterparts’ book and capitalise on this excitement?  

Football is right at the epicentre of British culture. With revenue reaching €3 billion last year in the UK alone, it comes as no surprise that brands have attached themselves to every perceived point of value, from stadium naming rights to TV ad spots.

The Potential

With speculation rising as to how teams are aiming to strengthen through the mid-season transfer window, it seems an apt time to discuss the potential of the transfer market as a whole. As of the launch of Sky Sports News HQ in August this year, ‘Deadline Day’ is gaining traction and fast becoming a staple in the diets of football fans across the UK. As we saw last autumn, the transfer window offers a unique opportunity for brands to both reach and engage with their core audience in the off-season.

Furthermore, transfer deadline day is impossible to miss on social media. This year, Radamel Falcao’s switch from Monaco to Manchester United sparked a surge on Twitter with his name being mentioned over 1.6 million times before the window had even closed. Above all else, this clearly demonstrates the active participation of viewers.

The market is growing too, in just the last decade, due to the influx of wealthy overseas owners, English clubs have increased their spending in the transfer market from a combined £265million to £835million.

One of the challenges that we face is that in its current form, transfer deadline day is actually pretty dull; moments of excitement are surrounded with hours of ‘dead time’ and speculation. Whilst advertisers are aware of the increased interest on news outlets on deadline day, as yet none have been bold enough to do more than pay a premium for advertising space.

It’s Not Impossible

The NFL – America’s most watched sport on TV, and one that is making real progress in terms of successfully opening a London-based franchise, has proved that the transfer market is an area that holds great potential for the sponsorship industry. Their incredibly strong commercial strategy has contributed to their increasing success in the UK, having sold out Wembley for the Dallas Cowboys vs Jacksonville Jaguars game earlier this month.

Bud Light signed on as the official beer of the NFL in 2011 and has since adopted the NFL draft (a once-a-year event in which NFL teams select eligible college football players to add to their rosters) as a core aspect of their strategy. According to Mike Sundet, senior director at Bud Light, “the NFL Draft has become an unofficial holiday for fans – something they begin looking forward to almost as soon as the previous season ends.”

This year Bud Light is offering 32 fans, one representing each NFL team, an opportunity to be directly involved in the second-round draft, aired live on primetime US TV. Bud Light not only provides a channel for fans to directly connect and interact with their favourite teams, but also engages with fans increasing both brand advocacy and awareness.

The Opportunity

If a brand were to take total ownership of transfer deadline day with a clear strategy on how best to exploit the vast interest from the fan-base, there are huge potential gains for both the brand and the English Football Leagues.

If cooperation from the Premier League Football Association and Sky Sports could be secured, the space would be a blank canvas for a brand to create something both memorable and incredibly effective. The only part of the equation missing is the brand that’s willing to think outside of the perceived limits of the existing area.


How Sports Sponsorship is helping to bring Communities together 16th May, 2013

Last Thursday I attended the Innovation in Sports Business Summit, which was focused upon the theme of last weekend’s Euroleague Final Four. It brought together sports experts from various fields such as media, gaming, digital content, marketing, sponsorship and social responsibility. In times where marketing and CSR budgets increasingly overlap, the second panel, “The Power of Sport. How can Sport create a legacy?” was especially poignant . Headed by former Chelsea FC legend Graeme Le Saux and Simon Cooper, Head of Sport at Mayor’s London Office, the panellists discussed the influence and more importantly, responsibility that sport has on communities.

The European Sponsorship Association’s market trends survey revealed that CSR is increasingly becoming an integral part of sponsorship campaigns. Whereas in the past businesses and brands tended to spend their CSR budget on supporting arts or environmental based causes,  they are beginning to acknowledge the power that sport has in terms of reaching and engaging with people on an  emotional level.

There are many examples of how sports rights owners and brands are beginning to collaborate as a means to make a difference in people’s lives rather than just purely about the sponsorship – which in turn, is creating true value within the campaign. Here are three of my favourite sports sponsorship & CSR partnerships.

1. One Team – Euroleague Basketball & Turkish Airlines

The One Team CSR Marketing Programme was, of course, a focal point of the second panel at the Innovation in Sports Business Summit. Launched in 2012 in collaboration with Euroleague’s main sponsor, Turkish Airlines (their Founding Patron), the programme is additionally supported by eight Founding Partner Clubs and seven further Euroleague basketball clubs (by 2014 this will be extended 24 clubs in total).

The aim of One Team is to use the power of basketball to change lives. All 15 clubs involved in the initiative tailor and invest their community outreach with the aim to challenge key social issues faced by their communities. The clubs use an innovative methodology of assessment, outreach and results oriented analysis to create the maximum impact and results.

When discussing the success of the programme, panellist and architect of this European-wide development programme, David Butler, pointed to the importance of having the right measurement: “When asked ‘how is it going’, organizations tend to talk about increasing numbers, more children, more projects, more people, more scale, more geography. But that does not answer question properly. The question should be asked: ‘how much impact are you having? And how much positive change is happening?'”

Each one of the clubs works with disadvantaged individuals from their communities, with basketball as the integrating tool. An overview of all the different projects can be found here.

Temel Kotil, CEO of Turkish Airlines, expressed the importance of initiatives such as these stating “At Turkish Airlines we believe that sport is a unique language that can inspire and One Team uses that language to talk to those who most need to hear its message of positive values.”

2. NBA Cares – NBA & Kia

One of Euroleague’s benchmarks was the NBA Cares programme. Similar to Euroleague’s One Team programme, NBA Cares is a community outreach initiative that addresses important social issues such as education, youth and family development as well as health and wellness. Since 2005, the league has partnered with NBA teams in order to support a range of programs, partners and initiatives that strive to support children and families on a global scale. So far, more than $210 million have been raised for charity and more than 2.3 million hours of hands-on service has been provided by the National Basketball Association and its clubs. Through TV-Spots (such as this one featuring Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade) at every NBA game, the league uses this content as a marketing tool to raise awareness about the issues surrounding many communities. Click here to see how the different teams and players are currently supporting NBA Cares.

Due to this success, the NBA has created a new sponsorship platform within the NBA Cares programme: the Kia Community Assist Awards that honour the NBA player who best reflects the passion that the league and its players have for giving back to their communities. This sponsorship deal is one step ahead of Euroleague’s partnership with Turkish Airlines as it engages with fans on a far bigger scale using Social Media channels such as Facebook.

3. Hamburger SV – “Hamburger Weg”

Football is probably the sport which has naturally the strongestbond to local communities. Hamburger SV is a very traditional football club in Germany and was one of the first clubs in the world who integrated sponsors into its CSR plans. The “Hamburger Weg” is a partnership between the football club Hamburger SV and local companies. The programme combines classical sponsorship with CSR, through donations. The club donates 1/11 of its sponsorship revenue to local organisations and charities to help them find the right footing in life. Hamburg’s sponsors are specifically branded with white logos on a blue perimeter advertising background which adds an additional affiliation between brand, charity and club.

Red Bull Challenges F1's Sponsorship Stallion 5th December, 2012

In the last couple of weeks, the Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel vs. Ferrari and Fernando Alonso rivalry has dominated sporting headlines. In the end it was yet again the former who took both the Constructers’ and the Drivers’ World Championship titles in the thrilling Formula 1 season finale in Brazil. This nail-biting end to the season has prompted a closer look at the team’s and driver’s success off the track and their contention for the commercial crown.

The Constructers’ (Sponsorship) Championship:

Despite prize money being in the millions, sponsorship is by far the key source of revenue for both teams and their drivers which begs the question: who is leading the commercial championship?

According to Forbes’ latest list of the ‘Formula One’s Most Valuable Teams’ Ferrari’s total revenue is estimated to be around £240m with £190m being generated from sponsorship alone. Nearly £155m is generated via three major deals with Shell, Santander and title sponsorship partner Marlboro. These three deals are worth more than any other team’s total sponsorship revenue.

But what about Red Bull Racing? Out of all teams on the grid, they are surprisingly down in fourth in the overall revenue standings at £100m in 2011. 60% of this revenue comes from Red Bull’s success on the track earning them more prize money than any other team in the championship however the contribution from sponsors falls significantly shorter than Ferrari, coming to £38m positioning the team in the middle of the sponsorship field. The main reason for this is that the brand does not seek sponsors for most of their advertising space as this is generally used for self-promotion. As opposed to Ferrari (whose title sponsor is Marlboro at £100m) and other leading teams like McLaren Mercedes (Vodafone, £47m) and Mercedes AMG F1 (Petronas, £35m), Red Bull is sacrificing a significant amount of commercial opportunity in this area. However, this may all be about to change with the constructors’ champions securing their first title sponsorship deal with Nissan’s luxury arm, Infiniti.

When reviewing the revenue potential of both teams, Ferrari should still be out of reach in the short-term with regards to team value however with Red Bull being the fastest growing team in the paddock, the commercial gap is certainly narrowing.

The Drivers’ (Sponsorship) Championship:

Are Vettel and Alonso also competing for a sponsorship title? In his latest blog post, Mark Mylam asked whether sports men and women as brand ambassadors were really worth the money from a sponsor’s perspective as there is always a risk associated with their image deteriorating and affecting the image of the endorsed brand. An almost risk-free sportsman for instance could be Sebastian Vettel. The driver is unarguably one of the most charismatic Formula 1 drivers, as demonstrated at last year’s Autosport Awards and although his interview at the podium ceremony of Abu Dhabi included some strong words, nothing seems to be able to tarnish his image. This is why Sebastian Vettel, who manages his endorsement deals himself, enjoys lucrative sponsorship deals with Casio and Procter & Gamble’s Head & Shoulders worth around £2m in total, according to a study carried out by Sport + Markt.

Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, seems to have a completely different persona. One could perceive him as being rather introverted although he is not one to shy away from commercial opportunities with earnings upwards of £6m through his deals with Santander, Tag-Heuer and Puma in 2011. This positions Alonso at the top of the sponsorship leaderboard with Michael Schumacher way behind at £3.5m and Lewis Hamilton (£2.5m) ahead of both Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, both at £2m. Marcel Cordes, Executive Director at Sport + Markt, points out that it is unlikely that Vettel will be able to close this gap as “he (Vettel) is already very strongly associated with the Red Bull brand”. Also, Sebastian Vettel is not interested in signing sponsorship deals just for the sake of securing a higher income. He’s already stated in the media: “It is not a goal for me to earn more money. For me, it is important that the brand is ideally suited to me”.

Compared to other sports stars like Roger Federer or Kobe Bryant, sponsorship earnings of Formula 1 drivers are minimal because in most cases, the teams control almost all of their driver’s sponsorship rights.

It is interesting to see that championship wins have by no means been reflective of either team’s or drivers’ respective commercial successes but will this continue into 2013? With the pressure mounting on Sebastian Vettel, could we see Ferrari’s sponsorship stallion overtake the Red Bull both on the track as well as off or will the power of the ‘Vettrick’ prove too much to contend with? Let us know your thoughts!

Should Alcohol Sponsorship be Banned? 26th November, 2012

The level of irresponsible drinking amongst young people in the UK is an area of constant concern for many with statistics reporting 945,000 hospital admissions a year related to alcohol abuse or injury. Following the ban of tobacco sponsorship in 2005 arose the debate as to whether alcohol sponsorship should follow suit and whether partnerships between alcohol brands and sports events influence young people to drink in excess.

At the Think!Sponsorship Conference on Wednesday 14th November leading sponsorship professionals and representatives from alcohol brands considered the increasingly important topic of whether the alcohol sponsorship ban should be bought into place within the UK. With alcohol sponsorship banned in France, this prompted me to consider whether the UK will be next to follow suit and what impact this could have for the sponsorship industry.

The Argument

There is little doubt that sporting events have a strong association with alcohol. Sports such as rugby and football in particular lead people to view alcohol consumption in a negative light with fans often rowdy and drunk. Alcohol sponsorship could be said to reinforce the association of alcohol with events that are often considered family days out whilst watching sport for many comes hand in hand with enjoying a drink. With this connection already firmly in place it is argued that alcohol sponsorship only encourages young people to view alcohol brands and excessive consumption of their products in a positive light.

However, the opposing argument is that the problem with binge drinking amongst young people in particular at sporting events is as a result of cheap drinks deals and the traditional macho sporting culture rather than the presence of alcohol sponsorship. Furthermore, alcohol sponsors place a strong emphasis on drinking responsibly. The European Sponsorship Association has put numerous guidelines in place to introduce a notion of best practise with alcohol brands, for example, rights holders are advised to only allow sponsorship from alcohol brands if the audience are assumed to be older than the legal alcohol purchase age.

How Would the Alcohol Ban Affect Sponsorship in the Future?

It is estimated that £800 million a year is spent by alcohol brands on sponsorship, if this money was no longer channelled towards sponsorship what would this mean for the sponsorship industry as a whole? Sponsorship agencies could lose key clients and rights-holders would lose a vast amount of revenue and the ability to hold events to the scale and quality they currently are at.

However, through dynamic and creative thinking this could also be an opportunity for new brands to get involved with sport sponsorship.

Whatever the future holds for alcohol brands, I believe the sponsorship industry will have no problem continuing to thrive as seen previously when we encountered the ban of tobacco sponsorship.  If anything it will only force sponsorship professionals to continue to drive innovation forward.

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.

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.

How O2 Creates Priority Through Sponsorship 6th September, 2011

Telefonica Europe Plc also known as O2 is a European broadband and telecommunications company who maintain the customer messages of ‘priority’ and being ‘better connected’. In addition to the marketing campaigns run, these messages are further reinforced through their sponsorship activation.

As part of the naming rights sponsorship of The O2 Arena in London (formerly known Millennium Dome) since 2007, O2 customers are able to receive Priority Tickets for concerts and exhibitions up to 48 hours before they are released on general sale along with other better experience at the venue. Similar benefits are expected to be provided across the nation within their O2 Academy venues (O2 Sponsorship, 2011).

Another example of ‘priority’ can be demonstrated with Arsenal Football Club. As a sponsor since 2002, O2 offers free shirts, £40 vouchers and other benefits in exchange for signing with O2 home and mobile broadband. O2 also allow fans to meet and watch Arsenal away games at Emirates Stadium called Live Away Screening where O2 customers have priority seating, access to VIP rooms, and the opportunity to win competitions, meet the coaching staff, meet players or attend training.

As sponsors of The England Rugby Team since 1995, O2 customers also receive priority packages at Twickenham in the form of free pie, pint, program and chance to meet England players.  Further rugby sponsorship includes Scrum on the Beach for the younger demographic and engages the local community.

 

Shadi Halliwell, Head of UK Brand Communications at O2 said:

We are always looking at innovative ways in which we can engage customers with Priority Tickets and make sure they hear about pre-sales for their favorite events.

Priority is a strong message with O2 and they ensure it isn’t just whitewash.  Sponsoring the right properties enables them to expand their brand and engage their target audience creating a truly better connected network.

 

NHL 2011 Stanley Cup Final Aftermath 4th July, 2011

Blaring of the final horn in the seventh, deciding game of the NHL 2011 Stanley Cup final divided Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins into losers and winners.  Boston Bruins became the Stanley Cup Champions again after long 39 years, what a reason for celebration!

The team celebrated excitedly on ice wearing merchandise already boasting the new Stanley Cup Champions’ logo provided by Reebok Hockey, the main NHL licensee.  The marketing partner Anheuser Busch brewery too made a special Bud Light beer edition with “Boston Bruins the Stanley Cup Champions” logo for the players to toast their victory – promoting sales and thus generating revenue for the NHL as a whole through shared revenues.

The main celebration was scheduled for the streets of Boston, where the team could celebrate together with their fans.  The city parade called the Rolling Rally involved eighteen duck boats carrying cheering players who presented the Stanley Cup to over a million of supporters.

The show also attracted a strong media interest, being broadcasted on both local and national TV networks, thus creating a great opportunity for other marketing partners, in addition to the official NHL partners, including TD Bank and Marriott hotel of Boston Bruins, to activate their sponsorship.  A visible affiliation with the event improved the public awareness of the marketing partners ultimately aiming to alter consumer behaviour.  Owing to the popularity of ice hockey, although still trailing behind NFL, MLB and NBA, large followings of fans, both local and importantly non local fans, were targeted, further improving the economic impact of the event in Boston.

The above is a prime example of the close association of the NHL and its sponsors, which, in the last six years, lead to a much needed, progressive increase in the NHL’s revenue.  This is following a lockout in the 2004-05 season when the NHL was suspended due to the rapid increase in players’ salaries, with only 7 teams of 32 in profit.  A salary cup was introduced then as a precaution calculated as a proportion of the previous season’s revenue.  As the NHL has just announced an increase in the salary cup for the coming season from $59.4 to 64 million, this indicates a good working sponsor partnership as well as efficient budgeting.  The NHL has definitely turned a corner and I look forward to more exciting games to come.