How sponsors and rights holders can work together to maximise the benefit of a partnership

elysahubbard
May 21, 2018
4 min read

Updated: Jun 12, 2020

The sponsorship landscape and the ways in which brands and rights holders interact have changed dramatically over the past few years. Logo count and association with a property used to be a primary objective for sponsors. However, as only 4% of millenials believe in advertising , commercial partners now aim to create deeper relationships with their target audience to ensure their marketing messages cut through the 55,000 advertisements consumers are bombarded with daily.

‘Traditional sponsorship is not dead, but great use of assets that genuinely engage are far and few between’

The challenge in today’s sponsorship era is not how to reach a wider audience (as the advent of social media has already made this possible), but how to leverage a partnership to enhance both the brand and property, building advocacy with a target market and providing ROI and ROO. This requires a deeper, collaborative relationship between both sponsor and rights holder – a symbiotic relationship is key.

An example of this is Audi’s Quattro2 film of Candide Thovex. This partnership benefitted both parties. It offered Candide (rights holder) the resources to create content even better than his iconic ‘One of those Days’ edits, and gave the car manufacturer (brand) access to Candide’s social following, increasing its authenticity and reputation of creating durable and reliable cars with the mantra ‘all conditions are perfect conditions’. The YouTube video saw 2.7m views in 4-weeks.

This shows how it is important for both sponsorship-parties to have similar mission statements (positioning/values/aspirations) before commencing a partnership. This was not the case with Samsung’s Chelsea FC sponsorship. Samsung’s ambitions to activate on a grassroots level (to improve social conscience and resonate with a younger generation) were more than the traditional assets offered by the club and were hampered due to not being shared values.

In a sponsorship contract, the rights holder will generally look to receive as much ‘sponsorship currency’ as possible, eg. funding and/or value-in-kind provision of goods, marketing/technological support. However, to really maximise a relationship, the onus is now on both parties to commit to a longer-term, collaborative approach – to consider what assets, channels and activities will enhance fan connection an engagement. Rights holders should only look to go into partnership with a brand if the sponsor plans to activate and bring more than ‘currency’ to the partnership.

Sports sponsorship is a powerful asset as it offers access to people’s passions. It is essential that rights holders provide sponsors with easy-to-understand data analysis and proof as to what engages fans. Sponsors and rights holders are far more likely to gain greater results and long-term benefit if they focus on the needs of their target audience. If the audience is engaged, it is likely that both the sponsor and rights holder will benefit – a ‘win-win-win relationship’. This is also prone to positively affect the brand’s internal performance as it will offer employee engagement opportunities and increase the likelihood that staff are proud to work for the company.

Sponsorship also gives a brand a credible reason for hosting conversations, enabling it to create interesting content assuming the rights holder offers it access to assets such as players, managers, data (subject to GDPR), content and behind-the- scenes opportunities.

Adidas, match-ball provider of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is an example of a sponsor using data to bring something new to fans . Their match-ball is not only sustainable (enhancing corporate responsibility) but also features modern technology enabling consumers to interact with the ball using a Smartphone. Capgemini, the World Rugby Sevens’ innovation partner, is another example. Their aim to ‘augment fan experience’ through publishing data on performance, strategy and tactics offers something extra to fans and also benefits World Rugby (rights holder) through promoting the skills/tactics necessary in rugby sevens.

It is also important for both sponsorship parties to collaborate and be creative with assets and onsite activations to encourage event attendance. Behind-the-scenes experiences or priority stadium access for customers/competition winners can offer the deeper experiences and exclusivity that fans crave.

For the last three-years, the NBA Finals have partnered with Snapchat to offer fans behind-the-scenes footage (eg. exclusive interviews/team-huddles). In 2017, this content generated 17.1m views9, illustrating how a rights holder’s social channels can be an instant win for a sponsor. Another example is Adidas’ music video with Pogba and Stormzy – amplified impact with shareable content for fans that enhanced Adidas’ association as a lifestyle brand, as well as a Manchester United sponsor.

For onsite activations, an example is the HSBC Sydney Sevens. HSBC and the Australian Rugby Union teamed up to replace 300 seats with a ‘beach’. Not only did this amplify tournament content and offer HSBC brand exposure, it also enhanced onsite fan experience, showing the huge benefits of a rights holder and a sponsor working together to engage with a mutual target audience.This portrays how there is a real opportunity for sponsorship parties to be brave and challenge conventional norms to meet objectives and drive revenue for all those involved.

This portrays how there is a real opportunity for sponsorship parties to be brave and challenge conventional norms to meet objectives and drive revenue for all those involved.

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How sponsors and rights holders can work together to maximise the benefit of a partnership

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