Sponsorship Activation – Technology Firms Use Their Products AS The Activation

B2B marketers have found that their products can be the central idea of a sponsorship activation program. Rather than investing incremental funds into creating a promotion or free standing program, they look back to the brand or product strategy. Rather than just logos in ads or a designation "Official Widget of ..." use of their product within the property or event, provides the brand an authentic association. Smart marketers then have to extract the value from the relationship.

Here are four ideas that can help organize a program of integrating your product as the activation.


1. Appropriate Fit – There must be a clear and logical reason for that product to be associated with that property. IBM’s role with tennis results and the event websites highlights their capabilities in a meaningful way. Atos Origin supports the IOC with logistics, accreditation and distribution of competition results among other IT and software services.

2. Get the Timing Right – Sponsorship properties and events can be a great platform for launching a new product, but that release cycle must coincide with the event calendar. This approach may argue for a shorter term relationship as long term deals may feel stagnant, unless there is product news of interest on a regular basis.

3. Leverage, Leverage, Leverage – Make sure the audiences you care about know what you are doing. Communicate with customers, analysts, investors, sales and distribution channels, employees so they understand and can evangelize. A technology sponsorship is a great platform to create lots of rich content and affords a continuing story. Take advantage of it!

4. Fair Value Exchange – When the property has a genuine need for your product, the opportunity is high to reduce the overall cash component of the deal. This means where budget relief can be achieved through the relationship, value in kind can be swapped in lieu of cash. One word of caution, this doesn’t mean you can throw in all the bells and whistles you want to showcase and the property doesn’t need!

Focusing on the Long Term

These days it is hard not to be distracted into obsessing on day to day activities. Understandably, people are worried about their own jobs, 401K account and future. It is all too easy for companies and senior management to get caught up in managing only tactics to make the numbers, at the risk of abandoning the long term strategy. It is critical at this time that senior marketing leaders become stronger brand advocates.

It is certainly a good and proper thing to pause, step back and reevaluate the opportunities and outlook presented by the economic downturn and eventual recovery. However, that should not result in a wholesale shift of the planning horizon to the next quarter or two. Ultimately, the long term will arrive and without being prepared is a fool’s errand.

The impact on brands from a focus on the immediate time frame can be disastrous and have unintended far reaching consequences. Regardless of the circumstances, you must retain the brand perception you have developed and honed over many years. For example, luxury brands that discount products to gain a short sales boost may forever change the brand essence and promise. Similarly, as consumers ‘step down’ to stretch their budgets, some brands and retailers will build habits and relationships that may be difficult to disrupt.

Regardless of the economic climate, brand marketing has been determined to be the most effective marketing strategy for long term success. Success is achieved as the result of the right message, delivered to the right audience in the right way that creates the right results.

Here are a few simple, yet timeless steps that marketers can apply to any business situation allowing them to keep perspective on both the near term and long term activities:

• Define your goals – Marketers usually define this change in the marketplace desired and will identify the measurement criteria and mechanism – brand awareness, buying habits, channel effectiveness, etc. among a specific audience segment

• Figure out what you have to do to reach your goals – the tactics and communication plans that will connect with your target customer – PR, advertising, sampling

• Execute the plan like crazy – prioritize, budget adequate resources, monitor and adjust

2009–2010 Trends in Sponsorship * Part 2

Following up on my earlier posting of key trends to look out for in the sponsorship & sports marketing space for the next few years, below are an addition five that I believe will impact the landscape.


6. Better and Thoughtful Leveraging of Digital Assets - Properties and sponsors will have to be creative and collaborative in applying this untapped media to improve reach and quality of the interaction with fans.
• Live or streaming competition
• Highlight packages
• Statistics and analysis
• Fantasy competition
• Merchandising
• Community & Interactivity

7. The Demise of Hospitality and Tickets – The current mood and demonizing of corporate events will make hospitality trips and tickets radioactive for some time. Sponsors with deals heavily weighted with either will struggle to get customers agreeing to attend events. Properties will have to adjust and change their selling strategies and valuations. “Destination” events such as the FIFA World Cup will really struggle to sell tickets and fill hotels.

8. Return of Creative Financing and Monetizing – As sponsors & properties look for ways to strike relationships, they will become more flexible and look for ways to fund and balance deals. Current sponsors with stranded assets (tickets or hospitality) will seek out barter professionals to unlock some of the value. Properties may be more open to aggressive use of value in kind (VIK) structured deals. Budget relieving relationships may become as interesting as they used to be.

9. Entry of Non -Traditional Brands & Marketers – With current brands pulling back activities, others previously priced out or not attractive to properties will move in. We are already seeing this in media (Denny’s Super Bowl ads), but expect that will happen in the sponsorship area. Particularly brands that are prospering in the economic conditions or are situated well and confident in the opportunity to set themselves further apart in a down market.

10. Small Properties Suffer OR Thrive – It all depends on their focus and execution. Some have tried to follow strategies appropriate for large properties – equity owners of media time; serving a mass audience; expanding commercial relationships outside the sport – will pay the price unless they can quickly adapt.

Those that have maintained focus on their niche, core audience and deliver a committed, connected audience can thrive. Olympic sports (think badminton or kayaking) can develop content, experiences and relationship via direct marketing, digital media and social networking. For companies targeting that segment – gear manufacturers, clothing, magazines and travel – will be very willing to pay well for the shared equity delivered.


The very good news for smart, adaptable professionals these trends are ripe with opportunities. They are different from those of the ‘90s and probably more challenging to implement, likely not nearly as fun as before, either.

I am optimistic that those that embrace the changed environment and work to up the overall level of rigor – top to bottom – in the sponsorship practice will succeed and derive better and more meaningful rewards.


SO what am I missing? Do you have some other trends, implications or predictions? Please share and let’s get some dialogue started.

Trends in Sponsorship 2009 – 2010

Now is an important time for everyone involved in the sponsorship industry to take a big step back and reevaluate. Agencies, properties and sponsors all have ample opportunity to evaluate, reflect and prepare to emerge as better practitioners of our craft.

A recent industry event I attended helped me crystallize some ideas that had been forming on my side. I’ll share an initial five trends today and follow-up later in the week with the remaining ones:


1. A Return to Fundamentals – time to step back and remember why sponsorship grew so large, so fast:
• The ability to draw and deliver an audience with deep affinity and personal connection to a sport or property, allowing brands to meet customer needs at the emotional intersection point.
• Broad, deep and unique marketing assets, affording brands ample room for creative integration opportunities

2. Accountable Sponsorship Deals – measurement, metrics and ROI have been on countless agendas among sponsorship professionals. For too long, it has been given only lip service by many in this space; preferring to wait for black box or silver bullet solutions.

Going forward, anyone pursuing sponsorship must include a pragmatic, realistic and doable measurement plan, with clear and tangible links to business objectives. This will put pressure on agencies and properties to provide structure and quantitative results input. It will also require brands to do the hard work of collecting and organizing the data. And then socializing it with all and anybody to ensure that the contribution to the business of sponsorship is well understood.

3. Shrinking of the Industry – let’s be honest, there are far too many college bowl games, conference tournaments, tour stops and second tier sports out there. As advertisers and sponsors seek quality, there will be retrenchment. There will be more casualties: leagues and teams may fold, made for TV events will go away, agencies consolidate, etc. While painful and unfortunate, the industry will emerge stronger as free market economic forces prevail.

4. Revamping of Deal Structures - Sponsors will push for shorter term deals, comprised of only the assets they value and can utilize for their brand. There will pressure on properties to disaggregate the ‘packages’ they have been accustomed to selling. Properties may look to get agreement on a series of 1 year deals as opposed to a multi-year agreement. Properties will also build in specific activation programs and budgets to ensure that the assets are used as planned. Properties must also be prepared for ‘performance based’ deals, where they have some skin in the game, as well as the sponsor.

5. Properties as Problem Solvers – It will no longer be acceptable to sell a deal and then move on. Properties that want to differentiate themselves and gain long term relationships will be forced to play a more important role with sponsor brands and agencies in creating and executing activation plans.


I will post the remaining trends I foresee in a few days. In the meanwhile, your insights and comments are invited.