Mid-tier British sporting events are becoming “price-takers rather than price-setters” in an oversupplied market, according to Tim Crow, CEO of Synergy Sponsorship.
The Lawn Tennis Association, the World Snooker Championships, the Derby, West Bromwich Albion football club and Cowes Week sailing regatta are among the properties, which are struggling to find sponsors. Crow is “not surprised” by the difficulties recently experienced by these events, and says it is the result of a dynamic that has been happening for a long time.
“There has been a ‘toothpaste tube’ squeeze which has seen sponsorship money flow towards premium events and grassroots initiatives,” says Crow.
The proliferation of new sporting events in the last ten to fifteen years has resulted in there being many more properties than there are brands seeking associations with those properties. “We get 30 to 50 rights-holders a day sending us information on their properties,” Crow told BritSport Weekly.
It is not just obscure properties that are having difficulty securing sponsorship. The Lawn Tennis Association is currently looking for a major partner of its tennis properties, including the Queen’s Club tennis championship, which recently ended its 30-year relationship with Stella Artois.
Crow notes that it is perhaps too early to start considering the Queen’s Club championship as a high-profile victim of the current squeeze, but warns that the LTA could face difficulty securing the main partner as well as additional, smaller sponsorship investments. “There are only two things that attract brands to tennis – Wimbledon, and players that are going to do well at Wimbledon. And in Britain, there is only one such player – Andy Murray.”
The current attractiveness of the ‘Olympics space’ is increasing the pressure on mid-tier properties. “Look at the number of deals that have been done in the last year with Olympic sports and with Olympic athletes, past and present,” says Crow.
He adds that many rights-owners are neglecting to research what brands are looking for with a sponsorship. A notable exception, he says, is LOCOG, who are carefully considering what brands are seeking.
