There is not a sports property in the world big enough to provide a marketing platform for US software giant Microsoft, according to its UK head of business marketing. The problem, says Matt Bishop, is that the popularity of sports is not consistent across the over 190 territories the company sells its products in, nor will it be consistent across the many people involved in the complex decision to purchase software for a business.
Bishop says he is “curious” about what value sports sponsors from businesses similar to Microsoft are getting out of their investment.
There are a few small exceptions to the rule. Microsoft last year agreed a shirt sponsorship deal with the Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer team - the two share the same home city. But beyond this, the software giant is conspicuous by its absence from sports.
Matt Bishop explained to BritSport Weekly the strategy behind one apparent exception to the rule in the UK – the Microsoft UK Challenge, a sports and intelligence challenge event for businesses which takes place this week in the Cambrian Mountains, Wales.
Firstly, Microsoft uses the event to promote and raise funds for the NSPCC, a charity it has been a partner of since 1994. Over £550,000 was raised for the charity by the 118 teams which entered last year.
Secondly, the event brings staff, up to executive level, from Microsoft and its UK business partners and customers, together for four days. Microsoft gives to the organiser, international sports and entertainment company IMG, a list of companies that it would like to see there each year, which are then invited to take part.
Bishop said the spirit of the event also chimes with messages Microsoft wants to put across about its brand and products – that they help people reach their potential and achieve more than they thought was possible, and that business success comes from employees rather than technology or the brand.
But Bishop poured cold water on sports sponsorship as a marketing vehicle for Microsoft in any broader sense.
“We, like many software companies, have global brands. Customers often purchase in multiple countries. Being consistent is very important to us. It is hard to get a global sport to align with consistently.”
Even the sports events with widest appeal, like the Olympics or football World Cup, are unattractive for the company, as it does not want to be tied into two to four-year marketing commitments which would not allow it to respond to unplanned changes in its business and markets.
Microsoft is partnering with one of the world’s biggest names in sports and entertainment on the UK Challenge – IMG. Bishop said that IMG had brought a level of professionalism in the organisation of the UK event and the communications around it that Microsoft was impressed with, and would seek in any other similar partnerships it pursued.
IMG owns the Intelligent Sport World Series, which is organising 12 events similar to the UK Challenge across six continents in 2009.
