So it was in the spirit of the Silly Season that we read of the decision of one ocean racing outfit to sell its sponsorship rights through e-bay, the internet auctioneer. First reactions were mixed. Was this simply an example of a clever publicity stunt designed first and foremost to generate awareness of the opportunity, or was there a real intent to flog a sponsorship alongside the second-hand cars, wardrobes and other detritus of living that finds an owner at auction.
After all, what’s wrong with an auction? If they are considered an ideal mechanic for the sale of hugely valuable artworks, rare memorabilia or historic properties, why shouldn’t they be used to find a buyer for sponsorship rights which have, otherwise, proved rather tricky to shift. In many ways an auction is the truest form of market. That there is no price – other than a reserve – naturally means that a genuine market value is established. At the precise moment of sale, the price paid is exactly what a lot is worth, whether it’s an Old Master or an old mattress.
So why does the very principle of selling sponsorship rights by auction produce even the slightest shiver of apprehension?
Perhaps it’s because auctioning those rights on the internet might be seen as trivialising the whole business of sponsorship at a time when the industry appears to be more determined than ever to convince the wider world that it’s a serious business that makes a serious contribution to marketing and can drive serious change to a brand’s commercial prospects.
To a detached observer, the sponsorship sector often appears nervous, edgy and lacking in self confidence. There’s plenty of evidence of this in the articles published in the pages of SportBusiness International over the years. All too often these contributions have been introspective and defensive, continually comparing sponsorship to advertising and squealing about the lack of respect and understanding shown by other marketing disciplines.
It’s more than 15 years since I was reassured that the sponsorship industry was maturing because ‘it’s not just to do with the Chairman’s whim any more’. And do you know what? We still sit in polite silence during presentations and stifle the tiniest yawnettes as we read the text of another article that assures us that in today’s grown up world of sponsorship, guess what…’it’s not about the Chairman’s whim any more’.
Is that it? Is that how far we’ve come?
It’s time to move on, for the sponsorship sector to more obviously believe in its own sales spiel, and go to market with new confidence. Consequently, the sponsorship industry needs stories about internet rights auctions like it needs a hole in the head. It stands to undermine the good work that a lot of focused, committed and talented people are doing to underscore the basic credibility of sponsorship and, through creativity and innovation, to redefine how sponsorships are implemented.
Over the years this column has called for stronger leadership in sponsorship and a concerted programme to promote the genre among those who should understand its potential. That’s not simply out of a desire to fill column inches but because SportBusiness International sees itself as part of an exciting and effective industry and wants it to succeed. The formation last year of ESA, the European Sponsorship Association, was warmly welcomed as a major step in the right direction. Now, we are delighted to announce that ESA is to support a SportBusiness initiative to deliver the sponsorship message to the very heart of Brandland through ‘Sponsorship Works’, a series of four publications which will each examine a particular aspect of sponsorship. They will deal with sponsorship of events, teams and individual athletes as well as examining other opportunities including sponsor funded programming, naming rights and broadcast sponsorship.
SportBusiness is working in partnership with research companies and agencies to highlight how the adoption of best practice in sponsorship can deliver remarkable results against clients’ objectives. They will use detailed case studies to demonstrate how sponsorship strategy is devised and implemented and the results measured and evaluated. Above all, they will provide a credible environment in which to tell sponsorship’s compelling story with a clarity and authority which, it has to be said, is often missing.
What it comes down to is this. Sponsorship Works, and along with ESA and our partners, we aim to tell those responsible for marketing brands exactly how and why.
Euro 2004 has an impressive array of sponsors, each of which has its particular objectives. According to research by the agency Interactive, using Margaux Matrix technology to measure exposure, Hyundai topped the list, achieving 32 per cent more than the average exposure levels. Second were MasterCard with 20 per cent and then Carlsberg which recorded nine per cent above the norm. At the other end, T-Mobile recorded 16 per cent less than the exposure average.
All of the above is fine, if utterly predictable. Every agency has a diagram of stadium board layouts and can identify those which are hot and those which are not. Hyundai’s Euro 2004 boards were prominently positioned, hence the impact. This is not rocket science and the publication, in a national newspaper, of the figures only really serves to position sponsorship as a nothing more than a media buy, when the real message should be that there’s so much about sponsorship which is more interesting and – in its way – creative than advertising boards.
Inevitably the biggest gains are likely to be made by those with most to gain and in this respect BenQ, the tournament’s IT partner, looks to be enjoying notable success. Its board presence is limited – although the corner slots guarantee regular close-up coverage - but this previously low key Taiwanese IT brand has raised its profile massively through support advertising, positioning it as the technology powerhouse of the tournament.
Conversely, one well established brand appeared to have an unforeseen difficulty during at least one game at the Estadio de Luz in Lisbon. MasterCard may have achieved 10 per cent above the average exposure for its boards but had a less happy time as the official credit card of the tournament. Staff at the official retail outlet in Block 18 - festooned with posters encouraging payment using MasterCard - were complaining that was impossible…..the system just wasn’t working.
Now that really is the kind of impression which is likely to make its mark on a consumer. Just ask IBM.
