Sponsorship & Marketing
Features
Monkey Knife Fight looks to advance status as industry disruptor
An upstart daily fantasy company with an unusual name and unconventional approach has quickly risen to prominence by challenging established market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel and striking a large series of team sponsorships.
Onur Yegenoglu | Covid-19 challenges pave the way for a true partnership approach
Onur Yegenoglu, head of sport at KIN Partners, says that while Covid-19 has had a hugely negative impact on the sports industry, there are numerous opportunities that have arisen out of the pandemic
Lee Gibbons | What Olympic sponsorships can teach brands in the Covid-19 era
Self-confessed 'Olympophile' Lee Gibbons, managing director of the Sport Unlimited agency, explains why the values and strategies attached to Olympic sponsorships translate so well to today's market in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pepsi sponsorship chief Warner says revamped Champions League delivered ‘comparable value’
PepsiCo’s senior director for global sports marketing, Adam Warner, commends Uefa for finding 'different sources of value' in this year reformatted Men's Champions League and explains why the brand has decided to expand its relationship with the governing body to include women's club and national competitions. Ben Cronin reports.
Matthew Glendinning | Making commercial sense of a Messi move
Matthew Glendinning, editor of SportBusiness Sponsorship, asks whether the hundreds of millions of euros required to lure wantaway superstar Lionel Messi from Barcelona can be justified from a commercial or brand equity point of view for the buying club.
Round-Up: Tokyo Olympics-linked firm paid Papa Diack, IPL sponsorship deals, HK rugby season to start, and more
A consulting company working for the committee bidding to secure the 2020 Olympics hosting rights for Tokyo transferred $370,000 (€314,000) to Papa Massata Diack, the son of jailed ex-IAAF president L…
Hyperice named UFC’s official recovery technology partner
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced a partnership with recovery and performance technology brand Hyperice, which has been designated the organization's official recovery technology partner
PSG leverages digital overlay assets in regional 22Bet deal in Africa
French football club Paris Saint-Germain has signed up gambling brand 22Bet as a regional sponsor in Africa.
The two-year agreement was facilitated on behalf of 22Bet by sports marketing agency Sportradar
GWC signs as first regional supporter of 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Qatar-based logistics company GWC has signed as the first regional supporter for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Roger Duthie | Sports are ready for post-Covid fan support
Roger Duthie, independent senior advisor at Leverage Marketing Advisors and former head of global sponsorship at Emirates, describes how sponsorship exposure has been strong during sport's return and why it's time for a focus to be placed on the safe return of fans to stadiums
Airbnb, Coca-Cola and Visa look for positives in Tokyo 2020 postponement
Three leading brands from The Olympic Partner Programme have described the challenges they have faced as a consequence of the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and how they have adapted their activation plans. Ben Cronin reports.
US Open retains sponsor portfolio with fee discounts and transparent communications
Lew Sherr, chief revenue officer, US Tennis Association, tells SportBusiness how the US Open managed to retain a full roster of sponsors for the closed-door tournament by offering discounts of up to 50 per cent in some cases.
Home Team Sports’ Sloan: Sports TV advertising market in midst of broad redefinition
Craig Sloan, executive vice-president of Home Team Sports, the Fox Sports-owned sales unit serving dozens of regional sports networks, details historic changes coming to advertising on sports television.
Football Kenya celebrates KPL’s bumper BetKing title sponsorship
The president of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), Nick Mwendwa has suggested gambling firm BetKing’s new title sponsorship deal for the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) can help the competition move past p…
James Thompson | How can brands activate with no rugby fans in the stands?
James Thompson, senior account manager at Cake, looks at creative ways rugby union's sponsors can activate and leverage their partnerships as the sport prepares to return behind closed doors.
NBA 2K engagement and e-commerce support NBA licensing amid brick-and-mortar lockdown
Matthew Glendinning explores how NBA licensing revenues have fared during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the basketball league taking many positives from e-commerce and esports
Phil Carling | The Rise of Liverpool – From Super Club to Super Brand
Phil Carling, head of football at the Octagon agency, explains why the brand positioning of Premier League winners Liverpool as a club where ‘This Means More’ is key to unlocking its commercial potential
MLB looks to get aggressive with virtual advertising
Faced with the loss of nearly two-thirds of the regular season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MLB and its clubs are significantly expanding the frequency and locations for virtual advertising this season.
Giles Morgan: Pivot to data to drive a golden age of sponsorship
Giles Morgan, HSBC's former director of sponsorship, believes the sports industry is entering a period where the currency of partnerships changes and the cumulative number of eyeballs watching an event become secondary to the primary data owned by rights-holders.
The inside view as China sacrifices international sports events
The Chinese government recently said the country will not be hosting most of its planned international sports events this year, putting a number of major events in doubt. SportBusiness asked three local industry insiders for their thoughts on the potential for disruption.
Adrian Staiti | Five reasons to be optimistic about the sports industry post-Covid-19
Adrian Staiti, APAC president of sports marketing agency Sportfive, challenges the wary outlook for the sports industry and says a 'better normal' will flourish once markets come out of the pandemic.
Matthew Glendinning | Reports of FFP’s demise after City ruling are exaggerated
Matthew Glendinning, editor of SportBusiness Sponsorship, believes Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules will survive even after the Court of Arbitration for sport overturned the governing body's competition ban on Manchester City.
Asia-Pacific industry reacts to the award of the 2023 Women’s World Cup
Asia-Pacific sports industry insiders react to the award of the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup to Australia and New Zealand.
Sportfive focused on sponsorship for Asia-Pacific growth in new era
Adrian Staiti, head of Apac and global sales at Sportfive, explains how the agency will move forward in the region in its post-AFC rights era and under new ownership.
“We’re number 1 on the pitch and we want to be as good commercially” | Manu Leroy, Belgian FA
In the latest of our series of video interviews, the Belgian FA's director of marketing, Manu Leroy, describes how a new digital approach to sponsorship is helping the organisation to profit from the unprecedented success of its men's national team.
Rise of the Red Devils drives new Belgian FA partnership strategy
SportBusiness looks at the new commercial strategy of Royal Belgian Football Association, after seeing Belgium's national football team rise from #66 in Fifa’s ranking to the top of the world.
Closed-door sport gives fresh impetus to innovations in virtual hospitality
Closed-door sport is forcing innovation and fresh thinking about virtual hospitality. But can it ever hope to replace the real behind-the-ropes experience? Ben Cronin reports.
Cricket beyond Covid | Connor, Gould and McCrum on dealing with the pandemic
In part 1 of a three-part interview, Matthew Williams speaks with managing director of women's cricket at the ECB, Clare Connor, Rajasthan Royals chief operating officer Jake Lush McCrum and Surrey County…