5 dos that will help you leverage your first global sport sponsorship project

First time in sport sponsorship oh my… We know it’s hard to take a decision. There are no metrics/feedback of previous campaigns to see what was successful and what was not, what activations will be helpful, what type of messages will engage with your targeted audience so What’s the right direction to go for sport sponsorship?

let’s break it down the 5 dos that will help you leverage your first global sport sponsorship campaign.

Cultural connection

In simple terms, we have example A – an Australian brand wants to sponsor an Australian rugby team in an international cup; straight forward an obvious connection. Example B a Russian brand partners with a Premier League for global exposure, emm will need a little more work on all aspects of the partnership to establish a brands position and connection, right? Work on an authentic storyline that you can picture in it your brand and the team. This could come from the culture of the team/brand or even better get in to the cultural mix with the fanbase. A successful sponsorship is the compatibility between the sponsor and the sports property/team.

Its sport marketing not Advertisement!

Have you ever seen an NBA basketball player talking about the soles of the shoes in Nike advertisements? (Steve Jobs line) NO. or saying how good Nike shoes are? NO. Using the same exact company slogan in your sport marketing campaign with the voice i.e a football player– ‘’the safe place to trade (drum roll) it’s so and so’’. No matter how many times you played it, what ankles, which media, how many people viewed it, fans which are consumers btw won’t pay any attention to this. Playful content is King here that will encourage the fans to get to know who you are first and then buy from you.

Simple and clean

Remember this the first time that a new audience will come across with your brand, logo, message. Keep your branding clean (btw If the logo is too ‘’busy’’ and fluffy form a simple one), be visible, and share engaging content. Use the right channels that will drive audience to get interested in your product. There is no point to do overbranding, logo here and logo there.  If you disrupt fans experience, or trying to figure out a campaign that takes time away from the game- almost certainly you will annoy the fans.

Pay tribute to your employees – Reward your existing client

 ‘’Our biggest asset is our employees’’ and ‘’we couldn’t be more thankful to our customers that made us who we are’’.  There is no better feeling for existing customers and companies’ employees to play such an important role in a company’s milestone.  Tell them to share their enthusiasm, show them their value, reward them. Develop a loyalty program that motivates both groups perform on a higher for your brand. *Did you know that HSBC in the first year of any sponsorship the only KPI they measure against is the impact on staff?

Regular basis communication

While monthly, quartile reports in sponsorship are important, make a close connection with team members that anytime you feel can pick up the phone to call them or meet them casually to share your concerns. We live in times that things changing radically (especially post Covid19) that if you wait until the next report you lost already a considerable time to take action to improve campaigns. Hospitality, and establishing a good relationship starts early by both parties. it’s a misinformed conception that the team has to make the opening and that everything is on the contract. A happy sponsor will renew, a happy rights holder wants to retain and work again with a brand to show them they can make it even better.