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Permalink Reply by Michelle Truman on March 19, 2008 at 6:52pm

As with any sponsorship, no one got fired for passing on a sponsorship, only for picking up bad one. With that said, to develop a checklist would be almost as exhausting as the list of potential clients. What we are finding is that thru sports sponsorships teaming up with leveraging technology assets, we are able to create a 3 dimensional vertical delivery for clients. Leveraging the amateur or endless dream that this year their team is going to take it all the way. Millions of dollars are being diverted away from traditional advertising outlets to “find” consumers or create “touch experiences.” To literally talk to “Joe Football.” This makes sports sponsorships one of the most effective way for the right product to reach the right consumer.
Again…just my thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Skip on March 19, 2008 at 7:33pm

If I've misinterpreted your request, please disregard the following:

I would highly recommend reading 'The Elusive Fan' Rein, Kotler, Shields, McGraw Hill as a baseline for understanding the existing issues confronting sports decision makers. The authors establish a strategic framework for connecting brands with consumers, and with a little more effort one could compile a common list of strategic objectives and corresponding marketing tactics. i.e. checklist

To the general notion of "when should a marketer utilize sports marketing?" I believe the question in not when but how. The industry provides numerous opportunities for marketers at every game and venue. It's for this very reason that a marketer must familiarize themselves with the "editorial calendar" of the given team, sport, venue to ensure their message is timely and potentially aligned with complimentary in stadium themes and messages. Beyond this and based upon our analysis and field marketing, promotions need to be interactive to gain attention and must be contextually relevant and utilize a multi-channel approach so that the consumer has mechanism and a reason for interacting with the brand after the event.

For the list:
1. Do you have a product or service that aligns with a sports theme lifestyle? If so, then..
2. Are there planned events at the sports stadium that compliment your brand strategy? If so, then..
3. Do you have or can you leverage an existing business partnership to offset in stadium costs that provides a unique experience for the consumer? if so, then..
4. Do you have strategy for bridging the physical sporting event with an online asset that would appeal to sportss fan/consumer?

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Steele on March 20, 2008 at 9:26am

We sell sports on Cable for a local system. ESPN, Fox Sports, Speed Channel etc. Here is some liners from one of our presentations. This holds true to local and network opportunities:

Some Benefits of Sports Advertising

It’s Live!
Live sporting events hold viewer interest and attention better than any other TV programming because the outcome is yet to be determined. Viewers stay so they won’t miss a play. It’s the best possible environment for your message.

Time Spent Viewing
Fans by definition are very involved in the game. They watch the pre-game shows, in-between-period analysis, post-game interviews and updates. This gives you additional opportunities to increase frequency efficiently.

Appointment Viewing
Game time is “prime time” for the sports fan. People know when their favorite team or sport is on and plan their evening, their day, or even their weekend, around that event. (As an example how many people will start watching basketball today at 11am CST?)

Consistency / Frequency
The sports fan you are targeting keeps coming back for more. Your message is seen over and over throughout the season, giving you an unfair advantage in developing effective reach.

Association & Loyalty
Your business can be elevated to a higher level of prominence and image of importance as a sports event sponsor. Viewers associate with products and services they see on sport event commercials.

Entertainment Expectation / Message Retention
Because of the Super Bowl and other bigger than life sports presentations, people anticipate commercials in sporting events are worth watching. They’re a part of the “water cooler topic” days after the event.

“People who watch sports are a lot more than simple viewers. They’re not only fans, they’re ‘users.’ Fans are passionate about sports and utterly involved with the games they watch. They exhibit a level of emotional interaction with the TV that you rarely see in other programming.” -- Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN/ABC Sports marketing and sales

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Permalink Reply by Tom Ziangas on March 24, 2008 at 11:24am

I do believe being able to measure and/or quantify sponsorship is one of the items to evaluate as a part of the checklist. Nielsens' Sponsorship Scorecard product collects in game sponsorships/advertisements for events like NASCAR, NFL,NBA,MLB,NHL games and provides TV viewing exposure (viewing impressions) that allow buyers and sellers to quantify if the message is "hitting" the viewer/consumer.

Industry changes from the measurement of Commercial Ratings (known in the industry as C3) and Technology changes to High Definition Television adoption can accelerate the value of sponsorships to the the leagues and teams (fair CPM value vs. other forms of advertising) .

Since almost all of Sports viewing is done "Live", the Program to Commercial Rating Index is among the highest of all programming, hence making Sports programming almost "DVR proof"
This is an inherent advantage that sports, sports leagues and sports teams should leverage.

High Definition TV is a game changer for Sports Sponsorship, the picture and clarity make you feel like you are at the game, additionally from custom research by Nielsen, HD homes tune to sports at higher levels (about 35% higher) than the rest of the US viewers. Guess what these viewers can see in game sponsors like they are at the game.

As more and more people get DVR's and fast forward through commercials, who can take advantage, well in my opinion any in content advertiser has an advantage, people most likely fast forward through commercial and not content. Plus Sports are not likely to be recorded anyway, who wants to see a recorded game when they know the score.

The ever increasing homes that get HDTV and HDTV packages allows sports content to gain and advantage vs. non-sports. Almost all sports programming is available in Hi Def thus sponsorship is more recognizable.

Sorry I am running on but as you can see I am passionate on how Sponsorships can take advantage of a changing media world ( in the context of TV)

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Gregory on March 25, 2008 at 4:22pm

Here's a quick checklist...lacking in substantive metrics but it seems to identify most of the "why's"

http://www.sportsmatch.co.uk/sponsorship/companies.html

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Permalink Reply by Josh Nason on March 28, 2008 at 2:19pm

I don't know about the backgrounds of anyone else that has replied, but it definitely helps perspective being out of the industry. I spent seven years in pro hockey and when I joined my current employer (a interactive development company), I was asked to overlook provisions in a trade agreement we had with a team.

From the business owners view: some of the things I'd ask is for a full list of available and non-available items to tag onto. While anyone can do a mention over the P.A. or slap their logo on a giveaway, I was more interested in branding our name within team emails and prominent places on their web site. If there's something not being taken or if there's an opportunity you see, just ask. At the end of the day, you are devoting money and your brand name to another team's hands. A misfire on execution could be disasterous.

From the team's perspective, learn more about businesses and where you could fit these prospects in. Too often, we used to say, "Here's our offerings. Take it or leave it." There's too much money left on the table by not challenging yourself to think up better and unique options. Also, think of businesses as potential partners. If you share strong brand names, figure out ways you can further intertwine yourselves. During playoff time, we got two major fast food chains to wear our logos on aprons and shirts, helping awareness. How much did it cost us? Nothing because we had such a good relationship that it was beneficial for both.

Ultimately, any company can be a good fit for a sports team if they do their due diligence and vice versa. Yes, there is a place for BMW at a WWE event and a spot for McDonald's at the Westminster Dog Show if you take the time to figure it out.

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