Inside Sponsorship: Recent Episodes
Inside Sponsorship
Inside Sponsorship is the show that provides sponsorship professionals with advice, insights and news so that they can maximise their commercial programs and achieve best practice.
Recently, there have been a fair few people who have gotten in touch to let us know that they’ve enjoyed an episode from the past. So, we thought it would be a good idea to round the year out by re-running three of our most popular episodes.
One thing we have been thinking about, for some time, is creating a curated list of the host's personal favourite insights or pieces of advice from our guests.
We have always envisaged it to be a bit of an anchor or touchpoint for those of you with lots of sponsorship industry experience, in the sense that you can always revisit it and be validated or inspired again. Or, for those new to the industry, a condensed show of lots of great advice from lots of smart guests to help you on your journey.
As such, in this episode, our host has hand-picked 14 of his favourite pieces of sponsorship advice and insights from 109 episodes.
The best of the best!
Enjoy
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Recently, there have been a fair few people who have gotten in touch to let us know that they’ve enjoyed an episode from the past. So, we thought it would be a good idea to round the year out by re-running three of our most popular episodes.
We’ve all seen some great examples of sponsorships adjusting, doing something different, and really creative activations this year because of COVID-19. A lot of those have been driven by necessity.
Probably the most talked about activation of 2020, however, has been Burger King’s sponsorship of Stevenage FC, who, at the time of the sponsorship, in 2019, were last in the fourth division of English football. It left many people scratching their heads.
It is, of course, the sponsorship that ultimately gave us the hugely successful Stevenage Challenge.
This amazing partnerhsip wasn’t driven by COVID-19 or necessity. It was driven through vision and creativity, and, as our guest phrases it later on in the show, “a leap of faith”, to pull off a truly brilliant activation. One of the reasons it was so brilliant was because the opportunity was right under so many people’s noses, yet so many didn’t see it.
The activation is both amazing in its boldness yet so jarringly simple.
Tap into the already huge, but growing, eSports market, specifically FIFA. Tap into the underdog status and fairytale storyline of them winning. Tap into the desire for people to share their gaming highlights online. Tap into the fact that everyone loves an easily accessible giveaway, especially fast food.
The results have been absolutely amazing and driven directly from the 1.2 billion impressions that Burger King’s shirt sponsorship, of Stevenage FC, has produced through the Stevenage Challenge on FIFA. Furthermore, those commercial outcomes and further opportunities are both online and offline.
Alex Tunbridge is the Chief Executive at Stevenage FC and he joins us in this episode to take us inside Burger King’s sponsorship of his club.
We also hear from Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who joins us to discuss the blog which outlines 3 Things That Will Provide Both Short and Long-term Benefits to Sponsorship Managers.
Enjoy.
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Recently, there have been a fair few people who have gotten in touch to let me know that they’ve enjoyed an episode from the past. So, we thought it would be a good idea to round the year out by re-running three of our most popular episodes.
In a world where traditional reach and attention are diminishing, brands are looking for cut-through and engagement to drive relevance and ultimately accelerate their growth.
Through sponsorship, rights holders help brands access an audience they would otherwise find it hard to access or would not be able to access as cost-effectively.
However, we all know that being a sponsor and simply logo slapping is no longer enough; it hasn’t been for a while.
That is why creative in sponsorship is one area where brands can really activate their sponsorships to achieve cut-through & engagement to drive relevance & growth.
What is, however, the process of creative in sponsorship? What part can it play in activation? How can brands and rights holders bring it to life? What are the pitfalls along the way?
Joining the show, to help answer those questions is Misha Sher, Global Head of Sport, Entertainment & Culture at MediaCom, based in London.
Also joining the show is Jordan Rutner, Research Marketing Manager at KORE Software, to talk about one of KORE’s latest blogs, Building a Sustainable Sponsorship Department.
Enjoy.
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While the history & tradition of combat sport & mixing martial arts can be traced back almost 3,000 years The UFC started in 1993 with a goal to answer the question, “Which martial art is truly the most effective in combat?
In 2001, along came Dana White and his business partners who bought the struggling company for USD $2m.
Headquartered in Las Vegas, and with a network of employees around the world, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually, featuring a massive global roster of talent from almost 80 countries, consistently selling out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe.
UFC programming is broadcast in over 165 countries and territories, via more than 60 global broadcast partners, to more than 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in over 40 different languages. UFC has the highest concentration of millennials (ages 18-34) in its fan base with 54% (compared to other top sports properties).
To take us inside sponsorship at UFC is Nick Smith, Vice President Global Partnerships.
You can connect with Nick on LinkedIn and find out more about UBS at https://www.ufc.com/
Enjoy
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The global sponsorship portfolio at UBS is rooted in culture and sport including contemporary Art, with Art Basel as the flagship property, and Motorsports, currently Team Partner of Mercedes AMG-Petronas Formula One team, in addition to regional platforms.
Anneliese Mesilati oversees the UBS Arena naming rights agreement and the partnership with UBS Arena’s anchor tenant—the NHL’s New York Islanders.
Additional programs include the Founding Sponsorship of PlayersTV, the first ever athlete-owned media network dedicated to showcasing sports lifestyle and entertainment content, and Global Lead partnership of Art Basel - regionally Art Basel Miami Beach.
Alongside ideation, activation and management of regional sponsorship activities, Anneliese is focused on aligning initiatives with UBS’s leadership in sustainable investing and commitment to “Reimagine the power of investing and connect people for a better world.”
Prior to UBS, Anneliese has acted as a brand, marketing and communications lead for several financial services firms including Citi and RBC, among others.
You can connect with Anneliese on LinkedIn and find out more about UBS at www.ubs.com
Enjoy
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The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under FIA regulations. The Supercars Championship holds races right across Australia and has often held one in New Zealand as well.
The vehicles used in the series are loosely based on road-going cars, obviously with modifications though.
Dick Johnson Racing is Australia's oldest motor racing team and is one of the competing teams in the Supercars Championship, competing as the Shell V-Power Racing Team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team's drivers have won ten Australian Touring Car Championship titles and the team has taken four victories in Australia's premier race, the Bathurst 1000.
Nigel Calder is the team’s Head of Commercial and joins us to take us inside the Shell V-Power Racing Team.
You can connect with Nigel on LinkedIn and follow the Shell V-Power Racing Team at djr.com.au
As a client of KORE, we have also produced a case study looking at how the Shell V-Power Racing Team Achieve Real-Time Asset Tracking & Data Transparency Across Their Organisation with KORE Software. You can download it here.
Enjoy
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We welcome Jessica Geymayr, Senior Manager, Corporate Partnership Marketing at Miami HEAT.
Jessica's resume includes time and success at Roc Nation, where she worked as a coordinator, Sports Brand Activation, the Denver Broncos, as a coordinator, Partnership Activation, at University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, as Manager, Marketing Brand Activation, and now the Miami HEAT where she is Senior Manager, Corporate Partnership Marketing.
While we’ll go inside the Miami HEAT this episode, what will become clear to you, is just how infectious and inspiring our guest is, Jessica Geymayr.
Whether it is driving overnight to take an intern opportunity, to rocking up and introducing herself to powerful people in the industry at conferences, to pushing herself to take on study during COVID, Jessica is certainly someone who lives and breathes the HEAT Culture.
You can connect with Jessica on LinkedIn and follow Miami HEAT at nba.com/heat
Enjoy
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The 49ers entered professional football in 1946 as a member of the All-America Football Conference. They were founded by lumber magnate Tony Morabito, who was one of the first to realize that with the advent of air travel, truly national professional sports leagues were possible.
Indeed, the 49ers were the very first team in the four major North American sports to originate on the West Coast.
Today, the 49ers brand is instantly recognised.
The conviction, passion, and character birthed, laid the sturdy foundation that has enabled the 49ers to become one of the NFL's premier football powers.
To take us inside sponsorship at the 49ers is Senior Manager, Partnership Sales at San Francisco 49ers, Cameron O’Toole.
Cameron’s first role in sports was as a ball boy for his beloved Phoenix Suns but, post College, he found himself in a business ops role for the Seattle Reign FC in the Women’s National Soccer League. At the time, the Reign was an expansion club just as women’s sport was really starting to step into the spotlight.
From there, Cameron moved to the 49ers, holding multiple roles over the past 7 years, and now, as Senior Manager, Partnership Sales, he takes us inside sponsorship at San Francisco 49ers.
You can connect with Cameron on LinkedIn and learn more about the 49ers at 49ers.com
Enjoy.
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Boasting an average attendance of over 20,000 per game, MLS has the third-highest average attendance of any sports league in the U.S., after the NFL and MLB, and is the seventh-highest attended professional soccer league worldwide. MLS currently has 28 teams which makes it the largest first-division professional soccer league in the world.
There is no doubt MLS is a powerful and attractive league. That’s why it wasn’t all that surprising that, in 2006, it was announced that Austrian energy drink conglomerate Red Bull had purchased the club. Of course, as part of the sponsorship that came with ownership, the team was completely re-branded, changing the name to New York Red Bulls which included new colours and a new logo.
An energy drink company is not the conventional owner of a sports franchise, however, slowly but surely Red Bull has made inroads into an array of sports. In fact, Red Bull's rise in sport has been astronomical and they now have an invested interest in over 15 sports teams across 11 sports with a major focus on football/soccer and motorsports but also Ice Hockey, Sailing, Skateboarding, and Surfing.
To take us into one of those teams, New York Red Bulls, is Jordan Iannuzzi, Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships. Jordan is able to offer not just a great property in New York, but also access to a truly powerful global network, to brands.
You can connect with Jordan on LinkedIn and follow New York Red Bulls here.
Enjoy
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As a worldwide brand, with huge awareness, it is no surprise that Toyota leverages sponsorships as part of its marketing mix.
Toyota believes that mobility goes beyond cars and wants to support people in their efforts to get across town, across a room, and through life. Toyota also believes in the power of sport, and its ability to connect people with diverse backgrounds as they compete with mutual respect towards a common goal. Through sport, the Olympic and Paralympic Games bring together the entire world to celebrate the highest realization of humanity, and it is the elite Paralympic athletes who truly demonstrate that when a person is free to move, anything is possible.
Toyota is helping drive towards a better world. Part of that better world is Toyota becoming a part of The Olympic Partner program in 2015. As the Worldwide Mobility Partner, Toyota is committed to mobility as a source of inspiration and as a way to improve the quality of life for all. As per that commitment, Toyota also became a Worldwide Paralympic Partner in 2015.
And to take us into what that really means at Toyota, and the wider sponsorship portfolio, we welcome Dedra DeLilli, Group Manager, Sponsorship Marketing, at Toyota.
Dedra has spent time at two well-known brands, Citigroup and TD Ameritrade, before joining Toyota as Group Manager, Olympic/Paralympic Marketing, and then progressing to Group Manager, Sponsorship Marketing, at Toyota.
As you’ll hear, Toyota doesn’t see the Olympics and Paralympics as separate partnerships. Inside Toyota, if you say Olympics, you are expected to say “and Paralympics.” as well.
Enjoy.
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When you think of the UEFA Champions League and sponsors, you think of Heineken. When you think of Formula 1 and sponsors, you probably think of Heineken as well.
Heineken could have reached those synonymous positions simply through longevity of logo slapping and the long association of sport and beer. We have all, however, seen the amazing activations Heineken executes.
Heineken is a huge company, with 25 million Heinekens served each day across 192 countries. Like all great companies though, they evolve and lead. It has been fantastic to see Heineken’s commitment to women’s sport and the integration of their zero-alcohol beer into existing sponsorships.
To take us inside sponsorship at Heineken, Thomas Mulders, Senior Global Sponsorship Manager, joins us on the show. Thomas is closing in on eight years at Heineken, having begun in marketing and social media at the Heineken Experience. These days Thomas manages UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europe Conference League sponsorships at a global level. He also manages partnerships with top-tier museums in Amsterdam.
In the show, there is mention of some amazing activations Heineken has undertaken. Be sure to check out these links.
Heineken - The Jonah Lomu Machine
Heineken - The Dilemma
Heineken - The Negotiation
Enjoy
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We are very privileged to be able welcome such amazing guests onto this show and chat to them about their work. And, despite the ongoing challenges faced by the world, 2022 gave us another round of great guests and episodes full of excellent advice, insights, and experiences.
Now, as always, we've wrapped up the year and re-visited the 12 episodes of Inside Sponsorship from 2022. You might have seen on social media that, for each show, we pull out a 30-45 second snippet and turn it into a video to help whet your appetite. As such, we’ve gone back and pulled the full question and answer, for that snippet, and created a best of 2022 show for you.
Enjoy.
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It feels pretty redundant to note that there has been a lot of change in the world in recent times and, of course, those working in the sponsorship space know this only too well.
Included on that front is the employment market, a popular news topic at the moment. There are fewer people moving between countries, people returning home to their countries, and talk of the great resignation, silent quitting, and employment padding.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that the industry still needs quality professionals to sell, manage, and activate sponsorships. That’s why, in this episode, we’ll take a look at the current employment market and how it relates to sponsorship professionals and sports and entertainment more broadly.
To help us do that, Jonathan Harris, Managing Partner, ANZ, at SRI, joins us.
SRI is an executive search and consulting firm focused on driving individual, team and organisational performance in converging and transforming industries: media, entertainment, gaming & esports, fashion, technology, sport, and sporting goods.
So, whether you are looking to make a move to a new job, or you want to attract and retain the best talent, Jonathan is well-placed to provide us with an update.
You can connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn and find out more about SRI on their website.
Enjoy.
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The sponsorship industry can be guilty, sometimes, of just rolling out the same old properties activated in the same old ways. We all cringe at the thought of logo slapping and chairman's choice sponsorships, yet it still happens.
Innovation is what can give a sponsorship a competitive advantage. Whether that is better awareness and positioning for brands versus their competitors, access to target audiences, better ROI/ROO, or whether it is just a stronger overall relationship.
In the end, innovative sponsorships become a very attractive commodity. Of course, creativity is synonymous with innovation and while many people working in sponsorship are good at their jobs, they don't often describe themselves as ‘creative’.
So, if we know innovation drives better outcomes, and we need to be creative to be innovative, how do we help ensure that happens on a consistent basis in our sponsorships?
It's a question for all three sides: rights holders, brands, and agencies.
To help answer that question, one of Australia's most recognised innovators, Adam Ferrier, Founder and Consumer Psychologist at Thinkerbell, joins us.
You can connect with Adam on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter.
I highly recommend checking out his Black T-shirts Podcast, I'm a listener myself. Adam also has two books - Stop Listening to the Consumer: Try Hearing Your Brand Instead as well as The Advertising Effect: How to Change Behaviour.
Enjoy.
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As we know, sponsorship is one of the most effective means of marketing.
In a US$60 billion industry (and growing) where brands spend tens to hundreds of millions of dollars on sponsorship, the ‘gut feel’ is still largely being used. As such, the biggest challenge marketers face is quantifying ROI.
It is a challenging situation and often traces back to disparate data sources, a lack of measurement framework, or even consistent KPIs.
For brands, those things have long been an issue ... and then COVID came along and brands were forced to really evaluate their sponsorship portfolio.
As such, the age-old question, for brands, "How do we properly manage, measure, and optimize our sponsorship portfolio?" has become so much more important.
The answer is a single source of truth and to help us unpack what that means, and why it is critical, Scott Tilton, EVP, Sponsorship Analytics at KORE Software, joins us.
Enjoy.
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It is scary to think that it is only a few months until 2023 rolls around. For many, we already have an eye on 2023 and are deep in planning for a successful year.
However, what should you be considering and keeping top of mind when planning?
You could argue that there’s a lot of ‘noise’ within sport and entertainment sponsorship. It just gets busier and busier and there seem to be more and more platforms; whether they be social media platforms or new OTT services that further fragment viewing. How do you navigate the noise and help ensure sponsorship success?
What role does cultural relevance play in sponsorship planning and execution?
Should you even be focussing on relevance or is going 'all in' on reach your best play?
How do you make the best use of your budget?
How flexible and responsive do you need to be to make use of opportunities that pop up, despite a plan already in place?
What about purpose?
All big and important questions which are discussed in this episode as Dan Collier-Hill, Head of Strategy, Creative Systems, at MediaCom Australia, joins the show.
You can connect with Dan on LinkedIn and find our more about MediaCom on their website.
Enjoy.
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On 29 July 1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, the first competition for wheelchair athletes, which was named the Stoke Mandeville Games, involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery.
Fast forward from its humble beginnings, and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in Japan featured 4403 athletes from 161 countries.
Ryan Neiswender was one of those athletes, winning a gold medal in wheelchair basketball, for the USA, and he joins the show to discuss paralympic and disabled sports sponsorship.
Ryan is a Visa sponsored athlete as Visa’s connections to the Olympic and Paralympic Games extend beyond simply their sponsorship of the Games. Visa understands that the skills that make Olympians and Paralympians successful in sport extend to the workforce as well. As such, a number of elite athletes have taken the opportunity to join their global team where they are investing in their careers.
Ryan is one of those elite athletes and is a Digital Partnerships, Senior Manager at Visa. As such, this chat is really insightful as Ryan can speak from both sides of the fence – rights holder and sponsor.
There are 1.3 billion people in the world who are living with a disability and those 1.3 billion people have a combined disposable income of US$13 trillion.
While the world is largely focussing on digital, Web3, crypto, and blockchain, as new sectors and opportunities to develop in sponsorship, maybe there’s been an opportunity right under our noses the whole time.
Enjoy.
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Worldwide, Rugby Union boasts 500 million fans and 10 million players within 128 national member federations affiliated through six regional associations.
The driving force behind the sport’s significant growth has been World Rugby’s portfolio of major events, from the flagship men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups and U20 Championship to the excitement of the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup Sevens and HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series which are instrumental in attracting new fans. Plus, Rugby Union is now an Olympic Games when it returned to the Olympic Games program at Rio 2016 with rugby sevens and, of course, rugby sevens is also a Commonwealth Games sport.
In Australia, Rugby Australia is the sport's national governing body and is a member of World Rugby, Oceania Rugby, and SANZAAR.
In Australia, Rugby Australia is the sport's national governing body. It essentially arranges it’s commercial program around three pillars – the classic 15-a-side teams, for both men and women, the newer sevens teams, for both men and women, and classic wallabies, a program for past players.
It is an exciting time for Rugby Australia as they have a huge calendar of events coming up over the next 10 years or so with both Men’s and Women’s World Cups, multiple Olympics and Commonwealth Games, and a British and Irish Lions tour.
Today, James Durbin, Chief Commercial Officer, takes us inside sponsorship at Rigby Australia.
If you would like to connect with James, you can do so on LinkedIn and you can find out more about Rugby Australia at www.rugby.com.au
Enjoy.
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One thing we have been thinking about, for some time, is creating a curated list of the host's personal favourite insights or pieces of advice from our guests.
We have always envisaged it to be a bit of an anchor or touchpoint for those of you with lots of sponsorship industry experience, in the sense that you can always revisit it and be validated or inspired again. Or, for those new to the industry, a condensed show of lots of great advice from lots of smart guests to help you on your journey.
As such, in this episode, our host has hand-picked 14 of his favourite pieces of sponsorship advice and insights from 109 episodes.
The best of the best!
Enjoy
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Blockchain companies investing in sports sponsorship is projected to reach US$5 billion by 2026. Cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFT sports sponsorship investment is projected to increase by a massive 778 per cent compared to 2021. The next highest increase in sports sponsorship is 44 per cent for IT software and hardware. Retail, automotive, and energy sponsorship investment is expected to rise by seven per cent, five per cent, and four per cent, respectively.
Last year, the number of people in the world investing in crypto doubled to 100 million. Now, it’s estimated to be more than 220 million and many analysts expect that to double again next year.
It is an attractive space for rights holders as they look to shore up commercial programs to help recover from pandemic-driven losses in a category that barely existed a few years ago.
Of course, while awareness of blockchain companies is growing, sponsors are also focused on converting. That needs to be a key understanding for any rights holder looking to pitch a blockchain company.
However, while the space is overflowing with opportunity and possibility, rights holders do need to tread carefully. It is vitally important that they are not seduced and blinded by the money on offer at the expense of due diligence and properly vetting potential partners.
Eddie Fitzgibbon, Principal Consultant at Sports Rights Tech joins us to help understand and navigate the space. SRT is a specialist advisory business focusing on the intersection of technology, intellectual property and rights in sport and entertainment.
SRT have a unique understanding of the Web 3 and NFT space for sports and entertainment. Through their Web 3 and NFT Advisory Services, SRT are able to support rights holders and brands through a number of potential projects & use cases in this ever-evolving commercial opportunity.
You can connect with Eddie on LinkedIn and you can learn more about SRT at www.sportsrightstech.com
Enjoy.
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We hear so much about the importance of Data. That’s because it is important. It is often no longer acceptable to make gut decisions or use your intuition when comes to making business decisions and sponsorship is no different.
Whether you are on the rights holder side, brand side, or you work for an agency, data now plays an important role in reducing any risks and unknowns around sponsorships; whether that is using data to identify well-aligned partners, presenting sponsorship proposals, evaluating proposals, or tracking and ensuring partnerships that are in place.
There are, however, lots of organisations and platforms collating data and trying to bring it to life and make it useful. Sometimes, organisations even have silos of data which can present problems. Data, at times, can feel big, unwieldy, and hard to make sense of and work for you.
There are some that are doing it well and, as such, joining us for this episode is Christian Fizia, Sponsorship Insight and Operations Manager at Kindred Group.
During the last 25 years, Kindred has established significant market share in key regulated markets across the globe. Today, Kindred is one of the world’s leading online gambling operators with business across Europe, US, and Australia; servicing over 30 million customers across nine brands. They are over 1,600 people strong, representing 62 nationalities, located across offices in 12 locations.
As an innovative company that builds on trust, Kindred has led the development into areas such as tech, mobile solutions, new product launches, and sustainable gambling. As part of their journey, in 2020, they became the first global online gambling company to commit to zero revenue from harmful gambling by 2023.
Clearly, as a digital-only company, data plays an important role in Kindred's sponsorship evaluation and measurement.
You can learn more about Kindred Group at kindredgroup.com and you can connect with Christian on LinkedIn.
Enjoy.
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The world of sponsorship was already experiencing a lot of change, before COVID, but, as we are now fairly and squarely in the middle of living with COVID, the industry continues to change.
2022 has a real sense of optimism as we see people flocking to live sports events including the rise and rise of women’s sport where we recently saw a record set for the biggest crowd at a women’s football match when Barcelona hosted Real Madrid and 91,553 people attended. No game had more people in it all season – and that includes the men’s clásico.
Brands are also taking stock and, in some cases, pivoting or re-jogging their sponsorship approaches and portfolios, looking for new ideas and opportunities.
That’s why I thought it would be good to look at some of the trends that are happening in the sponsorship industry right now.
Paula Beadle is the Founder and CEO at Caravel Marketing. Paula is a sponsorship industry leader who has mastered the art and science of sponsorship over 30 years of experience in sponsorship, media, sports, major events, and entertainment.
Paula is also the founder of Sponsorship Mastery – an organization dedicated to improving individual and organizational sponsorship performance.
Paula also serves on the Board of Directors for the Red Cross, Seattle Sports Commission, Washington Fairs and Events Association (WFEA), and as a Mentor for Women in Sports and Entertainment (WISE).
Paula presents to conferences on Navigating the Future of Sponsorship Marketing and she frames her presentation around research conducted.
Enjoy.
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Esports is no longer a sector that we can look at and say, “Let’s just wait and see how it plays out”.
Reports from Newzoo and Juniper Research last year show that the global Esports audience grew to 474 million in 2021, with revenues from competitive gaming just shy of US$1.1 billion. The growth of Esport’s audience represents year-on-year growth of 8.7 percent.
To be classed as part of the 474 million Esports audience, you had to watch competitive gaming more than once a month. The audience is expected to continue to grow with a compound annual growth rate of 7.7 percent which will see it rise 577.2 million people in 2024.
The US$1.1 billion in revenue is a 14.5 percent increase on the US$947.1 million from 2020. Of the 2021 US$1.1 billion revenue figure, US$833.6 million will come from media rights and sponsorship. That’s 76% of total revenue.
Significant seems the common thread here. Significant audience growth. Significant revenue growth. Media rights and sponsorship contributing a significant percentage to total revenue.
Brands are noticing and teams and players have realised their position or power.
Patrick Collins joins the show and takes us inside Esports sponsorship. Patrick has a long history in sport having worked on the agency and rights holders side and, most recently, as Head of Partnerships at Excel Esports.
Patrick has recently launched his own Esports agency; Leapfox. You can also connect with Patrick on LinkedIn
Enjoy.
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This episode is born from KORE Software’s 2019 free whitepaper, Storytelling in Sponsorship: The importance of storytelling in selling, reporting, and activating partnerships in sports and entertainment.
Storytelling drives our lives. A myriad of new OTT broadcasters, the rise in popularity of Instagram and Facebook Stories, TikTok and YouTube’s increasingly influential stars, and a multitude of news sources where the dilemma of credibility and authority are changing the ways information is shared, all impacting our everyday.
Stories are at the heart of this new world of information sharing. For what is the foreseeable future, they will continue to shape relationships, understanding, and behaviors.
In this episode, we want to shine a light on how both brands and rights holders can utilize storytelling to their advantage, across the whole lifecycle of their partnerships. In a world of instantaneous conversation and differentiation, expectations of audiences as well as clients have changed. In this episode, we look at the three most important aspects of the partner relationship; selling, activating, and reporting.
To help us explain best practice in storytelling, we’ve pulled together insights from around the world of sponsorship, with help from some of the biggest and most influential national and international brands and rights holders, including HSBC, the Golden State Warriors, and the British Olympic Association.
We explore how brands and rights holders can survive and thrive in this new, evolving world of storytelling. Today, it’s vital to understand how both can find that mutual area of understanding and value creation; what are the key differentiators of the relationship, where can value be added and importantly, how can storytelling help them to achieve this. Whilst branded content and sponsorship have always allowed brands to become a more intrinsic part of fan and audience engagement, as audiences become tech-savvy ad blockers, and the advertising and media landscape continues to shift, sponsorship will become an even more important vehicle in the years to come.
You can download a copy of the whitepaper here.
We also welcome Leo Baudino, Product Marketing & Communications Manager at KORE Software who joins us to discuss her latest blog, 4 Essential Steps to Selecting the Right Partnerships.
Enjoy
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It goes without saying that 2021 was a challenge but, as we know, the show must go on and that includes sponsorship. As such, despite the challenges of 2021, it was still a great year filled with lots of amazing chats with sponsorship professionals from all over the world.
Now, as always, we've wrapped up the year and re-visited the 11 episodes of Inside Sponsorship from 2021. You might have seen on social media that, for each show, we pull out a 30-45 second snippet and turn it into a video to help whet your appetite. As such, we’ve gone back and pulled the full question and answer, for that snippet, and created a best of 2021 show for you.
Enjoy.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Josep Borrell, Head of Commercial Strategy takes us inside Valencia CF’s commercial program. Josep made the move to Valencia CF from the agency side where he spent two and a half years at Nielsen, in London, including roles as a Football Account Manager and a Commercial Insights Manager.
Playing in Spain’s La Liga, Valencia have a great footballing history and celebrated their centenary year in 2019 by winning the Copa del Rey, Spain’s annual knockout football competition. Not only does Valencia CF have a great footballing history, They also have a real and deliberate connection with the Valencia region and that absolutely translates positively to Valencia’s commercial program.
Those efforts include the Valencia Innovation Hub and a business club they established during their centenary year that has seen other football clubs reaching out and connecting.
You can connect with Josep on LinkedIn and learn more about Valencia CF at valenciacf.com
Jordan Rutner, Research Marketing Manager at KORE Software, also joins us to discuss his latest blog which examines Quick Service Restaurant Partnerships in Sports.
Enjoy.
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Welcome to the third of three industry roundtables focusing on the future of sponsorship.
In each of the roundtables, we hear from multiple guests, from rights holders, brands, and agencies, about how they think the future of sponsorship is shaping up.
Each guest will share their views and opinions across the same six questions and, joining us in this episode, are: Stuart Ramsay, Head Of Brand Partnerships at the British Olympic Association Katherine Butterworth, Mastercard’s, Marketing Director, Consumer, Partnership & Sponsorship Marketing Australasia Michael Israel, Senior Account Director, Client Consulting + Services at GMR Marketing Mark Thompson, co-Founder at Sports Rights Tech Jordan Rutner, Research Manager at KORE Software
Enjoy.
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Welcome to the second of three industry roundtables focusing on the future of sponsorship.
In each of the roundtables, we hear from multiple guests, from rights holders, brands, and agencies, about how they think the future of sponsorship is shaping up.
Each guest will share their views and opinions across the same six questions and, joining us in this episode, are: Misha Sher, Global Head of Sport, Entertainment & Culture at MediaCom Rajesh Menon, VP | Head & Director on the Board of Royal Challengers Alice Larkworthy, Senior Partner Services Manager at Arsenal F.C. Scott Tilton, CEO at Hookit Gareth McCarthy, Sponsorships Manager at HCF Australia
Enjoy.
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Welcome to the first of three industry roundtables focusing on the future of sponsorship.
In each of the roundtables, we hear from six guests, from rights holders, brands, and agencies, about how they think the future of sponsorship is shaping up.
Each guest will share their views and opinions across the same six questions and, joining us in this episode, are: Joel Seymour-Hyde, Octagon Managing Director, UK; Sophie Morris, who is not only the Strategic Marketing & Sponsorship Director of Millharbour Marketing, but also Board Director of the European Sponsorship Association and Advisory Board Member for the Institute of Sport Business at Loughborough University; Sven Gloor, Global Manager - Rugby Partnerships at HSBC; Josh Kritzler, Co-Founder at 4FRONT; Andrew Mikhail, Chief Commercial Officer at the Parramatta Eels National Rugby League Club; and Brendan Moynihan, Executive Vice President, Consulting and Sponsorship Activation at SPORTFIVE
Enjoy.
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Based on total website traffic, social media behemoths, YouTube and Facebook are the second and third most visited sites, respectively, behind only Google, with Twitter in 4th and Instagram 5th. To be clear,4 of the top 5 most visited websites are social media websites.
All of those people, all over the world, spending all that time on social media, every day, sharing, questioning, arguing, promoting, and engaging, it is a truly magnetic place to be.
Understanding audiences has always been a key plank in sponsorship. That’s why, social listening can be a very powerful tool to be able to help sell, find, align, activate, and report on sponsorships, regardless of whether you are a rights holder, brand, or agency.
As such, joining us on the show to discuss how social listening can be used in sponsorship is Benjamin Foster, Talkwalker Oceania Enterprise Partner. Talkwalker is an AI-powered analysis tool that provides real-time insights into what's happening on all social channels and online media, across 187 languages.
You can connect with Ben on LinkedIn and find out more about Talkwalker on their website.
Jordan Rutner, Research Marketing Manager at KORE Software, also joins us to talk about his latest blog, Tokyo 2020 In 2021: Broadcast And Sponsorship Breakdown.
Enjoy
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No longer can audience understanding be superficial i.e. females in New York who are between 25 and 40 years old. Consumers are complex people and a rights holder’s and brand’s understanding must go deeper.
But what happens when a rights holder can’t provide a potential sponsor with a fully formed, deep, and complex view of their fans? What happens when the brand has a deep view of their target audience and is looking for the right fit but won’t simply just accept the stock standard, demographic driven, fan profile so often presented by rights holders?
Well, the obvious answer is that the rights holder is a good chance of missing out on that sponsor. In today’s sponsorship environment, that’s a risk less and less rights holders are willing to take.
That is where Nielsen’s Fanlinks is an amazingly powerful data source that fuses consumers’ detailed lifestyle, attitudinal, and purchasing behaviour with their sporting interests & passions. Joining us on the show to discuss best-practice fan data and use, and a little peek inside Fanlinks, is Nielsen Sports’ Director, Commercial & Consulting, Steve Whately.
You can connect with Steve on LinkedIn and he is happy to share more information about Fanlinks if you get in contact with him through the Nielsen website here.
Also joining the show is Jordan Rutner, Research Marketing Manager at KORE Software, who joins us to talk about his latest blog, Deal Scoring - Comparing Investments Across Markets.
Enjoy.
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In a world where traditional reach and attention are diminishing, brands are looking for cut-through and engagement to drive relevance and ultimately accelerate their growth.
Through sponsorship, rights holders help brands access an audience they would otherwise find it hard to access or would not be able to access as cost-effectively.
However, we all know that being a sponsor and simply logo slapping is no longer enough; it hasn’t been for a while.
That is why creative in sponsorship is one area where brands can really activate their sponsorships to achieve cut-through & engagement to drive relevance & growth.
What is, however, the process of creative in sponsorship? What part can it play in activation? How can brands and rights holders bring it to life? What are the pitfalls along the way?
Joining the show, to help answer those questions is Misha Sher, Global Head of Sport, Entertainment & Culture at MediaCom, based in London.
Also joining the show is Jordan Rutner, Research Marketing Manager at KORE Software, to talk about one of KORE’s latest blogs, Building a Sustainable Sponsorship Department.
Enjoy.
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Big sponsorship announcements are not commonplace right now; as we still aim to get back to whatever normal is going to look like post-pandemic.
That is why it was great news to hear that Football Australia recently announced that the Commonwealth Bank will become the official naming rights partner and bank of the Australian national women’s team, known as the Matildas, as well as the Junior Matildas and Young Matildas, from August 2021. The initial four-year partnership will inject millions of dollars into elite women’s football and grassroots initiatives around the country, and it’s just the start of what is set to be an exciting new partnership.
It is great news for Football Australia as it comes as they move into a huge cycle of Olympics 2021 and 2024, the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cups 2022 and 2023, and, of course, FIFA World Cups 2022 for men but also the Women’s FIFA World Cup 2023 which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Further, and another feather in football’s cap, is the latest Sport Australia Ausplay study which reaffirms football’s position as the number one team sport in Australia for both men and women.
The platform is certainly set to accelerate football’s long-term growth and the Commonwealth Bank and Football Australia’s other commercial partners will play a huge role in that growth.
In this episode, Tom Rischbieth, Head of Commercial and Events at Football Australia, takes us inside the exciting Commonwealth Bank partnership as well as Football Australia’s wider commercial program.
You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn or learn more about Football Australia here.
Eva Rieder, Sr. Marketing Manager at KORE Software, also joins us to discuss her latest blog, How to Modernize Your Sponsorship Strategy.
Enjoy
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Throughout the world we have seen tobacco sponsorship and alcohol sponsorship banned or curbed in most markets and, right now, the sponsorship industry is watching the UK after a House of Lords Select Committee on gambling recommended that not only should gambling shirt sponsorship be banned by 2023, but “there should also be no gambling advertising in or near any sports grounds or sports venues”.
The review is driven by concern at the number of problem gamblers, which is estimated at 430,000 in Britain, and which has seen the losses of punters rocket to £14.4 billion per year in 2019; that’s almost US$20 billion. Of course, the pervasiveness of betting in sport, and football in particular, is there for all to see and certainly a driving factor.
It seems surprising that gambling has avoided the spotlight for so long. It may, in some part, be due to the rapid rise of online gambling which has developed at a breakneck speed. Interestingly, however, the opposite is happening in the US with betting sponsorships being signed with regularity.
Somebody, right in the middle of it in England, is Joel Seymour-Hyde, MD of Octagon UK, who not only boats Paddy Power as a client, but who has also served as a director on the European Sponsorship Association Board.
As such, in this episode, we welcome Shannan Quinn, Managing Director at PRISM.
Also joining the show is Jordan Rutner, Research Marketing Manager at KORE Software, who has written a fascinating blog recently on Visualizing Sponsorship Assets Across Collegiate Programs.
Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcasting platform!
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It has been a whole year since the world shut down because of the pandemic.
The plights of rights holders and brands is well documented. Often forgotten in the sponsorship conversation, however, is the third side, the agencies; the ones working between rights holders and brands to activate the biggest sponsorship deals in the world.
There are some amazing minds in the agency world who are not always bound by the hierarchy and bureaucracy often found in rights holders and brands. Agencies can start with a blank whiteboard and work on ideas and solutions; some of which find their way into sponsorship deals, and the industry is better for it.
That’s why, in this episode, we wanted to check in with one of the world’s great agencies, PRISM, and find out how they’ve pushed through COVID, their learnings, their successes, and how they are moving forward a year after it all started.
As such, in this episode, we welcome Shannan Quinn, Managing Director at PRISM.
Also joining the show is Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who discusses his latest blog, The Shift in Assets.
Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcasting platform!
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As an ever-present Premier League team, Arsenal are a global brand and, while current results are not favourable, they are one of the big six English football clubs, boasting a sponsorship portfolio with some of the world’s most recognisable brands including Adidas, Cadbury, Intel, and Lavazza.
Arsenal is just like every other team around the world as they responded to the pandemic, welcomed football back, welcomed some fans back, and then the ever-changing environment and the rules and regulations that come with it.
Right in the middle of Arsenal’s great sponsorship team is Alice Larkworthy, Senior Partner Services Manager. Alice joins us to take us inside Arsenal FC’s corporate partner's program.
Also joining the show is Noelle Fanella, Product Manager at KORE Software, who discusses her blog, Brand Sponsors, Take Full Advantage Of Your Hospitality Perks.
Enjoy.
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Despite the challenges of 2020, it was still a great year filled with lots of amazing chats with sponsorship professionals from all over the world.
As always, we've wrapped up the year and re-visited the 13 episodes of Inside Sponsorship in 2020. You might have seen on social media that, for each show, we pull out a 30-45 second snippet and turn it into a video to help whet your appetite. As such, we’ve gone back and pulled the full question and answer, for that snippet, and created a best of 2020 show for you.
Enjoy.
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Passions drive us. Passions define us. Passions connect us. Yet, passions are changing and with the explosion of digital, the democratisation of media, and a plethora of publishing tools available, expression can come in any form and inspiration can come from anywhere.
Research from M&C Saatchi Intelligence identified that interest areas that were traditionally considered hobbies, including fashion, food, beauty, health, and wellbeing, have exploded into passion areas and have identified this trend as hyper-passions.
It sounds an obvious and simple enough opportunity for brands. However, it also sounds fraught with danger.
How do big brands, with big budgets, weave themselves through the hyper-passions and sub-cultures of the world which have long been guarded by the passionate members themselves?
These hyper-passions are highly nuanced, a point that should not be lost on brands, agencies and rights holders. How would, and how will, those with hyper-passions, respond to corporate involvement?
That remains to be seen but what is undeniable is the opportunity in front of brands to connect with their target markets through their hyper-passions.
While it can be lucrative, all involved are looking to help enable and enhance hyper-passions as opposed to simply hijacking them for corporate outcomes.
It is an intriguing scenario to say the least and joining the show to discuss M&C Saatchi's work around hyper-passions, is Luke Haynes, Group Account Director at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment - Australia.
Also joining the show is Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who discusses his latest blog, What Type of Report Will Have the Most Impact on Sponsorship Strategy in 2021.
Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform!
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Data, measurement, and most importantly, the insights and what we do with them, is something that is driving the sponsorship industry.
In a world where we are so connected, 24/7, globally, and with so many data capture points, the power that can be unlocked is immense. Interestingly though, what brands ultimately want to achieve through sponsorship, and increasingly data-driven sponsorships, hasn’t changed – they want more sales. That is always the end game.
Social media has long been a big player, but this year, with people suddenly restricted in movement, and less sports content to consume, social and other digital platforms suddenly accelerated.
Scott Tilton, CEO at Hookit, joins the show to discuss sponsorship data and takes us inside their whitepaper, Chasing Sponsorship Value - An Inside Look At The Top Brands In Sports, How They Got There, And What They Could Do Even Better.
Be sure to visit hookit.com to find out more about their work, download the whitepaper here, and connect with Scott on LinkedIn.
Also joining the show is Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who discusses his latest blog, Unlocking Sponsorship Data And Beginning To Use It More.
Enjoy.
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We’ve all seen some great examples of sponsorships adjusting, doing something different, and really creative activations this year because of COVID-19. A lot of those have been driven by necessity.
Probably the most talked about activation of 2020, however, has been Burger King’s sponsorship of Stevenage FC, who, at the time of the sponsorship, in 2019, were last in the fourth division of English football. It left many people scratching their heads.
It is, of course, the sponsorship that ultimately gave us the hugely successful Stevenage Challenge.
This amazing partnerhsip wasn’t driven by COVID-19 or necessity. It was driven through vision and creativity, and, as our guest phrases it later on in the show, “a leap of faith”, to pull off a truly brilliant activation. One of the reasons it was so brilliant was because the opportunity was right under so many people’s noses, yet so many didn’t see it.
The activation is both amazing in its boldness yet so jarringly simple.
Tap into the already huge, but growing, eSports market, specifically FIFA. Tap into the underdog status and fairytale storyline of them winning. Tap into the desire for people to share their gaming highlights online. Tap into the fact that everyone loves an easily accessible giveaway, especially fast food.
The results have been absolutely amazing and driven directly from the 1.2 billion impressions that Burger King’s shirt sponsorship, of Stevenage FC, has produced through the Stevenage Challenge on FIFA. Furthermore, those commercial outcomes and further opportunities are both online and offline.
Alex Tunbridge is the Chief Executive at Stevenage FC and he joins us in this episode to take us inside Burger King’s sponsorship of his club.
We also hear from Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who joins us to discuss the blog which outlines 3 Things That Will Provide Both Short and Long-term Benefits to Sponsorship Managers.
Enjoy.
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One thing that sponsorship professional’s fear, mostly those at rights holders, is a crisis; a situation that may see sponsors walking away from the organisation.
Let’s be clear, when we say “crisis” we mean an athlete or staff member brings the organisation into disrepute.
For those that are high profile rights holders, it almost feels like it is only a matter of time before a crisis will impact their commercial portfolio. How long can a sponsor put up with, or how bad does, a crisis need to be before a sponsor seriously considers whether their values are still aligned?
In a commercial world, particularly one where a rights holder may still be providing great ROI on the sponsorship, it can be a cloudy question.
It almost feels like it is only a matter of time before today’s, or this week’s, bad news story directly affects you and your sponsorships.
That’s why, knowing how to communicate with sponsors during a crisis, and being prepared for the inevitable crisis, is where the focus should be in quiet times.
In sports, two of the industry leaders, when it comes to crisis communications, are Jim Rocco and Isaac Benjamin, from PRCG | Sports. PRCG | Sports provides strategic marketing, public relations, and crisis communications services to owners, managers, athletes, and brands.
Jim and Isaac join the show to take us inside crisis communications in sponsorship.
We also hear from Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who has delivered part three, and his final part, of his part blog series which focuses on hacking sponsorship and he joins us to discuss the blog which looks at Perceived Value and Audience Segmentation.
Enjoy.
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There’s no doubt that the pandemic whacked us all and there was a period where we were so reactive to what was going on, and how it played out in different markets, that it felt like we just couldn’t catch our breath.
These days, however, we have mostly started moving forward, some markets differently to others. And in that, we’ve seen some really innovative work.
One section of the sponsorship industry that has been a source of great wisdom, guidance, leadership, and innovation, to both rights holders and brands, has been agencies.
Of course, brands and rights holders are full of really smart people, lots of our listeners, but, interestingly, the smart people at agencies, combined with their unique views from working with a wide array of rights holders and brands, gives us a much more holistic view of the industry right now and where it is going, especially considering that so many agencies work across multiple geographic regions.
In this episode, we continue hearing from inside an agency by welcoming Stephen Hutchison, Managing Director at Fuse, in London, who discusses the industry right now and where it is going.
Fuse, who are powered by Omnicom Media Group, provides marketing and commercial services for brands and rights holders specialising in partnerships and experiences across sport, entertainment, causes, and culture.
Stephen has experience in leading projects across many of the world's leading platforms including; UEFA Champions League, Olympics, World Cup, F1, and the America's Cup for brands including Nissan, HTC, McDonald's, Vodafone, and Visa.
We also hear from Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who has delivered part two of his three-part blog series which focuses on hacking sponsorship. Daniel joins us to discuss the blog which looks at 'After the Chaos' and specifically hacking asset management and hacking creative.
Enjoy.
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At Octagon, their purpose is, “to create work that earns attention. Through smart partnerships and generous ideas -- always built around the stuff your audience really loves -- we help you compete for, capture, and ultimately earn the attention of those who matter most to you.”
In these current times, it could be argued that that is more important than ever and it aligns very nicely with what we so often talk about on this show, that sponsorship is about brands accessing an audience that they would otherwise not be able to or as easily be able to access.
Octagon understands that we live in a world where time is our most precious commodity and that audiences’ patience has never been shorter. As an industry, sponsorship has never had to work harder to gain the attention of the people we are trying to reach. The way Octagon see it, “ … there’s two ways to go about it. Attention is either bought. Or it’s earned”. We all know which one sponsorship truly seeks to achieve!
Joining us on the show, to give us a current agency perspective of sponsorship, is Andrew Clarke, Agency Director at Octagon Australia.
Andrew is an integrated marketing specialist with 17 fun-filled years of creativity and problem solving under his belt. He’s seen life from both client and agency sides and he always like to present a balanced picture to lead projects and the Octagon Australia team.
He believes people’s passions will change the world we live in, and helping brands find a unique role in this equation, whether through sport, entertainment, culture, or causes is what motivates him.
Also joining us is Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who has kicked of a three-part blog series which focuses on hacking sponsorship and he joins us to discuss part 1, Planning for the Return.
Enjoy.
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Born in 2008, the Indian Premier League, the IPL, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India contested during March or April and May of every year by eight teams representing eight different cities in India.
The IPL is the most-attended cricket league in the world and is ranked as the 6th most attended sport in the world, beating out leagues like the MLB, NBA, NHL, and La Liga and, in 2010, the IPL became the first sporting event in the world to be broadcast live on YouTube.
The Rajasthan Royals are one of the eight teams in the IPL and, from a sponsorship perspective, they have fairly unique story in that they were the first team Red Bull have sponsored without actually owning the team.
The Royals, sometimes considered as the "moneyball" team of the IPL, because they have a reputation of unearthing obscure, high potential talent, have a real focus on evolving into a global brand, leveraging technology in their sponsorships, and building partnerships through education and academies.
Joining us on the show, to take us inside the Rajasthan Royals’ commercial program, is their COO, Jake Lush McCrum.
You can learn more about the Rajasthan Royals at rajasthanroyals.com as well as connect with Jake on LinkedIn.
Also joining us, to discuss KORE’s latest sponsorship focused blog, which looks at some of the global sponsorship trends happening right now, is a team effort of Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, Derek Stanek, KORE Software's VP, Sales, and also Alex Hay, KORE Software's VP Commercial & Strategy.
Enjoy.
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ONE Championship is a celebration of Asia’s greatest cultural treasure and its deep-rooted Asian values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion.
Their mission is to unleash real-life superheroes who ignite the world with hope, dreams, inspiration, and strength.
It has been an impressive rise, to say the least, for the Singapore-based ONE, having launched in 2011 and reaching their 100th event inside eight years. It has seen them grow to be Asia’s largest global sports media property in history with a global broadcast reach of 2.7 billion potential viewers across 150+ countries.
As the world’s largest martial arts organisation, ONE has achieved some of the highest TV ratings and social media engagement metrics across Asia. With a focus on both martial arts and esports, ONE Championship is Asia’s largest global producer of live sports content for youth and millennials.
And that success, on a commercial front, attracts a coveted client roster of blue-chip Fortune 500 sponsors and advertisers, including the likes of Disney, Marvel, LG, Sony, Facebook, Haier, Kawasaki, L’Oreal, Casio, Bayer, Shiseido, Grab, Singtel, and more.
Joining this episode, to take us inside ONE Championship’s Commercial program, is their Group Chief Commercial Officer, Hari Vijayarajan.
Also joining the show is Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, to discuss his latest blog What To Consider When Returning To Sell Sponsorship.
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Like any crisis, throughout COVID-19, many of you have had to deal with managing events and making decisions on canceling, postponing, or pivoting those events. Further, some of you have events on the horizon where a decision will need to be made soon.
Chris Baylis is President and CEO of The Sponsorship Collective but also a founder of the Partnership Conference, held annually in Canada, and which was meant to be held what ended up being right in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis.
However, early on, like so many of you, Chris and his business partner for the conference, had to decide whether to cancel, postpone, or pivot.
Ultimately, the decision to postpone was made and Chris joins the show to talk, in great detail, about how they came to that decision, worked through all of the elements, and have now gone above and beyond in what they have and will continue to deliver for the partners.
Also, joining the show is Daniel Collier-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Director – APAC, who discusses his latest blog, COVID-19: Sponsorship - What's Now And What's Next?
Enjoy.
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We have contracts for a reason. They set out the rules and expectations for us all to operate in a sponsorship for the good of all and they are set out with all the right intentions – to do good work but also to protect ourselves. What happens, however, when we get blindsided and things change so quickly, through no fault of any of the contracted parties? Sure, we know that the contracts all have force majeure clauses but how does that reconcile with our often-spruiked approach that sponsorships should be a true relationship? Also, how does that reconcile with sponsors, as a collective group, who would want the sport and entertainment industry to return to normal as quickly as possible so that they can activate sponsorships and reach their target audiences? Surely there is a vested interest in working things through? Yet, how does that happen when so many businesses are directly threatened and are dealing with an ever-changing landscape and one where there is no certainty about what the other side looks like? Will in-progress seasons be completed or abandoned? Will one-off events be shifted or simply cancelled? Who knows? Some see it is an amazing opportunity for rights holders and brands to collaborate on innovation (but that innovation still has to be executed within the contract). To help work through all of the big issues, James Earl, Partner and Head of Sport Business Group at Fladgate LLP, in London, joins us on the show to answer lots of questions about how we should all be navigating through this legal space right now. James is regarded as one of the leading experts in the international sports sector because, with over a decade of experience, he has truly unique expertise working with a broad range of national and international governing bodies, funders, teams, clubs, and investors in sport. James is exceptionally well-connected and his pragmatic guidance is consistently sought by senior stakeholders across the international sports industry. James’ deep level of experience in sport comes from working with Manchester City Football Club, the London 2012 Olympics, 2015 Rugby World Cup and also acting as sole legal adviser to the delivery vehicles for the London 2017 World Athletics and ParaAthletic Championships. Also joining us on the show is Mark Thompson, KORE Software’s former Head of International Business, who discusses his latest blog about how, in this very tough time for our industry, it is important for us all to be supporting each other in sponsorship to navigate these unknown times. Enjoy.
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Part of the complexity around the conscious consumer is their expectation that brands stand for something, that they believe in something, and that they will actually do something about it. As such, if brands don’t stand, believe in, and do something, around social causes, then, these days, they are at a massive disadvantage.
The nagging question is, however, can brands and rights holders truly achieve great, commercially beneficial sponsorships where a cause is positively impacted?
One man who thinks they can is John Balkam who has written a great book called, 3-Win Sponsorship, The Next Generation Of Sports & Entertainment Marketing. John joins us to discuss how to create and execute sponsorships that achieve commercial goals for brands and rights holders while not just treating the cause element as an afterthought and, instead, truly integrating it.
During the chat, John mentions some great examples including: Hellmann’s® Feeds a Stadium Food Waste – Real Food Rescue. More Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Says Company Destroyed $5 Million Worth of Assault Rifles to Take Them 'Off the Street'. More Lebron James’ I PROMISE School, an Akron Public School dedicated to those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks. More
If you would like to connect with John, visit his website or connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Of course, if you'd like to pick up a copy of his book, 3-Win Sponsorship, The Next Generation Of Sports & Entertainment Marketing, you can do that here.
Also joining us on the show is KORE’S Sam Irvine, Director - Customer Strategy & Success, Australasia, to discuss his latest blog, which asks, and answers, the question, Governing Body vs Pro-Team - Which Has A Greater Commercial Advantage?
Enjoy
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Data has become such an essential part of the world and doing business that if you aren’t actively collecting your own first-party data, and then utilising third-party data, you really are at a massive disadvantage; especially considering that your competitors and partners are making very good use of it.
As such, for those in working in rights holders, where it is often hard to differentiate your sponsorship offering and positioning, in a crowded market, not only is data powerful and essential, it may just be your biggest differentiator.
Clearly, big brands and their agencies are using data, first and third-party, and you really aren’t keeping up with best practice if it isn’t an essential part of your proposals, execution and reporting.
Joining us on the show, to talk all things data, digital, and analytics, is Eddie Fitzgibbon, VP, Global Solutions at 4FRONT, the global sports agency.
You can connect with Eddie on LinkedIn or visit team4front.com.
Daniel Collier-Hill also joins us to discuss his latest blog, which tees up our chat with Eddie very nicely, and that blog looks at Quantity vs. Quality – The Fan Segmentation Debate in Sponsorship.
Enjoy.
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Player appearances can be immensely powerful as part of a sponsorship. And it seems simple enough - put a huge star on stage, in front of a room of people you are trying to impress, or in a marquee as part of an activation, and you’ll engage your audience and there will probably be lots of digital to help spread it all.
However, not everyone can afford the superstars and, even if you can, it isn’t always the best play when it comes to appearances. Like all sponsorship assets, it depends so much on what you are wanting to achieve.
Add to that that so many sponsorship deals get ‘topped up’ with player appearances, as a bit of an add-on and a feel-good gesture, and a lot of brands, and rights holders for that matter, can miss out on the huge benefits available through appearances.
This is an especially important point when you consider that many athletes are on the lookout for more paid opportunities and the chance to broaden their experiences and engage with the community.
One man who knows the space well is James Begley. Not only is James the Founder, and CEO, of Pickstar, the most trusted platform for facilitating paid engagements, large and small, but he’s also been on the other side, as an athlete, when he played 61 games of Australian Rules Football with St. Kilda and Adelaide. He was one of those athletes on the lookout for more paid opportunities and the chance to broaden his own experiences and engage with his community.
James joins us in this episode to discuss how rights holders and brands can maximise the use of appearances in their sponsorships.
You can connect with James on LinkedIn and find out more about Pickstar on the website.
Along with James, also joining us on the show is KORE’s Head of International Business, Mark Thompson, who discusses his latest blog which looks at The Changing Face of Broadcast and What This Means For Broadcast Partnerships.
Enjoy.
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2019 has been a great year filled with lots of amazing chats with sponsorship professionals from all over the world.
As such, we thought we’d wrap up 2019 and visit the other 13 episodes of Inside Sponsorship. You might have seen on social media that, for each show, we pull out a 30-45 second snippet and turn it into a video to help whet your appetite. As such, we’ve gone back and pulled the question and entire answer for that snippet and created a best of 2019 show for you.
Along with some great highlights from the 13 episodes of 2019, also joining us is KORE’s Head of International Business, Mark Thompson, who discusses his latest blog which looks at Expanding Competition Geographies And How Sponsorship Needs To Be Approached.
Enjoy.
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The right look for an event can make or break the impact it has not only those attending but also those watching from afar and definitely on how sponsors, and even potential commercial partners, perceive the event.
Rights holders can significantly enhance the experience for fans and corporate partners with the right look, the right environmental branding, whether it is dressing whole cities, a stadium, or an activation space.
Obviously, on the partnership front, there are elements of the look of an event that will be assets or inventory that can be sold to sponsors e.g. signage, or, if you are a brand, assets that you can activate as part of your sponsorship. How the overall look is planned and executed, however, can really elevate the prestige and engagement of an event and, without putting to crude a point on it, means that rights holders can command more sponsorship dollars and brands can extract greater ROI and ROO.
Interestingly, when we are immersed in an event with a well planned and executed look, it is almost seamless; we don’t really separate it from the activity of the event itself. So, we aren’t often conscious of it. We become very conscious, however, when an event’s look is not up to scratch and we definitely feel its impact on our engagement. Remember, it isn’t just us - sponsors, and potential commercial partners, are also forming perceptions when an event’s look isn’t right.
One person who knows well is Sam Goodwin, Managing Director at CSM Sport and Entertainment. Sam’s experiences across events include Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Rugby World Cups and he joins us on the show to share some great advice on how you can ensure the right look for your events and maximise your commercial revenue.
You can connect with Sam on LinkedIn or visit csm.com or csmlive.com.
Also, on the show, is Mark Thompson, KORE’s Head of International Business, to discuss his latest blog. Mark recently attended Leaders Week in London and has been mulling over some of the key takeaways which are very heavily focused on how data continues to dominate.
Enjoy.
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There are a lot of great minds working in the sponsorship space, across brands, rights holders, and agencies. We often see a lot of movement within the community, with people moving from one rights holder to another or maybe from brand side to the rights holder side or vice versa.
Although it does happen, it isn’t common, however, for someone to move from agency side to a brand, especially a large global brand with a wide-ranging sponsorship portfolio.
Someone who has made the move from agency land to the brand side is Katherine Butterworth who is Mastercard Australasia’s Director of Sponsorships. Not only does Katherine get to manage amazing, big-ticket sponsorships with rights holders such as the Australian Open, Cricket Australia, and the Opera House, and work with brand ambassadors such as Richie McCaw, Katherine and her team also get the opportunity to work on, and be exposed to, international properties such as the Rugby World Cup and the Grammies.
The whole Mastercard business works really hard to connect with each other, globally, and learn from and share experiences with each other. For example, Katherine and the European based team can share learnings and experiences around two of the Opens that Mastercard sponsor; the Australian Open and the French Open.
In the chat, Katherine shares some of the amazing Priceless Surpises activation Mastercard undertake. Check them out.
Australian Open 2019 Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4
Plus, there is the Rugby Wolrd Cup activity where a young rugby player from New Zealand received the ultimate Priceless Experience of experiencing Tokyo with Richie McCaw and attending the Rugby
If you'd like to keep the conversation going, you can connect with Katherine on LinkedIn.
Along with Katherine, also on the show, is Daniel Ferguson-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Manager – Australasia, who joins us to discuss his latest blog ‘Does This Sponsorship Suit My Marketing Strategy?’ which looks at the important things that brands should be considering to help them sift through all the proposals they receive.
Enjoy
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It’s an age-old question, and challenge – how do we value our sponsorship assets? Unfortunately, there are still large parts of the rights holder section of the industry pedaling pre-determined packages, largely based on the income they are looking to generate and not necessarily the value that they can deliver.
Despite some of the best brains in the industry consistently counseling against such approaches, we still see it. Yes, there are many factors that come together in an organisation that means that end up just offering pre-determined packages, but not deeply understanding the value of their sponsorship assets, as stand-alone assets, is always a contributing one.
No one pretends there is a simple answer. We’ve had conversations with rights holders where they’ve been convinced there is some magic formula that can be applied that will spit out the market value of their sponsorship assets. They’ve begged us to share it with them. Sadly, there is no secret magic formula.
However, led by Rob Mills, Turnstile Group are tackling this issue head-on with valuations based on actual market rates.
While the industry spins in circles making subjective assumptions, Turnstile is making definitive valuations.
Turnstile uses actual prices being paid for rights globally to determine real-world market values of the three key components of a sponsorship deal - Benefits, Exposure, and Intellectual Property.
This unique approach not only provides realistic and quantifiable sponsorship valuations for buyers and sellers, but clear visibility across the three components of value.
And, on the show, as always we also look at one of KORE’s latest blogs, and this time around, Mark Thompson KORE Software’s, Head of International Business , joins us to chat about Sponsorship Measurement and Reporting – The Fan Data Way.
Enjoy.
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Some brands are just constants in the sponsorship landscape. Sure, they may move properties from time-to-time but they are always part of the experience, somewhere.
How do these brands consistently figure out ways to stay relevant, engage audiences, and yet not distract from the experiences that audiences are actually there to experience?
How do they keep coming up with new ideas and not go stale, while still working as part of the brands overall marketing, because those brand’s objectives and goals don’t generally experience big shifts in small amounts of time?
Plus, how does sponsorship remain an important element of that overall marketing when the brands are household names already; we are highly unlikely to forget who they are?
Further, while the highly visible assets are obvious, the naming rights, the signage, the uniform branding, etc. what other assets are they utilising to help achieve their goals? What do they find most valuable?
To help answer all these questions, Alison Tyson, Senior Manager, Brand and Sponsorship, at Nissan, joins us on the show and provides some really interesting and insightful views into how Nissan approaches and executes their sponsorships.
As usual, we also look at one of KORE’s latest blogs, so, also joining us on the show is KORE Software’s, Commercial Manager, Australasia, Daniel-Ferguson-Hill, who asks “Is Sponsorship worth it if we don’t need the ‘Branding’ play?”
Enjoy
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We’ve all seen it; the awesome creative execution in a sports sponsorship. Sometimes it is big, bold, and complex, while other times it is so simple, both in idea and execution, that we think to ourselves: “Why didn’t I think of that?” Those executions engage and excite us; not just as consumers but as professionals in the industry (even if you don’t work in the sports sponsorship sector specifically).
There is no doubt that the global sports sector is booming. eSports has quickly established itself as an important player with so much potential. That catches the eye of brands. Then there are sports that are venturing out of their homelands more and more as they try to engage with global audiences who can now stream games wherever they are. For sponsorship, it has been recently reported that global brand spend on sports sponsorships will grow to US$65 billion in 2019. That’s an average of 4% growth, per year, since 2014.
As a result of this continued growth, this year, Cannes Lions created a new category that focussed exclusively on Sport.
The Entertainment Lions for Sport celebrate creativity that taps into fan culture and leverages the power of sports in connecting people to brands with the jury rewarding excellence in breakthrough creativity within the sports marketing ecosystem. This includes the use of effective strategic planning, sponsorship, brand management, media, entertainment, and/or talent.
Our guest this episode is Ben Hartman, Managing Director at Octagon who was a judge for the first-ever Entertainment Lions for Sport. Ben’s job was to define what best in class work looks like in the category and ultimately, what was the standard that future work would be measured against?
Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is KORE Software’s, Commercial Manager, Australasia, Daniel-Ferguson-Hill, who has also taken a look at awards in asking ‘Is sponsorship keeping up with award trends?’.
Enjoy
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Airlines have been major players in the sponsorship space for some time and their affinity with sports, fashion, and other major events makes sense considering some of their passengers travel to not only these events but also for business and other leisure activities.
Further, a lot of airlines in the sponsorship space have a global footprint and are transporting passengers both in and out of their home countries. As such, their audience isn’t just locals who are attending events in-country, it is also those traveling from outside their home country to attend events.
Finally, add to that how the travel industry has become so much more accessible to the world’s population, and utilizing sponsorship in their marketing, makes sense for a lot of airlines.
One airline that has been very active in the sponsorship space is AirAsia, a Malaysian low-cost airline. It is the largest airline in the ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia Group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to more than 165 destinations spanning 25 countries.
Amazingly, they have been voted the world’s best low-cost airline for the past 11 years running.
Ben Rynjah is Regional Brand Manager and joins us on the show to take us inside sponsorship at AirAsia, including how they are involved with the ever-growing eSports sector.
You can connect with Ben on LinkedIn and learn more by visiting the AirAsia website.
Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is KORE Software’s, Director for Customer Strategy and Success, Australasia, Sam Irvine, who after having watched an unhealthy amount of football, ponders the question: “Airline Sponsorship; surely they do more than just football?”
Enjoy.
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Just like data and measurement, activations is a topic that comes up in sponsorship discussions a lot and that’s why we have been focussing a lot on activations at the moment, almost like a mini-series.
However, the last episode focused on physical activations, while this episode focuses on experiential activations. There’s no doubt that an activation that moves people from just engagement to one where they are truly touched by an experience is very powerful. Maybe, experiential activations are the equivalent of viral content on social media? With truly great experiential marketing, the brand and message are amplified so much by those who have experienced the activation, because, they really want to share how awesome it is and they’ll often be doing that with people in the same demographic.
It certainly leaves a lasting impression.
Sounds like an amazing thing for rights holders and brands to be working towards and the end goal sounds achievable, right? “Let’s create memorable experiences that get people talking, sharing, and have a lasting impact”.
In the cold hard light of day, however, that’s easier said than done. But one person who has a wealth of experience in helping brands and rights holders achieve just that, is James Ward, Head of Events and Consultancy at TLA Worldwide.
TLA Worldwide is a leading, fully integrated talent representation and sports marketing group. With over 140 full-time personnel, TLA serves its clients from 10 locations including its offices in London, UK; New York and Newport Beach, USA; Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.
And James Ward has over fifteen years sports marketing, sponsorship and public relations experience, working in Australia, the UK and China. James heads up a 40 strong team of experienced staff working for leading sporting bodies, sporting brands, and sporting events. He has worked on campaigns covering three Olympics, two football World Cups, and most recently the Cricket World Cup in Australia.
Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is Mark Thompson, Head of International Business at KORE Software, with the topic of Evolution of Sponsor Activations And How Businesses Are Changing To Manage Success.
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Activations, just like data and measurement, is a topic that comes up in sponsorship discussions a lot. Physical activations, the ones designed to engage with audiences, can absolutely drive massive ROI and ROO; when executed well. Those well-executed activations are the ones that bring us closer to a brand or compel us to share on social media even if we haven’t seen the activation in person. The best ones cross over into entertainment and that’s powerful for engagement and resonating.
On the other hand, however, we’ve all seen activations that appear to have just been thrown into a contract, probably because there was some unused space in a precinct, and audiences are greeted with bored looking staff, wearing corporate polos, standing outside a drab looking white tent, handing out flyers, and stress balls. Most likely, that's because the rights holder rang the sponsor a fortnight before and asked: “So, what have you planned for the activation?”.
Someone who has a lot of great experience, and executed some amazing activations, is Rik Conti, Co-founder and Managing Director, at MAAKE. MAAKE is an experiential agency who have been creating engaging experiences with iconic Australian and global brands for over a decade including Heineken, Jack Daniel’s, XXXX Gold, James Squire, and Lavazza and Rik joins us in this episode to take you inside what makes great physical activations.
Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is Daniel Ferguson-Hill, KORE Software’s Commercial Manager for Australasia, who has been talking to lots of brands lately and there are four things that keep coming up that brands wish rights holders knew about activations.
Enjoy.
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A lot of us are old enough to remember when the broadcast landscape was dominated by TV, radio, and print. As we all know, however, the internet came along and the opportunities to engage with audiences exploded, and continues to grow, as digital provides innovative ways to take people’s offerings, products, rights, and sponsorships right around the world.
Some will remember reading stories and hearing opinions about the decline, the decay, the fragmentation, and the death of traditional media. While traditional media’s dominance has certainly diminished, it hasn’t died nor is it going away. In fact, just like all good companies and organisations, traditional media has often adapted, and continues to do so. In a lot of cases, they’ve taken the “If you can’t beat them, join them” approach and moved into digital offerings themselves which gives them some advantages in integrating their offerings across many platforms.
A man who knows the space well is Patrick Moloughney, Network Director of Sport Sales at Seven West Media which is one of Australia’s leading integrated media companies, with a market-leading presence in broadcast television, magazine and newspaper publishing and online.
The company is the home to many of Australia’s leading media businesses and the biggest content brands including My Kitchen Rules, House Rules, Home and Away, Sunrise, the Australian Football League, Cricket Australia, and the Olympic Games.
Pat joins us on the show to take us inside broadcast sponsorship. You can connect with Patrick on LinkedIn and find out more about Seven West Media on their website.
Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is Sam Irvine, KORE Software’s Director for Customer Strategy and Success, Australasia. Sam’s latest blog provides us with his 5 biggest takeaways from the recent Business of Sport Summit (BOSS) in Sydney.
Enjoy.
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The refrain, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." is essentially a paraphrase of an exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
It is particularly apt in a sponsorship sense when, even today, we see so many sponsorships that seem bereft of objectives and goals. Those sponsorships are always set up for the comment “We just don’t feel like this sponsorship is working!”.
Feeling, however, shouldn’t come into it at all.
Most of us would be familiar with the name Peter Drucker, the man known as the father of modern management and one who wrote 39 business management books. Even in today’s vastly different business environment, he is still widely regarded as the greatest management thinker of all time.
One of his most famous quotes is, "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it."
Today, teams and budgets are under pressure to produce more, and better results, with less. So, it becomes pretty obvious why measurement is so important in a sponsorship. Yet many don’t do it well, or at all, over above the 'feeling' of how it is all going.
Our guest this episode, to take us inside best-practice sponsorship management, is Ian Davidson, Head of Events & Sponsorship at INNOCEAN Worldwide, a company that has worked with the likes of Heineken, KIA, Hyundai, and Samsonite.
You can connect with Ian on LinkedIn and find out more about INNOCEAN Worldwide at www.innocean.com.au
Also, on the show is Daniel Ferguson-Hill, KORE’s Commercial Manager – Australasia, who discusses his most recent blog which looks Where Should The Money Go; In The Sponsorship Deal Or In The Leverage?
Enjoy.
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There are a lot of people who will write blogs and rock up to conferences to talk about the future of sponsorship. While I tip my hat that they have the guts to get up and present, I don’t know about you, but I am often not left full of confidence and enthusiasm for a way forward.
As Senior Manager Global Rugby Strategy & Planning at HSBC, Sven Gloor is not like that at all.
Passion and enthusiasm are words used too readily these days, however, they are apt for describing Sven. He believes that sponsorship is undergoing huge change and is becoming more and more important for brands in order to solve specific and real business problems.
In this episode, he joins us to take stock of the sponsorship industry and share his views and insights on where it is all heading and what you need to do to prepare and position yourself for success.
Also, on the show is Mark Thompson, KORE’s Head of International Business, who discusses his most recent blog which looks at the increasing importance of Business Intelligence in sports and entertainment.
Enjoy.
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Every time you discuss Asia, and the opportunities it presents, it is hard not to get overwhelmed by the numbers involved. They are truly staggering and just continue to grow.
There’s no doubt that Asia has been growing in terms of sport and, with that, sponsorship as well. It would seem that lately, However, that there is a continued trend towards major events being hosted in Asia. Further, we are starting to see more Asian brands sponsoring large events, outside of their home markets, such as China’s 1573 sponsoring the Australian Open and China’s Mengniu Dairy sponsoring the FIFA World Cup.
Joining us to discuss sponsorship in Asia is Adam Hodge, Head of Planning & Strategy [APAC] at Octagon.
Also joining us on the show is Daniel Ferguson-Hill, SponServe’s Commercial Manager for Australasia, who has taken a look and blogged about the five trends in sponsorship that we’re are not talking about.
Enjoy.
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There is no doubt that sports teams now have a huge reach, with fans all over the globe, following their teams passionately through apps, OTT streaming, and social channels. The norm is for teams to be bound to their home country while traveling domestically for away fixtures.
There are some sports teams, however, that travel the globe competing and that includes cycling. While some teams may yearn for the ability to take their sport across the world, and engage with non-domestic markets, it does come with its own unique set of challenges.
In this episode, Kolja Koracak, Brand Director, takes us inside sponsorship at Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team. One awesome thing that Kolja mentions is the 360 video the team put together.
You can connect with Kolja on LinkedIn and find out more about Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team on their official website.
Before we hear from Kolja, Daniel Ferguson-Hill, SponServe’s Commercial Manager for Australasia, joins us to discuss the changing face of sponsorship deals and what the next generation looks like.
Enjoy.
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The rise of social media influencers, in recent times, has meant that some have been able to create full-time jobs around their influence and followers. They certainly have some power.
Simply put, influencer marketing is the process of identifying, researching, engaging, and supporting the creators of highly engaging and impactful content and conversations around your brand, services, or products.
The value of influence over potential and current customers, however, isn’t exactly a new concept in marketing. With the rise of digital marketing, and social media in particular, information travels far and wide and can do so quickly, especially when facilitated by influencers. That is because they have large followings where they already have trust and influence and they can use that to shape engagement and sentiment towards loving or shunning a brand.
It all sounds very rosy but it isn’t always smooth sailing. The industry is rife with influencer fraud.
Influencer marketing is home to one of the biggest, most elaborate, and wide-spread scams in the history of marketing. If you’ve worked with influencers this year, chances are you’ve been part of this scam and it has cost you money.
Watch this video to see the full extent of it.
In this episode, Oliver Yonchev, Managing Director, USA at Social Chain joins us to discuss influencer marketing and provides some outstanding and practical advice and insights. If you like to connect with Oliver, you can do so on LinkedIn, and you can find out more about Social Chain on their website.
Before we hear from Oliver, Sam Irvine, Director - Customer Strategy & Success, Australasia at SponServe, joins us to discuss his latest blog which looks at how to handle a sponsorship break-up. Here’s Sam.
Also joining us on the show is SponServe’s Director - Customer Strategy & Success, Australasia, Sam Irvine, to discuss his latest blog, How To Handle A Sponsorship Break-Up.
Enjoy.
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Sponsorship is clearly important to the banking industry with some of the world’s biggest and longest standing sponsorships involving banks.
In Australia, banks have been a staple for many sports teams, events, and community groups. That includes Westpac Group’s brands including Westpac itself, St. George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, and RAMS.
Westpac Group’s portfolio of sponsorships is varied and includes the iconic Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service, City2Surf, Invictus Games, St.George Bank Dragons, St.George Queensland Reds, the world-famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
Our guest this episode is Pat Cunningham who is the Head of Sponsorship & Events at Westpac Group. Pat’s sponsorship roles have been at some of the world’s most recognisable brands including Vodafone and TUI.
Also joining us on the show is SponServe’s Commercial Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Daniel Ferguson, to discuss his latest blog which dissects the key points around sponsorship from PWC’s 2018 Sport Survey.
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Sponsorship, these days, is a well-worn path. Rights holder’s commercial programs are well established and there is lots of great advice and best-practice to follow. While fundraising is a long-established discipline for many charities, more and more sports rights holders have been activating fundraising initiatives to impact positive change in their communities or help fund special projects such as high-performance centres.
Fundraising, in sport, however, is still on a learning curve.
Patrick Walker is the CEO of the Australian Sports Foundation. The ASF’s mission is to help Australians fundraise to achieve their sporting dreams. Patrick has a strong finance background, strong leadership, and strategic skills gained in senior executive, CEO and board roles both in Australia and internationally. Patrick joins us on the show to discuss fundraising in sport and share his wealth of knowledge, insights, and advice.
You’ll also hear from Mark Thompson, SponServe’s Managing Director, who joins us to discuss his latest blog, The Common Philosophies Which Align Sponsorship and Fundraising for Sport.
Enjoy.
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There is loads of great advice on how to do sponsorship right. However, with all the advice, steps, guides, hints, and tips available, it isn’t an exact science and it is a challenge in the application.
Plus, we are all human and we make mistakes. In fact, Chris Baylis, from the Sponsorship Collective, thinks a lot of you are sinners!
That’s because we recently saw a great piece of content that Chris had produced called The Seven Deadly Sins of Sponsorship. Not only was it a great blog but an awesome and handy infographic as well.
So, we asked Chris if he’d join us on the show and run us through The Seven Deadly Sins of Sponsorship.
You’ll also hear from Daniel Ferguson-Hill, SponServe’s Commercial Manager for Australia and New Zealand. Daniel outlines the four main things that he thinks brands, who are renewing or negotiating new sports-based sponsorships, should consider to help ensure success.
Enjoy
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Music and entertainment sponsorship isn’t an area of sponsorship that lives in the limelight. That is ironic considering the artists involved do exactly that day-to-day; live in the limelight.
We know that so much about sponsorship is a brand partnering with a rights holder to access an audience that they would otherwise find difficult to access.
It’s clear that music artists have huge audiences and highly engaged ones at that.
Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company. Universal own and operate a broad array of businesses engaged in not just recorded music, but also music publishing, merchandising, and audio-visual content in more than 60 countries.
Combine that with the huge and engaged social media followings, and music certainly looks attractive to sponsors. As such, in this episode we go inside sponsorship at Universal Music Group and hear from Roddy Campbell, Managing Director, New Business.
You can learn more about Universal Music group at www.universalmusic.com and you can connect with Roddy Campbell on LinkedIn.
Also joining us on the show is our MD, Mark Thompson who recently read a report, by the Association of National Advertisers and the Marketing Accountability Standards Board, titled Improving Sponsorship Accountability Metrics. Mark’s summation of the report? While there are lots of great insights in the report, Mark’s take away was that sponsorship professionals should be focusing on measurement accountability.
Enjoy.
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Supanova Comic-Con & Gaming Expo has been the welcoming home of Australia’s pop culture fandom since 2000; a place where fans inspired by imaginary worlds emanating from comics, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, gaming, nostalgia, and literature have been able to come together to celebrate. A place to rejoice in cosplay and also a place to express their inner geek and their inner child.
What used to be considered nerdy and not really mainstream has well and truly shifted into the spotlight in recent times. Some of that can be attributed to the rise in popularity of esports as well as the never-ending releases of superhero movies.
At Supanova, supa-star celebrities, fan-clubs, exciting exhibitors, and exclusives have been woven in with entertainment technology, collectables, and toys.
Whether they are seven, or seventy, Supanova boasts an incredibly engaged audience who have huge passion for the content. That presents a great opportunity for brands through sponsorship.
Listen in as Patrick Bradley, Business Development, Brand Partnerships, takes us inside sponsorship at Supanova.
You can learn more at www.supanova.com.au and connect with Patrick via email on patrick at @supanova.com.au or via LinkedIn.
During the show, Patrick talks about Supanova’s dedicated sponsorship website, sponsor.supanova.com.au, which includes more information on the MWave case study discussed.
Also joining us is Sam Irvine, SponServe’s GM – Product, to discuss his latest blog which highlights some of the things that we can all learn from Budweiser’s activations as an official partner of the FIFA World Cup.
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Having been formed in since 1889, 129 years ago, Brentford FC endured a nomadic existence, playing at five different home grounds before, in 1904, settling in at Griffin Park. And, that’s where they’ve played for the past 114 years!
Excitingly, however, Brentford are set to move into a new home ground late next year.
Our guest this episode is James Parkinson, Commercial Director at Brentford Football Club. James joins us to talk about the challenges of managing a commercial program in such a competitive market as London as well as the excitement of the impending new stadium and how that will impact his commercial team.
If you’d like to connect with James, you can do so LinkedIn or visit the Club's site at www.brentfordfc.com
In the past few weeks, sports betting has been legalised in the USA; something which has not been the case for a very long time in much of the country. As such, joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is SponServe’s Managing Director, Mark Thompson, who has looked at why sports betting and sponsorship is good for the industry.
Enjoy.
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Just recently, and boasting 45 million players of the game, Epic Games announced that it will provide $100 million in prize pool money for Fortnite competitions in the first year of competitive gaming. Plus, the IOC will shortly be holding a summit, to better understand esports, which could be a precursor to inclusion in future Olympic games.
Late in 2017, Essendon Bombers Football Club, a Melbourne based team who compete in the Australian Rules Football League, acquired Abyss esports team, in partnership with Executive Sports and Entertainment and, it included, a full re-branding of the team to the Bombers and full integration with the football club and its operations structures.
Rohan Sawyer is the managing director of Executive Sports and Entertainment and is also the Executive Director of Bombers Esports and he joins us to discuss their commercial program as well as his experiences as GM Commercial and Marketing at the Rugby League World Cup 2017 and Head of Commercial at the Australian Turf Club.
If you’d like to connect with Rohan you can do so on LinkedIn or on Twitter using or visit www.esetheagency.com. You can find out more about Bombers Esports on Facebook and Twitter and more about the Essendon Bombers Football Club on their website.
Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is SponServe’s General Manager – Product, Sam Irvine, who has looked at why working with your charity partners has become more than just a donation.
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A lot of people think sponsorship is a complex beast; that it is a hard job. Not Jackie Fast who founded Slingshot Sponsorship in 2010, from her apartment, with only a laptop, basically because no one would give her a job in sponsorship.
Jackie grew Slingshot Sponsorship from a start-up to an international, award-winning agency with a head office in London as well as offices in Singapore and Oslo.
It’s not so much that Jackie thinks sponsorship is easy. It’s more that she’s started a personal crusade to help people who she believes are making stupid mistakes that hurt their sponsorship programs; both rights holders and brands.
Recently, after selling Slingshot in 2017 to The Marketing Group, Jackie wrote a book, Pinpoint – How challenging the norm is the only route to success in selling sponsorship. Jackie joins us on the show to discuss some of the learnings from the book as well as her wider views on the sponsorship industry.
Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is our MD, Mark Thompson, who has written about the keys to using talent in sponsorship.
Enjoy.
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Do you find hard researching and getting a foot in the door with those you want to discuss sponsorship with?
Prospecting and researching potential sponsors is a a unique beast in the sponsorship industry. It’s definitely not the same as other industries. It can be a challenge to figure out a prospect’s position in the market, their appetite, their cycles, and their objectives.
Lots of great advice around sales is applicable to the sponsorship industry. However, prospecting and approaching leads needs a little bit more attention and a refined approach.
That’s why Brian McCue, Senior Director of Sponsorship Sales at Winmo, joins us on the show to help us navigate the tricky waters of prospecting sponsorship leads.
Brian has helped hundreds of non-profits, event organizations, and professional sports teams build partnerships with major brands. From small non-profits in Alaska, to large professional sports organizations like the LA Lakers, Brian has helped companies of all shapes and sizes go after new partnerships and sponsorships more efficiently.
Also joining us on the show is Sam Irvine, our GM Product, who, in his regular blog series, has penned a letter to his younger self, when he was a commercial manager. This time, Sam has provided some awesome advice on why sponsorship and membership is a marriage made in heaven.
Enjoy.
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How many of you, who rely so heavily on traditional inventory, things such as signage, uniform branding, home game activations, tickets, and hospitality, would struggle if you could no longer offer them to your sponsors?
What about if you are a rights holder who enjoys long and regular periods of sustained awareness and engagement, like an annual twenty plus week season? Would your job be tougher if you couldn’t rely on that high-profile regularity?
How would you even approach your job without those things?
While they are interesting hypothetical questions for most you, they are the reality for Ian Sargeant, Commercial Manager at Paralympics New Zealand. In this episode, you’ll learn about how Ian and the organisation deliver a highly successful commercial program, without the plethora of traditional benefits most rights holders boast, as we go inside sponsorship at Paralympics New Zealand.
You can learn more about Paralympics New Zealand, connect with Ian on LinkedIn, or email him directly on isargeant at paralympics.org.nz.
You want more? Lucky that our MD, Mark Thompson, also joins us to discuss a very interesting topic, and not one that is talked about a lot, that being the sponsorship landscape in terms of understanding third-party influencers who could be vital to success.
Enjoy.
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Working in sponsorship is great. Yes, it is challenging, but there are loads of great aspects and it certainly beats working in some boring admin role in some boring office, right?
For some, however, that can lead to staying in a role for a really long time and, when a move does come, moving to something very similar. Someone who has avoided that path, and gained a wealth of experience over some really great roles, is Sarah Lewis, Business Development Consultant - Sponsorship, Events and Luxury Tourism Specialist at Sursum Consulting.
Sarah joins us on the show to share her stories and experiences which are really insightful for both rights holders and brands. There is lots of chat about activations and some of the challenges along the way including her being a graffiti artist!
If you would like to connect with Sarah you can do so on LinkedIn. Sarah also talks about the upcoming Partnership Huddle where, if you get in contact with her, you can get a discount code for your registration.
Sam Irvine, SponServe's GM of Product, also join us and shares his Recipe – 5 Key Ingredients For Fantastic Hospitality
Enjoy.
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Events, either stand-alone or as part of a rights holder, such as team community days or end of season functions, bring people together where they are highly engaged and usually with really positive attitudes.
For rights holders, there is a finite amount of time to deliver the event and, in turn, deliver for sponsors. There’s not a lot of wriggle room if something goes wrong. Still, for sponsors, events can be highly attractive because of a large gathering of highly engaged people from their target audience.
Whether you are a rights holders or a brand, all of this presents not just a big opportunity, but also a unique set of challenges in executing sponsorship.
Someone who is well placed to discuss the unique challenges, how to navigate them, and enjoy success, is Roberta Vigilance. Since 1997, Roberta, through her event planning company, Vigilance Style & Grace, has consulted and taught how to plan sponsored events and secure sponsors from local through to corporate brands and Roberta joins us on the show to discuss all things event sponsorship.
If you would like to connect with Roberta, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or visit www.eventsandsponsors.com
Mark Thompson, our MD, also joins us to discuss his latest blog - Sponsorship Reporting in a Bad Year – How to Tell a Good Story in Hard Times
Enjoy.
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Whether you are a brand, or a rights holder, you’ve no doubt been in situations where a sponsorship has gotten off on the right foot, and with all the right intentions, but then one, or both, parties have struggled to bring the sponsorship to life and activate it well.
It is easy to see how it can happen; especially if there is no explicit conversation about the additional investment that sponsors need to make towards activation which is over and above the investment of the sponsorship agreement.
The big brands have in-house teams that concentrate on sponsorship and so this isn’t usually too much of a problem. However, there are a number of medium and smaller sized businesses, who, combined, have a significant sponsorship presence right around the world, yet may lack the knowledge and resources to activate their sponsorships well. In fact, they can often expect the rights holder to make it all ‘happen’.
It is a shame, or even a weakness at times, because everyone wants the sponsorship to work.
One person who, while working on the rights holder side, identified this as a significant issue, and a gap in the market, and decided to strike out on his own in order to address it, is Aaron Warburton, Director of The Sponsorship Department, a boutique sponsorship agency in Sydney. Aaron joins us to discuss his work and starting his own business, some of the challenges, a lot of the great stuff and also what he has in store for The Sponsorship Department for 2018. Aaron is an experienced operator and has lots of great insights. So, whether you one day want to strike out on your own, or want an inside perspective from a rights holder or from the brand side, there is something for everyone in the chat.
If you would like to connect with Aaron, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or visit www.thesponsorshipdepartment.com.au
Sam Irvine, our GM of Product, joins us to discuss five things he has learnt from the Big Bash League, Australia's premier T20 competition.
Enjoy.
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Trend number 5 in Nielsen Sports’ Commercial Trends in Sport 2017, is live sport gaining traction on OTT and social media. One man who has been on the OTT trail, from the early days, and even by his own admission, maybe a little too early, is Chris Wagner EVP and co-founder of NeuLion.
For 14 years, NeuLion has been a worldwide leader specialiSing in digital video broadcasting, distribution and monetization. NeuLion deliver live and on-demand content to every Internet-enabled device imaginable.
Chris has held numerous executive positions in the technology sector. The growth of internet television on computers, tablets, mobile, and internet-connected devices, has given Chris an opportunity to work closely with the largest brands in the sports and entertainment industry including the NFL, NHL, UFC, NBA, Univison, Dish Networks and many others.
Chris joins us to discuss the OTT landscape and how rights holders can capitalise on it.
If you would like to connect with Chris, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or email using chris.wagner at neulion.com. Be sure to download NeuLion's free eBook From Lead To Customer: Turning Free Trials Into Paid Accounts.
Also joining us on the show is Sam Irvine, SponServe’s GM of Product, who, in this ongoing series, ponders his past life as a commercial manager at a rights holder and what he wishes he knew. Then, he pens a letter to his younger self.
Enjoy.
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Pat Gallagher boasts a career in sports that spans more than 40 years and takes us inside Super Bowl 50 and the San Francisco Giants.
He spent 33 years at the San Francisco Giants which included the financing of a new stadium, without municipal assistance, and was at the forefront of income diversification for sporting teams.
Later, he was invited to chair the development committee, responsible for putting together the successful Super Bowl 50 bid, and then later transitioned to Executive Vice President Marketing, Partnerships & Communications for the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee.
Following the Super Bowl, Pat, and one of his colleagues, Stephanie Martin, authored a book, Big Game, Bigger Impact, about how the bay area redefined the super bowl experience.
Pat joins us on the show to share some fascinating and insightful stories over his career. One thing Pat discusses is a fantastic activation, the Coca-Cola Fan Lot, which you can read more about here.
Also, we couldn't help but share this video from Pat's work at the Giants in 1985! It's a great insight into what sports management was like back them and to be fair, a few of those ideas and approaches would not be out of place today.
If you would like to connect with Pat, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or email using pjgallaghersf at gmail.com
Also on the show, we introduce you to Eddie Fitzgibbon, SponServe’s new VP, Sales and Business Development, North America, who is based in New York.
Mark Thompson also joins us to discuss his latest blog which focuses on the last hurdle in the sponsorship sales process, which can often be the hardest; the converting of a strong opportunity to a “Yes”. Mark has blogged about a great approach and tactic he has used, and still does at SponServe, which helps him focus on getting a “Yes” from the most probable prospects but also ensures the top and middle of the funnel are also looked after.
If you would like to connect with Carson, you can do so on LinkedIn, Snapchat (carson.mckee) and Twitter.
Enjoy.
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Recently, we read the article Here's How Snapchat Can Be Part of Your Sponsorship Inventory and thought, in the context of everything else going on, "Do sponsorship managers, on both sides, really need to try and wrangle another digital channel in their inventory?"
To help answer that question, Carson McKee, from Direct Contact Marketing, the author of the article, joins us on the show to explore Snapchat, how it is relevant and how we can make best use of it in sponsorship.
If you would like to connect with Carson, you can do so on LinkedIn, Snapchat (carson.mckee) and Twitter.
Enjoy.
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Right around the world, sponsorship is a key marketing strategy for airlines. We often see them sponsoring high profile sports, who have big and global TV audiences, but increasingly, we are seeing airlines add or increase non-sports properties to their portfolio.
One of those airlines is Etihad Airways, a truly global airline not just in terms of status but also the way they approach their sponsorships.
Joining me on the show to discuss Etihad Airway’s sponsorships is Simon Hawk, Manager, Sponsorship, who is responsible for leading the airline’s sponsorship program in Australia. It is a great chat and some interesting insights into how they structure and approach their sponsorships; particularly what Simon explains is their three Fs.
We are playing catch up a little bit in this episode as we moved off schedule when we decided to release episode 45 and cut together some of the best bits of the show so far. So, to catch up, and make sure we get all the content in, we’ve recorded two of Sam Irvine’s blog chats. The first is about his insights from his recent trip to New Zealand for the Sponsorship Summit while the second is a letter he has written to his younger self which offers some advice around activations.
Enjoy.
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No doubt you have noticed that rights holders and venues across the world of sports are on a constant quest to enhance the spectator experience – at events and for those watching remotely – by adding entertainment elements, such as concerts, fan zones and enabling more access to star athletes.
Taylor Swift’s pre-race concert at the 2016 United States Grand Prix, the theatre-style lighting deployed at the ATP World Tour Finals in London and, of course, the Super Bowl half-time show are all examples.
There are also many examples of new entertainment events built around a sports element, including Andy Murray Live, an evening of music and exhibition tennis, and the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastic Champions, a 36-city tour of US Olympic gymnasts designed to capitalise on the team’s success at Rio 2016. The NFL and Cirque du Soleil, meanwhile, have partnered to create a major showcase installation in Times Square, due to open next month.
Trend four in Nielsen Sports Commercial Trends in Sport 2017 is The Greater Fusion of Sports and Entertainment. That’s because fusing sport and entertainment has shifted to become not just about halftime shows at grand finals, playoffs and Super Bowls, but something much deeper and more engaging.
Joining me on the show, to help us understand the trend, and how we can navigate it, is Rebekah Stevens, Vice President, Global Brand and Sponsorship Consulting at Nielsen Sports.
If you like to connect with Rebekah, you can do so on LinkedIn or email her directly using rebekah.stevens at nielsen.com
During the show, Rebekah mentions the different types of fans. If you are interested in finding out more about that research, you can do so here.
Also joining us on the show is our MD, Mark Thompson, who discusses his latest blog which looks at what sponsorship opportunities this trend presents to both rights holders and brands.
Enjoy.
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Welcome to the Edition One of Best bits of Inside Sponsorship.
We’ve gone back through the Inside Sponsorship archives, re-listened to some of the absolutely amazing guests that have so generously taken us inside their commercial programs, and picked out some of the gold that we think you should hear again.
For edition one of the Best Bits of Inside Sponsorship, we’ve included: Jonathan Prosser, Group GM – Strategy & Growth at Cronulla Sharks Group, who spoke about the value of working with a variety of new business ideas and the establishment of an in-house creative arm of the business which focuses on business growth. Jonathan also spoke about fan engagement at the Sharks and shared some of the moving stories following their historic Grand final win in 2016. Kim McConnie, former Senior Director, Sports Marketing at PepsiCo, shared with us how Pepsi come up with their different activations as well as how much they monitor what their competitors are doing in the sponsorship space. Kim also spoke about what Pepsi look at when deciding to partner with someone. Trent Leyshan, Founder at BOOM! Sales, discussed the art of sales including the true meaning of a warm lead, masterful questions and the need to dive deeper. Mike Wootton, Sponsorship Manager Auckland - Community and Sponsorship, at ASB talked about ASB’s sponsorship and their fantastic activation of the New Zealand Marathon. Mike also outlined the important steps and possible hurdles for creating new activations as well as some of the most common mistakes he sees when people are seeking sponsorship. Stuart Ramsey, former Head of Sponsorship at Southampton Football Club, spoke about the importance of storytelling, and the relevance of humour, as well as how Southampton identifies possible partners.
Enjoy.
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There's no doubt that the sponsorship industry is in a period of huge change.
There’s a more laser-like focus on achieving ROI and ROO, new technologies are helping both rights holders and brands manage & measure their portfolios, women's sport is growing, as is eSports. Then there’s augmented reality, virtual reality and the list goes one with our access to so many properties, often on demand, now available 24/7. Add to that our recent shows discussing IP owners taking control of content, the huge opportunity that Asia presents and the changing attention spans of consumers we are all trying to reach.
As sponsorship professionals, stakeholders just expect you to get on with it and be successful. What isn’t often talked about, however, is how the change is impacting the employment market, the skills required to be successful, ideal team structures and how to find and retain great talent.
One person who has a deep understanding of the sponsorship employment market is Jonathan Harris, Managing Partner, Australia at SRi. Jonathan joins us on the show to take us inside the sponsorship employment market.
Also joining us on the show, as usual, is our MD, Mark Thompson, who discusses his latest blog which looks at the changing skills needed from sponsorship professionals and the makeup of commercial teams in both rights holders and brands.
Enjoy.
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With so much access to so much content, the pressure on rights holders and brands to create great and engaging content, that holds an audience’s attention, is huge.
One person who knows a lot about the space is Spencer Nolan, Head of Consulting, UK & Europe at Nielsen Sports. Spencer joins us on the show to discuss number three in Nielsen Sports' Commercial Trends in Sport 2017 and that is changing attention spans prompting rights holders to rethink.
Also joining us on the podcast, as usual, is our MD, Mark Thompson, who outlines the opportunities that present themselves, for both rights holders and brands, because of changing attention spans.
You can connect with Spencer on LinkedIn and you can download a copy of Nielsen Sports' Commercial Trends in Sport 2017 here.
Enjoy.
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We’ve all done it. We hear the news that a company has entered into a new sponsorship with a rights holder. Company A has sponsored Rights Holder B, and, in a split second, we think to ourselves “Of course, that partnership makes sense” or, we think “What? How the hell do those brands go together?”
Interestingly, while there will most likely be a whole bunch of well thought out benefits, messages and activations in the partnership, it is your answer to the question of “Do they go together?” that communicates so much.
That’s why, the communication impact of a deal should not be underestimated by either rights holders or brands. In sports, fans are connected deeply with and are invested heavily in the rights holder and sponsorship deals can fuel either greater loyalty and connection, and that can be transferred to the sponsoring brand, or, it can fuel distaste.
“What? How the hell do those brands go together?”, was a common reaction to the seven-year, $600 million US agreement in 2012 in which U.S.-based Chevrolet became a sponsor of Manchester United.
That deal sparked an interest in how sponsorship deals convey subtle messages. David M. Woisetschläger, Christof Backhaus and T. Bettina Cornwell set out, in the context of sports, to examine how sponsorship deal characteristics affect consumer inferences, attitudes, and behavioural intentions toward a sponsor and a sport property in a partnership.
Their resulting research is titled Inferring Corporate Motives: How Deal Characteristics Shape Sponsorship Perceptions. It is a fascinating piece of research that has implications and learnings at all levels and that’s’ why we invited David, Christof and Bettina on the show so that we could break the research down into some easy to digest pieces.
You can connect with the authors at the following links T. Bettina Cornwell on Twitter @BettinaCornwell LinkedIn and ResearchGate David M. Woisetschläger on LinkedIn and ResearchGate Christof Backhaus on LinkedIn and at Aston Business School.
If you would like a copy of the research paper, in its final formatted form, the research team are happy to send the final paper, and more of their research, if contacted via e-mail or ResearchGate.
Also joining us on the show is Sam Irvine, SponServe’s Territory Manager for Australia and New Zealand, who discusses his latest blog about why you should utilise brand ambassadors and four steps to doing it well. You can read Sam's full blog here.
Enjoy
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Content is King. It’s almost a worn out saying but since it was first coined it has grown into an absolute truth. Whether you are trying to attract customers, or retain customers, content has become an integral part of a lot of businesses.
For the majority of rights holders, however, it’s been a very slow process. Even those that are doing it well are still lagging behind the general marketing community in other sectors.
There is no doubting that there is a trend in IP Owners taking control of content and the conversation and it makes Nielsen’s Commercial Trends in Sports 2017.
That’s because social media and other digital channels offer the opportunity to reach audiences more easily even if they are geographically dispersed. Yet, what is social media and what is broadcast media is very blurred. Is YouTube a social media platform? Or is it a broadcaster? Does it even matter?
To help understand the trend of IP owners taking control of content and conversations, Max Barnett, Global Head of Digital at Nielsen Sports, joins us on the show.
You can connect with Max on LinkedIn and Twitter @eightythree_max and you can download a copy of Nielsen’s Commercial Trends in Sport 2017 here.
Our MD, Mark Thompson, also focuses on this trend but takes a much narrower look, and a deep dive, and discusses what it means for you, the sponsorship managers, in your day-to-day work. You can read Mark’s blog in full here.
Enjoy.
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Mistakes. We all make them and, sometimes, we make the same mistake over and over. Maybe it’s because we get excited about an opportunity and rush even though it’s against our better judgment; “Oh, it’ll be different this time around!”. Maybe we just don’t know how to do it better.
The thing is, we can learn from mistakes but most of us don’t really want to talk about them too much or seek advice. Then there are the mistakes that we haven’t made yet but which others have made and we can learn from.
Luckily, Abby Clemence, from Infinity Sponsorship, is willing to talk about her mistakes and what she’s learned.
A while back, we received an email from Abby with the subject 7 Sponsorship Mistakes I Will Never Make Again. It was an insightful read and, as an international speaker and one of Australasia's leading corporate partnership advisors to the Not-For-Profit Sector, we thought it was a great opportunity to invite Abby on the show and share her mistakes with you in detail.
If you want to connect with Abby then there are lots of great opportunities including website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a great LinkedIn Group.
There’s also Abby’s Fundraising Academy and a Free 14-day Sponsorship-Game-Changer Program which are both definitely worth your time.
If you love this episode, and you haven’t already, you should head way back to Episode Nine where we had Abby on the show where, again, she shared loads of great insights and advice.
Also on the episode, we welcome a new contributor to the podcast, Sam Irvine, who is our Territory Manager for SponServe in Australia and New Zealand. Sam joins us to share a key question that he wished he had asked sponsors but never did.
Enjoy.
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In recent years we’ve heard a lot about the potential of emerging markets, across all industries, and it is easy to see that emerging markets will have an impact on the global sponsorship industry.
Emerging markets are increasingly engaging with and investing in top-level sport: the next three Olympic Games will be staged in Asia while Russia and Qatar are the next two FIFA World Cup hosts and Japan will host the Rugby World Cup.
Of huge significance, and leading the way, is China. With 1.38 billion people, it represents a significant and mostly untapped market. Further, the Government has targeted a US$813 billion sports industry by 2025 and that will be fuelled by major investment across all aspects of sports – in events, facilities, teams, leagues and grassroots programs.
The mind boggles!
To help us understand the emerging Chinese market, and as part of our series exploring Nielsen’s commercial trends in sports, of which #1 is the emergence of new sporting powers, led by China, Claude Ringuet, Managing Director South East Asia & Greater China, joins us on the show.
You can connect with Claude on LinkedIn and download a copy of Nielsen's Commercial Trends in Sport 2017 here.
Also joining us on the podcast, as usual, is our MD, Mark Thompson, who, whenever we welcome a Nielsen staff member on the show to discuss one of their commercial trends, will blog about the topic through the lens of what the trend means for the sponsorship industry. In this episode, Mark provides his take on China and outlines four things sponsorship managers should know.
You can also read Mark's blog here - How the Emergence of New Sporting Powers, Led By China, Impacts Sponsorship
Enjoy.
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You don’t often come across brand’s, or their staff, who are vocal about sponsorship on social media. Sure, there are those that are vocal about promoting or activating their sponsorships but not many that share their thoughts, ideas and experiences on sponsorship in a way that contributes to the industry.
Dan Frystak, Senior Manager, Brand and Sponsorship at CDW, is different. Not only does Dan post on LinkedIn about things others don’t, he does so in a way that generates discussion and the sharing of other people’s ideas. That’s really valuable and that’s why we invited him on the show.
It is an insightful chat, with someone on the brand side, who is willing to share their thoughts, views and experiences in an open way. You are going to love it.
In the show, Dan talks about CDW's sponsorship of the PGA and how they've integrated it with their support of Operation Homefront. Check out the video here.
You can connect with Dan on LinkedIn and find out more about CDW at www.cdw.com.
Mark also joins us and builds on our recent blogs and podcasts around sales. Mark chats about his latest blog which looks at the three key people in an organisation, that you are trying to sell sponsorship to, that you really need to understand and navigate if you want to be successful.
Enjoy.
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How do you measure and report on sponsorships when there are so many moving parts?
If you are a brand, measuring what you are receiving, and the ROI and ROO, is imperative. It’s at the pointy end of your marketing activities and, no doubt, you need to report internally on how you are achieving success with spending company budget.
If you are a rights holder, you need to be measuring and reporting to your sponsors so that you can show you are an important part of that marketing budget.
At a bare minimum, if you are both following good goal setting process, and setting SMART objectives for the sponsorship, then measuring those objectives is a non-negotiable. That’s the M part of SMART!
No surprises there but, again, how do you measure and report when you have so many moving parts?
The answer is Unified Measurement and it isn’t just more industry jargon. Instead, it is something that you cannot ignore anymore.
Recently, Nielsen Sports produced a whitepaper, Unified Measurement – Defining A New Sponsorship Currency, and in this episode, I speak with Michael Tange, SVP Global Head of Strategy & Solutions, at Nielsen Sports & Entertainment, to take a look at the whitepaper in depth and unpack what it means for you.
You can download Nielsen Sports’ whitepaper here - Unified Measurement – Defining A New Sponsorship Currency - and you can also connect with Michael on LinkedIn.
Mark also focuses his regular blog on the topic of measurement and discusses the importance of understanding your data and consistent measurement.
Enjoy.
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Some people are sales naturals while some have worked hard to be good at it, some struggle with it and some hate that part of sponsorship. However, if you aren’t involved in upfront sales then your delivery and management elements will most likely flow into renewal discussions and so sales come into play then.
There are many traps to fall into in sales and we all have areas we could be better at or even just benefit from some fresh, non-sponsorship industry, views. Besides, there aren’t too many people in the sponsorship industry that can call themselves sales experts and have nothing left to learn.
One person who is an expert, is Trent Leyshan, Founder of Boom! Sales and Trent joins us on the show to provide advice so you can sell effectively.
If you want to find out more about Trent, BOOM! Sales or his books, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.boomsales.com.au
Also on this episode, our MD, Mark Thompson, joins us to discuss the key to sponsorship relationships. Of course, it is delivery but not the kind you think!
Enjoy
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Most of us will never know the horrors of combat. Many servicemen and women suffer life-changing injuries, both visible and invisible, while serving their countries. How do they find the motivation to move on and to not be defined by their injuries? How can they be recognized for their achievements?
Prince Harry asked these questions. Following a visit in 2013 to the US-based Warrior Games for wounded, ill and injured military personnel and veterans, he was inspired to create an expanded international version. The first Invictus Games took place in London in 2014 and attracted more than 400 competitors from 13 nations. The second Invictus Games took place in 2016 in Orlando, Florida, and built on the excitement of the London Games with more than 500 competitors from 14 nations. The Invictus Games demonstrate soldiers’ and veterans’ tireless drive to overcome and the power of sport on their journey to recovery.
The Invictus Games is about much more than just sport – it captures hearts, challenges minds and changes lives.
It is a fascinating story and that’s why we invited Tim Hodgson, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer, at Invictus Games Sydney 2018, on the show to take us inside their commercial program.
During the chat, Tim mentions a few awesome projects he's been a part of and you can find out more about them here.
Australia's Greatest Athlete
XXXX Gold Beach Cricket
Speights Great Beer Delivery
Also, in this episode, Mark Thompson, our MD, joins us to talk us through 5 steps to managing a crisis in sponsorship. Here’s Mark.
Enjoy
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While there are lots of things that go into making a partnership successful, there is probably one element that is more important than others – ensuring that the benefits you offer a sponsor are done so in a way that will help them meet their marketing objectives.
We all know that sponsorship is really just one element of a brand’s marketing and that brand’s will cut marketing that isn’t delivering results. That makes sense. Yet, we also that the industry, by and large, still struggles somewhat in ensuring that partnerships kick off on a strong foundation in the sense that the benefits being delivered are the right ones.
That’s why we developed a step-by-step guide to help you uncover a potential sponsor’s objectives, position suitable benefits, achieve buy-in and ownership from the sponsor and then set agreed goals around the partnership’s objectives.
That’s what this episode is all about. You’ll walk through, in detail, the steps on how to do all of that. Further, if you follow the advice in the guide, the end result will change your success rate in signing sponsors but also that they will be much more beneficial and long-term relationships.
You can download the eBook Aligning Benefits to Sponsor Objectives here.
Also, in this episode, Mark Thompson, our MD, joins us to talk about something that he is a massive advocate of – storytelling and how important it is within sponsorship.
Enjoy.
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Banks have big budgets and there aren’t many that don’t utilise sponsorship as part of their marketing plan.
In New Zealand, in 1906, after many years of lobbying the government, a Special Bill was passed enabling excess funds to be directed to community projects. Since that time ASB has been recognised and respected for the support it gives to the communities in which they operate.
ASB's Corporate Responsibility Report talks ASB’s values and the work they are doing to build and support sustainable New Zealand communities.
ASB has a wide-ranging sponsorship approach, from involvement in community-based events right through to the all-conquering New Zealand All Blacks and in this episode, Mike Wotton, Sponsorship Manager takes us inside sponsorship at ASB.
You can connect with Mike on LinkedIn and find out more about ASB at www.asb.co.nz/about-us
Mark Thompson also joins us to talk about his latest blog which examines the areas that, as sponsorship managers, you might consider enlisting some help in.
Enjoy
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The English Premier League commands a worldwide audience. Current values of shirt sponsors, across the 20 teams, totals £233.6M per season. It’s clearly big business and attracts big brands and especially international ones.However, it is a market that is crowded, and for some clubs, it’s not just about saying “We are a Premier League team; sponsor us” and brands just saying “Yes”.
As such, some clubs are building sustainable commercial programs including alternative sources of revenue. Southampton FC is one of those clubs and Stuart Ramsey, Head of Sponsorship, joins us in this episode to take you inside their commercial program.
You can connect with Stuart on LinkedIn and find out more about the club at https://southamptonfc.com
Mark Thompson also joins us to build on last episode’s chat about reporting and the four key principles that you need to follow for good reporting. This time around, Mark talks about the key ingredients for a good report. You can read Mark’s blog here.
Enjoy
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Gambling sponsorship has grown significantly; especially in the sports sector. It creates a lot of debate both within the industry and the general public.
Increasing legislation and controls means that both rights holders and gambling brands need to ensure they work more closely together to maintain the integrity of both brands. As such, gambling brands are increasingly looking to blend their sponsorship with their wider corporate social responsibility.
So, in this episode, we speak with Ed Owens, Chief Marketing Officer at CrownBet.
You can connect with Ed on LinkedIn and find out more about CrownBet at www.crownbet.com.au
Mark also joins us to discuss the foundations of good reporting and provides four principles to follow. You can read Mark’s detailed blog here.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak to Jason Cornell and go inside a wide range of sponsorship programs including the Hong Kong 7s and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Jason has over 15 years’ leadership experience initiating, negotiating and maintaining multi-year sponsorship agreements with leading international brands. His career pinnacle has been introducing commercial sponsorships to the Hong Kong Jockey club for the first time in history. Through conceiving, negotiating and activating multi-year and multi-million dollar agreements with top brands such as Cathay Pacific, HSBC, Mercedes Benz, Citibank and Audemars Piquet, Jason was able to establish the Cathay Pacific HK International Races, the HSBC Premier Series and the Citi Triple Crown elevating the club to being one of the largest and most respected in the world.
Leveraging an extensive background in sport, before moving into sports management and organisational leadership positions, Jason understands exactly how to maximise the commercial benefits from sponsor partnerships, applying over a decade of expertise and a portfolio of achievements to transform revenue models and performance.
If you want to get in touch with Jason, you can connect with him on LinkedIn , visit www.alicespringsturfclub.org.au or follow #outbackraces.
Mark also joins us to delve into, and add clarity, around the age old debate of the difference between Return on Investment and Return on Objectives in your sponsorships and which is the source of happiness.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak to Tomas Ravelid, CEO and Director of Brand Partnerships at Australian Esports Media Group.
Australian eSports Media Group was founded in 2016 and is the driving force around Athletico, WPGI and PGTV.
Tomas is a well-known figure on the event circuit having brokered commercial agreements for world touring artists in association with Live Nation, AEG entertainment and other artist management of One Direction, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Mars and more.
Locally Tomas has spent significant time on Brand Partnerships for Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, Summernats, FIFA, Moomba and Redbull Air Race.
Sponsorship within the rapidly growing eSports industry is an extremely interesting topic. I 2016 eSports classified a total of 148 million people as "eSports enthusiasts," up from 131 million the year before. In 2019, that figure is expected to be 215 Million eSports enthusiasts.
If you want to get in touch with Jonathan, you can connect with him on LinkedIn or find out more about the Sharks at www.aemig.net.au
Mark also joins us to finish off talking about how you can self-assess the health of your sponsorship program and we look at Relationships and Internals.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak to Jonathan Prosser, Group GM – Strategy & Growth at Cronulla Sharks Rugby League Football Club.
Jonathan’s background covers three main areas: diplomacy, foreign affairs & public policy; business; and sport.
There are two parts to Jonathan’s role. The first is the direction of the Group which includes the Football Club, Licensed Club, real estate developments, and the social-impact arm of the organisation, the Sharks Have Heart Foundation. The second is working on non-traditional growth. This includes leading their in-house business growth services agency, and building strategic partnerships that contribute to financial longevity.
So, for those of you who are looking to develop income streams outside of traditional sponsorships, this is a great interview for you.
If you want to get in touch with Jonathan, you can connect with him on LinkedIn or find out more about the Sharks at sharks.com.au
Mark also joins us to talk about how you self-assess the health of your sponsorship program.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak to Steven Powell Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer at Houston Dynamo.
Steven has 23+ years as a sales and marketing professional with an extensive background in the creation and management of successful sales and marketing strategies and tactics. That time has included vast experience in football in the U.S. as well as in the UK. As a commercial professional in a sport that doesn’t have the history that others do in the US, but which has grown significantly and attracts world class players and investment, this chat with Steven is one that you will find very educational.
If you want to connect with Steven then you can do so by email using spowell [at] houstondynamo.com, on LinkedIn or find out more about Houston Dynamo at houstondynamo.com
Mark also joins us to talk about how you can best position sponsorship to the Government.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak to Simon Chester, General Manager - Commercial Operations at Brumbies Rugby.
The ACT Brumbies were part of the first Super 12 tournament in 1996 as the third Australian provincial team. At the time, many predicted that the Brumbies, made up of so-called 'rejects' – players not wanted by the other two Australian teams – would perform poorly.
However, the franchise set about creating a culture envied by many and, since then, they have enjoyed more success than all the other Australian teams combined, reaching six finals and winning two.
Simon Chester, General Manager - Commercial Operations, has been at the Brumbies for five and a half years and has provided the organisation with stability and leadership to ensure that the Brumbies are well supported for on field success including recently signing a new naming rights sponsor which now makes the Brumbies’ shirt the most valuable in Australian Rugby.
If you wish to connect with Simon then you can do so at www.brumbies.com.au or on LinkedIn.
Mark also joins us to talk about ways that brands can achieve sponsorship cut-through in crowded markets.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak to Mick Spencer, CEO at ONTHEGO.
Founded in 2011 by Mick, in his parent’s garage, ONTHEGO has rapidly become one of Australia’s fastest growing sports apparel brands. ONTHEGO design and manufacture apparel across multiple sports including hockey, cycling, triathlon, running, basketball, golf and rugby (just to name just a few.)
ONTHEGO are the official apparel partner of Caroline Buchanan, BMX World Champion, and the CBR BRAVE in the Australian Ice Hockey League. Excitingly, they recently announced that they are the official apparel partner of Hockey Australia.
Built around the mindset that ‘Every Day Matters', OTG is now firmly established as a leader in delivering customised sports and teamwear that not only empowers but inspires.
If you wish to connect with Mick then you can do so at www.onthegosports.com.au or on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Mark also joins us for what is a really fun chat about sponsoring Santa and how he would go about selling the milk pourage rights for the big guy.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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This is our third and final special edition episode of Inside Sponsorship which focuses on Rugby Union. The topic our guests are discussing is “The Sponsorship Pathway – Are You Sponsorship Ready?” which was a panel discussion at the World Rugby Conference and Exhibition in London last month.
In this episode we sit down and chat with Murray Barnett, Head of Broadcast, Commercial & Marketing at World Rugby as well as Mark Thompson, SponServe MD, who chaired the panel.
Murray Barnett is vastly experienced, having worked for more than 20 years in the global sports television and entertainment industries. Currently, Murray is responsible for Commercial, Marketing and Broadcast activities for the Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup Sevens, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and all World Rugby events. Murray was previously Vice President TV Sales & Head of International Syndication Sales with ESPN International and also held positions at the NBA and ISL.
Also, Mark shares some really important brand side insights that were common themes from the panel discussion and which focus on what brands want to see from those seeking sponsorship from them.
You can learn more about and World Rugby at www.worldrugby.org and connect with Murray on LinkedIn
You can also listen to the other two podcasts in this series,
Episode 1 – Fiona Taag (DHL) and Mark Thompson (SponServe)
Episode 2 – Craig Maxwell (Welsh Rugby) and Sophie Morris (Millharbour Marketing)
Enjoy
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This is our second special edition episode of Inside Sponsorship episode which focuses on Rugby Union. The topic our guests are discussing is “The Sponsorship Pathway – Are You Sponsorship Ready?” which is a panel discussion at the World Rugby Conference and Exhibition in London this month.
In this episode we sit down and chat with Sophie Morris, Strategic Marketing & Sponsorship Director, Millharbour Marketing Consultancy as well as Craig Maxwell, Head of Sales and Marketing at Welsh Rugby Union Group.
Craig joined the WRU in 2005 as part of the Hospitality team. Between 2004 and 2008 Craig moved through the commercial team to become Group Sponsorship Manager. In 2008 he left the WRU to head up UK & Ireland for Under Armour and was enticed back to the WRU in 2010 as the new Head of Group sales and marketing.
You can learn more about and connect with Craig at www.wru.co.uk and LinkedIn
We also talk to Sophie Morris from Millharbour Marketing. Sophie is a Chartered Marketer with 15 year’s strategic marketing experience, most recently as a Director of Marketing in Financial Services where she led sponsorship of the Barbarians rugby team for four years. She has held marketing and sponsorship advisory roles at club and County levels of the game, she sat on the RWC2015 Legacy Committees, and currently sits on the RFU’s Rugby Growth Committee.
Sophie is a Board Director of the European Sponsorship Association, where she leads the working group that is producing the industry best practice guide to sponsorship measurement, and is a judge of the UK Sponsorship Awards.
You can learn more about and connect with Sophie at www.millharbourmarketing.com and LinkedIn
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is a special edition episode of Inside Sponsorship episode which focuses on Rugby Union. The topic our guests are discussing is “The Sponsorship Pathway – Are You Sponsorship Ready?” which is a panel discussion at the World Rugby Conference and Exhibition in London this month.
In this episode, we sit down and chat with SponServe Managing Director Mark Thompson and Fiona Taag, Global Sponsorship Manager at DHL Express.
Following working in the UK for six years in various roles, Fiona Taag first joined DHL in 2005 as Marketing Manager in New Zealand and later moved to Bahrain as Middle East & North Africa Marketing Manager. She then returned to New Zealand to manage the DHL Express global sponsorship of RWC 2011. In 2012, she joined the Deutsche Post DHL Group head office in Germany, as Global Sponsorship Manager, and again had the opportunity to manage DHL’s partnership of RWC 2015. She currently manages global partnerships for DHL Express including the World Rugby Sevens Series, Manchester United, MotoGP, Cirque du Soleil, Exhibitionism – The Rolling Stones and The Grand Tour, as well as assisting colleagues to activate Formula 1, Fashion, Formula E and local partnerships.
You can learn more about and connect with Fiona at www.dhl.com and LinkedIn
We aLso talk to Mark Thompson. Regular listeners of the show will know Mark Thompson well as SponServe’s MD and co-founder. For those new to the show, Mark started his career in the industry as a Rugby Union player manager before becoming General Manager of Warringah Rugby who reside in one of the largest Rugby participation bases in the southern hemisphere.
Mark then became Sponsorship Manager at Brumbies Rugby who participate in the Super Rugby competition where he was responsible for the service delivery, procurement and acquittal of all sponsors who made up a portfolio in excess of $4.5M.
Mark has held various other fundraising and marketing roles, including at the Australian Sports Foundation, before he co-founded SponServe, the world’s first sponsorship software solution that streamlines and enhances sponsorship servicing and inventory management.
You can learn more about and connect with Mark at www.sponserve.net and LinkedIn
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we chat with Paula Robinson, Partner at MinterEllison, Head of Legal Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games & Managing Practitioner at Bond Law Clinic.
Paula is a highly skilled general corporate and commercial lawyer but her primary area of practice is sports law. Paula provides some great advice and practical tips, for both brands and rights holders, to ensure that the whole process around sponsorship legalities runs as smoothly as possible.
Paula graduated first in class from her Juris Doctor law degree at Bond University and also holds an undergraduate Commerce Degree from Deakin University. In addition to her experience as a lawyer, Paula has over 12 years experience in executive management, marketing and business development roles.
If you wish to connect with Paula then you can do so on LinkedIn or on the Minter Ellison website.
Mark also joins us to discuss some of the key learnings around event sponsorship that he took away from recently attending the Leaders conference in London and we introduce Sam Irvine, our new Account Manager for Australia and New Zealand.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we chat with Michael Payten, Chief Commercial Officer at the Gold Coast Titans
Michael is a senior executive within the sports and major event industries and he has held senior management roles with the Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Turf Club and Centrebet Australia along with senior consultancy deployments with the PGA of Australia and Brisbane Polo Club.
Mark has also worked as the Bundaberg Rum Brand Manager at Diageo and Loyalty Marketing Manager for SkyCity Adelaide Casino.
The Gold Coast Titans were traveling through some challenging times when Michael started but are now enjoying lots of success, both on and off the field, and the commercial team’s professionalism provides some great insights for all.
If you want to connect with Micheel you can do so on LinkedIn
With Mark in the UK, I discuss my blog from last week which looks at a simple way to get started with valuing social media posts for sponsors.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we chat with Kim McConnie, Senior Director, Sports Marketing PepsiCo.
Kim has an MBA from Sydney University and has been with PepsiCo for over 10 years including 6 years in Asia, launching new businesses in Vietnam and Pakistan. Kim then spent 4 years back in her home country, Australia, where she was the CMO for Australia and New Zealand and during that time was recognized through the Chairman Award for launching PepsiCo’s first Stevia Cola. Kim made the move to US to lead the sports marketing for Pepsi Beverages North America where she leads the Sports Marketing strategy along with all league, team and athlete relationships.
PepsiCo has put sports at the centre of its marketing strategy for years, working with the NHL, the NFL and MLB. Kim has taken PepsiCo's position in sport to a new level including securing its newest major league deal in partnering with the NBA and wrestling the relationship from Coke who had a 28-year run with the NBA. Many of the other key platforms Kim's team brings to market is Dew Tour and Super Bowl Halftime Show.
If you want to connect with Kim, you can do so on LinkedIn
We also catch up with our MD, Mark Thompson, to discuss his latest blog which looks at 5 things non‐mainstream rights holders should be doing in attracting sponsorship. Interestingly, however, as I spoke to Mark, a lot of what non‐mainstream rights holders should be focussing on are things that everyone should be doing anyway as best practice sponsorship management.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we chat with Dan Canham who recently posed, in a presentation at a conference, 'Is the traditional sponsorship model dead?'
The title certainly piqued our interest and particularly because Dan has experience across all three sides of the sponsorship triangle - the rights holder, the sponsor and the agency - so we think he is well placed to explore it from all angles.
Dan mentions some great sponsorship execution by Heineken which you can watch here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqbI0sqNe8o
If you want to connect with Dan, you can do so on LinkedIn
As always, we catch up with our MD, Mark Thompson, to build on our recent discussions around aligning benefits to objectives. This time around, Mark discusses how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals once the objectives and potential benefits are discussed.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we go inside event sponsorship at IMG with James Goode, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships EMEA.
For those not familiar with IMG, they a global leader in sports, events, media and fashion and operate in more than 30 countries. IMG represents and manages some of the world’s greatest sports figures and fashion icons, stages hundreds of live events and branded entertainment experiences annually and is one of the largest independent producers and distributors of sports media. IMG also specialises in sports training and league development as well as marketing, media and licensing for brands, sports organizations and collegiate institutions.
James is a commercial expert specialising in sport and entertainment and he has 15 years industry experience in event sponsorship solutions and concept creation and, because of that, I thought he’d have some great advice to share and so we invited him on the show.
If you want to connect with James, you can do so using james.goode at img.com and also on LinkedIn
We also catch up with our MD, Mark Thompson, because a recent activation by a rights holder, for a sponsor at an event, got him thinking about some of the ethical and moral decisions that sponsorship managers might have to make from time to time.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we go inside Chris Baylis’ sponsorship industry work and experiences.
Chris is a sponsorship strategy and valuation expert and is the Managing Director of The Sponsorship Collective. Over his career, Chris has managed the entire spectrum of the sponsorship process, raising millions of dollars for charities, associations, education, sport and not for profits.
Chris works with brands and sponsorship properties to define their sponsorship goals, determine market value of their sponsorship assets and create strategies that work.
While Chris is the Managing Director of The Sponsorship Collective, he is also a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and an international speaker and consultant on all things sponsorship marketing.
If you want to connect with Chris, you can do so using chris at sponsorshipcollective.com, find him on LinkedIn or Twitter @cpbaylis. You can also find out more, and sign up for the upcoming Virtual Sponsorship Summit at www.sponsorshipcollective.com/sponsorship-summit.
Also, Mark Thompson also joins the show to discuss his latest blog which discusses how to use sponsorship benefits wisely.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we go inside Joachim Lange’s sponsorship industry experiences.
Joachim is the Managing Director at COMASCO® Consultancy and he has managed properties including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Formula One, World Rally Championship and selected German Football clubs. He has a broad range of capabilities as well including sponsorship marketing and sales, strategic planning, partnership management, contract negotiations, brand experiences, digital and social media, event management, measurement and analytics.
If you want to connect with Joachim, you can do so using jl at comasco.de or find him on LinkedIn.
Also in the show, I mention the upcoming Virtual Sponsorship Summit and you can learn more, and sign-up, at www.sponsorshipcollective.com/sponsorship-summit.
Mark Thompson also joins the show to discuss his latest blog which discusses a common industry challenge, that of valuing benefits.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we go inside Speedo International’s sponsorship program with James Hickman, Global Sports Marketing and PR Manager.
Born in Australia, Speedo is the world’s leading swimwear brand. Speedo created their first swimsuit in 1928 and, since then, they’ve been behind every major swimwear innovation, from pioneering Lycra swimsuits to developing the world’s first Fastskin Racing System.
Speedo are passionate about swimming and inspiring people to swim; it’s what drives everything they do, from the products they make to how they make them. Today they are a truly global brand with offices around the world and products available in 177 countries.
If you want to connect with James, you can do so on james.hickman at speedo.com, connect with him on LinkedIn or visitwww.speedo.com
Mark Thompson also joins the show to discuss his latest blog which provides four essential psychology approaches to selling sponsorship.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we go inside Sculpture by the Sea’s commercial program with Ultan O’Dwyer, National Sponsorship & Philanthropy Manager. Sculpture by the Sea is the largest annual sculpture exhibition in the world.
Staged on the spectacular Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, is one of Sydney’s most popular events with 520,000 visitors viewing over 100 sculptures by artists from around the world. Held since 1997, this free to the public exhibition captures the imagination of Sydney and its visitors for three weeks each spring and the exhibition generates an almost unprecedented level of goodwill among the public as they enjoy one of the most unique events in the world.
The popularity of the Bondi exhibition led to the creation of Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe in Perth on Australia’s Indian Ocean coast in March each year. Staged since 2005, the Cottesloe exhibition features over 70 sculptures and is enjoyed by 260,000 visitors, making the exhibition as much a part of Perth as the Bondi show is in Sydney.
If you want to learn more about Sculpture by The Sea, head to www.sculpturebythesea.com and you can also connect with Ultan on LinkedIn
Before we hear from Ultan though, I sat down with Mark Thompson, our MD, because his latest blog addresses some direct feedback we’ve received from our recent blog series focusing on aligning benefits to objectives. The feedback that a few people have provided is ““I’ve been in meetings where the potential sponsor just isn’t clear on what their objectives are. What should I do?”. So, Mark’s blog, and the chat this episode, is all about how to uncover a sponsor’s objectives in three questions.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak with Tyron Brant, CEO of BLK Sport. From their early genesis, 13 years ago, BLK Sport is now one of the fastest growing sport’s apparel companies on earth and nearly 10,000 teams, globally, wear BLK.
For those of you on the rights holders side of the fence, and especially those that have apparel partners, this is a great opportunity to hear directly from someone like Tyron as there are plenty of times where he speaks his mind. So, if you have ever thought, “Geez, I wonder what that sponsor thinks”, then now is your chance to find out.
It is the first time we’ve had a brand on the show so there is lots of discussion and viewpoints from the other side of the fence which is fantastic.
If you want to learn more about BLK, head to http://www.blksport.com and if you want to connect with Tyron, you can email him on tyron at blksport.com.
I sat down, as usual, with Mark Thompson, our CEO, to cover off the last two benefits in our four-part blog series looking at the 8 core objectives of a sponsorship and which benefits best help brands achieve, and rights holders to deliver, on those objectives. This time around, Mark and I discuss which benefits are best placed to support the two objectives of Qualified Leads and Generate Sales.
We also mention our Sponsorship Planner card tool which you can find more about, and order, here.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak with Vickie Saunders, Founder at The Sponsorship Consultants. Vickie is an Athlete Sponsorship and Partnership Expert and is the author of Sponsorship for Athletes: For Athletes of All Levels and Sports and alsoThe Ultimate Guide to Sponsoring Athletes. Vickie works with Individual Athletes (of all levels and in all sports), Fitness Professionals, Sponsors (from local business through to global brands), Institutes of Sport, Universities and Sports Organisations.
Vickie’s clients include Shimano, Saucony, Wilson Tennis, Institutes of Sport (Australia, England and Wales), Freedom Sports Medicine and Strength Matters.
If you want to connect with Vickie, visit www.thesponsorshipconsultants.com.au or connect on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook,Twitter and Instagram.
Also in this episode, Mark and I continue our chat around which benefits should be aligned to the common sponsor objectives. This time around, we look at Relationship Building and Community Engagement.
I also mention our Sponsorship Planner card tool which you can find more about, and order, here.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak with Sophie Morris, a Strategic Marketing Consultant at Millharbour Marketing Consultancy, about the UK Sponsorship Landscape.
Sophie is a Chartered Marketer with 14 years’ marketing experience and has held various roles developing the game of rugby, including the RFU Rugby Growth Committee, the Rugby World Cup 2015 Activation & Legacy Group, the Management Committee of Essex RFU and being the Sponsorship Officer for her local club.
Sophie managed the sponsorship of the Barbarians rugby team for four years for her previous employer and as a result made considerable contacts in the world of rugby and became a huge fan of the sport. So, as well as offering strategic marketing consultancy to clients, Sophie also advises on sponsorship strategy and sponsorship activation.
If you want to connect with Sophie, visit www.millharbourmarketing.com or you can find her on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and Google+
Also in this episode, Mark and I continue our chat around which benefits should be aligned to the common sponsor objectives. This time around we look at Networking and Building An Audience.
Sponsorship Planner Cards
I also mention our Sponsorship Planner card tool which you can find more about, and order, here.
Case Studies
I also mention two awesome case studies we recorded with two of our clients, the Newcastle Jets and Touch Football Australia. You can listen to them here.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak with Abby Clemence, Director at Infinity Sponsorship, about the Not-For-Profit sector.
Abby is one of Australia’s foremost strategic sponsorship advisors to the For-Purpose Sector and has more than 25 years experience in marketing, sales, adult education, communications, event management and corporate and cause-related sponsorship. Abby’s proven pathways to infinite sponsorship success support For-Purpose organisations, charities and events to help them understand their value to corporate partners and to make compelling approaches that allow them to diversify their income streams and continue their vital work in the community.
Interestingly, while we discussed the Not-For-Profit sector heavily, you should absolutely still listen to the show if you are thinking “I don’t work in that sector”. That’s because, as we spoke, it became quite clear that there are a lot of elements, tactics and mindsets that are equally applicable, no matter where you work, and Abby gives some great advice around it all. There is definitely something for everyone.
Abby has also authored a number of books that provide practical and easily implementable solutions and you can download two that are discussed in the show at, 5 Myths Of Non-Profit Sponsorship; and 8 Easy Steps To Turn Cold Calls Into Hot Prospects
If you want to connect with Abby, visit www.infinitysponsorship.com.au or you can find her on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out her courses at www.sponsorship-university.com
Finally, Mark has started a blog series as a supplement to our impending launch of Sponsorship Planner (which you can learn more about in the show) and he speaks about which benefits are best placed to help achieve two of the most common sponsorship objectives, Brand Awareness and Brand Positioning.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak with Colm Maguire, CEO at Touch Football Australia.
Almost three years ago, Touch Football Australia and the National Rugby League, announced a historic strategic partnership. The two sports now work together as the largest sporting community in the country with a combined participation of approximately 1.9 million people. It is that partnership and how it has affected Touch Football Australia’s commercial program is the focus of my chat with Colm.
If you want to connect with Colm, visit www.touchfootball.com.au, connect with him on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter@ColmMaguireTFA.
Also, Mark and I have been discussing for a little a while about the process of bedding down a new sponsor and what advice we can give people to help make the signing of a new sponsor successful. As such, Mark and I discussed his blog which provides a 7 checkpoint roadmap you can follow once you’ve signed a new sponsor.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode, we speak with Michael Thomson, General Manager Participation and Sustainable Sports at Australian Sports Commission.
FIFA Marketing, Football Federation Australia, Nike, The Brumbies, The Australian Rugby Union and the Australian Sports Commission are all organisations Michael has held senior commercial roles at. Considering the breadth of Michael’s experience, it is a fairly wide-ranging discussion so there is some great advice and insights no matter what type of commercial role you have.
You can find out more about Michael at his current role at www.ausport.gov.au/about/structure/the_executive, follow him on Twitter at @MichaelBThomson and connect with him on LinkedIn.
Plus, in our regular catch-up with Mark Thompson, we chat about sponsorship management recruitment and Mark provides five tips on finding the right staff.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode we speak with Colin Anstie, from Raging Digital, and go inside using LinkedIn to connect with sponsors.
If you want to know how to use LinkedIn effectively then Col is your man and considering how many of us under utilise LinkedIn, I invited Col on the show to discuss how sponsorship and commercial managers can effectively use LinkedIn to connect with potential sponsors and get meetings. It is chock-a-block full of practical advice so I guarantee you will learn something.
You can connect with Colin through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and through the website at http://ragingdigital.com
In our regular catch-up with Mark Thompson, we chat about the relationship between Return on Objective and Return on Investment and which is most important in retaining sponsors.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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In this Inside Sponsorship episode we speak with Mark Duffield Thomas, Director at Win-Win Sponsorship and we go inside stadium naming rights sponsorships.
Mark is a leading sports marketing and sponsorship consultant and works with rights holders and brands to create win-win sponsorships that deliver.
With 8 years of experience in broad commercial and sponsorship roles Mark is uniquely placed to help brands understand and capitlise on the growth of sport.
So, I invited Mark on the show to talk about stadium naming rights sponsorships and some of the opportunities and challenges sponsorship managers face in this space.
You can connect with mark through Facebook, Twitter (either @Mark_DT or @WinWinSponsor, LinkedIn and through the website http://www.winwinsponsorship.com/
In our regular catch-up with Mark Thompson, we look at managing the appetite of sponsors for digital benefits. That’s because digital benefits are one of the biggest challenges we see and hear when speaking to sponsorship professionals. Specifically, they are challenged by how they can provide value to sponsors, through these assets, and manage the increasing appetite of sponsors for access to them.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic, a segment, someone you’d like us to have on the show or just a question, then be sure to get in touch.
Enjoy.
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