On top of your game

Fall 2011

The new kids on the block are taking to the stage… and we’re not talking about the once-popular boy band.

The sponsorship landscape that was once dominated by the Big Five (Auto, Banking/Financial, Beer, QSR and Soft Drinks) is opening its doors to new categories and emerging brands. There has been a surge of recent activity by companies that are either just entering the market or traditionally have not had a presence in the sports and entertainment space, as these up-and-coming brands capitalize on the value of strategic sponsorships.

Sponsorship of a property, event, athlete or team can provide a company with powerful brand visibility and engagement platforms to grow business and communicate their message. At SportsMark we work with emerging brands across a variety of properties during the critical development of their sponsorship strategies, as well as during the important planning and activation phases. Based on a company’s specific marketing objectives and business goals, we help identify the sponsorship platform and strategy that delivers in the most impactful way for our clients.

For those companies where brand visibility and establishing a global presence is fundamental, large-scale global events can provide a powerful platform. Yingli Solar, a leading solar energy company headquartered in China, is a prime example of a company in a growing sector that successfully leveraged a global sponsorship. Yingli Solar became an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup South Africa in early 2010 with the primary objective of driving brand awareness and further establishing Yingli as a leader in the solar energy and sustainability industry. SportsMark provided consultation and support in the development of Yingli’s marketing strategy. We helped identify branding and product integration opportunities and activated them during the tournament, enabling Yingli to effectively leverage all sponsorship rights. Overall, the FIFA World Cup sponsorship drove significant traffic to Yingli’s website, more than tripled brand awareness and created new visibility and engagement among fans and key business contacts.

Another example is Nielsen, the global information and measurement company, who, unlike Yingli, is already a well established brand; however, the company is relatively new to sponsorship marketing. Their recent sponsorship of London 2012 is an example of how a company can use a global sporting event as a valuable B2B platform. Nielsen sees London 2012 as the gateway for building its brand through customer relationship development and increased brand awareness. The sponsorship allows Nielsen to showcase the consumer and media insights that are critical to the delivery of a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, and bring important trend data and market knowledge to its global clients through its position ‘as the intelligence behind London 2012’. The sponsorship offers Nielsen the opportunity to network with other Olympic and Paralympic sponsors, suppliers and members of the international media for cross-sales and business development purposes. All of these activities culminate at the Games themselves, at which SportsMark is designing a corporate hospitality program for Nielsen to host their key, again allowing Nielsen to tell its story in innovative Olympic-themed environments.

While there is clear value in associating with a large-scale global event, such initiatives also carry significant corporate investment. However, a company doesn’t need to sponsor the largest sporting events in the world to see considerable growth in their revenue and brand awareness. Metal Mulisha, a freestyle motorcross team and lifestyle clothing/apparel brand founded by motorcross legend Brian Deegan, has taken a highly customized approach to sponsorships, due to the endemic nature of action sports sponsors. Connexions, a division of SportsMark, works with Metal Mulisha to help identify strategic partnerships that are scalable and offer key brand integration opportunities. Through partnerships with Ford Motor Company, Rockstar Energy and Fathead, Metal Mulisha has seen revenue growth of 35% from 2009-2011, and continues to expand its brand presence through a variety of focused strategic partnerships.

Starting with a clear understanding of our clients’ business objectives, SportsMark takes a strategic and customized approach to develop programs that allow our clients to showcase their brand and optimize their sponsorship assets. Whether a company wants to grow its business through broad brand visibility initiatives or more focused customer development programs, the power of the live sporting event provides the perfect platform.

Sponsor categories will continue to evolve and diversify as more emerging brands see the value of live events as an effective marketing strategy. At SportsMark we are staying at the forefront of this evolution by continuously identifying new opportunities that align with our client’s strategic objectives and provide them with the key asset mix to activate and achieve tangible business results. There is nothing more rewarding than being a partner to our clients as they succeed and grow into the major sponsorship brands of tomorrow.