Sports Marketing through the medium of large-level Sponsorship and Naming Rights, has proven to be a successful endeavor for many brands around the globe. Focusing further, successful Sponsorship trends within select industry categories has been something BWA has kept our eye on, to help understand the future of this industry and to provide our clients with the most up-to-date consultation.
Over the last 5 years, due to technology advancements and the growing marketing/advertisement trend utilizing devices such as smart phones, tablets and various other, through fans in their seats, there has been an opportunity for marketers to really speak on a more personal level to its audience. Having a unique/targeted brand play right on someone’s device, provides undeniable engagement for any company. Therefore, as part of Naming Rights/large-level sponsorship plans, we see that Telecommunications companies are finding ways to include this aspect of sponsorship into their packages. With more than 6.1 billion smart phone projected to be in people’s hands by 2020, marketing managers are taking notice, especially with North American and European Football(soccer). By the time the 2015/16 season kicked off, naming right deals with telecommunication companies as a whole, has more than tripled since 5 seasons previous.
This trend has trickled into many different key markets. Where today as it stands, investment from these telecommunications companies into stadium Naming Rights has overshadowed all other industry investments within stadium sponsorships. Good examples are AT&T Stadium & Park in Dallas and San Francisco, T-Mobile recently in Las Vegas and the Verizon Center in Washington.
BWA has monitored the demand for heightened mobile connectivity in stadia, arenas and the event space for quite some time. With the recent announcement that the trendsetting NFL wants all of its stadiums to have Wi-Fi in place by 2016, it has seen many minor league facilities as well trying to keep pace. This has created a boom in the creation of innovative systems and in-seat engagement which will only grow more comprehensive with time. What better than to have a telecommunications company monitoring and controlling all of these messages/data to fans.
Repucom recently reported:
“Since the 2012/2013 season, the amount of money invested by telecommunication companies in the US into stadium naming rights deals has grown by over 68% ($20m). The growth rate is even greater in Europe, where football stadiums have seen a 266% ($16.2m) increase in the same period. Combined, this represents an increase of 103% ($36.2) on revenues generated.”
Industry leaders such as AT&T have developed a strategic partnership with a mobile app, and are featuring event/venue information, enhancing engagement and experience at their two major Naming Rights stadiums.
Soon are the days when we will be able to remote-control the players from our Wi-Fi networks, provided by our telecommunications companies, while ordering a hotdog to our seat, while reading about last year’s stats.