In an industry where communication, networking, and knowledge of the latest trends and practices is essential to success, iSportconnect gives its members exactly that. Today, we chat to the man behind it all: Sree Varma, Founder and CEO of the largest global private network of Sports Business Executives. If there's one man that may have the inside scoop into where this industry is headed, it's him.
Thomas Wills is the President and CEO of Bonham/Wills & Associates. By 30, he was heading up one of the bigger players in the sponsorship, valuation, and negotiating world. Today, in part one in our series, "Sponsorship Essentials", he sits down with us and lends us valuable insight into the sponsorship and naming rights industry, (all done in 10 minutes or less).
In our last post, we examined a few instances of brands dealing with the fallout emerging from their sponsored properties falling on the wrong side of law and/or public opinion. This time, let’s take a look at the other side and see what properties do when the brand that’s sponsoring them meets the same fate.
Ryan Lochte being dropped by four of his major sponsors makes him the latest in a string of high profile athletes and bodies that have seen premature ends to their sponsorship agreements. Today’s post analyzes some of the incidents from the recent past and looks at some strategies that brands can employ in order to mitigate the damage arising from transgressions from their endorsers.
The first companies to experiment with Big Data are household names within the e-com world. Initial small scale projects were developed by the likes of Google, LinkedIn and E-Bay to improve analytic models on a trial basis. They used these trials to identify how and if they could make improvements based on introducing new data sources.
A front runner within the wearable side of technologies is Catapult. It has been a breakthrough company with major investors like Mark Cuban, and multinational brands Adidas, Reebok and Nike. This micro-sensor (essentially) is currently utilised by over 300 teams around the globe and it provides a more analytical perspective in “real-time”. When partnered with the visual assistance such as Sport VU. This allows sports scientists access to a full breakdown of the game, player performance, coordination and a series of algorithms quantifying player interactions generated by the raw data.
The Negotiation phase is one of the most critical stages when forming a successful partnership. When you think of the meaning behind Negotiation, some may tend to lean towards the idea of a “win/loose” outcome. This idea may indeed be relevant in the real estate market, automotive sales or company buyouts/takeovers. But when it comes to creating a long term partnership within the sponsorship realm, no matter what side of the table you are sitting on, it is imperative that the “negotiation process” is a discussion utilized to build the strong foundation needed to support the relationship for years to come.
How would data gathering help sport marketers and naming rights holders? Firstly, it would help in seamlessly matching the audience to the right consumer segments. For example, if a basketball arena attracts both first time and luxury car buyers, the right data can help in determining who’s who and help the brand create targeted initiatives for each segment.
This paradigm shift requires sponsors and sport marketers to rethink their approach to consumer engagement. Gone are the days that just slapping a logo onto a jersey or on the sidewalls, brands now need to go beyond to appeal to a consumer’s deeper need states. Passion for a sport or a team may not translate into passion for a brand unless there is an overlap between the consumer’s values and the brand’s values.
Drilling for Oil….
Rolling the Dice in 2006, Lucas Oil purchased the naming rights to Colts Stadium in Indianapolis, Illinois. The Naming rights cost Lucas $122 million over a 20 year span. 6 years into this contract Lucas Oil “struck oil” as the Colts had made it to Super Bowl, to top it off Illinois won the bid the same year to host the event that then in turn catapulted Lucas Oil onto an invaluable yet unexpected Global Marketing platform. Lucas estimates this single event alone has increased revenue by $10 million and Lucas Oil hasn’t looked back since.
