Author archive for ‘Synergy’

The ‘sport with a social conscience’ concept trips up Barcelona

Barcelona has long been revered as a football club with a social conscience.  For many, Barca’s sponsorship of UNICEF was a landmark, creating a new shirt sponsorship model for the social era. But after a clearly transitory switch to the Qatar Foundation, from next season, Qatar Airways will become the first commercial brand on Barcelona’s shirt. Richard Gillis and Tim Crow discuss the implications for the Barca brand and the image of sponsorship in SportsBusiness Journal.

To read the article, click here.

By on April 23rd, 2013

Tags: Press Clipping

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Is Naming Rights Sponsorship In Brazil About To Take Off?

by Bruno Scartozzoni and Guilherme Guimarães

Earlier this month it was announced that Itaipava, the third biggest beer company in Brazil, had become the naming rights sponsor of Arena Fonte Nova, the 2014 World Cup stadium for Salvador in north-eastern Brazil, and the first of the new generation of Brazilian sports arenas to successfully sell its naming rights sponsorship.

Despite several previous naming rights sponsorships of concert venues and movie theaters, naming rights sponsorship in sports is still rare in Brazil. Prior to the Itaipava Arena, the only other Brazilian football stadium to have a branded name was Kyocera Arena, of Atlético-Paranaense in Paraná, which was sponsored from 2005 for R$2m per year but discontinued after 2008.

The main reason for this is that Globo, the dominant Brazilian TV network, has a policy of not using brand names in its sports coverage. It’s a policy applied to almost everything it covers, and brands usually cite this as a reason why naming rights sponsorship in Brazil is a poor investment.

Just after the Itaipava announcement, for example, Visa’s Ricardo Fort tweeted

Globo is considering changing its ‘no brands’ policy, on the condition that it receives a percentage of every contract involved. If it happens, this would fuel the naming rights market in Brazil, but Itaipava had other reasons for naming the Arena Fonte Nova. Primarily, Itaipava is opening a new factory in Bahia, close to Salvador, and naming the region’s most important stadium is part of its strategy to connect with local consumers, engage staff and steal marketshare from its main rivals Ambev and Kirin Schin. But also, the deal ambushes Ambev’s FIFA World Cup sponsorship, especially if Itaipava can make the new stadium name stick with consumers and thus sidestep FIFA’s policy of de-branding sponsored stadiums which host World Cup matches.

Another interesting fact is the Itaipava Arena financial details: R$ 10 million per year over 10 years – almost 70% more than most estimates expected.

Now, there are strong rumours in the media that Itaipava and Allianz are negotiating to name Corinthians’ new stadium in São Paulo for a R$400 million investment (R$20 million per year for 20 years), with Allianz looking most likely.

So it seems the naming rights market in Brazil could be about to take off, and that companies are starting to understand that there is much more to it than brand visibility. But the big question, as we’ve said before, is can sponsors make it pay back?

Bruno and Guilherme are partners at Ativa Esporte, the Brazilian sports marketing consultancy which is Synergy’s partner in Brazil.

By on April 17th, 2013

Tags: Brazil, Brazil 2014 Sponsorship, Brazil 2014 Sponsorship Consultants, Default, Football Sponsorship, Naming Rights, Rio 2016 Sponsorship, Rio 2016 Sponsorship Consultants, Sponsorship, World Cup Sponsorship, World Cup Sponsorship Consultants

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Can Tiger Woods Win Back Sponsors?

Winning tournaments and newly restored as golf’s world number one, Tiger Woods is back on form. But will his form on the golf course rehabilitate the image of Brand Tiger for sponsors? Dominic Curran analyses the issue in this Marketing Week feature.

By on March 26th, 2013

Tags: Press Clipping

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Brands Rev Up For F1 2013

Carsten Thode tells Marketing Week that the emergence of a new generation of F1 sponsors could herald a step-change in how brands activate a sport traditionally known for its reliance on hospitality and branding.

Click here to read the feature.

By on March 15th, 2013

Tags: Press Clipping

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Premier League Fans More Passionate Than NFL Fans

Tim Crow comments in Sports Business Daily Global Journal on a new survey which suggests that Premier League fans are more committed to supporting their teams than their NFL equivalents in the US.

Click here to read the article.

By on March 11th, 2013

Tags: Press Clipping

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Capital One Cup: ‘A brand gets fan engagement right’

‘Capital One, sponsor of last weekend’s League Cup final, shows what can happen when brands get fan engagement right. In terms of raising both awareness and affection towards the brand, it has turned out to be a smart move. According to research by monitoring agency Brandwatch, nearly 7 per cent of all online mentions about domestic cup football this season have featured the Capital One brand. This is significantly higher than mentions of FA Cup sponsor Budweiser, which has less than 0.1 per cent.’

Marketing Week cites Synergy’s work for Capital One as best practice in football sponsorship. Click here to read the article in full.

By on February 27th, 2013

Tags: Press Clipping

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Brazil 2014: Under 500 Days And Counting

by Bruno Scartozzoni and Guilherme Guimaraes

Last week FIFA and the Brazilian government were going to celebrate 500 days to go to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with a big press conference to present their aspirations for the tournament, a lot of facts and figures related to the investment in stadia and infrastructure, and the official tournament poster. Naturally however, the event was cancelled because of the Santa Maria tragedy, where over 200 people died in a fire at a local nightclub. It shocked the country and the world, and celebrations were the last thing on any Brazilian’s mind.

Three days later, an official video with a compilation of work to date was released, together with the tournament poster (pictured above).

Brazil is now within touching distance of hosting the FIFA World Cup for the second time in the country’s history (the first being back in 1950) but interestingly, the man on the street is feeling both excited and slightly concerned at the same time. In spite of constant reassurance from the government that everything will be ready by the kick-off in 2014, the average Brazilian still has a lot of doubts.

Whilst there are some very big players working on the organization and infrastructure, corruption scandals in the past mean the people are still rather sceptical. Right now only two venues are complete, and the original budget has increased significantly.

That said, there is also some good news for the people. Mano Menezes, the former Brazil Team manager, who had the backing of neither media nor fans, has been sacked, and replaced by Luiz Felipe Scolari. ‘Big Phil’ took the Seleção to glory at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and the Brazilian people still regard him as a winner.

What strikes us the most is that up until now almost every FIFA World Cup sponsor has been very quiet. The most active of the group is Brahma (the local AB InBev beer brand), which has launched a campaign to fight any ‘national pessimism’. The brand reminds consumers that Brazil is going to stage the biggest party in history, and that any cynicism or worries will be long forgotten. This activation featured in our list of the top 5 Brasilian sports marketing campaigns of 2012 back in December.

Itaú, the country’s biggest private bank, also began their World Cup 2014 campaign last year, but have, so far, failed to create the same kind of buzz generated by Brahma.

With the FIFA Confederations Cup approaching fast, and a new ticket sales record just set, it is clear that there’s palpable excitement amongst Brazilians about the upcoming events. We might like to criticize our country, but that’s just a cultural thing: most importantly, we are also very proud of hosting these global events. So, for brands there’s plenty of scope to take advantage of this warmth.

For most Brazilians hosting the World Cup is a dream, and 500 days from now the dream will come true!

Bruno and Guilherme are partners at Ativa Esporte, the Brazilian sports marketing consultancy which is Synergy’s partner in Brazil. 

By on February 6th, 2013

Tags: Brazil 2014, Brazil 2014 Sponsorship, Brazil 2014 Sponsorship Consultants, Default, Football Sponsorship, Rio 2016, Rio 2016 Sponsorship, Rio 2016 Sponsorship Consultants, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultants, World Cup, World Cup Sponsorship, World Cup Sponsorship Consultants

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Synergy Wins Coveted European Social Media Award For ‘Golden BMW’ London 2012 Campaign

LONDON – 1st February 2013: Synergy’s groundbreaking London 2012 social media campaign ‘Golden BMW’ last night won the coveted European Sponsorship Association (ESA) Award for Social Media Activation.

As part of the BMW sponsorship of London 2012, the campaign saw a specially-created fleet of Golden BMWs tour the country visiting the Olympic Torch Relay route a day ahead of the Relay to capitalise on the anticipation of the Flame’s arrival. The integrated campaign, led by social media and PR, encouraged consumers fans to ‘Spot, Snap and Share’ photographs of the highly distinctive Golden BMWs in social media for their chance to win tickets to the Games.

The 70-day campaign reached over a third of the UK population, increased BMW’s Facebook fans by 15% and inspired over 50,000 people to visit BMW dealerships.  

The ESA judges commented:  “The Golden BMW campaign was wholly based on social media with great engagement and business results.  It was hard to achieve standout in the busy Olympic Torch period, but the Golden BMW clearly achieved all the targets they set themselves”.

 Tim Crow, Synergy CEO, said: “We are incredibly proud to have won this highly coveted award in such a competitive category. It is particularly satisfying to have won it in the context of London 2012, the first Games of the mainstream social media era, and confirms our position as leaders in creating and delivering social media campaigns for sponsors. ”

Synergy also received the prize for one of the new categories of the evening – the ESA Professional Development Award. This category recognises the agency with the best approach to professional and career development through training and education. The judges were particularly impressed with the depth of commitment to staff and sophisticated programmes for career expansion that in turn created a real sense of mutual progression.

 Alison Moor, Synergy MD said: “It was great news that team’s collective commitment to professional development has been recognised.  At Synergy, we put our people at the heart of our business.  The Synergy culture is about taking part and being part of the team.  Learning through experience and collaborating is high on everyone’s agenda throughout the company.” 

 - Ends -

 For further information please contact:

Kate McGregor (Press officer at Synergy)

Contact: 020 3128 6834

Email: Kate.Mcgregor@synergy-sponsorship.com

Notes to editors

About Synergy:

Synergy (www.synergy-sponsorship.com) is a multidisciplinary specialist sponsorship consultancy, which guides brands from strategy to delivery. It counts Betfair, BMW, Bupa, Chivas, The Coca-Cola Company, Diageo, RBS and SSE among its clients.

Synergy is the UK’s most recognised agency of its type, having won over forty major awards in its 28-year history, including having been named by Marketing magazine as UK Sponsorship Agency of The Year in 2012, as well as Sports Industry Agency of the Year and Hollis Sponsorship Consultancy of the Year.

 About Engine:

Engine is the UK’s largest and fastest growing independent communications company. Engine employs more than 700 people, containing a family of best in class communications businesses serving the consumer market, the corporate market and the public sector. Engine is an employee-owned business, with one in five staff owning shares in the company. For more information, visit: www.theenginegroup.com

By on February 1st, 2013

Tags: BMW, Default, Digital marketing, Experiential marketing, London 2012, London 2012 sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship consultants, Olympic Torch Relay, PR, Press Clipping, Rio 2016 Sponsorship, Rio 2016 Sponsorship Consultants, Socialympics, Sponsorship, Synergy

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“McIlroy sponsorship is a win-win-win for Nike”

Tim Crow’s comments on the strategy behind Nike’s Rory McIlroy sponsorship received extensive coverage in the national and international media. Here’s a selection:  

Marketing Week

Belfast Telegraph

Sports Business Daily Global Journal

By on January 14th, 2013

Tags: Press Clipping

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IOC recognises the #Socialympics

We had a nice surprise when we opened the IOC’s latest Olympic Review*: throughout the cover story on the Olympics and social media, the IOC gives a starring role to #Socialympics, the term and event we created early last year to signify London 2012′s status as the first Olympic & Paralympic Games of the mainstream social media era. Here’s an example:

Even though #Socialympics went viral and became part of the global vocabulary around the Olympics, it’s still great to see it receiving ‘official’ recognition from Lausanne.

Here’s a reminder of when #Socialympics was born.

*You can subscribe the the Olympic Review via the IOC website here.

By on January 7th, 2013

Tags: Default, Olympic sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship consultants, Olympics, Paralympics, Rio 2016, Rio 2016 Sponsorship, Rio 2016 Sponsorship Consultants, Sochi 2014, Social Media, Socialympics

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