Karen Earl comments in Marketing Week on The Manchester United Supporters Trust’s (MUST) decision to ask sponsors to “choose sides” between the fans and the Glazers. Click here to read the article.
By Synergy on April 28th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Author archive for ‘Synergy’
Politics on the pitch
So the election is well underway and all the party manifestos have been launched. Gordon Brown formally kicked off Labour’s campaign with the cabinet at his side at the swanky new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Cameron opted to launch at Battersea Power Station – with its crumbling façade apparently a metaphor for the Labour government. Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems opted for a fairly plain looking conference room, somewhere in the UK. It looked like UKIP launched its manifesto in someone’s front room.
Of course, all parties focused on their plans for economic recovery, with investment in green infrastructure, high speed rail, civic service and taxes all making an appearance.
However, sport – in fact, the whole arts and culture brief – is often overlooked when it comes to election time.
Labour offered the most on sports policy – focusing on both elite and grassroots sport and succeeded in capturing some of the wider, holistic benefits of sport. Many involved in sport will be disappointed by the relative lack of ideas from the Conservatives.
Hugh Robertson, the Conservative shadow sports minister, is an intelligent and influential figure who has floated a number of sound policies in recent months, but his input into the manifesto looks limited.
As ever, the Liberal Democrats bang the drum for grassroots sport and protecting playing fields and outdoor space – but there’s nothing new of note.
With London 2012 looming on the horizon, each party did its best to capitalise on the Games.
The Tories pledged to deliver an Olympic legacy of physical activity with a national Olympic-style school competition, while Labour committed to 3,000 new Olympic-inspired sports clubs and a new culture of volunteerism following the Olympics.
The Games already account for a large part of funding and sponsorship opportunities available, and many other sports or culture bodies struggle to compete with the profile of London 2012. Both the Lib Dems and Tories acknowledged this, and promised to return the National Lottery to its original funding levels for sports, the arts and heritage.
Each party pledged support (note the word ‘support’, not ‘funding’) for other major events in the pipeline – the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014; the 2013 Rugby League and 2015 Rugby Union World Cups and the 2018 Football World Cup bid. That line up will have every prospective sports minister licking their lips.
I should probably touch on the whole fan-ownership issue. Don’t get too excited. The closest we came was Labour’s pledge to ‘develop proposals to enable registered Supporters Trusts to buy stakes in their club’. The Conservatives stayed well clear of the whole issue in their manifesto, so expect the debate around the governance and transparency of football to rumble on for a while yet.
Whoever wins the next election, the sports, arts and culture budgets will face significant cuts. After 2012, the money simply won’t be around to be pumped into sports and major event bids. But the future is bright – participation in sport is going up, Leicester City are nearing the playoffs and by 2015 we might have a rugby team good enough to beat the Irish, which would be nice.
This blog post has been written for Synergy by Nick Carter from Engine public affairs agency and sports politics experts, Mandate.
By Synergy on April 14th, 2010
Tags: Consultancy, DCMS, General election, Sponsorship, Sport
Karen Earl: Sponsorship drives global brand affinity
‘Sponsorship’s flexibility means it can be integrated into all marketing activities.’ Read Karen Earl on sponsorship from the April 2010 edition of Admap magazine here
By Synergy on April 9th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Jameson creates Movie Mania Tour for Empire Awards
Synergy creates movie mania tour to entertain 13 markets from around the world to celebrate the 2010 Jameson Empire Awards. To read the full story in Event magazine click here
By Synergy on April 6th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Social Media: Sponsorship Friend or Foe?
Yesterday I was pointed in the direction of an article on social media that suggested brands should choose a targeted Facebook ad campaign to promote their product(s) to fans of a sport or sports team, rather than through any official partnership with the sport or team in question.
The article’s main argument was that by advertising to fans of a club on Facebook, the brand could save itself 99% the cost of a sponsorship and have more measureable results than a ‘traditional sponsorship’.
The writer signed off by saying: “If I ran a business that made its dollars (the article originates from Australia) raising sponsorship funds, or was highly dependent on sponsorship for revenue, I would be very concerned about now”.
I’m undecided as to which irritated me more, the writer’s lack of understanding of marketing, social media or sponsorship.
There is no doubt that social media is changing the way we communicate globally. As an industry, sponsorship has embraced social media with brands, teams, sports stars and the media are all creating reams of content that is giving fans multiple additional ways to consume their sport.
Granted, a brand that marketed itself in this way may see a return, but I would argue that this return will mirror their investment – minimal. As part of a wider sponsorship activation strategy, Facebook advertising could drive significant traffic to your website or product, but only if the brand has established a level of credibility with its target audience. Shoe-horning a traditional communication tool like advertising into the growing medium of social media and expecting it to be an instant success is just a little bit ludicrous.
Brands that sponsor a sports team build an affinity with the fans who appreciate the investment that the brand is putting into their club to help them progress. Fans are unlikely to show loyalty to a brand that hangs on the coat tails of a team without giving anything back.
I for one cannot recall a single ad that has appeared on my Facebook page – if I’ve not signed up for it, I’m not interested. Sponsorship is proven to benefit brand recall and in many cases leads to a positive shift in brand preference.
Facebook is aiming to have a billion users by December 2010, but when you drill down into the specific audience that you want to speak too, the numbers may not be so impressive.
The thing with Facebook is that not everyone lists their hobbies and interests. Take me for example, I haven’t listed Formula One as a hobby on Facebook but my friends and colleagues know that I post updates or tweet about F1 every day, so you would not be targeting as many people as you could through sponsoring a team.
Associating officially with a club will not only give your brand visibility in-stadia, but also online via the club’s website, access to supporters clubs, advertising in event programmes and, depending on the sport or team, possible television exposure – and that’s before you throw in access to tangible assets such as players, club representatives, tickets or replica kit.
Any good sponsorship agency will find a deal that offers opportunities to meet the brand’s objectives and which doesn’t involve ‘paying a premium to the club’.
Facebook may appeal to those marketeers who don’t really understand social media but for those that do, social media offers so much more than just advertising. Engage with your target audience through competitions or promotions, give them access to exclusive content, ask their opinions and create a dialogue that enhances their experience rather than interrupts it.
Whilst writing, a saying sprang to mind which really sums this up for me, ‘if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys’. Concerned? I’m not.
By Synergy on March 26th, 2010
Tags: Default, Facebook, Social Media
Karen Earl features in The Times Sport Power 100
Karen Earl is named number 84 in “The Times Sport Power 100″ list, featuring the 100 most influential people of 2010 in British sport. Click here for the feature.
By Synergy on March 16th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
BMW appoints Synergy for London 2012
Synergy’s appointment as BMW’s strategic London 2012 sponsorship agency is covered by Sport Industry Informer (click here) and Marketing Week (click here)
By Synergy on February 15th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
How I made it: Karen Earl
The Sunday Times profiles Synergy’s Chairman Karen Earl. To read the article, click here
By Synergy on February 8th, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
FIFA shows red card to unofficial brands
Tim Crow comments in Event magazine on ambush marketing at the FIFA World Cup. To read the article, click here
By Synergy on February 3rd, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
Sailing success story raises Aviva’s profile
Synergy’s Aviva Ocean Racing campaign featuring Dee Caffari has been chosen as campaign of the week in PR Week. Click here for the article.
By Synergy on January 22nd, 2010
Tags: Press Clipping
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