A white-paper written for the Sports Leadership conference 2012 - describing how to maximize the value of sports sponsorship in a digital world

1. th
10
October
2012
Building
a
sporting
‘Brand
Legacy’
through
shifting
from
The
Attention
to
Participation
Economy
How
to
create
value
from
sports
sponsorship
in
a
digital
world
INTRODUCTION
Digital
has
changed
sport
forever.
The
biggest
challenge
facing
sports
brands
is
how
to
use
digital
to
maximize
the
value
from
sponsorship
programs
over
and
above
traditional
measures
of
success,
such
as
awareness
and
impressions.
Building
a
true
sporting
‘Brand
Legacy’
beyond
just
awareness
is
becomingly
increasingly
important.
Sports
brands
need
to
be
able
to
justify
the
rising
costs
in
sporting
rights,
combat
audience
and
customer
fragmentation.
On
top
of
this,
they
need
to
overcome
the
prohibitive
law
of
sports
sponsorship
activation,
which
can
cost
twice
as
much
as
the
rights
themselves.
Brands
need
to
put
fan
participation
at
the
heart
of
their
objectives,
and
thus
make
the
shift
from
the
attention
to
the
participation
economy.
In
order
for
sports
brands
to
do
this,
we
recommend
that
they
follow
two
key
principles
for
success:
1. Invest
more
in
owned
media
and
leverage
fan
participation
so
you
don’t
have
to
buy
your
media,
you
can
earn
it.
2. Build
out
from
the
‘live’
sporting
engagement
moment
to
effectively
drive
fan
participation.
These
principles
will
govern
the
shift
from
the
attention
to
the
participation
economy.
But
before
we
look
at
them
in
greater
detail,
let’s
consider
the
four
major
themes
that
are
emerging
in
the
changing
world
of
sport.

2. th
10
October
2012
1
-­‐
Fans:
The
shift
from
‘Story
Telling’
to
‘Story
Participation’
in
sport
The
biggest
events
in
social
media
are
‘live’
sporting
events.
Two
of
the
top-­‐ten
‘Tweets-­‐
Per-­‐Second’
moments
are
football
events,
eg:
UEFA
Champions
League
and
the
Final
of
the
Women's
World
Cup
’11.
This
demonstrates
a
fundamental
shift
in
how
people
engage
with
sports.
Fans
are
no
longer
passive
recipients
of
an
armchair
experience,
but
are
now
a
fully
contributing
part
of
how
these
sporting
dramas
play
out.
2
–
TV
/
Broadcasters:
Financial
value
is
increasingly
about
the
‘live’,
social
and
multiscreen
entertainment
experience
TV
/
Entertainment
Broadcasters
are
investing
heavily
in
new
platforms
to
enhance
the
viewing
experience.
Broadcasters
are
increasingly
looking
to
create
new
financial
value
around
the
‘LIVE’
engagement
opportunity
(live
game).
Sky
has
been
particularly
aggressive
in
this
space
with
the
development
of
new
platforms
that
help
enhance
the
viewing
experience,
for
example
the
SKY
GO
platform
and
their
investment
in
Zeebox,
a
second
screen
social
TV
platform.
As
second
screen
and
micro
payment
opportunities
evolve,
more
and
more
clients
will
look
to
utilize
live
engagement
opportunities
for
financial
gain.
3
-­‐
Clubs
/
Owners:
Helping
fans
get
closer
to
the
players
and
action
to
maximize
potential
revenue
streams
Despite
a
record
price
for
the
recent
sale
of
the
Premier
League
TV
rights,
it
is
increasingly
difficult
for
clubs
to
increase
profits.
Whether
it’s
the
saturation
of
stadium
capacity
limiting
potential
match
day
revenues,
or
the
increasing
costs
associated
with
players’
wages,
clubs
are
increasingly
looking
to
the
digital
space
to
drive
new
financial
opportunities.
Given
the
celebrity
status
of
footballers
(and
athletes),
and
the
ability
for
digital
technology
to
connect
people
in
ways
that
weren’t
possible
10
years
ago,
it
is
no
surprise
that
more
and
more
clubs
are
looking
to
help
fans
‘get
closer’
to
players,
staff,

3. th
10
October
2012
clubs’
stories
and
histories.
Of
course
these
are
all
in
an
attempt
to
generate
new
revenue
streams.
For
example,
Manchester
City’s
deal
with
YouTube
to
broadcast
online
video
footage
is
a
direct
attempt
to
use
unique
video
content
to
drive
desirability
and
interest
to
build
their
fan
base.
Similarly,
brands
such
as
Nike
are
more
and
more
directly
engaging
with
players
to
enhance
their
marketing
activity.
This
can
sometimes
backfire,
as
demonstrated
by
Nike’s
“Make
it
count”
campaign,
which
was
banned
after
the
Advertising
Standards
Authority
ruled
that
tweets
made
by
Wayne
Rooney
on
behalf
of
Nike
did
not
clearly
state
they
were
adverts.
The
real
challenge
however,
is
that
if
clubs
and
owners
don’t
adapt
to
this
new
commercial
opportunity,
the
players
themselves
will
ultimately
drive
the
exclusion
of
clubs
and
owners.
David
Beckham
is
the
archetypal
example
of
a
footballer
super
brand,
and
others
are
now
following
in
his
footsteps.
For
example,
Rio
Ferdinand
has
recently
launched
his
“ ♯ 5”
style
brand
and
uses
fashion
clothing
and
magazine
editorial
platforms
to
capitalize
on
his
celebrity
brand
status.
4
-­‐
Marketers:
Shifting
from
sport
campaign
messages
to
sporting
brand
experiences
There
has
been
a
shift
in
recent
years
in
how
marketers
have
conducted
their
activity
around
sports.
Whether
it
has
been
Adidas
“Take
the
stage”,
Nike’s
“Make
it
count”
or
Coca-­‐Cola’s
FIFA
’10
“Longest
celebration”
campaign,
we
are
increasingly
seeing
brands
looking
to
build
more
participatory
executions.
The
value
these
types
of
brand
experiences
offer
is
not
only
in
the
fan
engagement
they
can
drive,
but
also
in
their
cumulative
effect.
As
we
shift
in
to
an
‘always-­‐on’
world,
brands
can
no
longer
afford
to
be
driven
by
a
campaign
mentality
alone,
with
dependencies
on
disposable
and
expensive
bought
media.
Instead,
a
‘brand
experience’
approach
allows
marketers
to
continuously
engage
audiences
over
time,
adding
incremental
reach
as
well
as
deeper
engagement.

4. th
10
October
2012
CREATING
VALUE
THROUGH
DIGITAL:
Through
technology,
fans
have
never
been
so
close
to
sport,
and
yet
in
some
ways
they
have
never
been
so
far.
To
capitalize
on
this
and
to
create
value
from
sports
sponsorship
in
the
digital
age,
brands
should
look
to
put
participation
at
the
heart
of
their
objectives,
and
thus
make
the
shift
from
the
attention
to
the
participation
economy.
This
brings
us
back
to
the
two
key
principles
for
success,
which
businesses
should
follow
to
drive
participation.
PRINCIPLE
♯ 1:
Invest
more
in
owned
media
to
leverage
fan
participation
so
you
don’t
have
to
buy
your
media,
you
can
simply
earn
it:
-­‐ Invest
more
in
long-­‐term
owned
media
than
short-­‐term
bought.
Generate
earned
media
through
fan
participation
and
fuel
not
only
sports
activations,
but
also
wider
business
programs
(acquisition,
e-­‐commerce,
content
generation,
retention,
business
intelligence,
data
insight
and
customer
preferences).
For
example,
Foot
Locker’s
Sneakerpedia
platform
is
a
great
example
of
a
brand
investing
in
owned
media
to
harness
the
passion
and
enthusiasm
of
sneaker
fans
for
business
benefits.
-­‐ Sport
can
give
a
brand
something
interesting
to
say
and
talk
about
with
its
customers
long-­‐term.
Done
well,
it
can
drive
earned
media
effectiveness,
allowing
brands
to
not
only
move
towards
a
more
authentic
type
of
communication,
but
also
a
more
cost
effective
one.
Thus,
breaking
dependencies
on
expensive
and
disposable
bought
media-­‐led
strategies
to
fuel
conversation.

5. th
10
October
2012
Establishing
a
program
for
how
to
use
sport
to
drive
earned
media
conversations
with
and
between
fans,
and
identifying
how
and
where
to
incorporate
this
across
wider
business
programs
(i.e.
acquisition,
CRM)
is
the
first
step
to
capitalizing
on
the
participation
economy.
PRINCIPLE
♯ 2:
Build
out
from
the
‘live’
sporting
engagement
opportunity
to
effectively
drive
fan
participation
(THE
PRE/
DURING/
POST/
TRANSITION
FRAMEWORK):
-­‐ Build
out
from
the
‘live
‘sporting
moment
to
create
maximum
fan
relevancy
and
engagement,
as
the
live
moment
is
when
fans
are
at
their
most
passionate
and
enthusiastic.
Identify
fans’
needs,
and
use
the
framework
to
plot
relevant
approaches
to
help
ensure
not
only
active,
but
also
mass,
and
on-­‐going
fan
participation.
Figure
2:
The
‘live’
and
extended
engagement
opportunity
space:

6. th
10
October
2012
There
are
three
potential
approaches
sports
brands
can
use
to
maximize
the
‘live’
engagement
opportunity:
1. Broaden
fan
engagement
2. Deepen
fan
engagement
3. Extend
(pre
or
post)
fan
engagement
BROADEN
FAN
ENGAGEMENT:
Sports
brands
can
look
to
digital
technologies
as
a
means
of
broadening
the
appeal
of
the
‘live’
event
experience,
helping
to
amplify
the
intensity
and
awareness
of
‘live’
moments.
Extending
fans’
engagement
to
include
other
fans
will
open
up
experiences
to
the
widest
audience
possible.
DEEPEN
FAN
ENGAGEMENT:
Alternatively,
sports
brands
may
wish
to
consider
more
of
a
‘lean
forward’
strategy
and
look
to
deepen
fan
engagement.
Use
the
‘live’
moment
to
draw
fans
deeper
into
experiences
and
empower
them
to
contribute
and
add
to
it.
For
some
fans
and
some
sports
however,
drawing
fans’
attention
away
from
the
‘live’
moment
can
become
a
negative,
and
it
is
important
that
clients
find
the
right
balance
between
‘lean
forward’
and
‘lean
back’
strategies
when
trying
to
extend
fan
engagement.
EXTEND
(PRE
OR
POST)
FAN
ENGAGEMENT:
All
true
sports
fans
are
driven
by
hope
and
belief,
and
as
such
the
moments
leading
up
to,
and
directly
after,
the
‘live’
event
can
be
exceptionally
fertile
areas
for
brands
to
extend
fan
engagement.
As
fans
begin
to
prepare
and
plan
for
a
sporting
event,
brands
have
the
opportunity
to
directly
engage
them
in
the
build
up
hype;
from
stoking
fan
rivalries
through
social,
to
enhancing
the
lead
up
experience
on
the
way
to
and
in
the
stadium
through
mobile
and
digital
outdoor
technologies.
However,
it
is
the
immediate

7. th
10
October
2012
moments
after
the
event
itself
that
are
often
the
most
social,
as
fans
discuss,
debate
and
relive
the
events
and
drama.
Leveraging
this
innate
desire
to
talk
about
the
event
and
looking
for
ways
to
carry
on
the
conversation
are
key,
as
are
planning
for
the
‘transitions’
between
events
which
help
build
up
continued
momentum
and
fan
engagement
overtime.
CONCLUSION:
Lessons
learnt
from
these
two
key
principles
will
help
sports
brands
make
the
transition
from
the
attention
to
participation
economy.
By
doing
so,
brands
can
ensure
they
use
digital
to
their
best
advantage,
creating
genuine
value
for
fans,
and
bringing
transformational
value
for
the
wider
business.
Ultimately,
this
will
help
brands
to
guarantee
a
genuine
sporting
‘Brand
Legacy’
for
their
business
through
sports
sponsorship.
Author:
Andrew
Gregoris,
Senior
Strategist,
SapientNitro