Brands have long sponsored sport for brand building purposes.
But, in 2022, these partnerships can also offer hugely valuable 1-2-1 activation opportunities.
Les Binet and Peter Field (https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/publications-reports/effectiveness-in-context) have, famously, studied the balance between brand building and activation that’s required to deliver optimum marketing effectiveness. For B2C sellers this is typically 60% brand building / 40% sales activation.
Binet and Field’s analysis proves that sponsorship investment is brilliant for brand building. You can see how incredible it is in the chart below. But this chart also demonstrates that having your logo on a shirt is pretty hopeless for generating actual sales.
So, as the old sponsorship model stood, it’s largely brand investment, not income generation.
Once the job of brand building is complete (well, OK, it never is…but you get the point) it’s the job of sales activation to hoover up brand influence and take us, consumers, from brand awareness to paying customers.
Brand Building & Sales Activation = An opportunity for new types of club and brand partnerships.
Analysis in our 2022 Fan Relationship Index proves that clubs that invest in building 1-2-1 relationships with their global followers can transform their incomes by offering brand activation to fan relevant brand partners.
Our analysis proves that the top six Premier League clubs alone are sitting on over £700m of unrealised income because they haven’t fully developed 1-2-1 fan relationships.
Will clubs seize this opportunity? Yes. Above all else, clubs and their fans both want more points won on the pitch. And, generally speaking, clubs with the biggest incomes win the most points.
Failing to realise the 1-2-1 fan opportunity will leave laggard clubs struggling for on-field success.
It’s what brand partners want.
In a statement, Pepsi said ending the partnership reflects a “larger strategic shift to bring unprecedented music and entertainment experiences” to consumers “where they are now, and where they will be in the future.”
From Brand Partnerships to Fan Partnerships. How clubs and brands can respond to this opportunity.
The CLV Group brings the interests of fans, brands, and clubs together using 1-2-1 data as the ‘glue’. It’s a win/win/win.
For clubs: we help clubs to engage global fans in ways that encourage data capture and fan understanding. We bring you sponsors that are aligned with the measurable interests of your fan bases.
For sponsors: we enable you to focus your investment into sports partnerships where there is measurable alignment between your target customer profiles and a partner club’s fans.
Get Started: here’s what you can do today.
Download the 2022 Fan Relationship Index from www.frireport.com
Explore your opportunities in a 45 minute conversation with Neil Joyce, author of the report.