By Paul Birdwell (paul@roaringforkagency.com)
IEG is the world’s leading sponsorship consulting, valuation, measurement & strategy company and has done some great work over the years for people that work in the sponsorship business like us here at The Roaring Fork Agency and the following presentation from IEG is a must-read for any company considering an investment in sponsorship:
“IEG analysts identify the most common reasons companies use sponsorship:
Increase brand loyalty
Create awareness & visibility
Change/reinforce image
Drive retail traffic
Showcase community responsibility
Drive sales
Sample/display brand attributes
Entertain clients
Narrowcasting
Recruit/retain employees
Merchandising opportunities
Incenting retailers, dealers and distributors
Differentiate product from competitors
Combat larger ad budgets of competitors
Achievement of multiple objectives”
Most companies that do investment in sponsorship usually focus their goals on several of the above reasons/objectives but most important of all is that the sponsoring company have a very clearly defined set of objectives to achieve with the sponsorship and a great example of that is the below story about the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) which is now sponsoring the Australian Open tennis tournament:
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group eyes Asian views at Australian Open, Owen Raskiewicz, 9 News
“ANZ has been a sponsor of the tennis since 2010 and says, "[it] is a sign of our continued commitment to the Australian market, as well as being aligned with our goal to be a super-regional bank and grow our presence in the Asia Pacific region."
As tennis takes off in Asian countries, thanks largely to the success of Chinese female tennis star Li Na, many big companies are likely to seek sponsorship of major games and events. ANZ already achieved "Diamond" sponsorship status at the Shanghai Masters last year, but will also search for other opportunities in the region.
Women's Tennis Association managing director, Peter Johnston, told The Australian Financial Review Li Na's success has positively promoted the sport in China: "The sport is popular and played at all levels, from government officials down to the rest of the population. So we have both international sponsors and Chinese companies wanting to reach the wider consumer market coming to us." Jacobs Creek, another top sponsor, owned by French company Pernod Ricard is also looking to make a similar move to ANZ.
In 2007, ANZ CEO Mike Smith launched the 'Super Regional Strategy' which is unique amongst Australia's big banks including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), because it actively competes against local and foreign financial institutions in the region. By 2017 the bank hopes to draw between 25% and 30% of group revenue from its strategy.”
In the last paragraph of the above story is the defined objective for the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in sponsoring the Australian Open tennis tournament:
“By 2017 the bank hopes to draw between 25% and 30% of group revenue from its strategy.”
Bravo to the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) for sponsoring the Australian Open tennis tournament (being telecast on ESPN’s network of channels over the next several weeks) and for showing other companies considering sponsorship the importance of having very clearly defined goals that back-up the hard-earned money that ANZ is spending on the event.
IEG – www.sponsorship.com
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) – www.anz.com
Australian Open – www.ausopen.com
If you have any questions about event sponsorship or venue naming rights contact the Roaring Fork Agency at:
paul@roaringforkagency.com
415 730 - 4854
Aspen, Colorado
Tiburon, California
Incline Village, Nevada
Santa Monica, California
Newport Beach, California
Twitter - @RoaringForkAgcy