Up close and personal: Sleeve partnerships in football as a success factor

Sponsorship is the financial support for a sporting event, organisation or athlete by an outside body, for the mutual benefit of both parties. At the professional level this tends to be by companies, to raise the profile of their brand by associating it with the athlete.

The company aims to generate brand awareness and customer recognition, whilst the event, organisation or athlete receives a boost in funding.

A popular example is a brand logo printed on a team shirt. Visibility is guaranteed, even more so in the modern world with social media and online highlights.

In the land of media and marketing rights today, there is no cookie-cut solution for brands, and a simple logo placement will not provide the sufficient return on investment (ROI) for sponsorship, nor does it give their target audience the “why?” - the reason to spend their money and engage with the product.

Companies investing in sports sponsorship need to look at the bigger picture to engage with fans and not rely on just one piece of inventory.

Partnership marketing is an important part of the sports industry. It involves collaboration between a sports team, league, or event and a brand or company. This collaboration can take many forms, such as sponsorship, product placement, or joint promotions. The goal of partnership marketing is to benefit both parties by increasing exposure, revenue, and brand recognition.

By partnering with a sports team or league, a brand can reach a large audience of fans who are passionate about their sport. This can lead to increased brand recognition and customer loyalty, as well as increased sales of particular products. Additionally, by offering special promotions or experiences, teams and brands can create a more memorable and enjoyable experience for fans.

When selecting the right type of partnership, teams and brands should consider factors such as brand values, fan demographics, and the overall image of the sport, to ensure it remains authentic whilst still connecting with the target audience.

Sports athlete sponsorships are those where individual athletes are sponsored by a brand. They may wear branded apparel whilst competing or during commercial appearances and press conferences, or they might appear in advertisements or other promotional materials for the brand. The brand will either offer a set fee to them, or pay for their kit, equipment or travel in return.

Sports organisation sponsorships involve entities like a team or league being sponsored by a brand. Like with individual athletes, they will either receive a fee from the brand, or payment for things like kits, equipment or ground maintenance.

In return, a team may display the company’s logos around its stadium, for example, while a league might include the sponsor in its name.

Sports event sponsorships are where sports events — like an international or regional tournament — are sponsored by a brand. This type of partnership can involve things like the event either changing its title to incorporate the brand’s name, or using the brand’s logo on official products. The event organisers will either receive a set fee or have expenditures like venue hire, hospitality, catering, publicity, programmes and officials’ costs covered.

Sports sponsorship lets brands create emotional content and become an integral part of fans’ daily lives. Every year, over 58 billion euros* are invested in sports sponsorship around the world as a way of reaching and acquiring customers through fan engagement.

€58bn* global volume in sports sponsorship in 2018

1. Image objectives

Brands that are active in sports sponsorship are more likeable, more relevant and better trusted among fans. We call this the “emotional uplift”. Not only were we able to demonstrate this effect in a qualitative market research study, but we have also quantified it.

2. Awareness objectives

Whether among top target groups or the population at large, boosting brand awareness is a traditional strength of sponsorship. In an age of fragmented media consumption, it is becoming an increasingly frequent unique selling point in sport.

3. B2C customer retention

Sports sponsorship shortens distances and turns customers into lasting brand fans through promotions like money-can’t-buy experiences, loyalty incentives, exclusive benefits, prize draws, bonus programmes or sensation marketing.

4. Maintaining B2B contact

Professional infrastructure, special occasions and memorable experiences: the fervour surrounding sport makes for the perfect hosting platform for forging new business relationships and strengthening existing ones.

5. Tapping new target groups

Sponsorship can overcome dialogue obstacles and enables organisations to reach their target groups before and even after purchases are made, provided the platform has maximum target group overlap.

6.     Sales and revenue objectives

Sponsorship affects revenue, be it via direct sales, branding at the point of sale, the expansion of sales networks, or one of the many new activation formats for sales promotion in sport. 

7. Corporate social responsibility

Nutrition, health, youth empowerment and sustainability (to name a few): professional sport provides companies with a platform that impacts a range of economic sectors and can lead to authentic ways of implementing CSR measures. 

8. Employer branding

Sponsorship is becoming an increasingly important tool in the so-called war for talent. It is used for recruiting new employees or retaining existing employees who have been with the company for a long time.

9. Enhanced Fan Experience: Improve the overall fan experience by offering exclusive content, access, or promotions through the partnership.

10. Innovation and Technology: Showcase technological advancements or innovations through sports partnerships, positioning the brand as forward-thinking and cutting-edge.