ANALYSIS/OPINION
By Adetunji Faleye
One still wonders why many
brands in Nigeria shy away from sponsoring sporting activities despite many
advantages they stand to gain. Is it because they fail to fathom the benefits
that sponsorship of sporting events will create for their brands? Or they
failed to get any return on investments in their previous sports sponsorship
involvements?
These and other questions
come to mind when pondering over low level of sports sponsorship in the country
over the years.
Sports sponsorship,
according to Menagan is a physical or non-physical investment in sporting
activities and events in order to exploit the business opportunities available
through this activity. Also, the International Event Group said sports
sponsorship is seen as money or other expenses paid to an agency or enterprise
or a particular individual (in a sports field, entertainment, organization or
event for-profit or non-for-profit) in order to achieve the aspired business
goals from this relationship.
Essentially these two definitions
of sports sponsorship are the very reasons brands and agencies must be ready to
take sports sponsorship as part of their marketing strategies in order to
further create awareness for their brands/products and services.
While the field of sports
sponsorship are various and can be divided into six areas, brands and their
agencies only need to understand the area(s) that suit their purposes.
The six segments of sports
sponsorships include; sponsoring sporting commissions and federations,
sponsoring athletes, sponsoring sporting facilities, sponsoring teams or
sporting clubs, sponsoring media, and sponsoring sporting events.
With the clear understanding
of all these categories, brands should be able to identify the particular areas
they can fit in where their impact will be felt. Whether it’s sponsoring
sporting clubs, athletes or sporting events, certainly, there are benefits
brands stand to gains in the short and long terms.
Global sports sponsorships
Interestingly, many foreign
brands which are into sports sponsorships are reaping the benefits of
participating in such initiatives. For instance, months before the first game
of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil was played, Adidas, one of the world’s
leading sports sponsors opened a Twitter account for its ball “Brazuca,” and
the ball twitted everything about the technology behind the creation, content
surrounding Adidas ball and all the results of matches throughout the
tournament.
The reason for this was
intentional. Adidas wanted to connect with football fans once again, coming
from the background that the Adidas ball (Jabulani) created for the 2010 World
Cup in South Africa was highly criticized, and the creation of “Brazuca” helped
Adidas to show that the company will not rest on it oars to satisfy football
lovers. To a large extent, the creation of ‘Brazuca’ in 2014 elicited more fun
from fans the world over.
Also, Pepsi, the global
household name in the Carbonated Soft Drinks (CDS) market, and the number one
sports sponsor in North America with an estimated over $1 billion every year on
sports sponsorships cutting across NBA, NHL, NFL in North America, and cricket
globally engages in ports sponsorship yearly. Recalled outside North America,
PepsiCo also reached an agreement with UEFA in 2018 to extend its limited
partnership with UEFA to sponsor Champions League and Europa League for the
next three years.
Also, Coca-Cola is another
global brand that has been doing great exploits in sports sponsorship. For
instance, the Pepsi arch rival has been sponsoring Olympic Games for more than
90 years. The world’s leading beverage giant, also sponsored the 1996 ICC
Cricket World Cup, and beyond that year. The brand also has a long-term
relationship with many football, basketball teams and many other sporting teams
globally.
Nigeria
Sadly, while global brands
have contributed and are still spending massive amount of funds in sponsorship
of sporting events across the world, boosting their brand coverage and
promotional strategies, the Nigerian indigenous brands are lagging behind in
this aspect. Though one may argue that some brands have been participating in
sports sponsorships in Nigeria, the truth is that, the big spenders in sports
sponsorship in the country are the global brands whose policies must be global
irrespective of where their offices are.
Though some Nigerian
indigenous brands are also sponsoring sporting events in their own little ways,
other must understand that in today’s marketing mix, sports sponsorship
arguably is capable of bringing together brands and fans, creating
unexplainable love between the two (brands and fans) by converting a great
number of fans to the brand side simply because they see the brand as a partner
in progress.
What brands need do is to
engage in best-practices which can create positive experiences, through an
interactive, memorable and natural exchange with a like-minded community.
Experts believe that brands
must put into consideration their target audience. They should also consider
aligning their sponsorship initiatives with their target audience in order to
reach their core audience. This can only
be achieved by relying on data. Football, for instance, is a male-dominated
sport, millions of women are also not left behind especially now that women
football is beginning to gain ground around the world. Therefore, a decision to
sponsor men or women football will not be a wasted resource if the handlers of
the brands can only identify their target audience in the sport.
While considering
appropriate target audience, what brands still need to take note is brand image
alignment. Brand custodians must understand the brand equity of potential
partner which will enable them to determine the one that is capable of
elevating their brands. This will work perfectly with brands that suffer one
form of setback or the other. For
instance, First City Monument Bank in recent past trended on social media when
their managing director and chief executive officer, Adam Nuru was alleged to
be responsible for the demise of a staffer, Tunde Thomas. In a petition written
by the friends of Thomas, he (Thomas) was said to have died of depression on
December 16, 2020 as a result of the alleged two children his wife had for the
MD of the bank. While this was trending, it will be a good idea, few weeks
later, if the bank decides to sponsor any sporting events in alignment with
their brand image to win bank some of their customers who might have been pained
by the action of the managing director of the bank and the way the bank’s
management initially handled it.
After brands aligning with
the target audience, strategic activation is also needed. Brands need to really
tap into the spirit of the sport they are sponsoring and leverage the
enthusiasm and loyalty of the sports fans. They must consider which sport is
popular in the North, East, West, South/South and other parts of the country
before embarking on any sponsorship. They must also study the demographics of the
fans of the sport they target to sponsor before signing sponsorship agreement
with any sports administrators.
Conclusion
Essentially, the importance
of sports sponsorship to the growth of any brand is huge and the earlier the
brand custodians understand this the better. They must realise that with the
right information at their disposal, the right partner and a clear strategy,
their brands are on their ways to build brand equity and customer advocacy that
can last beyond the season.
Amazingly, the importance of
sport sponsorship in today’s marketing cannot be over-emphasised, as it wields
transformative power that can help build brands beyond game day. It’s also
capable of driving exponential growth in brand awareness and affinity, and can also
build brand equity and customer advocacy that will last longer.
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