The Role of Social Media on Sponsorship Activation

Assignment Task

Topic Mini lecture

In this video we will explore how sponsorship activation patterns are changing to reflect the consuming habits and social environment that fans engage through to enjoy their club, team, or passion. We will begin first by reflecting on the ten most common tangible assets that would appear in most large-scale sponsorship contracts, considering how their usage has evolved in the period between 2020. We will then play closer attention to four growth areas in activation as identified below:

1) Content & Storytelling

2) Digital Activation

3) Employee Engagement

4) Social Purpose

Tangible Assets

In nearly every category of tangible asset, we have seen a big shift in the ways in which sponsoring businesses now use those assets and rights. This reflects a greater ambition by sponsors when using their rights to ‘do more’ through their activation. Generally speaking sponsors are integrating their sponsorship portfolio more cohesively and this integration requires the sponsorship rights package to perform differently in comparison to how rights were used as little as 10 years ago. A summary of the key changes in tangible rights activation is detailed for you:

• Branding – Awareness to Perception
• Entertainment/Hospitality – External to Internal
• Database – Reach to Acquisition
•  Content Generation – Physical to Digital
• Facilities / Venue Hire/Use of Space – Named to Owned Experiences
• PR/Media – Journalists to Influencers
• Commercial/Marketing/Promotional/Merchandising/Licensing
• Influence – Political to Political, Social, Environmental / Internal vs External
• CSR – Peripheral to Central
• Employee Engagement – Tokenism to Integration

Content & Storytelling

Indisputably one of the biggest growth areas of sponsorship activation, content and storytelling has come to the fore as a ‘must-have’ attribute for many sponsors. Memorable, high quality, exclusive access gives sponsors the opportunity to ‘add value’ to the fan experience, by capturing unique moments for fan consumption. There are many good examples of excellent storytelling, from Formula One to The Olympic Games Worldwide Partners – one of the earliest examples of this is probably the now infamous P&G ‘Thank You Mum’ campaign that shone a light on the support network behind famous Olympians. This hot trend looks set to say with increasingly diverse platforms offering routes to access fans through their preferred medium. One consideration for sponsorship sellers may be how much content can be created on this ‘exclusive basis’ whilst still retaining authenticity? Later in this topic we’ll review how an Olympic sponsor is developing a storytelling narrative to bring their brand to life and we can explore and consider how this content is being received by fans.

Digital Activation

The explosion of opportunity within the Social and Digital space has given rise to some fantastic campaigns that give sponsors affordable reach and activation opportunities to a diverse and global fanbase. Indisputably the rise of digital activation has impacted on sponsorship selection and there have been some impactful campaigns that would have been unlikely to have got the ‘air time’ or reach had it not been for the amplification that the social and digital space has provided.

There is an argument (as seen in the MKTG report) that digital gives reach, and experience gives depth and memorability. Certainly a central challenge for both buyers and sellers is fuelling their digital channels – digital content is consumed at a rapid pace – doesn’t live long – and can easily become ‘old’. Whilst relatively affordable to produce, one emerging reality for sponsors is the challenge of production. However, the impact of Covid-19 will surely see digital rights increase even more significantly in the next few years and we would expect to see even greater ingenuity and rights segmentation from sellers in the next couple of years as they look to commercially re-model their digital assets and inventory.

Employee Engagement

Activation strategies that target and engage employees have seen a huge spike in popularity in the last three years. As competition for talent has become fierce so it has become more important for businesses to engage and present themselves as desirable and responsible employers – sponsorship collaborations – particularly that support fair play, gender equality (e.g. women’s sport) or inclusivity have provided a way to represent this commitment. From large-scale programs that encourage volunteering, through to smaller programs and opportunities that cultivate specific outcomes for teams or senior management we have seen a surge of activity in this space. The role of the employer as a figure of trust for employees has changed in recent years (Edelman Trust Barometer 2020) and increasingly sponsorship assets are deployed to encourage loyalty, improve performance (garnering a ‘performance mindset’), cultivate advocates and reduce churn.

One of the likely outcomes of Covid-19 will be even greater emphasis on employee wellbeing as teams re-group and establish new working patterns. It is likely that this activation asset will be an even more important component for sponsoring businesses.

Social Purpose

If there is one key trend to watch within the activation marketplace then partnerships that demonstrates social purpose would undoubtedly be it. As brands seek to use sponsorship to change brand perception – as opposed to just gain brand awareness, so it has become more imperative that they identify and align their brands with the purposeful endeavour. This manifests itself in several key areas:

Sustainability – an almost essential component of any significant activation programme and hotly tipped in the 2020 MKTG Frontier report as the biggest growth activation/sponsorship priority over the next 18 months.

Equality: Social equality (gender, race, accessibility, inclusivity) is a significant bubble in sponsorship activation at the moment. High profile and large-scale businesses such as VISA have moved their

investment squarely into platforms (e.g. women’s football) that demonstrate their commitment to a social cause. In doing so, they are able to generate content, narrative, air-time and differentiation from their competitors. Some might say the positive commercial outcomes to VISA will likely offset their investment in this space (although the measurement of this will be challenging for the sector). For all practitioners, a growing awareness of the potential for collaboration around social purpose should be at the forefront of their sponsorship strategy going forwards.

Wellbeing: Post Covid-19 recovery will almost certainly see many sponsors using assets and inventory to support global and individual wellbeing.

Summary

The sponsorship activation marketplace is in a significant process of change – both in terms of the deployment of new assets (digital) to the positioning of campaigns (more social emphasis).

Smart practitioners should keep a close eye on the emerging trend of content and storytelling, which when used in conjunction with a mission-led set of objectives can see sponsors no longer sitting on the periphery of the activity they are aligning with, but as a central protagonist for change.

Women’s football provides a great ‘live’ example of this in action, although this can be see fairly universally at local, national and international level across many sports – rugby, cricket, tennis and motorsport being other good examples of this trend in action.

Reflective exercise

From the content in the video, reflect on your own experiences of influencer marketing (either in the organization you are working in or one that is familiar). Consider the following points and post a response on the Topic 7 discussion forum:

• Where have you seen the most authentic use of influencers?
• Can you identify the difference between using ambassadors and using influencers?
• What are the main opportunities in working with influencers and how can they deliver brand benefit?
• What are the potential disadvantages of a marketing or sponsorship strategy that is too dependent on individuals?

Discussion activity

Sponsorship activation strategies often mirror societal trends. Thinking about the panel discussion on the video, what did the panel identify as the main ways in which they were evolving their activation strategies?

• What do you identify as the most significant comments that they made?
• In respect to content and use of influencers, the panel return to the significance of this in driving engagement with consumers.
• What pieces of key learnings do they take from their experiences in this space and what do influencers bring to the table?

Essential reading and resources

• Based on these resources and the mini lecture, consider the following questions.
• What are the main drivers for change in sponsorship activation strategies?
• What are the key emerging trends we expect to see in sponsorship activation in the next two years?
• How are sponsors evaluating and measuring the impact of their sponsorship activation? What are the main challenges the sector faces?
• What are the central challenges for sellers when trying to connect sponsors to content for storytelling purposes?

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