Latest Thinking from IEG

Smart Sponsorship; Questionable Activation

Received a press release yesterday from Pheasants Forever, a nonprofit conservation and hunting-oriented organization, announcing that Miller High Life will again be the official beer of the group, extending a longtime relationship.

MillerCoors will overlay the sponsorship with an on- and off-premise promotion that raises funds for PF. The Miller High Life Rooster Promotion allows adult consumers to purchase paper roosters for either $1 or $5, with “net funds raised” going to local PF chapters to fund wildlife habitat projects.

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Filed under: backlash, beer, beverage, cause marketing, nonprofit, activation

Harsh Words about the Commercialization of Pro Sports

“The commercialization of sports hasn’t reached its nadir, and we know this because the inevitable last step still hasn’t happened-that moment when the Browns and the Rockets become the Cleveland E*Trades and the Houston Mennen Speed Sticks, with logo-embossed jerseys to match.” The column continues…

“This is the year when sports commercialization will finally go from being a cute, quintessentially American subplot (poor small town jock makes it to the big leagues, gets the big hit in the big game, gets rewarded with his face on a Wheaties box) to a disfiguring herpes-like disease that one never stops being aware of and finally sucks the last bits of joy from following pro sports.” And continues…

“It’s not just the preposterous sponsorship tie-ins you see everywhere, so much so that you can literally consume them…I know we are getting there because I love sports but am beginning to hate watching sports. There are so many goddamn ads and tie-ins now, your skull starts to feel like an echo chamber by the end of the game-and you start inadvertently humming beer-company jingles to yourself, against your will. It is enough to make you want to gouge out your own eyeballs with a spoon and eat them raw.” (Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel.)

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Filed under: NASCAR, pro sports, research, sports, beer

Bloodshot Records: An Indie Music Label’s Take On Sponsorship

Love them or hate them, there’s no denying the cash and marketing power than brands can bring to independent record labels and other types of content producers and distributors.

I recently spoke with Rob Miller, co-founder of Chicago’s Bloodshot Records, about his take on working with corporate partners, concerns over commercialization and the label’s current partnership with Rolling Rock beer. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.

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Filed under: beer, events, music, activation

Valuing On-Site Interactive/Highly-Integrated Opportunities Can be Tricky – Part Three of a Three-Part Series

As mentioned in parts one and two of the series, of all of the categories of tangible benefits (both measured and non-measured) that I come across, valuing “can’t buy” hospitality, unique access opportunities or interactive/highly-integrated benefits are some of the hardest tangible benefits to value. Of course, these also happen to be some of the most valuable pieces of a sponsorship package.

The third part of the series concentrates on on-site interactive or highly-integrated opportunities. Many of the principles for valuing VIP hospitality and unique access opportunities apply to interactive/highly-integrated opportunities. Keep in mind, there isn’t always a clear delineation between categories; the line can be a little blurry.

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Filed under: associations, automotive, beer, cause marketing, destination/tourism, events, government/municipal, nonprofit, pro sports, soft drink, sports, valuation, arts

Banning Alcohol Sponsorship

The Australian federal government’s Preventative Health Strategy task force has recommended banning alcohol sponsorship as one method to deter people from drinking and perhaps becoming a burden on the public health system.

Whenever the subject of curbing the marketing of “sin products”—or raising their prices through taxes—comes up, I must admit that my libertarian side—as well as my drinking side—wants to shout, “If it’s a legal product, then why make the marketing of it illegal?” However, I understand the need for regulation of products that carry potential dangers.

The issue is where do we draw the line? No marketing of alcohol to kids? Of course. But prohibiting sponsorship of sports and other properties while allowing other adult-oriented advertising and marketing? Why? The argument that sports sponsorship implies an endorsement of alcohol as healthy is nonsense. Let’s give all but the weakest-minded consumers some credit, shall we?

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Filed under: beer, beverage, international, sports, backlash

Valuing Unique Access Opportunities Can be Tricky – Part Two of a Three-Part Series

As mentioned in part one of the series, of all of the categories of tangible benefits (both measured and non-measured) that I come across, valuing “can’t buy” hospitality, unique access opportunities or interactive/highly integrated benefits are some of the hardest tangible benefits to value. Of course, these also happen to be some of the most valuable pieces of a sponsorship package.

The second part of the series concentrates on unique access opportunities. Many of the principles for valuing VIP hospitality apply to unique access opportunities. Keep in mind, there isn’t always a clear delineation between categories; the line can be a little blurry.

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Filed under: associations, automotive, beer, cause marketing, destination/tourism, events, government/municipal, music, nonprofit, pro sports, soft drink, sports, valuation, arts

Valuing “Can’t Buy” Hospitality Can be Tricky – Part One of a Three-Part Series

Of all of the categories of tangible benefits (both measured and non-measured) that I come across, valuing “can’t buy” hospitality, unique access opportunities or interactive/highly integrated benefits are some of the hardest tangible benefits to value. Of course, these also happen to be some of the most valuable pieces of a sponsorship package.

Initially, I wanted to address all of these types of benefits in one blog but I quickly realized that there is too much information to cover, so I am going to do a three-part series and the first part will concentrate on VIP or “can’t buy” hospitality. Even for my blogs, this one is a little long, but I think that if you can stick with it, there is some really valuable information here (maybe too much).

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Filed under: associations, automotive, beer, cause marketing, destination/tourism, events, government/municipal, music, nonprofit, pro sports, soft drink, sports, valuation, arts

Insights from Keld Strudahl, Carlsberg Breweries

In the last keynote address of the day, Carlsberg’s Keld Strudahl explained why the company uses soccer as its core sponsorship platform.

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Filed under: evaluation, IEG conference, international, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, sports, beer