Extent of Sponsorship Category Exclusivity
Posted: 1/29/2010 2:41:24 PM by
Carrie Urban Kapraun | with 0 comments
Category exclusivity can be a major aspect of a corporate sponsorship negotiation and partnership. First there is the question of whether or not category exclusivity is part of the corporate sponsorship, then there is the matter of what categories are going to be included and finally there is the issue of what is the extent of the exclusivity. Take two major organizations like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). A TOP sponsor of the IOC has category exclusivity that extends throughout the structure of the organization, whereas category exclusivity for a FIFA Partner doesn’t have quite the same reach. The organizations are very different and not directly comparable, but we can look at how this difference in extent of category exclusivity might affect a corporate sponsor.
An IOC TOP Sponsor package is a good example of a partnership that includes category exclusivity that extends across various entities. TOP Sponsors receive global category exclusivity that extends to the IOC, all active National Olympic Committees (NOCs) (e.g., the United States Olympic Committee (USOC)) and their National Teams (e.g., Team USA), the Organizing Committees (OCOGS) (e.g., Chicago 2016) and the Olympic Games (e.g., Vancouver 2010). They also have preferential access to Olympic Games broadcasts. However, a TOP Sponsor’s competitor can sponsor individual athletes or the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of each sport (e.g., U.S. Figure Skating).
A FIFA Partner – FIFA’s highest level of corporate sponsorship – has category exclusivity that extends to FIFA, the FIFA World Cup and all other FIFA tournaments (e.g., Confederations Cup). It does not extend to regional confederations (e.g., CONCACAF), country federations (e.g., U.S. Soccer Federation), individual National teams (e.g., USA Soccer), club teams, players or qualifying matches leading into World Cup events. A FIFA Partner could purchase the rights to the National Teams and country federations, but it would be at a significant expense.
For example, Coca-Cola is a top level sponsor of both the IOC and FIFA. Because of the extent of Coca-Cola’s category exclusivity around the Olympics, it should be clear to consumers that Coca-Cola is not only an official sponsor of the Olympics Games but also Team USA.
Looking at FIFA, however, Pepsi is a sponsor of the U.S. Soccer Federation, as well as the U.S. National team. So to a consumer who follows soccer, it can be harder to determine the role of each sponsor. Additionally, it creates a discord between supporting a team’s sponsors or supporting World Cup sponsors. So, if a consumer supports his/her national team and its sponsors, is he/she less likely to support FIFA sponsors.
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Filed under: olympics