Fresh Insights from IEG

Eco-Conscience Title Sponsorship for U.K. Sailing Team

Have you ever heard of a property donating an $8.3 million title sponsorship slot? Well you have now! Team Origin, a U.K. America’s Cup team founded by business man Keith Mills, is donating the title sponsorship of their team to Carbon Trust, an independent business set up by the U.K. government to affect positive change regarding low-carbon economies.

Team Origin is an eco-conscience team at heart but they also believe this to be a good financial decision. “This is a different way of marketing sport and a model that has a lot of promise going forward” said Tom Delay, CEO of Carbon Trust. According to Mr. Delay “The team has said it believes in being sustainable in terms of our environmental impact, and we are going to attract a number of sponsors who all want to be associated with that as a core value.”

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Filed under: international, pro sports, selling, sports, cause marketing

Face-to-Face Is Now A Unique Form of Activation

I was telling the story this week about one of my first jobs, which was in the telecommunications industry. Before starting my career in sponsorship, I was in the public and government relations department. My first task of the day was to arrive at about 6:30 a.m. and read eight newspapers, cut out any article that mentioned our company from every section of the paper, tape each clipping to 8.5’ x 11’ paper, make 30 sets of copies and hand deliver them to the desks of the senior execs by 8:30 a.m. (The execs did not want to wait for the press clipping company, which would not usually deliver till afternoon.)

As you can see, there was nothing electronic or instant about this process. This story also dates me and clearly illustrates a time in business when electronic communication was nothing like today.

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Filed under: digital media, activation

Experienced-based Sponsorship is Award-winning for Clorox

For years we have been talking about how sponsorship has become much more than just hanging banners for visibility. It provides a platform to truly engage with consumers and potential customers. When sponsorships are designed around an enhanced user experience, the outcomes are typically much more fruitful for all involved. The deal is executed in an authentic way and the property, the sponsor and the consumer all win.

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Filed under: entertainment, music, activation

The Business of College Athletics Costs UCF A Future Deal with adidas

This has been a hot topic for several years and it is only getting hotter. The University of Central Florida has had an ongoing relationship with adidas and had a verbal agreement on a $3 million exclusive contract. That of course meant that the UCF men’s basketball team would be wearing adidas shoes on the court. When Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan’s son, wore Nike shoes in the season debut this week, the issue boiled over. Representatives from adidas have now said there will be no deal with UCF.

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Filed under: sports

Big Leaps, Big Returns: Watchmaker Hublot’s Approach To Sponsorship
I was in Switzerland last week meeting with Jean-Claude Biver about his keynote at Leap, IEG’s 2012 Sponsorship Conference next month.

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Filed under: cause marketing, endorsements, IEG conference, international, motorsports, sports, activation

Komen Controversy's Lessons For Sponsors
Having enjoyed many years of a productive partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the organization’s corporate partners are no doubt feeling blindsided by this week’s firestorm over SGK’s decision to no longer provide funding to Planned Parenthood.

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Filed under: cause marketing, nonprofit, social media, backlash

Sponsorship and Return on Innovation
Speakers at IEG’s 2012 Sponsorship Conference are bringing unprecedented levels of innovation to the sponsorship space.

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Filed under: arts, events, festivals, IEG conference, non-traditional categories, activation

Paterno’s Legacy And The Big Question For Sports And Sports Marketers
My family and I moved to the suburbs of Pittsburgh when I was nine and Joe Paterno was already many years into becoming a football and Pennsylvania legend.

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Filed under: college sports, pro sports, sports, backlash

Despite Many Questions, Tebow Is A Prime Sponsorship Candidate
It may seem odd that I wrote the headline to this post during the third quarter of Saturday’s night playoff game, at the exact moment Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was getting sacked with his team down 42-7 to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

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Filed under: pro sports, endorsements

Procter & Gamble Understands The Value Of Cause Marketing Better Than Anyone
Jerry Welsh introduced the term cause related marketing—a strategy he created while EVP of worldwide marketing at American Express—at the second annual IEG Sponsorship Conference in 1985.

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Filed under: IEG conference, trends, cause marketing

Will Short-term And Shared Deals Be The Death Of Sponsorship?
In the beginning, stadium naming rights agreements were largely 20-year commitments, with a few 10-year exceptions. The bulk of NASCAR team sponsorships were for a full season, and marketers signed on to sponsor every stop of a concert tour.

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Filed under: what is sponsorship, sponsorship measurement

Measuring TV Exposure Does Not Capture Sponsorship ROI
There is much more to measuring the ROI of a sponsorship than accounting for the value of brand exposure during TV broadcasts, yet I continue to hear stories of sponsors that put nearly all of their measurement emphasis on that

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Filed under: sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, international

Heineken’s Smart Approach To Sponsorship Activation
While in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago, I dropped in on Hans Erik Tuijt, global manager of activation for Heineken and a speaker at IEG’s 2012 sponsorship conference.

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Filed under: beer, branded content, digital media, events, festivals, IEG conference, international, music, new media, research, sponsored content, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, activation

What Does Pujols Deal Mean For L.A. Angels’ Sponsorship Revenue?
While Angels fans start planning World Series celebrations and Cardinals fans assess their club’s fortunes in the wake of Albert Pujols’ departing St. Louis for Anaheim, others are looking at the impact the slugger’s arrival will have on his new team’s bottom line.

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Filed under: pro sports, selling, endorsements