This is something I came across at SportsPro Live while listening to Mark Kirkham of PepsiCo talk about LED boards and media (the equivalent of stickers on cars). They’re good for measuring ROI in terms of how many eyeballs are on them (TV/media coverage), but alone, they don't count as sponsorship.
With just a sticker on a car—or in this case, an LED board—you’re offering advertising, which is all about cost per impression.
Sponsorship, on the other hand, is about the emotional story that goes beyond data metrics. It's about brand, audience engagement, and so much more.
Insight into how big brands engage with sports sponsorship at the highest level is incredibly valuable. Based on the panel discussion at SportsPro Live, here are some things those brands are looking for:
- Emotional storytelling that resonates with the brand’s audience.
- The chance to engage with their target audience through interesting events and content that doesn’t feel like a hard sell.
- Allowing employees to feel part of something, which reduces staff turnover.
- Aiding the sales and marketing teams with images, video, and other content.
- Sharing the brand message to help them reach more people. This can be from a product, CSR, or key messaging point of view.
This is what businesses are thinking about when entering into partnerships at the highest level of sport. There's a reason Pepsi sponsors the UEFA Champions League and Hugo Boss sponsors Porsche Motorsport and the Aston Martin Formula One team. They need the reach generated by global championships.
Unfortunately, grassroots athletes and teams will never be able to match the scope of what brands like Pepsi, Hugo Boss, etc are after.
The good news is that there are brands out there who can't afford to sponsor huge teams and championships.
That's where you come in. You can bring the allure of motorsport and the benefits of sports sponsorship to those brands, but on a smaller scale.
Intrigued? Here's a task for you…
Take a look at what the biggest brands in the world are doing with sponsorship
Here's Hugo Boss's motorsport sponsorship page. Spoiler alert, most of it is about clothing collaborations. It's when you look at how Porsche activates the brand partnership that you begin to see the real value. Porsche uses its brand position to help sell Hugo Boss clothing to its audience.
In the most simple terms, that's what sponsorship is. But Porsche being Porsche, they manage to do it with the most beautiful aspirational content. So even those who can't afford a Porsche might still be motivated to spend £60 on a cap or £400 on a jacket.
For PepsiCo, it's about using the platform of the UEFA Champions League to create a brand experience that wows fans. Here's an article that outlines one of these fan experiences.
Go ahead and find some more examples of brands sponsoring elite sport. Here's another good article about great sports activations.
Shoot me a reply with what you've found then move on to the section below.
Step away from the grandeur of these kinds of activations for a moment. What are all these brands trying to achieve?
Pepsi wants to be the go-to drink brand for fans and not just at sporting events. Everyone has heard of Pepsi but it clearly wants to go further to create an emotional connection with those fans. (Let me say it like it is, they want fans to choose Pepsi over Coca-Cola.)
For all these brands, it's about having a platform that allows them to interact with fans. Being able to do this means the brand can create a deeper connection with each individual. The result is often:
- More sales because of increased brand loyalty
- Social reach increases as fans share their experiences
- Brand awareness on a more emotional story-driven level
- Athlete endorsements can increase sales
- User-generated content makes strategy easier
- The ability to go viral or cut through social media noise
- Improved reach across a wide variety of channels (social, press, TV, etc.)
So what does this mean for you as a driver?
Look at all the great examples of sponsorship activation you've found and shrink them. For example:
Big brand: Sets up an AR football experience outside a stadium.
Same vibe but smaller: Offer an online sim racing experience for fans and other drivers that contains your sponsor's branding.
Big brand: Offers a competition asking fans to post their sporting efforts on social media. The best ones win a home theatre setup.
Same vibe but smaller: A competition where you ask fans to post a photo of them with your car on Instagram.
Big brand: Got people to run on treadmills and shared the energy output its trainers were able to generate on huge screens.
Same vibe but smaller: A stationary bike set up during the race weekend to power some fairy lights/charging/LED sign. Anyone who takes part get some merch and the person who generates the most energy gets a prize.
I could do this all day. Send me your examples and I'll help you find the smaller version.
If you got this far down the email, well done!
Keep up the good work
Jess