The 5 biggest sponsorship deals in sports

Businesses around the world try to reach customers by using sports stars as billboards. Oftentimes the amount of money invested in these athletes is for us consumers not comprehensible. But in some cases the athlete is more popular then the brand!

Make up your own mind on whether or not the following sponsorship deals actually help the brand or not. Does sponsorship influence your buying behavior?

5) Tiger Woods & Nike (Golf)

4) George Foreman & Salton Inc. (Boxing)

3) David Beckham & Adidas (Soccer)

2) Derrick Rose & Adidas (Basketball)

1) Michael Jordan & Nike (Basketball)  

While there are only estimates for the amounts of money made through and paid to the athletes these 5 examples are certainly some of the most lucrative ones of all time. Other examples include basketball players Lebron James and Kobe Bryant or soccer players Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo which knowingly increased Nike's sportswear sales as well as brand recognition by a lot. The fact that both Adidas and Nike are so well represented in this list makes us doubt whether all this money is well spent on the one hand, on the other hand it might be the reason why we think of those two brand when we think about sportswear. Also, of course it is easier to identify with sportswear advertised by an athlete than with a electronic device or alike.

Sponsorship is more than a cost benefit analysis. It is primarily a tool for brand recognition. Therefore a huge sponsorship deal with Michael Jordan seemed inappropriate in the past, today it certainly still pays off for both sides. 

Red Bull's success story

Red Bull - "gives you wings"

What do you think of when someone talks about energy drinks? Some flavored drink with a lot of sugar and caffeine. Now, what brand do you think of when you think about energy drinks? It almost feels like there's only two brands to choose from. Red Bull and Monster Energy drinks.

While there are plenty more brands and Energy drink makers out there, the famous Austria based Red Bull and the US "knock off" are the most popular ones due to their big marketing and sponsorship efforts in extreme sports. How come other energy drinks cant manage to get the same amount of attention and popularity through their marketing efforts?

The answer is simple. Red Bull and Monster Energy reflect a lifestyle whereas other energy drink varieties or brands such as 5h Energy for example advertise with a simple benefit from the usage of their product. That does not mean that other brands do not profit from the purpose from their products, but they miss out on a wider consumer range that could possibly identify with the product and the lifestyle it is reflecting.

Red Bull is a master in using it's marketing channels. The Austrians managed to raise awareness of their product around the globe, being sold in over 160 countries.

The brand's sponsorship efforts in sports are huge. Several world class athletes are brand messengers and all kinds of motor and bike sports are sponsored by the energy drink manufacturer. While acting as a sponsor for several other events, Red Bull recently has gone as far as to support sports franchises and in return having the franchises carry the Red Bull logo or brand name in their team names. Examples include the soccer clubs Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and the New York Red Bulls from New York or the Formula one team Red Bull racing around motorsport star Sebastian Vettel, who just won the F1 championship with Red Bull for the fourth time in a row.

Additional events like Red Bull "Stratos" when stuntman Felix Baumgartner did a supersonic space fall back to earth, reached news audiences around the world as well. All those images were dominated by the Brands red and yellow "taurus" bulls.

The Red Bull example proves once again, to be a successful advertiser/marketer, your efforts have to reflect the image of your product or the image you want the product to have. Additionally you have to be careful to find the right image for your product. A mini fridge cant represent an adventurous, dangerous lifestyle. A energy drink certainly can and should do so.

Before you invest money into expensive advertising campaigns or sponsorship efforts it is critical to define your own product and what your audience perceives it as.

Here a couple examples of how NOT to do it!

Aston Martin:

https://www.astonmartin.com/en/live/news/2011/09/19/aston-martin-becomes-tsv-1860-m%C3%BCnchen-s-new-main-sponsor

Bruno Banani:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/five_ring_circus/2014/02/07/bruno_banani_fuahea_semi_the_tongan_who_changed_his_name_to_get_money_from.html



  

Professional sports in the US missing out on cash

The sports business is all about money. We all know it. In most of the cases, the more money you have, the better you do in sports. Of course you have to be able to do the right things and make good decisions, but, money helps.

So how come most sports in the United States are not really making use of every possible way to maximize cashflow? And how could they do so?!

The answer is simple: Sponsoring!

Across the world and in sports other than the ones considered "American", such as american football and basketball, Managers of teams make great use of sponsoring. For the simple reason that both sides profit from it. It would be wrong to say that the NFL and NBA teams do not make use of sponsorship at all, but it seems like especially these two leagues miss out on using the jerseys, and trough the jerseys the players and the franchises as marketing tool.

Surely the arenas, domes and fields are branded most of the times and there are banner ads running up and down the court. But the center of attention is and will always be on the players and the game.

Internationally, especially in soccer in Europe, both businesses and teams are well aware of this and new million dollar deals are being signed each year for the benefit of both businesses and sports teams.

Therefore it will be inevitable to make use of "jersey-sponsorship" in the NFL, NBA, NHL and other leagues to stay competitive in the long term. While the leagues benefit as a whole, it is especially the sponsor, the economy and subsequently the consumer that would benefit from this step. Through advertising on player jerseys the consumers interaction with the brand is much more personal. Or other way round, if the consumer already identifies with the brand, he might be likely to identify more with the team, player, or another brand associated with the franchise.

From personal experience, the soccer club and Champions League (the biggest trophy in european soccer) cup winner of 2013, FC Bayern Munich is a perfect example of successful and reliable long term sponsoring. Sponsors include Adidas, Allianz insurance, Telekom (T-mobile), Audi and many more highly regarded brands. By signing contracts with these businesses over the years the soccer club not only became more prosperous but also gained international recognition for being able to tie internationally successful businesses to the franchise.

Currently the American leagues are avoiding the jersey sponsorship due to critics saying that the sport's primary goal is to commercialize, but what is wrong with that.
Society has to face the truth. Money is one of the keys to success in modern lives. And certainly the games are not going to lose any quality or seriousness because the players cars or whatever have some brand logos on them. In my opinion the extra commercial breaks that will make up for the money not being made from jersey sponsorship will destroy the games and subsequently the sport.

Who knows, in ten years we might watch a Football game for 8hrs, just because every review and timeout will be turned into a media timeout with commercials.

For more information on the topic, here an interview with the NBA commissioner Adam Silver :

http://adage.com/article/news/nba-commissioner-ads-player-jerseys-inevitable/292229/

Top 5 Sports Ad Campaigns 2013/14

Today I want to share with you my 5 favorite sports Ad Campaigns 2013/14! - Enjoy!

Which one's your favorite?

Procter and Gamble - Thank you mom

This Campaign ran during the winter olympics in Sochi 2014 a couple of weeks ago. It features the young athletes and their supportive mothers on the way to future olympics.

 

Nike - Just do It

Another great commercial in Nike's "Just do it" series, showing the sports apparel's customers what's achievable with hard work and the proper gear.

GEICO

After talking lizards and camels, GEICO does it again and reflects customer satisfaction through their services in this TV ad.

Beats by Dre - Hear what you want

Colin Kaepernick, Richard Sherman and Kevin Garnett for Beats by Dre. Noise cancellation that helps the athletes focus on what's important in life.

Gatorade

Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade for Gatorade, their rivalry and how Gatorade helps them get the competitive edge.

While there were many more good sports commercials, those in my opinion, where the most touching ones!

Here also one of my all time favorites:

Nike - Take it to the next level 

Samsung's iPhone problem

The electronics giant and it's image problems.

After the South Korean car manufacturer KIA, I want to talk about the electronics giant Samsung located in the same country this time.
Do you have an iPhone? NO? Since apple has about 50% of the smartphone market share there would have been a fair chance you own one. But since you don't there is a fair chance you own a Samsung smartphone running on the Android operating system.

Either way you own a highly sophisticated piece of technology. The only difference might be in the image of your handheld device. But how come?

There's no question that apple and especially the iPhone changed our society. Not because the Cupertino based company is necessarily more innovative than it's competitors, but because Steve Jobs and his workers managed to pack all that existing technology in a pretty phone that is easy to use. Something the world seemed to be missing.

But I want to take a look on the other side. Apple's competitors such as Samsung trying to get more market share themselves.

And whether you're aware of it or not, Samsung is working on that through all available marketing channels. Their advertising gig at the Oscar's through Ellen Degeneres' "selfie" caught a lot of attention. So does the cooperation with NBA super star Lebron James. And so did the use of soccer star David Beckham during the Olympics in London 2012.

Unfortunately there's always a bitter taste to Samsung's marketing efforts.

The fact that no matter which star they use for their advertising and promotion efforts, those celebrities are almost always spotted using a apple product before or after they promote the Samsung product, Lebron James excluded. Unfortunately he just recently tweeted about how upset he is with his Samsung device instead.

So what are the South Korean's doing wrong?

Maybe they don't do nothing wrong at all!

After the recent release of their new Galaxy smartphone I believe that Samsung does not want to "overtake" apple's market share. They do not necessarily want to drive apple users to Samsung devices. Simply because their audience is different. Samsung devices are undoubtedly more advanced from a technological perspective or, more specifically they have better processors, displays, cameras etc. than the apple devices. They might not look as exclusive in some cases and they certainly miss the "bitten apple", but provide a great experience for everyone that wants the technologically most advanced phone at a fair price and without following the hype of society.

Unfortunately they can't do anything about their cooperating celebrities using other devices. But maybe those celebrities are just part of a trend as well.

Samsung's marketing efforts are innovative, spontaneous and successful. Maybe the company's only "problem" is the current trend for apple smartphones. No one knows how much longer the hype will last. But in contrast to apple, Samsung has more than a single feature to rely on. Only the future will tell who of those two smartphone giants will take the upper hand in the longterm.

If Samsung should keep up their successful marketing efforts chances are good they will at least be in the race for the top spot.

KIA's image

KIA's use of advertising on the big stage and the confusing messages the car manufacturer sends. 

In today's blog post I want to talk about cars. Yes, this is a blog about sports marketing, I will get to that later on.
Everyone knows car commercials. Depending on the price and the prestige of the car and the manufacturer behind it, they all seem to be the same. Prestigious cars are being driven through beautiful sceneries, showing the elegance of the vehicle while a calm voice in the background emphasizes the features of the cars, maybe even lists some awards. Other car manufacturers rather mention safety or family uses of their products. Either way. We have seen it before, and usually the manufacturer and it's status in society influences the type of exposure more than the car itself.

The car manufacturer I want to talk about today, doesn't quite fit into the types of advertisements I mentioned above. KIA, the South Korean car producer has it's very own way to increase sales.

KIA's TV commercials show it all: Dancing Hamsters, "Matrix" sequences,... NBA players. That's were the "sports" influence comes into play.
Watching KIAs TV ads I've been wondering what the companies message is.
Dancing Hamsters could be associated with the fun and joy of the car. Maybe a little over the top but surely memorable. The hamsters at least.
The connection to the "Matrix" series, interesting but even more confusing. What is KIA? Fun? Mysterious? Technologically advanced? In my opinion it is not clear at all.

With other car manufacturers you know what you get. No matter if it's great "German engineering", "American power" or "Italian finesse", the advertisements of other producers send a clear message throughout all product lines. A clear brand message. The South Koreans seem to be unclear about the message they want to send.

In my advertising class last semester my professor made it clear that often times a bad advertiser's last resort is to get celebrities in their commercials. This is approach is very expensive and often times ineffective or does not achieve the intended goal.
Until recently KIA followed that approach by partnering with the LA Clipper's NBA star Blake Griffin. The Basketball player and his sidekick would fight the "crime" of purchasing bad cars other than KIA's, while being dressed in ridiculous super hero costumes. As you can see all the commercials are rather bizarre.

While KIA's advertising efforts most likely are effective in the sense that they are mostly memorable and reach a wide audience, they probably still miss the point of a good advertisement. To create a brand image and increase sales.

Due to the inconsistency in the message of the commercials and the fact that they are rather bizarre and ridiculous than impressive, that's also what the consumer associates with the brand. The company's competitors such as Toyota, manage to send a message of quality and enjoyment, oftentimes also in a enjoyable way, but without looking ridiculous like KIA does.

KIA's market share in the US is getting bigger, still the manufacturer might reconsider the marketing approach they are taking to have an even brighter future. This is due to the fact that advertising sure should be entertaining for the audience, but the product should still be the focus of the attention.

Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi - Putin's Games

SOCHI 2014

Today marked the last day of the winter Olympics. Olympics in Sochi, Russia that will for multiple reasons never be forgotten. At least not by the Russians.

Before this year's winter games even started, experts were suspicious whether or not the whole project could be successful. "Winter" Olympics in Sochi?! Right by the black sea! An area not necessarily known for it's skiing resorts. In fact with barely any winter sports tourism at all. However the committee picked the Russian applicant and it's strongest supporter Vladimir Putin, the Russian President himself, to host the Olympics.

From this point on it was clear. These Olympics had to be a success. Putin, one of the most powerful man in the world is not willing to embarrass himself. This year's olympic games were the perfect example of how nations use sports events to market themselves on world stage. Still, the Russian's way seemed very rocky.

Now that the games are over, the question is: Were the games a success for Russia from a Marketing perspective?

Putin wanted to demonstrate power throughout the whole process. And unquestionably he did so. The Sochi games were the most expensive games in olympic history. Not only that! They exceeded the cost of all previous olympic winter games combined! One might argue that that is no indicator of a successful sports event. But what Putin intended to do was to show the power of his great nation. And so he did by creating a winter sports park out of nowhere. From ice skating arenas to ski trails and hotels. The great Putin had a vision and his dream was to be fulfilled.

Obviously the people in charge tried to make this great event happen. But starting with the arrival of the first athletes and the opening ceremony, it seemed like the games and Putin were set up for failure.
The first reporters made it to Sochi and pictures of hotels, that were still in construction just days before the games, made it around the world. From toilets for "couples" , to cables hanging out of the walls, the world saw it all and it was assumed the games were going to be a catastrophe.
After the reporters came the opening ceremony. And it kept going downhill. During the show one of the Olympic rings would not open. The ceremony was incomplete. And even though the opening ceremony was appealing, all that made it in the press and to the audiences around the world was the picture of the 4 and a half olympic rings.

But from here on the games seemed to take a positive turn. Maybe also because Putin seemed to change his approach to impress the world. From dominance, i.e. by nominating more athletes to make sure the Russian team was bigger than the US team before the games started, to showing that Russia was no longer a "cold" communist country unable to socialize with the rest of the world.

Except for some delayed events due to bad weather the games were organized professionally. The Russians proved to be a fair and enthusiastic audience and most interestingly, that they are interested in more than figure skating or bob sleighing. Excited and happy faces were to be found at the freestyle courses as well. And even the loss of Russia's ice hockey team in the earlier stages of the tournament could not seem to frustrate the local crowds. The Russians accepted the games as they were and enjoyed the world's attention. And so did their leader. Well aware of the public attention Putin would even take a visit to the US olympic house to have coffee and tea there to show the world the nation's new sociable face.

But the biggest surprise was still to come. The closing ceremony.
Just like the opening ceremony a very tasteful show with a well thought out highlight integrated in it. The organizers picked up on the "incomplete" olympic rings of the opening ceremony and reacted the scene with dancers. This time the fifth olympic ring intentionally did not open up. Once again Russia seemed to accept it's imperfection in a humble and sympathetic way. (watch the video here)

In conclusion I think the winter olympics were a success for the Russian people and their most powerful man, Vladimir Putin.
Not because they were expensive. Not because they had so much media attention. But because it seemed like the Russians accepted imperfection in a way that was very likable. Of course the games were still impressive. The huge task to create a winter sport resort out of nothing almost succeeded and not to forget that the Russians took first place in the medal table demonstrating at least their sportive strength.
But all these accomplishments, for once, were not presented in a superior, arrogant, excessively cool way; But in a humble and cheerful way, showing the nation in a different light. 

EDIT:

Here a picture of the ceremony coordinator during a press conference. The Russian's know how to market themselves!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/olympics/sochi-scene-those-rings-redux/2014/02/23/86b3ef32-9c6d-11e3-8112-52fdf646027b_story.html