5 ways to be a fan-centric sport sponsor

We are living in a media saturated world where people are getting shouted at by over 5000 brand messages per day. Sport sponsors must compete for meaningful consideration in people’s busy lives which means brands need to change the way they are approaching sponsorship or risk being drowned out in the noise.

The good news is that sport still provides unrivaled passion so even in this new era of sponsorship, brands have an opportunity to deeply connect with fans. Brands need to stop approaching sponsorship as a way to blast their logo out to as many people as possible and start viewing sport sponsorship as a powerful platform to strengthen brand consideration by winning the hearts of fans.

No one cares about your sponsor logo

People are being swamped with clutter from the minute they wake up to the moment they go to bed. In turn they are getting better at blocking out noise with their personal filters and in an increasing number of cases with technology like Adblockers. Your sponsor logo is just one more intrusion in people's lives that they must waste precious neurons filtering out.

Unfortunately, around half of the sponsors I’ve had dealings with in APAC are still using their negotiation efforts or sponsor favours to increase the size or frequency of their sponsor logo and it seems to be the thing that causes the most tension.

If your main objective is awareness and getting as many eyeballs to see your brand then there are cheaper and smarter channels to blast your brand in front of someone. Go and buy mass reaching TV spots or a bunch of targeted digital ads that maximise your reach, you can measure more effectively and can be better optimised.

Beyond a reasonable and proportionate logo presence, sponsor’s and right’s holder’s efforts are better put towards adding value to fan’s lives which in turn sees brands and right’s holders win too.

How to be a ‘Them Sponsor’ not a ‘Me Sponsor’

Even in this new hyper-connected world, sport provides a sense of passion and connection that is unmatched. Brands have an opportunity to tap into this and be the catalyst to fans having an enhanced experience with the sport they love. When brands put THEM the fans at the centre of their thinking rather than being focused on shouting about ME as the Sponsor, everyone reaps the rewards - sponsors get the rub-off effects and attribution of being the one to make fan’s experience better and the sport property itself is viewed more positively.

The first thing you need to do to become a fan-centric sponsor is to have a deep understanding of your fans and what they do and don’t value. Learn about what they love, who they want to impress, their interests, how they behave, what channels they consume and how. Do they want to look cool in front of their mates and will that drive you to offer them access to a VIP party where they can nab a photo with their sporting hero and impress their friends on social media? If you know what your fans value most, you can work towards maximising their experience with their favourite sport and ultimately your brand.

So as a sponsor, change the conversation from logo exposure and start collaborating with your rights holders to create or heighten experiences that entertain and inspire fans.

5 fan-centric opportunities to start the conversation with rights holders

Having a deep understanding of your consumers will determine your path forward but experiences and content can be an effective way to emotionally connect with and delight fans.

Development in technology has made this much more achievable and, in many cases, enable the experience to be amplified to a wider audience than those just directly involved or attending.

5 things sponsors should be putting their focus and efforts towards:

1.Provide behind-the-scenes access

Is there something that fans wouldn’t ordinarily get access to through TV broadcast or by attending. Fans want to have greater visibility of their favourite athletes and the AFLX, the entertainment franchise of the AFL provided this by showcasing player’s personalities. In a more entertaining rip-off of the NBA’s version they created a pre-game fashion runway on the player’s walk or in one case, skateboard to the stadium locker-room. It made fans grin, created shareable content and gave fans a glimpse into their favourite star’s style and swagger. This type of activation and content can be co-produced and co-branded by sponsors and rights holders and is a natural alignment for the likes of fashion and entertainment brands or those loaded with personality or a quirky sense of humour.

2.Take fans closer to the action

Technology is allowing sponsors to get fans a front-row view of the action. In what must be the most extreme job in the world, Volvo put an on-board reporter on each boat of the The Ocean Race. This saw fans being transported to the middle of the ocean where traditional broadcast cameras couldn’t go and enabled fans to see the competitors at their most vulnerable when they were wet, scared and hungry with raw footage and unscripted interviews. They also partnered with DJI and launched drone’s off the boats giving fans a taste of how big the waves were, the isolation and showcased the extreme nature of the race.

3.Offer ‘money can’t buy’ experiences

Providing unique experiences is nothing new but is a powerful tool that sponsors can leverage through right’s holders to delight fans and re-enforce their brand story. As a Formula 1 sponsor, Marriott are giving one lucky Marriott Bonvoy member the chance to hitch a ride to the F1 on race day with champion, Lewis Hamilton. A truly unforgettable experience for a fan and a great way for Marriott Bonvoy to amplify their story about how they provide extraordinary member experiences.

4.Offer a new perspective or insight

Insight or data sounds boring but when presented in an entertaining or immersive way it can add value to fan’s world. With advances in technology like wearables and real-time analytics there is more relevant data to tap into such as player heart-rates, running distance of a player during a rugby match or the speed at which a ball is passed.

The key to success is turning this information into something engaging i.e can you create a real-time leader board during a trail running race or enable fans to compete against the pros. ABBE Formula E Championship Live Ghost Racing used real-time data to provide a fan experience like no other. ABBE gave fans the chance to race against the actual race drivers live, mirroring what was happening on the track at that exact moment

5.Exclusive athlete interviews and content

In this new age of authenticity, fans want to see more of their sporting heroes being themselves in their own environment. Lifeproof, an adventure accessory brand who sponsor World Surf League teamed up with the legends behind the competition including surfer and commentator Rosy Hodgy to deliver online video episodes that delved into her adventures with the sport. Fans learnt about her favourite surf spots, how she loved to commentate from the water along with uncovering more about her personal journey.

While brand exposure is a part of the sponsorship mix, if you want to win the hearts of fans and drive brand consideration, then ditch the focus on logo exposure and start focusing on how you can work with right’s holders to emotionally move fans and enhance their experience with the sport they love.

Don’t forget to scale and amplify

Technology, content and social media have made it possible to bring fans other than those attending or watching along for the journey. Be sure to re-purpose or amplify your activation's to a wider audience where possible. For example, if you are creating an in-stadium virtual reality experience that gives visitors a taste of what it’s like to run out of the tunnel to 100,000 screaming fans at the Superbowl, can you also turn that in to a 360 video that anyone can activate on their phone to experience?

Remember, execution is everything!

Don’t forget it doesn’t matter if you have come up with the world’s greatest fan-centric idea, it all means nothing if it isn’t executed properly. It’s all very well having a game that lets you scrum against the world’s best rugby team but when there are technical problems or your promo team don’t know how to use it properly it can not only waste your efforts and budget but leave a bad taste in people’s mouth.

Summary:

• We are living in a world of information overload and fans are filtering out sponsors who are not adding value to their lives 
• Forget about logo exposure and use sport sponsorship to win the hearts of fans to drive brand consideration and advocacy 
• When you put the fan at the centre, sponsors and right’s holders win too
• Collaborate with right’s holders to create and enhance fan’s experience through; 1. Behind the scenes access 2. Getting fans closer to the action 3. Money can’t buy experience 4. Offering new insight 5. Providing exclusive athlete content
• Amplify experiences where you can and execute like a pro

When FANS WIN, SPONSORS WIN. When SPONSORS WIN the RIGHTS HOLDER WINS TOO so collaborate, enjoy the ride and stop worrying about your logo placement.

Let me know below if you think I’ve missed any key propositions that sport sponsors should be focusing on?