Unpacking The European Approach To Digital Partnerships

?? Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

McLaren Racing and Google Pixel had a remarkable week, seizing the spotlight with Lando Norris’ first F1 win at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend.

Not only did McLaren seize the moment once, but twice, by ensuring they grabbed their partner’s phone in the heat of the celebration.

Both seamlessly integrated into the festivities, yielding remarkable results - 275K total engagements on Instagram alone.

That's how the race week concluded. Prior to the race, the Larry O’Brien Trophy made a visit to McLaren.

The team took advantage of the occasion to showcase Google Pixel once again, recognizing Google's partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) .

The outcome was equally impressive, with the reel garnering 665K views, 67.5K engagements, and a 10.1% engagement rate.

In Today’s Edition:

• European vs American Digital Partnership Strategies ??
• The Boston Celtics Go All In on X ??
• What Ivy and Grass Have to Do with a Chicago Cubs Partnership ??

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??? DEEP DIVE

Unpacking The European Approach To Digital Partnerships

I’m so excited to share my interview with Robert Gevertz in this edition of the newsletter.

Rob offers a critical perspective, having delved into digital partnerships since 2015 and bringing insights from the European market.

With experience as a partner media manager for City Football Group and a background in media ( talkSPORT , Sky , Metro UK, and more!), Rob now heads his consultancy, First Five Yards, dedicated to helping sports organizations monetize their digital footprint.

From the early days of selling deals with mere Facebook posts to today's evolving landscape, Rob unpacks the shifts, challenges, and untapped potentials in European clubs' approach to digital partnerships.

We also compare the state of digital partnerships in European sports to American sports, highlighting areas for improvement and potential learnings on both sides regarding international growth, player access, regionalization, and creative activations.

Note: Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

ALEX: Can you kind of briefly explain the work you did with City Football Group?

ROB: Manchester City had their investment from their ownership group, the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008-09, roughly, and then once they started to have some real on-field success in 2012-13 onwards, they started to understand that to compete commercially with their peers who weren't just UK based clubs, they needed to operate differently.

They needed to focus on areas such as innovation, creativity, and digital media in particular, as ways to drive forward their commercial offering. So they brought in a few people like myself who had a background in more of the media space, either from publishers or from agencies, to help build out a commercial media team.

My remit was to monetize their digital platforms. Part of that role would have been working with their partnerships team on developing digital assets as part of a sponsorship output, creating valuation models, tools, processes, and ultimately being a vital cog in the sales process because most of the guys within the commercial team weren't versed in digital media.

The role bridged the gap that most rights holders have between their commercial and their digital teams. In my experience, particularly over here in the UK, there's a huge void in between, they don't talk to each other, they have no idea what the other one does, and the products speak for themselves.

Part of that role was the soft skills required in managing both sides of that relationship, and ultimately, implementing commercial opportunities through the commercial model.

I had other direct revenue responsibilities like broadcast rights, where we still have them, licensing and IP sales, content syndication, and any other ideas I could have as to how to bring money into the business.

The huge part of that was trying to somewhat modernize the partnership offering, which took a while, to be honest.

ALEX: What was it like operating in 2015-2016 compared to today?

ROB: I remember the conversations vividly, you'd have a salesperson who would come to you with a sheet of paper with a load of bullet points on it and say, here's a contract, can you add a couple of lines of digital to this? And that would be it.

That was the nature of it in those early days. You were selling deals with 10 Facebook posts. And that was it really. And without anyone knowing or understanding what that meant, or what that was valued at.

In those days, the value wasn't part of the conversation. Ultimately, the way these deals were done would be a salesperson would find someone from a brand that had a budget and they'd say, how much money have you got?

And then they put down as many items and assets as possible on a contract, try and get them to commit that amount of money not really worrying about things like yield or asset volumes.

Thankfully times have changed to an extent.

I still think there's a lot of that process around, but there's a lot more thought, at least around asset value. There are now more and more tools out there that claim to have the answers around how to value certain aspects and therefore be part of that conversation of who should be having a lot more.

ALEX: When did you see that start to change and what role did you play in that process?

ROB: By nature of my previous background in creative solutions and partnership sales within media brands, I would generally gravitate towards being part of the ideation and creative process within the sales pitches.

You start to build a bit more credibility, and then you can implement your plans and your views from there. The challenge is that you're dealing with teams and departments where you don't have the direct line of management.

So I feel it's almost harder to implement strategies and processes where ultimately, all you have for people to get behind you is your personality and the quality of your work rather than do as I say, because I tell you to do it kind of thing.

People were quite receptive from the beginning because I was relatively new, and the team was relatively new. So I was a new asset to the team. And that was almost a sellable commodity to clients like, Oh, we've got this digital expert.

And so front-facing things were implemented quite quickly. I remember I was rushed out to Philadelphia for a client pitch within about two months of starting.

But as far as maybe some of those actual processes and deeper integration of ideas and concepts, that probably took a good year, 18 months to start to see some real tangible benefits.

ALEX: What is the state of digital partnerships today in Europe?

ROB: I wouldn't say it's changed greatly.

You find at different ends of the spectrum with regards to digital, most of the delivery is based either on activations around exposure.

We're going to put your logo in as many places as possible. Nielsen or someone like that is going to pick it up and give us a big media equivalency number.

Or we have branded content, which is historically players kicking a ball at Product X, or players playing video games whilst talking about Product X.

The storytelling aspect has improved over the last few years but you still have those two ends of the spectrum with really a huge void in the middle, which for me is this notion of integrating sponsors into editorial content, so sponsored editorial content where you are finding credible ways to integrate a brand into the regular narrative rather than having to create new bespoke content, utilizing time and effort that isn't required.

And that's something that I think that American organizations do a lot better. Only now, if I remove Man City from that equation, there are very, very few major rights holders that are doing that to any successful degree over here.

ALEX: Is that the biggest difference between European clubs and American clubs the middle ground between exposure and heavily branded content?

ROB: I think it's a resourcing issue, frankly.

The majority of partnership sales teams and to an extent partnership activation teams are still filled with people that have either only ever worked in sports or have worked in finance or management consulting.

The challenge there is that from a marketing and sponsorship point of view, digital and media have become a bigger part of what brands want. Still, the teams find it hard to offer that credibly because they don’t have the people there to build those assets and those properties in the right way.

They're still selling in buzzwords and general terms like content strands or viral posts and leaving the content or the product team to pick up the pieces. So being able to be the commercial voice in the editorial room or the product development room and vice versa, be the guy with the content understanding in the sales room is an important role that in my experience, very few organizations have.

Ultimately that's where you're gonna get that success of either great storytelling or the openness to integrating brands into their most valued content in a way that isn't gonna affect their creative process.

ALEX: On the flip side, what can American clubs learn from European clubs?

ROB: I'm fascinated to see what the NFL's international growth looks like by now having these external home markets in different countries and looking at how they are regionalizing and localizing their content or their messaging to suit those audiences.

That's something that they haven't had to have any experience in previously and looking at what that means from a commercial partnership point of view as well.

I saw that the Cleveland Browns have been the first club really to go to Africa, they've selected Nigeria as a home market. That's just a door to the entire African audience. What can they do really to engage? There is quite a lot of commercial money floating around that marketplace.

What can you do that tailors your offering to their needs and brings them into the family to an extent where it could be of a dual benefit? There's absolutely fan engagement opportunities and fan growth marketing opportunities, which obviously can lead to dollars further down the line.

But at the same point, if you can tell a credible story and create opportunities for brands to engage with your IP and your audience and family, it's going to be a valuable proposition.

So that's the one area where it's not they don't do very well, they just haven't had the opportunity to do it previously. So it will be interesting to see how they can handle that, and what benefits come out of that.

ALEX: What international marketing tactics should American clubs look to for inspiration?

ROB: I'm lucky that because I'm based in London, we've had a number of games for a number of years. You see what the commercial offering is from that international point of view.

But the reality is that I know from experience that the NFL UK has a real challenge because they don't really have any assets to sell. It's about creating those new properties, be that from a content point of view or a physically tangible product point of view. What can you actually produce in market that's going to be of value?

A lot of EPL teams do a lot of physical engagement work in international markets where they're creating watch parties, they are taking talent or legends and finding ways to integrate into those markets.

A big part of it also is the inclusion of local brands in those conversations. There's an element of credibility that's brought on both sides of that relationship.

That's been one of the challenges particularly over here in the UK outside of really, Subway, they've struggled to find brand partners to latch on to even though the games sell out at Wembley or Tottenham Stadium within 20 minutes.

They're struggling to find that next level of interaction and engagement with the audiences.

ALEX: What are, if any, the restrictions on marketing territory rights via paid media for partners of European Clubs? For example, in MLB, it’s the club’s television territory, in the NBA and NHL, it’s 150 miles and 75 miles from your arena, respectively.

ROB: None of that. The reality is that because we are not driven by this US sports model of parity and fear of one club being bigger than the other, it's an open market.

The only difference around that, particularly within the Premier League, you have teams that can sell regional partnership deals.

For example, if you are Tottenham, who have a player from South Korea as your captain of your team, you are doing brand deals left, right, and center in that market.

And you will find that that's really the only interest for them. They're not really bothered about a global audience. They just want to engage with their star player in their home market.

Or you might find there'll be continental territories. You'll have partners, particularly around areas like gambling, where you have multiple partners that you can layer up across South America, North America, Europe, the Middle East, et cetera.

The only real restrictions are whatever restrictions you're physically putting on yourself. That's not including any broadcast content. That's a whole completely separate business.

ALEX: Do you think an unintended impact of the looser marketing territory deals disincentivizes brands to develop more sponsored content with clubs? In that, grabbing those marketing rights is very valuable, there may be less of a need to have content running on the club’s channels if you have direct access to your region.

ROB: It's an easy win to grab the IP and use that on marketing and product packaging to drive that greater cut-through. The challenge is that a lot of clubs don't have the resources available to manage and deliver that kind of solution.

They may farm it out to a third-party agency or just not think about it, because again, you're talking about salespeople or marketers that are quite narrow in their field of experience. That's the challenge that we have over here is opening the doors up to wider thoughts and wider processes.

It's something that I try and offer clients myself and it's something that I was fortunate to offer in my time at Man City.

ALEX: Another difference by league over here is player access. In MLB you can pretty much grab players any time, whereas in the NBA and NHL, you typically have one big media day right before the season. What does player access look like in European sports?

ROB: Within soccer in particular at the upper end, you will tend to have, and a lot of it is dependent ultimately on what the brand, how much they're paying, and what kind of access they get, but ultimately most teams will do a monthly media session, some of which is with the broadcast partners, some is within the club’s channels, and some will be with partners as well.

Typically you have to include at least three players in any activation or any content piece, otherwise, the fear is it becomes a single-person deal, and technically the clubs don't own the individual rights of players.

I think some of the best opportunities for teams are created outside of those moments. You have to remember these guys, they're not actors. The content is somewhat limited in what you can do in those spaces.

It's great for ad shoots where it's got a glossy feel and production without requiring the players to do much other than stand still and or kick a ball. The greater engagement pieces are off-court moments where it's just the cameras set up as the players are coming in and out of the practice facility.

Those things are infinitely more valuable for me. I’d guess that the engagement they drive is infinitely more than some of those more formulaic pieces.

ALEX: What teams do you feel are doing great work in sponsored content?

ROB: Over here, I would say there are two or three clubs that seem to operate slightly differently. They get the digital space or get the wider commercial opportunity. Man City is one, but they've got huge resources.

They developed what started as five or six guys, into City Studios which is effectively a de facto company of best part of 100 people that rivals any of what the NFL organizations have in their in-house studios.

Outside of that, I would point people towards Wolves and Southampton Football Club as two clubs that just operate in a slightly different way.

Wolves have created their own record label engaging with local music talent creating an element of credibility in that space. And that leads to huge content opportunities around that area, as well as esports. They were very early in that space.

Southampton have always just had smart people as I would say Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club as well with a slightly more digital focus to what they do.

I still feel like there's a lot of room for improvement by way of some of those sponsor activations in the UK, but I love a lot of what the NFL teams do with their regular player access and just building personality, showcasing personalities.

I was watching something earlier. It was a behind-the-scenes with the Buffalo Bills ’ new wide receiver who looks like an absolute character, to say the least. And that was just following around on his tour of the facility and meeting all the people.

It doesn't have to be a full production. Ultimately to me, fans, and by association brands, just want access. They just want to know everything they can about what's going on and feel like they're closer to the team in whatever capacity.

That's worth investing in. Investing time, money, and resources in building that relationship so that everyone understands that ultimately the on-field performance cannot be affected.

?? CASE STUDY

Sponsored Content of the Week

The Boston Celtics tipped off an all-access docuseries following the team during their 2024 playoff run on Tuesday.

All In presented by FanDuel is being produced by Tom Brady’s production company, Shadow Lion , and airs exclusively on X.

The show is set to feature six episodes released in real-time throughout the NBA playoffs.

Promotion for All In began Sunday with a trailer across X, Facebook, and Instagram, accompanied by a branded hashtag (#ALLINCELTICS) and a branded notification post telling fans they could receive alerts for new episodes with a like.

Tuesday’s premiere was boosted as a video ad in timelines and the team paid for a placement in the trending section.

The timing of this series aligns with the platform’s focus to become video-first as premium subscribers can upload videos up to two hours long and X launched a Smart TV App.

It was cool to see a team incorporating a brand partner into this venture, and experimenting with a new activation. Episode one offered several highlights:

• From a fan perspective, the episode effectively set the stage for both casual and diehard fans, providing context and significance to key moments.
• From a partner perspective, FanDuel received prominent visibility, with its logo displayed throughout the 21-minute episode.
• From an access perspective, the Celtics shared compelling narratives, including the owner’s request to shake up the roster in the offseason, Payton Pitchard’s up-and-down journey with the team, and Mike Gorman’s final Celtics broadcast.
• From a sentiment perspective, the majority of comments and quotes (365 total) were positive and relevant, with less than 5% expressing negative sentiment.
• From a messaging perspective, the emphasis on "exclusively on X" was consistent both on and off-platform.

The All In premiere produced 3.2M views and a 1.3% engagement rate (in my experience you want to see an engagement rate above 1.0%).

What I don’t know is the quality of those views versus the views the team got on YouTube for its regular season all-access series, Beneath The Banners presented by New Balance.

That series averaged 129K views per episode, peaking at 334K views for its premiere.

If the average view duration is significantly higher on YouTube, you could argue running long-form content like this is more valuable on that channel.

Nevertheless, direct collaboration with X or any platform for a major campaign yields invaluable support, evident in the extensive promotion efforts. Take a quick look at the X news account to see some of that support.

For more case studies like this one, follow me on LinkedIn where I shine a spotlight on sponsored content at least three times a week.

?? SPONCONSPIRATION

Steal These Ideas

Liverpool Football Club published a bonus episode of Finding Liverpool prested by Expedia Group featuring Jürgen Klopp’s emotional journey with the club.

No surprise here, Wrexham AFC ’s creativity strikes again to support their Official Sponsor of Mornings After Promotion, SToK Cold Brew.

Speaking of celebratory sponcon, the New England Revolution nailed it with this concept in partnership with JetBlue .

Love Pennington Seed ’s partnerships with MLB clubs. This week their work with the Chicago Cubs shined for Ivy Bloom Day at Wrigley Field and when a new field design was revealed.

Kendall Jenner + Lewis Hamilton (in Tommy Hilfiger gear) drove some great results for Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team ’s Hot Laps video.

?? ICYMI

What To Watch For

Juventus NFTs: Juventus Football Club , together with 阿迪达斯 , teams up with inBetweeners , the web 3.0 fashion house to create digital collectibles where buyers will have the chance to win exclusive experiences and prizes, including the away and third kits by adidas of the 23/24 season, featuring graphics inspired by the trademark of artist Gianpiero: the teddy bears.

LaundroMatch: 喜力 launched a campaign to turn select 24-hour laundromats into late-night sports-viewing locations where UEFA Champions League fans in South Korea can watch the soccer matches [h/t Neil Horowitz].

App Goals: According to YES Network , viewers are watching Yankees games longer on the app this season — by a significant margin: average watch time per user per game is 78% longer than for the first 25 games of 2023. The growth is due in part to expanding its already robust offering of interactive games, live-stats overlays, and the industry’s first app-based loyalty rewards program.

Original Content: ?? Amir Zonozi , CEO and Co-founder of Zoomph, shares why the recent Instagram algorithm change is another important reason to invest in your content team.

Alaska Airlines Special Entry: Alaska Airlines Visa cardholders and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will be able to get expedited entry through a dedicated lane at all Snapdragon Stadium events. We’ve seen this done plenty in the credit card category, cool to see it done with an Airline and a free mileage plan membership.

Dawg Pound Tour: This week I learned the Cleveland Browns have an official fan experience partner - TrueFan Travel - offering some A+ premium road game experiences.

?? BEFORE YOU GO

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