Marketing

CREATIVITY IN ADVERTISING: THE ‘HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES’ WITHIN SPORTS SPONSORSHIPS

WITH SOCIAL MEDIA being such an influential marketing tool in modern business, opportunities within brand sponsorship deals continue to emerge whilst digitalisation offers more sophisticated means for brands to better reach their target audiences

BY JESSIE SALE

When it comes to sports teams, shirt sponsorships and LED signage are certainly the most obvious paybacks of any deal. But a growing number of companies are now looking elsewhere to expand their brand’s reach.

Speaking to SBC Leaders, Panos Konstantopoulos, Vice President of Kaizen Gaming’s Stoiximan brand, explained that there are multiple ‘hidden’ opportunities to associate a brand with that of the sponsored team - many of which are not obvious at first sight.

He stated: “One can take advantage of a number of BTL activities, CSR activations, dedicated productions for both TV and digital channels and a lot more.”

On the topic, ex-General Manager Parma Calcio Jaap Kalma explained that the visibility that shirt sponsorships and LED boarding provide is measurable and its value can therefore be compared, more or less, with other media investments.

He argued, however, that nonvisibility sponsorship rights are less measurable but much more qualitative in nature. They enable companies to leverage the power of brand association, using the club as a testimonial of sorts, enable powerful access to a ‘wide and attentive audience’ and offer select customers unique experiences.

Kalma said: “So what is required to move sponsorship beyond only visibility is, first, a sponsor that recognises the potential of other rights, has the competence - in-house or hired - to develop and execute a marketing program around these, and ideally is able to commit to a longer term partnership.

“In betting and gaming, this is true for ever more companies. And second, a club that is able to ensure the availability of resources such as players or facilities and excellent service. Many clubs are getting there.”

Carlo di Maio, CEO of FEG Romania, agreed that shirt sponsorships and LED signage dominate football, explaining that in certain cases this has led to ‘overcrowded brands exposure’ which could even confuse the customer.

Panos Konstantopoulos, Vice President of Kaizen Gaming’s Stoiximan brand Jaap Kalma, ex-General Manager Parma Calcio

He added: “Hence the need to differentiate and be more creative in communication in general, focus on BTL activations as well through dedicated events and activities in stadium, social media by creating fun content and interaction activities by providing a feeling of belonging and entertainment to engage the fan base and increase brand awareness further.”

A recent report from UEFA stated that 19% of all main football shirt sponsorships across Europe’s top divisions are from gaming companies, even though certain countries across the continent have introduced restrictions on gambling advertisements.

Moreover, di Maio regards social media as an extremely influential marketing tool, which still holds great potential.

He commented: “Mostly everyone within our industry has targeted customers through social media in various ways and levels. Trends as well as different platforms popularity in regions must be considered, always respecting in full the underage restrictions to safeguard minors.

“In terms of trends, I remember in the UK back in 2010, Twitter was the main targeted social media platform, then Facebook but currently with certain restrictions and now many more. So, creating interesting, unique, engaging, and relevant content on the main social platforms is key with the main objective to improve brand awareness, acquire and retain customers.”

Kalma echoed a similar sentiment, stating that social media is a strong way to cut through the overload in marketing messages. But its drawback is that oftentimes, social media platforms don’t lend themselves well to more direct or aggressive promotional messages.

“As a club, you are quite cautious to avoid spamming your channels and ruining your audience,” the CCO explained. “But a sponsor should be concerned as well, so if they partner with the club to develop strong content, with excellent execution and with targeted support, there is great room for leverage.”

In agreement, Konstantopoulos summarised that digitalisation has “empowered sports fans across the globe”. On the other hand, it has opened a wide new spectrum of opportunities for marketeers, offering them direct access to a much broader and much more receptive audience.

As the world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) continues to reach new audiences in 2022, Konstantopoulos explained how this is a strong area to boost brand exposure.

His company recently celebrated Atlético Mineiro’s second Brazilian League title by launching the first NFT collection, where every token gives access to official products and exclusive physical experiences.

Similarly, Di Maio also referenced the growing popularity of NFTs, adding: “Sports do create communities with common interests, strong fan bases that can be engaged, introduced to our products, and provide them with a unique and enjoyable entertainment experience. We are also looking with interest at the recent expansion of NFTs and digital cards communities, and how our industry can play an active part in this new trend.”

Di Maio explained how his brand has a strong partnership with FRF, the Romanian Football Federation: “We have connected with the football fan base in various ways and to mention a few, we have done many activities with football players during training with interviews including the national team staff, activities in our shops, and created a unique campaign with the women's football national team to empower women in sport and life.”

DIGITALISATION HAS OPENED A WIDE NEW SPECTRUM OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARKETERS, OFFERING THEM DIRECT ACCESS TO A MUCH BROADER AND MUCH MORE RECEPTIVE AUDIENCE

Looking further into community engagement, Kalma stated that community issues are of growing relevance in our society and audiences are increasingly sensitive to it. He said: “Given the power of sports as a communication platform, sponsor partners can use it as a lever to communicate their engagement message with great impact.

“Having said that, if the underlying objective of community engagement is, at least in part, obtaining a branding/marketing return, it is key to find relevant linkages between the community cause, the club, and the sponsor company business, brand, or history. Otherwise the communication doesn’t ‘stick’ and will not change perception of the sponsor company in a positive way.

“A special case here concerns addressing betting-related community issues, particularly problem gambling. A sports partnership can be a great and powerful way to expound that message, projecting a positive image. And clubs normally are keen to balance their commercial promotion of betting and gaming with a message of responsible gaming.”

When asked if any operators have set a template for creative marketing with sports clubs, Di Maio specifically acknowledged Paddy Power’s ‘strong creativity’ throughout the years as well Betsson’s use of content in its partnerships, e.g. Betsafe with Manchester City.

Moreso, he suggested that by such brands adding individual athlete testimonials to a club sponsorship marketing strategy, this can definitely be worthwhile as athletes “add a face and a personality to the mix”.

He stated: “This in turn translates into credibility, interest, and recollection. Personally, I am queasy about involving active athletes directly in sports betting, presenting them as punters in one way or another.”

However, this option is now limited for betting companies alike following new rules that sporting figures are to be banned from gambling and lottery adverts under new rules from The Committee for Advertising Practice, beginning in October 2022.

Additionally, if a brand wants to enter a new market to boost its advertising strategy, there are some important elements to take into consideration. Konstantopoulos listed these as local/regional marketing trends, sports history and market/ competition analysis to name a few.

He also claimed that local regulation and advertising restrictions are always crucial in formulating a strategy.

Kalma’s view concurred with this: “What may be more specific to sports marketing, though, especially when one moves beyond mere visibility, is that sports is quite entrenched in local culture.

“Therefore, if a betting brand wants to get close to fans in a credible way, it will have to speak their language and understand their culture. This is especially important when entering a new market, where the exceptional power of sports can be exploited to quickly entrench oneself into the target’s mind if there’s a relevant message on top of the logo.”

Di Maio added: “Understanding of regional culture, lifestyle, people behaviours and passion for sports, acceptance levels towards our industry, demographic, product, and competition are some of the many factors that are taken into consideration when crafting a clear marketing strategy.

“A detailed and well-constructed market analysis is the first step to better understand consumer and market conditions, then we move on building the strategy and implementation.”

Finally, in many countries there are multisport clubs as opposed to clubs specialising in one sport, as in the UK. Konstantopoulos believes that the industry underestimates these clubs, and his company considers them as an ‘excellent opportunity’ to further boost its brand visibility.

He concluded: “Multisport clubs usually have a very strong brand and very loyal fans, helping us become part of a larger sports ‘family’ and be considered as a member of this extended family, not merely a sponsor.

“Moreover, they give us exposure to additional sports and audiences. And last but not least, they allow us to broaden our CSR activations to sports that are less established and popular.” •

Carlo di Maio, CEO of FEG Romania