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Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted January 5, 2022 | In Marketing Sportivo, MotoGP, Sponsorizzazioni Sportive
This blog is about sports marketing, sports sponsorship and how companies can use sport as an excellent communication tool to achieve commercial and positioning objectives.
This blog does not deal with vaccines, health protocols, microbiology and medical issues. This is because we are neither doctors nor virologists, but women and men of marketing and sport.
This premise, which is as silly as it is necessary at a time in history when knowledge is intermingled and professionalism is often forgotten, serves to frame the following lines which reflect on the exemption received by tennis player Novak Djokovic at the dawn of the Australian Open.
The summary of the previous episodes is simple. The Australian Open, the first and most important slam of the season, had stipulated in its rules for participation in 2022 that all tennis players must be vaccinated for Sars-Cov-2. The rule in question put the participation of Novak Djokovic, world number one and defending champion of the event, at serious risk. Djokovic, whose opinions on the vaccine have always been negative, has often refused to declare whether or not he has been inoculated, pointing out that health issues are personal matters that cannot be vetoed or legislated against. However, it is only in the last few days that Tennis Australia and the state of Victoria have granted Djokovic an exemption from the vaccination requirement for medical reasons, allowing the 34-year-old Serb to play in the land of the kangaroos.
These are the facts, not including any flights of fancy.
The facts are followed by many reactions and various considerations.
The reactions are on the news and in the newspapers of the last few days and they are, evidently, in the opposite direction to the decision of the Tournament organisers, in a situation that risks embarrassing the ATP. Almost all public opinion, politics and the sporting world have expressed disagreement with Djokovic’s arrival on the continent, culminating in the words of the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison who threatened to put the champion back on the “first plane out of the country”.
The considerations, on the other hand, need a little more thought.
Whoever is writing these lines – and we repeat – does not know the medical criteria of the exemption that was granted to Nole to participate without vaccine in the tournament. One reads somewhere that the reasons are to be found in heart problems, but it is an opinion that has raised more than a few eyebrows and that seems little in line with the current condition of one of the most extraordinary athletes of the last fifty years. The first consideration, therefore, is that in a situation as extraordinary as the Covid-19 pandemic, the cards must be laid very clearly on the table. If there is a regulatory loophole to avoid a vaccine against the biggest disease of the century, this must be made clear, and it must apply as much to the tennis player Djokovic as to others, sports professionals or not. If, on the other hand, it is Djokovic’s health condition that is causing concern, it is necessary to make this clear and avoid a controversy that has quickly spilled over from sport into civil society, politics and global public opinion.
The reason for such clarity, which would not be necessary in times of normality (if I am not healthy, I certainly do not have to share my condition with others), is to be found in the absolute exceptionality of the circumstance. If desperate times call for desperate measures, then unfortunately in the midst of a virus outbreak – as the numbers rise and the spectre of lockdown returns – everything must be crystal clear.
The second consideration has to do with the concept of expediency, or being and acting in a way that is appropriate to the situation. It is clear as day that Tennis Australia and the whole tournament could do with the participation of the world number one. No one wants to see F1 without Hamilton or Verstappen, a Lakers game without LeBron James and only God knows how many headaches FIFA has at the moment while someone is already speculating about a World Cup without the phenomenon Ronaldo or without the European champions Italy. But that means playing short ball and not seeing the potential mess in the long run.
In all likelihood, having Djokovic on the court in January 2022 risks bringing down the reputation of an organisation, a tournament and a sport for some time. Sure, the Serb’s sponsors will be happy (maybe, because nobody likes to be in the middle of the storm), but what about the sponsors of others? Will they be happy to fund athletes in a tournament now under the long shadow of medical fraud?
The third consideration has to do with the gentlemen’s agreement that sport has made with society and which is now in danger of breaking down. While the whole of Australia is up in arms about the exemption granted to the Slav, it is essential to remember that the whole toy only works as long as the rules that apply to the ordinary citizen also apply to the first of the champions. While the battle rages on our soil over whether the vaccine is compulsory to enter work and the use of Covid passes to access services, the biggest mistake a sporting property can make is to sweep the dust under the carpet and treat the coronavirus vaccine like the theft of a piece of candy between kids. On this subject, it is necessary to bear in mind that we live in delicate times of short fuses, and that patience is an increasingly rare resource.
The fourth and last consideration, finally, falls within the narrative of precedent setting. Offering Titius exemption – by definition a privilege dispensing him from a common obligation – means giving Caius the right to do the same. One has to be careful here, because the legal principle of stare decisis then requires one to remain consistent in the future. What happens, in essence, if instead of Djokovic it is the world number 145 or 514 who asks for an exemption? And what happens if, in addition to Djokovic, fifty or a hundred people apply for exemption? Clearly, these are questions of logic rather than substance, but as already mentioned, we live in hard times.
In conclusion, Djokovic – as well as everyone else – is free to hold his own opinions on the vaccine and this has nothing to do with his sporting merit. Likewise, those who are not doctors are not entitled to judge a medical exemption, provided that this is what it is about and that this is made clear. For the other questions, however, we must be smart and careful, and stop avoiding the elephant in the room. The risk is to anger the good guys and make sport the object of popular rage.
Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
A graduate in Public, Social and Political Communication from the University of Bologna, he has always been passionate about marketing, design and sport.
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Read MoreIn an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
When first approaching a sponsorship or sports marketing project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Sports is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
Sports is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A sports marketing and sports sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which sport, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the real heart of sports sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a sports marketing project you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase on the Web, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
We have been involved in sports sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
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