There are several steps to follow in order to get the maximum ROI from any sponsorship program. MotoGP sponsorship is no exception and what follows can be applied to sponsorship at large.
Obviously COVID-19, social distancing and events held behind closed doors are problems that need to be addressed. We need to strengthen and re-think parts of what we already did in the past few years in order not only to mitigate the effects on our sponsorship program of the abovementioned but to thrive instead of it, and we will need to add something on top.
Two points have to be reinforced: digital activities and B2B introductions.
Let’s start from the beginning: setting goals
The first thing to do is to have clear objectives and to state them. Only by setting goals we will have a clear idea of what to measure and what data we need in order to measure the ROI of our Sponsorship. Having a structured procedure and gathering all the relevant information will allow us to compare the effectiveness of any programme vs other media.
The objectives that we can set and track might be different. Usually, brands are interested in:
- Marketing objectives (eg. awareness)
- Commercial objectives (eg. sales).
Second step: Planning
Planning is the most crucial phase of any sponsorship program and MotoGP Sponsorship is no exception. When a company decides to use MotoGP sponsorship for the first time, they have to plan any and all the activities they have to implement to maximize the partnership. The brand values and sport ones are aligned, Tv coverage is wide, interested nations are the right ones so if we have a big part of the fairing we can count on automatic coverage. The rest is to be done.
And the rest is the amount of marketing and commercial activities that will make sure that any dollar invested in the program will result at least in a dollar of returns and if you plan with attention and you are in the capable hands of a good sponsorship activation agency it is likely that the returns are going to be much higher than that.
Any agency that is helping (hoping that you have hired one) will spend a large amount of time studying and planning an activation plan capable of exploiting any opportunities from the activity. To give you some guidance you can have a look at this generic implementation plan that represents a base for any project. Bear in mind that this is a sort of check list and that any intervention is different as different are the companies and their objectives. Use it just as a solid base from which to start.
Any successful program will contain a mix of awareness, storytelling, PR activities, consumer promotion, consumer engagement and B2B activities. It is on B2B and Digital Engagement that we need to concentrate particularly in this era
B2B
Partnering with a sport property is like joining a private club. You share with your peers the same passion for the chosen sport, you have the same ambition and the same will to compete in the market that your team express Sunday after Sunday. On this common ground it is easy to build a strong working relationship and the team is instrumental to create the right introductions.
Sponsors days can be transformed in one-to-one introductions, maybe organized via Zoom, to show our capabilities and products. Teams should start to look at themselves as facilitators generating new business for their partners. Loyalty conquered by commercial results could result in a higher retaining rate and in financial stability even when external factors or sport results aren’t at their peak. Ask the team to operate in this sense and link some benefits for the team to any closed deal among its partners.
Digital
Let’s say it loud, there are plenty of sport outfits talking about digital because it sounds good but that do not have any idea of what to do apart from using their social media platforms. Sponsor should ask teams for more and could become the driver for change.
They should look for example at what Real Madrid have done in partnership with Microsoft and start to push for something similar. The Spanish outfit experienced a 30% digital revenue growth thanks to this approach and more is to come. Moreover, teams should start building their own database, using tactics and tools already on the market, such as proprietary apps to build a structured fanbase.
A win-win operation
These data could be processed and used for the benefit of teams, partners and fans. Also, sponsors could take advantage from large database of fans for their engagement campaigns: millions of Fans that could become a resource, happy to interact with their beloved team. If you need a sport marketing agency in London that can help you to follow this path we can be reached at info@rtrsports.com
And to wrap it up, find at this link a feature that gives you some more info about it.
