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Is the sport you intend to sponsor in good health? Here is a simple way to find out!
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted April 18, 2019 | In Sport Sponsorship
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted April 18, 2019 | In Sport Sponsorship
Is the sport you intend to sponsor in good health? Here is a simple way to find out!
The title of this post may sound a bit provocative, but it is not. The motivations underlying the decision to sponsor a specific sport may be many: people making the decision may be fans of a discipline or an event and be willing to sponsor it no matter what – irrespective of value consistency or visibility. Equally, they may like the idea of still keeping one foot in a sport they used to practice.
If you are a sensible company and having positive returns is what you are looking for, then you should always check whether a sports event is in good health. There is a simple and truly infallible way to do it: check the recent sales data of the ticket office.
A sport that can offer spectacular performances and emotions is always sold out. Highly advertised disciplines, which also have a large TV audience, but do not sell tickets should be food for thought or, less diplomatically, a significant ringing alarm bell.
Only events that can appeal to the audience to such extent as to induce them to take a trip and survive inevitable queues and some parking difficulties can actually be motivating for crowds and pass the positive values of the discipline on to your brand, with impactful results on sales. Why? Because these events are magic. They are unique and the audience wants to live them in person. They are exciting and appealing. These are the events the audience is willing to take part in, happenings that make the audience happy, unique moments to be remembered and making the audience proud to say “I was there”, such as the World Cup Final, a boxing match with Mike Tyson, the F1 races in Monaco.
If the sport you are thinking about has lost its magic, does not fill up stands and terraces, and is better to watch on TV, well let me tell you that you are going in the wrong direction. Healthy sports are sports where the organizers can create competitiveness at all levels, the result is not for granted at all, and twists are quite common. Alternatively, they are sports in which men’s talent gives way to unprecedented performances as is the case with games between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic or the last laps that Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo, Marquez, and Dovizioso have entertained us within the past few years, making us jump out of our sofas, quoting Guido Meda, a very popular Italian MotoGP presenter.
These are the kind of shows that can appeal to the audience and you can use to your own benefit. They are a very strong communication strategy in that they give visibility and they are memorable. Boring events or events with a foregone conclusion should be avoided like the plague.
So, do not forget to ask about the ticket office trends of the sports property you are about to buy: this is the best health indicator of the event/happening you are going to support.
Of course, this exercise should be done over a period of at least three to five years in order to understand the actual trends. One single year is not a proper indicator, as it may be affected by factors such as rainfalls, political elections, petrol station strikes and many more (I am mentioning these factors because I personally had the chance to experiment them over the years).
If you want to know more about sponsorship read What is a Sponsorship Activation.
If you wish to have a word on this topic, do not hesitate to contact us at the following email address: info@rtrsports.com.
Riccardo Tafà
Managing Director for RTR Sports, Riccardo graduated in law at the University of Bologna. He began his career in London in PR, then started working in two and four-wheelers. A brief move to Monaco followed before returning to Italy. There he founded RTR, first a consulting firm and then a sports marketing company which, eventually, he moved back to London.
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Read MoreWhy choose RTR Sports Marketing
In 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.
Save time and money
When first approaching a motorsport sponsorship 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. Motorsport 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.
The right information, the right choice
Motorsport 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 motorsport sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which racing series, 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 beating heart
Activations are the real heart of motorsport 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 motorsport marketing project, you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase online, 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.
Objective measurements for a certain return
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.
Sit back, relax, we’ll take care of it
We have been involved in motorsport 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
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