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What does sport sponsorship look like in the Philippines?
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted April 16, 2019 | In MotoGP, Sport Sponsorship
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted April 16, 2019 | In MotoGP, Sport Sponsorship
What does sport sponsorship look like in the Philippines?
The Philippines has been emerging as a popular tourist destination over the past few years, catching up with Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to become one of the most sought-after destinations in Southeast Asia.
With increased visitors to the country, there comes an opportunity for marketers – both for national brands to take advantage of new potential customers and for international brands to take advantage of The Philippines’ moment on the world stage.
New developments in sport, too, are opening up The Philippines for what could be extremely exciting brand partnerships.
An F1 for The Philippines?
One of the most prominent examples of a sport that’s emerging in The Philippines is motorsport, with rumors of an F1 Grand Prix setting up home there circling for the past few months.
January saw the suggestion that a Philippine Grand Prix site was being developed 100 km from the capital. The Pradera Verde site is proposed for Pampanga, a province northwest of – and therefore easily accessible to – Manila. A trademark for “Philippine Grand Prix” was taken out at the beginning of January, and included merchandising opportunities including clothes as well as printing and broadcasting rights.
At the moment the Philippines Grand Prix is still only a proposal. But even if we don’t see its emergence for a good number of years, the prospect of F1 launching in The Philippines is an exciting one – F1 is a huge global business, with 1.3 billion viewers across its first 15 races of 2018, which can only be a positive for sports in the country.
The potential emergence of a new “premier racing destination in Southeast Asia”https://www.grandprix247.com/2019/01/27/philippines-grand-prix-facility-revealed-by-tilke-associates/ is great news for The Philippines and the region in general – and we’re sure it’ll provide an amazing spectacle for fans as well as brands when it does get off the ground.
Where will sports sponsorship in The Philippines come from, and who will fund it?
Although there can be arguments made for state sponsorship of sports teams or athletes, it is almost exclusively private sector companies that have got behind sports teams in The Philippines, as has been seen in the case of the national football and basketball teams. Whatever the history of sports sponsorship in The Philippines has been, it’s brands that are taking advantage of opportunities these days – whether it’s sports equipment provided by Molten, advertising by Booster Energy Shot (both for the Philippine Azkals), or tech solutions by Smart (for the Gilas Pilipinas basketball team).
Sports sponsorship in The Philippines: what does the future hold?
With motorsport growing in popularity in Southeast Asia in general (a new F1 track will also open in Vietnam in 2021) the future looks bright for sports sponsorship in The Philippines and elsewhere in the region.
This also provides an opportunity for MotoGP. Filipinos are known to be particularly passionate about the two-wheeled race, and riders including Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales have attested to this, with Rossi commenting on the passion of MotoGP fans in Manila during a 2018 visit.
The existence of an existing fan-base suggests that Manila could be a great new addition to the MotoGP calendar, as well as providing a strong argument for sports sponsorship in The Philippines.
So, will we see a move into MotoGP as well as F1? Only time will tell – but here’s hoping.
Discover more about Sponsorship Activation or if you want to find out more about sports sponsorship in The Philippines or about sponsorship opportunities in general Contact RTR Sports Marketing today at 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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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 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.
The right information, the right choice
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 beating heart
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.
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 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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