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Sports sponsorship in Africa: how African brands are supporting international sports
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted May 8, 2019 | In MotoGP, Sport Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted May 8, 2019 | In MotoGP, Sport Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
Sports sponsorship in Africa: how African brands are supporting international sports
When it comes to sports sponsorship in Africa, brands and organizations hailing from the continent are increasingly looking outwards to increase their exposure on the world stage.
The ensuing sponsorship campaigns are coming in many forms – from tourism, agencies looking to rebrand their destinations through the use of top-flight English football teams, to tech companies investing heavily in Corporate Social Responsibility. When it comes to in-continent brands thinking globally, sports sponsorship in Africa is having a moment.
Read on to find out how just some of Africa’s brands are increasing their influence worldwide via sports sponsorship…
Arsenal FC x Visit Rwanda
The sports sponsorship deal between Arsenal FC and Visit Rwanda caused a stir last year when it was revealed that the east African tourism board had signed a £30 million contract – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/29/rwandas-30m-arsenal-sponsorship-divides-opinion– to appear on the shirts of the Premier League team’s firsts, Under 23s, and women’s teams – https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/13/football/arsenal-rwanda-deal-premier-league-spt-intl/index.html – It’s hoped that the deal could double Rwanda’s tourism revenue, to $800 million.
The relationship with Arsenal is part of an ongoing effort from Rwanda to rebrand itself as one of Africa’s top tourist destinations, focusing on spreading the word about its native gorilla population and how visitors to see these animals in their natural habitat.
Football Association of Ireland (FAI) x SportPesa
In March, ahead of the start of the EURO 2020 qualifying campaign, Kenya-based entertainment company SportPesa announced its sponsorship of the FAI, in a two-year deal that will focus on CSR. It follows on from a similar deal with Cork City, which is still running and is focused on responsible betting.
SportPesa’s sponsorship interests don’t only lie with Ireland, though – they also have sponsorship campaigns – https://sponsorship.org/sportpesa-announced-as-new-fai-partner/ – running in English football, with Arsenal, Hull City, Southampton and Everton, and are also title sponsors of the Silverstone-based Racing Point F1 Team.
Racing Point F1 Team x SportPesa
The Racing Point F1 Team deal is of particular interest to us, as motorsport fans. The multi-million-pound deal is a lucrative one for the team formerly known as Force India – in just a few short years SportPesa has become the largest betting company in Africa, with community-focus a key facet of its business. With its current partnerships, its growth only looks set to continue.
Investec x GB and England Women’s Hockey
The South African financial services company has a huge amount of campaigns pushing sports sponsorship in Africa, and elsewhere in the world. One of these is their sponsorship of both the England and GB women’s hockey teams – https://www.investec.com/en_gb/sponsorships/hockey-uk.html – which works to bolster emerging talent in the sport as well as support those at the highest levels.
Investec x 2019 Super Rugby Fixtures
Rugby is a huge draw for audiences across the Southern Hemisphere, from Argentina to South Africa to Australia and New Zealand, and Investec has leveraged this opportunity by working with these rugby nations to create a championship that pits the “best of the best” against each other.
Will we see African companies sponsoring MotoGP?
Sports sponsorship in Africa is a growing industry, so we might not see African companies investing in international motorsports championships such as MotoGP quite yet – but with multiple opportunities, the example set by emerging economies in Asia, and upcoming African motorsports stars such as Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder, it’s certainly an area that we’ll be keeping an eye on over the next few months and years.
Discover What is a Sponsorship Activation.
Interested in learning more about sports sponsorship in Africa? Contact RTR Sports Marketing today
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 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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