We were required a evaluate several sponsorship properties options for a large European bank. They had narrowed their selection down to three main possibilities but wanted conduct some market research with their core target audience to better understand how the market would react for each option.

Objective

Use a quantitative test to evaluate the three options in levels of level of engagement, sponsorship fit, alignment with core brand values and potential avenues for activation.

Insight

All the three potential sponsorship properties were know to the target audience by one in particular had a much higher level of engagement as measured by the PassionIndex. The brand values were also well aligned with the marketing plan. Several concepts for sponsorship activation were also tested and the final result was a clear winner.

Recommendation

We suggested the single sponsorship property that the research testing recommended as well as a several strong concepts from the activation side.

Client Action

The bank was able to move forward with a clear focus and understanding of the market needs. it was also a platform for several successful concepts and promotions made made use of the sponsorship.

Results

Several highly successful marketing activities which have met expectations and driven market growth especially in the B2B segment.

This chart below shows how incremental growth is obtained as we look at the increase on key brand metrics and attribute it to a combination of passion or gratitude ratings that are sponsorship specific.

Pre–sponsorship research involves capturing basic information on respondents just prior to commencement of a sponsorship activity. The same consumers are recontacted after the event when the complete main survey takes place. Pre-event measures include a sponsor’s brand performance indicators that also include specific survey questions that would enable us to establish the value of a customer on consumer.

These questions on consumer value need to be customized for each industry and market. For example previous calculations we have done for such industries mobile telecommunications ask about such things as monthly spend and pre-paid or regular subscriber variables. FMCG categories are different again where we established frequency of purchase and price category. To gauge value for a sponsor we would use also use a sponsor’s key variables or survey questions that determine the customer value as the basis to align with the existing approach.

By using the results of the post-event survey with the same respondents we are able to isolate the actual impact of the sponsorship. The incremental growth is normally driven by those most passionate about the property and also aware of the sponsor (‘Passionates’) and but in many cases sponsor appreciation can also be a strong driver which is apparent in from the Gratitude Index. A good activation strategy for example will result in higher Gratitude Index ratings. It is the analysis of the sponsorship that will inform us which one is working stronger in this case for a sponsor and it also informs a sponsor specifically what can be improved.

To derive a customer value figure for a particular event or series of events we simply determine the increment in consumers driven by the sponsorship and use this to calculate sales by multiplying against average customer value. This analysis is providing a more financial estimate, which is a key question many ask when the merits of sponsorship investments are evaluated. This is illustrated in the diagram below. In this case the client conducted both SponsorMap™ to assess the market potential and SponsorMap™ at major events. The matrix shown is a simplified analysis for the mobile telecommunications market sponsorship ROI. [singlepic=1,480,360,watermark,center]

Every sponsor has its own general matrix for the market which can be developed as a rich information source.