Key areas covered include:

- Structuring ROI into the overall sponsorship framework
- Setting Realistic and Measurable ROI Objectives
- Measuring Sponsorship ROI and working with sponsors
- Sample Outputs and success stories

There will be a limited number of places available .

The length of time for the webinar is expected to be 30 minutes with another 15 minutes set aside for questions.
(The webinar is free of charge)

The date of the webinar is Tuesday 9th March 9.00am to 10.00am US Eastern Standard Time.

You can register interest in this webinar by completing the registration form.

More details will be provided by email after registration.

Traditional sponsorship media exposure methods of measuring sponsorship ROI place higher value on increased exposure. It is very simple high exposure = high sponsor ROI. So, based on the exposure valuation method it would seem that suddenly Tiger Woods would be worth a lot more now than before the scandal because he has a great share of the media space. Well that’s the crazy logic of relying on equivalent media value by itself unless you think all exposure is good even the bad stuff. Obviously, that’s not what is happening in reality which indicates that the sponsorship value of brand Tiger is based on more than the exposure a sponsor receives and we need to look at more than that when looking at ROI.

It is worth remembering the key rule of sponsorship – is all about PASSION. It is the basis of what sets apart sponsorship from advertising. Advertising interrupts people to deliver a media message whereas sponsorship is communicating through a passion mode. Powerful sports personalities can contribute major ROI for sponsors as they help brands communicate to audiences that are no longer receptive to advertising .

It is fair to say that passion has also played a role with Tiger Woods. Passion to succeed has made him a golfing success and it has also be been the cause of his personal problems. When we look at the issue of this scandal is is clear that the Tiger brand has been badly damaged simply by looking at the actions of sponsors and also the reactions of some of the fans.

Whilst there are many fans of Tiger out there that are not interested at all in his personal life, there are a significant number that are disappointed. From a sponsorship perspective, the high level of fan support that he did receive in the past has been deflated. His value as a sponsorship property has diminished because there are fewer Tiger Woods fans after the scandal than before. His fan base was so high previously the only way it could really go was down. However, at the same time he remains a very strong property despite these transgressions.

Whilst the popularity Tiger Woods is a key driver of sponsorship value for the the sponsor, other aspects are extremely important including sponsorship fit and also sponsor appreciation. They all have an influence on the value of sponorship ROI beyond that measured by media exposure. We can see how brand Tiger performs by looking at some key sponsorship metrics including sponsor fit and sponsor appreciation.

Sponsor Fit
Is there a fit between a sponsor and a property. For example, do fans like Tiger Woods being sponsored by the brand? If they do think that it is positive, then there remains a good reason to think that Tiger’s sponsorship value is still good. However, if there are many negatives then the sponsor and would be better off moving on. This is best answered by asking the fans themselves and receiving their feedback from a quick survey where we have quantitative numbers to talk about how the sponsor has been effected. If a sponsor was to see that more than 15% of fans dislike the brand being associated with Tiger Woods then that would be an issue. It is the numbers that sponsors would need to see rather than relying on media reports and the more vocal members of the community.

Sponsor Gratitude
With some sponsorships, appreciation to sponsors is a major influence on effectiveness. What is asks is how much a fan feels appreciation to a sponsor because they sponsor a property. For example, those with high sponsorship activation or those where sports personalities support a worthwhile social cause.

This may not have been a major factor in Tiger Woods sponsorships because Tiger Woods has many have been considered very commercial. Nevertheless, this sense of appreciation to a sponsor may have been dramatically changed through the scandal for some of Tiger’s fans whereas for others it would not make that much difference. What Tiger would hope is that the fans remain appreciative to the sponsors themselves especially in relation to the community relations where the sponsors have made a significant contribution.

In summary, the sponsorship value of Tiger Woods is driven by the fans, they will either love him or hate him. If the fans remain loyal to Tiger Woods despite his personal problems then the impact on Tiger’s sponsorship ROI will not be as bad as originally thought. Sponsors need to be sure that they understand that the value of their sponsorships is always in the hands of the fans at the end of the day. This involving measuring the attitudes on the fans themselves and listening to their views. The key questions that only a fan can answer are:

1. Are they still passionate about Tiger Woods,
2. Does he fit with a sponsor and lastly
3. Do they appreciate the sponsor for their involvement with Tiger Woods.

Only then it fair for us to know the true sponsorship implications of the Tiger Woods scandal especially in relation to his brand value to sponsors.

Still an emerging concept, experiential marketing involves a target audience member in an event experience related to a brand or product. The goal is to make a “quality brand experience” that creates real engagement where customers are not only exposed to the brand name but also given an opportunity to interact with the brand, absorb the messaging and understand how the brand attributes are relevant to their lives and needs.

“Advertising is rapidly losing its effectiveness as consumers have learned to tune out the bombardment of ads in everyday life, so more and more firms are turning to experiential marketing tactics that are novel enough to catch the attention of the sophisticated consumer’, commented Nicholas Cameron, Director of SponsorMap.

“The tool is building on our existing knowledge of event sponsorship that we have developed from our SponsorMap methodology but it also encompasses key word-of-mouth measurements that are especially of value in experiential marketing where WOM impact is considerable.”

The SponsorMap range of tools measure consumers’ passion and gratitude to try and identify the role that sponsorship is having on brands. SponsorMap has been used in more than 20 countries across the globe and is currently partnered with TNS.
There are various modules of SponsorMap ranging from sponsorship pre-testing, tracking, hospitality and event research and also including the PassionIndex, a syndicated report that examines sporting and entertainment passions.

You can download information on SponsorMap Experiential here.

“The recession has put marketing budgets under the microscope and inspired marketers to emphasize immediate returns on investment”. Xerox VP/Marketing & Communications Christa Carone said, “We’re in a position where we need to defend our spend more than we have in the past.” There is a call for a considerable amount of re-think to the way that sponsorship has been measured.

The days of media measurement being the dominant form of sponsorship measurement are coming to an end. Logo counting and audience estimation has a role, but is incapable of addressing the major ROI challenge that confronts marketers today. There is nothing new in this area except the technology. The measurements themselves do not communicate the value of sponsorship effectively and this is why sponsorship is seriously challenged. Despite efforts from logo counting research agencies, this type of measurement alone does not meet the standards required for marketing communications evaluations today, they remain old school measurements with new technology.

Besides logo counting, the other area which is also widely used as a measure of ROI is the use and application of proposal screening software systems. These are quite interesting ways of pre-screening large numbers of sponsorship proposals. Useful for big companies that receive large numbers of proposals, but their short-coming is that they are not especially consumer-centric. Sponsors, specifically larger ones (US$1 million plus) should talk to their customers, as they are the best source of insights about what makes a sponsorship effective. Brands have relationships with customers that need to be considered from a consumer-centric perspective by directly listening to the customer. Sponsorship engages brands with people’s emotions and this is not captured in an automated proposal screening software system especially anything that is purporting to show the ROI without listening to the consumer.

Another part of the debate is that many sponsor’s lament the lack of sponsorship ROI, yet do not seem to invest much in the way of practicing what they preach. We have major sponsors thinking that the responsibility of determining the value of company marketing expenditure should be the those engaged in receiving the sponsorship money. Companies such as Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble certainly would not ask Walmart to measure the effectiveness of millions they spend on their trade promotions and the same logic applies to sponsorship. It does not make good business sense. This type of situation is simply bad management as it is about lack of accountability. Major sponsors have the budgets for measurement and should have a strong sense of accountability on how their own money is being spent.

Looking forward, we should expect to see sponsors more clearly define their sponsorship objectives and the significantly increased use of market research to guide business decisions and answer questions on sponsorship ROI. What is very evident, is that the old school days of measuring sponsorship ROI are over as demand increases for new approaches to comprehensive sponsorship measurement.

“Research is becoming an increasingly important tool to prove the value of sponsorship in an economic environment where investment is coming under greater scrutiny, according to sponsorship professionals.

Tanya Veingard, head of sponsorship at Aviva UK, which sponsors UK Athletics, says investment in necessary to evaluate the success of a sponsorship even in a recessionary environment, adding cutting research budgets is a “dangerous thing to do”. (Source: Marketing Week)

What do you think? Vote in our Poll?

Unfortunately, many arts organizations do not highlight many of these key elements when seeking sponsorship. Many of the sponsorship proposals from arts organizations are well thought out and have a good sense of style about them but there is often something missing in terms of the value proposition. The value of the arts sponsorship is not ‘consumer-centric’, instead it is focused on a sales package incentives as if they were selling to sponsors the same messages as what you would use to sell to the audience. Too much about selling a sales package and not enough about a potential sponsors marketing and corporate objectives.

The value of arts sponsorship is that it can achieve results for sponsors in ways that cannot be achieved from other forms of marketing. The best advertising, digital media or public relations campaign is often unable to achieve the same type of results. The unique aspects of arts sponsorship simply cannot be replicated with other types of marketing or sponsorship types. This is evident from a measurement perspective, especially in understanding the sponsorship ROI itself.

When looking at value arts sponsorship from a ROI perspective, the attraction of arts sponsorships is related to several key factors.

The Target Audience

Firstly, passion for arts properties is very specific to a target audience. It is highly targeted and more often than not, this particular segment of the market is a hard to reach by conventional marketing methods. The key aspect is the passion. Now with SponsorMap, we use a benchmark called the PassionIndex to measure the level of emotional engagement to properties. The stronger the passion, the higher the level of engagement.

In the example below are results taken from a national sample of adults 16+ that was representative of the the general population. What is shown is the specific analysis of the high income, female segment of the national market. This segment obviously is very appealing for many businesses that wish to build relationships with existing or prospective customers. Whether it is financial products, fashion or prestige cars, this target audience is a key market segment for many companies.

Passion Index Ratings Arts Property in a Segmented Market

Looking at the PassionIndex slide it is clear with this consumer segment arts properties strongly engage with them. Hence, if there is a high level of emotional engagement then that by itself is attractive as corporations can build relationships through sponsorship with these types of arts properties. It is important to remember that the market needs to be segmented to identify opportunities for consumer engagement and this process does often highlight good opportunities in the arts area for sponsorship that can be missed. Not every type of consumer is open to arts sponsorship, but the key consideration is that there are segments of the overall general public that are receptive.

Sponsor Fit/Brand Alignment
Is the partnership between the sponsor and the arts property a good brand alignment? Does it enhance a sponsor’s brand image? This is often mentioned as a key deliverable of all types of sponsorship. It is actually something that can be fairly easily measured as it is just a matter of asking the right questions. A good quantitative survey can be used to do this. Typical results from arts sponsorships are shown in the slide below.

Brand Enhancement of Sponsorship

It shows the image attributes of the sponsor and how the sponsorship is enhancing them. In this case, it is about the arts sponsor property influencing the image ratings of the brand. Ideally, we would demonstrate this with a control sample or a pre and post measurement, but this will often suffice for most sponsorship evaluations for the arts.

Sponsor Appreciation
This is a very strong feature of arts sponsorship. Sponsors of arts properties tend to rate very highly on this measure, meaning there is a strong level of overall appreciation to sponsors for their involvement. They are seen to have done the ‘good thing’ and helped something that is of importance to people. This influence is what as known as Balance Theory, it is the change in attitudes to a sponsor/brand that occurs due to the direct involvement with the property. People will adjust their attitudes to a corporation because they are perceived to have done the right thing. (Not everybody feels appreciation, some feel in more than others and some do not feel it at all.) In the example below, brand advocacy is strongly influence by the appreciation felt towards the sponsor based on gratitude, as measured by the Gratitude Index.

Sponsor Appreciation Enhances the Value of Sponsorship Itself

With arts sponsorships, this influence can deliver major dividends for sponsors and is an influence not generated from other forms of traditional marketing communications such as advertising. Hence, when measuring the value of an arts sponsorship it is essential to demonstrate the gratitude to a sponsor for their involvement as arts sponsorship perform very well on this measure. This is a unique feature that should be emphasized as the impact can be quite dramatic.

Survey methods are highly recommended to measure the contribution of an arts sponsorship. There are several reasons, namely sponsorship is about attitude and behavior change for a sponsor, without this there is no ROI. Sponsorship’s impact is only felt if it achieves a modest amount of attitude and behavioural change. Other measures are also useful, but should be viewed provides additional metrics of overall contribution. If you have them then that is terrific as they build the overall case for the value of the sponsorship overall.

It should be remembered that demonstrating the appeal of the arts sponsorship to prospective sponsors and subsequently linking it to the sponsor’s own objectives in a measurable way provides a strong case for sponsorship. Likewise, for corporations considering sponsorship of the arts, there are ways in which a well planned sponsorship can drive marketing and business results much more effectively than traditional marketing communication methods.

Overall it is the consumer-centric approaches to sponsorship that is the best way to measure value. What is important how audiences emotionally engage with a brand/property partnership in the arts. That is the foundation of the business case for arts sponsorships and the reason why it can be a power relationship building tool for any Marketing Director or CEO looking at the arts.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember here is that sponsorship objectives themselves need to be articulated. ROI for sponsorship is driven first by understanding what the sponsorship or marketing objectives are in the first place.

In the near future we will provide some more presentations especially for sponsorship properties. If there are any suggestions please feel free to make them.

Sponsorship Research & ROI

]]> http://www.sponsormap.com/introduction-sponsorship-research/feed/ 0 http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-roi-webinars/ http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-roi-webinars/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:23:03 +0000 Nicholas http://www.sponsormap.com/?p=672 August sponsorship ROI webinars are in preparation as we are taking a break in July.

These are the dates for August’s Sponsorship ROI webinars.

As always, the webinar is free and is for those properties, sponsors and agencies seeking to learn more about sponsorship measurement. A presentation is conducted via the internet with a conference call and IM to allow for interaction from participants.

The main areas covered include:

• The Business Case for Measuring Sponsorship
• Understanding Sponsorship Theory and how it relates to measurement
• Developing a measurement plan based on clear sponsorship objectives
• An explanation of the various methods for measuring sponsorship
• Examination of some case studies from both sponsors and properties
• Issues particular to properties, sponsors and agencies
• Q&As

The following schedule for is for August:

US/Americas Zone

• August 19th Friday US ET 2.00pm to 3.30pm

• August 26th Friday US ET 2.00pm to 3.30pm

Asia/Pacific Zone (Hong Kong time)

• August 19th Friday US ET 10.00am to 11.30am

To register your interest please leave your registration details. Once registered we will send a reminder email with more information on the webinar.

Current list of attendees include:
Total Attendees: 0

#	Name	Image
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No attendees found.

]]> http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-roi-webinars/feed/ 0 http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-ranks-highly-trust-todays-consumers/ http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-ranks-highly-trust-todays-consumers/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:50:50 +0000 Nicholas http://www.sponsormap.com/?p=673 There were some very interesting survey findings released recently by AC Nielsen in their Global Online Consumer Survey of more than 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries. What was highlighted was consumers have a very high level of ‘trust’ in sponsorship itself. A full 64 percent of consumers surveyed in April said they trust brand sponsorship, up from 49 percent in April 2007. IEG did a feature on the survey results here.

It’s an interesting result as it does underscore the key differences between sponsorship and other forms of marketing communication. Advertising is communicating to consumers in an interruption mode wheres sponsorship communicates to people in a passion mode through a property.

In terms of consumer behaviour, a property will have higher trust from a fan than a company. People are passionate about their teams and heros and have a much higher level of trust towards them. A golf fan is going to much more likely to let Tiger Woods into their house than a complete stranger. When brands associate with properties (such as Tiger Woods) they borrow some of that ‘trust’ through association.

Trust is something that is earned from both a brand and a property. It is a rare commodity in today’s saturated marketing environment. Certainly, these survey results do highlight that in terms of sponsorship ROI and effectiveness one of the key dimensions for sponsors that can be improved is consumer trust.

]]> http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-ranks-highly-trust-todays-consumers/feed/ 0 http://www.sponsormap.com/june-sponsorship-roi-webinars/ http://www.sponsormap.com/june-sponsorship-roi-webinars/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:41:35 +0000 Nicholas http://www.sponsormap.com/?p=663 These are the dates for June’s Sponsorship ROI webinar.

The webinar is free and is for those properties, sponsors and agencies seeking to learn more about sponsorship measurement. A presentation is conducted via the internet with a conference call and IM to allow for interaction from participants.

The main areas covered include:

• The Business Case for Measuring Sponsorship
• Understanding Sponsorship Theory and how it relates to measurement
• Developing a measurement plan based on clear sponsorship objectives
• An explanation of the various methods for measuring sponsorship
• Examination of some case studies from both sponsors and properties
• Issues particular to properties, sponsors and agencies
• Q&As

The following schedule for is for June:

US/Americas Zone

• June 23rd Tuesday US ET 2.00pm to 3.30pm

Asia/Pacific Zone

• June 23rd Tuesday (Hong Kong Time 10.00am to 11.30am)

To register your interest please leave your registration details. Once registered we will send a reminder email with more information on the webinar.

]]> http://www.sponsormap.com/june-sponsorship-roi-webinars/feed/ 1 http://www.sponsormap.com/man-utd-signs-sponsor-tough-economic-environment/ http://www.sponsormap.com/man-utd-signs-sponsor-tough-economic-environment/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:36:24 +0000 Nicholas http://www.sponsormap.com/?p=654 When Manchestor United’s troubled sponsor, AIG indicated in January this year that they were not going to renew their sponsorship in May 2010 there were quite a few comments in the broader media that sponsorship was in for a major decline. Very often, the loss of AIG by Man Utd was mentioned in conversation as ‘proof’ that sponsorship was losing favour in terms of marketing in the current economic environment. 

Whilst Man Utd is not necessarily representative of the whole global sponsorship industry, it has been used as a ‘lamp-post’ or ‘barometer’ by many for the general health of sponsorship overall. Questions on the health of sponsorship itself have been raised by much of the media including sports, business and advertising/marketing media based on Man Utd’s ability to forge new marketing partnerships or retain them over time. 

Today it was announced that Man Utd has settled on a new sponsor to replace AIG, called AON (Chicago-based AON specialises in the reinsurance market). The value of the sponsorship deal is not disclosed but is estimated to be worth more than US$130 million over four years.

The comments from AON are quite interesting as they highlight the key reasons for such a significant investment from the company. Greg Case, president and chief executive officer of AON commented:

“It is a unique opportunity when two leaders in their respective fields can come together in a partnership such as the one we are announcing today,” added G. “Manchester United has one of the most recognized sports brands in the world. David and his team are all about winning and about excellence; the same holds true for the Aon team. We play to win in our business, and that is why we believe this partnership will create tremendous benefits for both organizations worldwide.

“While we are delighted that our brand will be showcased to the over 330 million fans of Manchester United as well as the countless followers of football worldwide, we also are extremely excited about the opportunity to maximize the value of this partnership globally.”

The message here is that AON is looking at there partnership with Man Utd to strengthen their brand globally. Based on the AIG experience it is something that can be well anticipated, after its first year sponsoring the team, AIG became the 47th most recognised global brand and jumped from number 84 to number 30 on Barron’s list of most respected companies.

Sponsorship remains a key platform for building global brands even in today’s tough economic environment, as evident from today’s announcement from the world of football.

]]> http://www.sponsormap.com/man-utd-signs-sponsor-tough-economic-environment/feed/ 0 http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-performance/ http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-performance/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 06:15:48 +0000 Nicholas http://www.sponsormap.com/?p=608

The question often asked about sports marketing and sponsorship itself is how effective is it? It is a fairly straightforward question and it really is a something that is a key issue any CEO, Marketing Director, Finance Director would be expected to question. Answering this question does generally require market research as a key component of the evaluation process. This is because both attitudes and behavior metrics are usually part of the overall business objectives. (See the Sponsorship Research & ROI presentation for more details on objective measurement).

Looking at the results of SponsorMap evaluations we can take a deeper look at what tends to drive a high performance sponsorship as opposed to one that is less effective. (A high performance sponsorship delivers above required business and marketing objectives).

In the attached diagram involves results based on various types of sponsors and property types from sports through to TV sponsorship and looking at different categories of sponsors as well. They include variety of evaluations that have conducted for sponsors in more than 18 markets.

One the left axis we measured the Passion Index, or passion that the target audience feels towards the sponsored property. The higher the emotional bond to the property, the higher the Passion Index. Generally, this means that the property (eg., sporting team, league, event or personality) that has the high rating has the strongest appeal to a target audience. Properties with less emotional appeal have a lower Passion Index rating. Sponsors generally, seek properties that have the highest appeal to the target audience itself and naturally these properties themselves tend to be more valuable.

On the horizontal axis we measure sponsor appreciation (Gratitude Index). This is a measure of the level of appreciation that a targeted audience feels towards the sponsor based on their sponsorship itself. Appreciation has be influenced by activation strategy, goodwill and general sponsorship fit itself. Some sponsors do not create a lot of appreciation if it is simply a logo viewing experience, but others that activate the sponsorship and engage consumers can create appreciation with consumers in the process. A well planned sponsorship integrated into a variety of marketing activities can certainly improve this rating.

Now the diagram below shows the Passion Index and Gratitude Index ratings from sponsorships where people were able to recall the sponsor itself. So we are looking at all those being aware of the sponsor, so it is a sponsorship related impact we are examining in detail.

What is interesting is that the high performance sponsorships have often involved both a high level of passion to the property and strong appreciation to the sponsor itself. The are the sponsorships most likely to achieve the best results.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but the implication for sponsorship itself should be a focus on effective property selection together with effective sponsorship activation. Many in the industry would already know this, but if anything, our research does tend to confirm good industry best practice. Nevertheless,  we are continuing to develop useful benchmarks for industry performance that should better answer the question on how to measure sponsorship effectiveness.

]]> http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-performance/feed/ 0 http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-research-rethink-greater-focus-survey-based-methods/ http://www.sponsormap.com/sponsorship-research-rethink-greater-focus-survey-based-methods/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 11:30:50 +0000 Nicholas http://www.sponsormap.com/?p=596 In the past 12 months there has been quite a dramatic shift in the sponsorship landscape underway as there is real pressure applied to the key issue of sponsorship ROI. It has become quite clear that the ability to articulate sponsorship deliverables is ‘the key’ issue for sponsors and properties alike.

Marketing Directors and CEOs are seeking more certainty and results to be able to measure sponsorship as part of the overall marketing communications toolkit. Traditional reliance on sponsor recall and valuations of media exposure alone are simply insufficient to hold up for detailed scrutiny, sponsors want a lot more. 

Quoting a highly respected sports marketing agency.

‘Research is the Backbone of Sponsorship, it is like a lamp post for a drunken man – it is just as vital for support as illumination’

There is certainly an increased focus on survey based methods to augment sponsorship research. This is a natural development as survey based methods have been the backbone of measuring advertising effectiveness for at least two decades now. Survey based methods of evaluation both for pre-testing and tracking performance has become ingrained into the advertising landscape. This has made it a lot easier for the advertising business to communicate the value proposition and deliverables of advertising spend and has provided comfort and accountability for significant investments for major advertisers over many years. 

The sponsorship industry has been slow to reach the same level of sophistication as their advertising cousins, but in the last few months this has begun to rapidly change. It is a clear sign that understanding of the value of sponsorship is improving, the challenging economic environment has facilitated a greater focus on the industries ‘biggest issue’ and companies are responding well by conducting more survey based research which has been overdue.

The US$40+ billion global sponsorship market has needed to raise the bar in evaluation and the current environment is accelerating this transformation. 

 

 

 

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