a1mcusmanosponsorship

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Reflection on the subject

Overall, sponsorship was an incredible valuable subject to learn throughout the semester. Understanding that a sponsorship needs to be congruent or else brand recognition and brand recall will be non existent was the biggest takeaway from this semester. Providing real and tangible sponsorship benefits to any potential sponsor is essential to ensure both parties are mutually satisfied. Learning how to develop an asset inventory was a tough challenge but insightful to understanding how valuable having all assets valued to have a full gauge of what assets are worth to sponsors was incredibly important in helping develop a sponsorship proposal for Old Mentonians.

The overall engagement with the club was hit and miss all semester. With Covid impacting everyone in some way, especially local football clubs not having a season, having a constant dialogue with the Old Mentonians proved challenging. However, when communication was made it was always helpful, the club providing us with all the necessary information required to succeed in developing our sponsorship proposals and asset inventory.

The sponsorship proposals and presentation went smoothly in my opinion. All project members worked together to ensure that vital information about the club’s background, values and mission were all aligned in each individual proposal. Every member was prepared and had sponsorship packages that the Old Mentonians can tailor to take to potential sponsors

The presentations were a challenge, especially being limited to only 10 minutes. With so much information and depth of information being covered in the proposal, it felt like I had to be incredibly brief through each section of the presentation to fit within the time meter. In a perfect scenario, I would have like 20-30 minutes to comprehensively cover all aspects of the proposal in detail. Overall the semester, while challenging, was a wonderful learning experience and valuable lessons to take into the workforce.

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Exploration on the principles of leveraging and co-activation

The principle of leveraging refers to all sponsorship linked marketing communications and activities collateral to the sponsorship investment (Weeks, Cornwell & Drennan 2008). Care needs to be taken to ensure that leveraging is correct or the sponsorship could take a serious nosedive in potential revenue and impressions. Co-Activation indicates the potential for audiences to interact or in some way become involved with a sponsor. Tools such as the internet/social media and other communication technologies serve as valuable tools with which sponsors can activate any potential promotions at a mass-media audience level (Steinberg 2005).

Figure 1: (Reid 2020)

As Figure 1 illustrates above, sponsorship operates as a catalyst, making initiatives with every other marketing channel the business might have more relevant and meaningful. The leverage options available are incredibly broad.

Using social media is a given to activate and leverage any potential sponsorship. Organisations must ensure they repost, share and retweet anything the sponsor post, even if they ae not specifically about your company. Continuing to do this during and following any activation will help the sponsor maintain traction, increase brand awareness and their potential reach (Baylis 2019).

An example of leveraging and co-activation is the Fight for Territory activation, as shown below in Figure 2

Figure 2: (Smith 2018)

During the All Black's (New Zealand Rugby) tour of the UK, their sponsor Steinlager, found fans and teams spending most of their time at airports. Steinlager bough every sign in every terminal and creating an interactive competition with England Rugby’s major sponsor Guinness. Fans could stand in front of one of 65 interactive screens and change the messaging according to the team they supported. This ended up seeing 2.5 million people pass through the airport throughout the competition and 96,000 people battle and change the screen. This activation is the perfect example of how a brand can leverage their partner with clever and unique promotion with various leveraging options utilised to promote full brand exposure.

References

Baylis, C 2019, ‘Sponsorship activation defined: what is it and how leverage works’, viewed 3 November 2020, https://sponsorshipcollective.com/sponsorship-activation-defined-what-is-it-and-how-leverage-works/.

Reid, K 2020, ‘Sponsorship leverage vs activation: the difference and why it matters’, viewed 3 November 2020, https://powersponsorship.com/sponsorship-leverage-vs-activation-the-difference-and-why-it-matters/. 

Smith, M 2018, ‘ 8 best sponsorship activation Ideas humanising the brand’, viewed 3 November 2020, http://huggity.com/8-best-sponsorship-activation-ideas-humanizing-brand/.  

Steinberg, B 2005, ‘ Sponsorships focus on “activation”; women’s tennis tour deal with sony ericsson will let fans express themselves’, viewed 3 November 2020. 

Weeks, C, Cornwell, B & Drennan, J 2008, ‘Leveraging sponsorships on the internet: activation, congruence & articulation’, Psyscology & Marketing, vol. 25, no. 7, viewed 3 November 2020, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227693086_Leveraging_Sponsorships_on_the_Internet_Activation_Congruence_and_Articulation. 

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Understanding the importance of congruence and incongruence

Congruence has been defined as a logical relationship between a sponsor brand and the sponsored event, with incongruence defined as an illogical fit between two brands  (Weeks et al 2008) Various research has revealed that congruent compared to incongruent sponsorships are more effective, which results in more positive outcomes in terms of attitude (sponsor, event, sponsorship), image and equity and higher sponsor brand and recall  (Grohs & Reisinger 2014) 

There are two types of congruence association, function and image. Direct functional congruency occurs when a sponsoring companies brand could be used directly in the event, for example Adidas sportswear and the Olympics. Indirect functional congruency occurs when there is a logical link between the product and event, but the product is not essential to the event (e.g. beverage and food at a sporting match). Image based congruency highlights the target audience’s natural relationship between the brand and the sport, with Richmond and Jeep being a prime example. Vehicles and football have always been a comfortable mixture for spectators, with Geelong and Ford and Collingwood and Holden establishing that space in Australian Football

(Warriors-Rakuten: Believe in the Future 2018)

The video above refers to the sponsorship agreement between NBA franchise the Golden State Warriors and Rakuten, an e-commerce site based out of Japan. The alignment was a congruent fit from the beginning, with Rakuten’s presence in Asia and Europe allowing the Warriors to extend their reach globally (Brown 2017). Rakuten also had their regional office for North and South America just south of San Francisco (where the Warriors are based), giving the partnership a local alignment as well, highlighting its congruence further

Figure 1 (Altman 2015)

Figure 1 above highlights an incongruent partnership between Werner, a ladder company, and the NCAA. The reason for this sponsorship is so players can be seen cutting off the net hoop whilst climbing a Werner ladder. This sponsorship is a poor fit as the two entities have no commonalities and an image transfer fails to take place. Few people imagine players cutting off the net hoop or want to see it (Altman 2015)

References

Altman, B 2015, ‘5 of the most bizarre sports sponsorships’, viewed 3 November 2020, https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/05/06/5-of-the-most-bizarre-sports-sponsorships/. 

Brown, M 2017, ‘Inside the golden state warriors $60 million jersey patch deal with Rakuten’, viewed 3 November 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2017/11/27/inside-the-golden-state-warriors-record-60-million-jersey-patch-deal-with-rakuten/?sh=de0121e7b598.

Grohs, R & Reisinger, H 2014, ‘Sponsorship effects on brand image: The role of exposure and activity involvement, Journal of business research, vol. 67, no. 5, viewed 3 November 2020.

Warriors & Rakuten: believe in the future 2018, online video, 26 July, Golden State Warriors, viewed 3 November 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwOVJXSHJjM&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=GoldenStateWarriors. 

Weeks, C, Cornwell, T & Drennan, J 2008, ‘Leveraging sponsorships on the internet: activation, congruence, and articulation’ Psychology & Marketing, vol. 25, no. 7, viewed 3 November 2020. 

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Reflections on the A3 Asset Inventory Assignment and how an asset inventory can assist a sporting organisation

According to R.M Onyango (2013), asset inventory’s are a fundamental pillar in an organisation and it should be taken incredibly seriously. However, many organisations ignore the potential savings from proper inventory management, treating inventory as a necessary evil and not as an asset requiring management ( Sander, Matthias, and Geoff 2010). An asset inventory system can provide  effective reporting functionality for inventory assets, helping analyse different aspects of an asset inventory, from depreciation rates and asset values to tracking  performance. Asset inventory’s can be easily configurable and customisable, allowing adjustable workflows, documents and forms to suit the intricacies of the sports organisations processes and policies (Kiss Flow 2019). The biggest advantage for sporting organisations, such as the Old Mentonians, is the understanding of an assets true worth to the organisation. Knowing as assets true value allows an organisation to accurately inform potential sponsors of asset value, giving a club a significant advantage to win a sponsor over. 

For the A3 Asset Inventory assignment, it was a tough process for the group. Paris, Sarah and Nathan all struggle greatly with numbers, especially surrounding budgets and inventories, and using Excel in general. I had to take up a lot of the responsibility and complete a majority of the numbers given and equipping the functionality of the document. All 3 members tried their hardest and performed smaller tasks such as descriptions of assets and sponsorship packages at a high level. 

Overall, I definitely could have been more of a teacher throughout this assignment. Teaching Paris and Sarah especially would have been more beneficial to them and the group rather than me just completing a majority. Delegation is a concept I struggle with, I’ve always preferred to complete things myself, and this assignment proved I need to be prepared to delegate more often in the workplace or be someone considered hard to work with.

References

Kiss Flow 2019, ‘Investing in an asset inventory system’, viewed 2 November 2020, https://kissflow.com/finance/asset-management/asset-inventory-system-features/#:~:text=Asset%20inventory%20is%20the%20way,of%20the%20assets%20it%20owns.&text=It%20also%20helps%20to%20ensure,efficient%20and%20cost%2Deffective%20way. 

Onyango, R 2013, Lean enterprise and supply chain performance of pharmaceutical companies in Kenya, MBA Project, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Sander, L, Matthias, H, & Geoff, W 2010, ‘The impact of decentralized control on firm-level inventory evidence from the automotive industry’ International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, vol. 41, no. 1, viewed 2 November 2020.

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Importance of providing real tangible and intangible sponsorship benefits, Old Mentonians Club Sponsorship packages

The importance of providing real tangible and intangible benefits are essential to ensuring the success of a sponsorship. Tangible benefits refer to quantity assets that can be offered to a sponsor. Each benefit is assigned a value based on the impression or interaction based on potential exposure (Kamasak 2018), which include marketing fees and logo placement. Tangible benefits can work as an excellent sales tool as it shows sponsors any potential gains they would make through participation. Return on Investment is a measure that can be tracked extensively with tangible benefits; sponsors can set targets on their sponsorship and contact with attendees.

Intangible benefits refer to the benefits a sponsor receives by partnering with a brand (Baylis 2020).  These benefits are highly valuable as naming rights, brand alignment and marketing derive value from these benefits. Intangible benefits increase brand awareness with a corporation's ideal target audience, aligning its brand to its customer's values. (Greco, Cricelli & Grimaldi 2013). They allow organisations to build meaningful emotional connections by creating experiences and sharing stories that leave lasting impressions with potential customers. Intangible benefits allow a company and sponsors to build a strong relationship by creating memorable events. Creating a tone and vision that customers resonate with is essential to building a potential vendor relationship

As a member of the MSPN group, we have been working with the Old Mentonians to develop a sponsorship asset inventory. This has been a complicated process as the club has been unorganised in the tracking of their assets, with more research into the club and its suppliers being done than first planned initially. Old Mentonians does not currently have any sponsorship packages. Instead, they accept money from businesses such as Bad Shepperd and Co and Bendigo Bank without any clear, structured benefits for potential sponsors. The club currently gives shout outs on social media to the sponsors, done fortnightly, as shown below

Bad Shepherd Brewing Co (Old Mentonians 2020)

References

Baylis, C 2020,’ Tangible vs intangible benefits defined’, viewed 19 September 2020, https://sponsorshipcollective.com/tangible-vs-intangible-sponsorship-benefits-defined/.

Greco, M, Cricelli, L & Grimaldi, M 2013, ‘A strategic management framework of tangible and intangible assets ‘, European management journal, vol. 31, no. 1, viewed 19 September 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0263237312001107

Kamasak, R 2018, ‘ The contribution of tangible and intangible resources, and capabilities to a firm’s profitability and market performance ‘, European journal of management and business economics, vol. 26, no. 2, viewed 19 September 2020, https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EJMBE-07-2017-015/full/html. 

Old Mentonians 2020, ‘Bad Shepherd brewing co, photograph, viewed 19 September 2020, https://www.facebook.com/OMFCpanther. 

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Importance  of sponsorship with regards to business of sport and the sponsorship framework

Sponsorship continues to increase in importance and be known as one of the most powerful marketing tools a business can have. From a business perspective, brands will often sponsor events or companies that align with their business mission. This alignment allows the target audience of the business an opportunity to understand the brand and lead to increased revenues (Optimy 2018). With the introduction of internet and subscription services making sports more accessible than ever for fans, organisations and brands must ensure a water-tight sponsorship alignment and framework or risk reduced brand awareness and profit.

Sponsorship is critical for organisations due to globalisation forcing brands to now operate in multiple national markets where they do not have any heritage or tradition (Crompton 2014). Because sport has universal appeal, sponsorship has offered these organisations an opportunity to integrate and engage with new markets.

Ethiad Stadium (Ebert 2018)

A prime example of this is the Etihad airline company. From small beginnings in Abu Dhabi, Today, Etihad is one of the largest airline organisations, flying to five continents around the world (Conn 2020). With Etihad not flying to Australia and having any known visibility, the airway entered into a sponsorship with the AFL to hold the naming rights to the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. This sponsorship allowed Etihad to build a foundation with Australia, and quickly establish a local identity. Sponsorships offer organisations a way to introduce themselves to a new market which they are seeking to penetrate.

Increased competition due to an over-saturation of sports has highlighted the growing importance of sponsorship. Because of a substantial amount of mergers between companies, larger companies are exercising a more extensive influence in sport sponsorship. Sponsorship offers organisations an opportunity to increase communication with potential partners through sporting entertainment (Cunningham & Taylor 1992). Through these, organisations can customise any potential sponsorship deals to include added hospitality options and promotional tie-ins to incentivise potential clients.

References

Conn, D 2020, ‘Manchester city sponsorship covered by Abu Dhabi government, not etihad’, The Guardian, viewed 19 September 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/17/manchester-city-sponsorship-covered-by-abu-dhabi-government-not-etihad.

Crompton, J 2014, Sponsorship for sport managers, West Virginia university, USA.

Cunningham, P & Taylor, S 1992, ‘Event marketing, the evolution of sponsorship from philanthropy to strategic promotion, Queens University, Ontario, Canada

Ebert, R 2018, ‘Etihad Stadium, photograph, viewed 19 September 2020, https://www.encirclephotos.com/image/etihad-stadium-in-melbourne-australia/.

Optimy 2018, ‘Why is sponsorship important for your brand’, viewed 19 September 2020, https://www.optimy.com/blog/sponsorship-important-brand/#:~:text=Sponsorship%20is%20known%20to%20be,you%20meet%20your%20business%20goals.