Sports Marketing And The Evolution Of The Sponsorship Format

Sport is a winning medium that reach a worldwideconsumer. That's why professional Sports Marketing
audience every day, guaranteeing sponsors benefitsAgencies have often promoted this kind of planning.
that are not comparable with traditional media suchThe scenario is currently moving towards the
as TV, radio and the press. This is confirmed also by"Sponsorship Create and Manage Model", which allows
the ever increasing number of hours that the majorthe sponsor to manage the whole range of activities
television networks worldwide dedicate to sport in allconnected to an event and to define sport-based
its forms and expressions and by the number ofcommunication in various areas.A great example of
professional Sports Marketing Agencies that suggesthow sports sponsorship models are evolving is
to their clients to use sport in promotional activities.provided by Red Bull.
Sport, as a communication tool, is unique in its abilityLet's analyze how they managed and adapt their
to break down traditional cultural and linguistic barriersactivities over time.
and is a competitive, creative and fruitful businessAt the beginning they started buying small
product that is suitable for achieving differentsponsorship packages in different sports. Their
marketing objectives, such as:- Increasing brandapproach was different from anything previously
popularity/awarenessseen in the sport business arena: Red Bull chose to
- Changing brand profilebe involved with the wild and crazy world of
- Enhancing brand/productextreme disciplines, such as heli-skiing, tobogganing or
- Creating worldwide product recognitionjumping out of airplanes. In doing so, the company
- Attracting new market segmentswas able to test sport related benefits and began to
- Enlarging the distribution networkIn order to givebe remembered thanks to sport-related elements.
an idea of the popularity of sport, we provide youMoving beyond this to a second stage, Red Bull used
with some data from the Motorbike Worldsuch "sport experience" to create its own
Championship, one of the most spectacular andpromotional events, involving hundreds and hundreds
sometimes heroic of all sporting events. In 2005of fans, customers and potential customers at
MotoGp has experienced continuous growth incircuits and on starting grids, in the mountains or in
viewing figures, attendance and investments:- 17the skies.
Grands Prix, hosted in 15 countries across 5Finally, the last step in this sponsorship evolution
continentsstrategy brought Red Bull to enter the Formula 1
- TV programs about the Motorbike Worldracing world. Firstly they simply gave to some of the
Championship have been broadcast in 207 - countries-F1 grand prix drivers a branded drinking bottle. After
- Over 3,790 TV broadcasting hourstesting and verified their ROI results, they decided to
- 276 million households reachedexpand their branding promotion into a logo to be
- Total viewing figures of 5,290 million in 184featured on F1 cars: the Sauber Team.
countries for live Grand Prix coverageIn 2005 the company decided to expand their
- Average viewing audience of 311 million per Grandmarketing effort and to fully manage the entire
Prixproject. They acquire a whole Formula 1 Team, and
- Average attendance of 120,000 spectators at thename it as "Red Bull Racing - Formula 1 Team". This
circuit, with peaks of 237,000sponsorship model has become the starting point for
- About 2,034,000 overall attendancea number of activities and events managed by the
(Source: Dorna Sport S.L., 2005 Review)And that'scompany itself: In this case Sport sponsorship is
not all! What really makes sport such a goodtransformed into a business platform for building,
marketing tool is that it gives companies thecreating and managing sports related projects.
opportunity to associate their own brand and productThis new model is essential to maximize the capacity
values with the values of the discipline itself.of the events to capture an audience via multimedia
Sponsorship formats and models evolve constantly.coverage, to extend its memorability, for the
The first and most "classical" model is theformation of a community and so on. This results in a
"Sponsorship Buy Model", where the sponsor buys adirect increase and consolidation of brand
package that has already been created and becomesawareness.Any Professional Sports Marketing Agency
involved in the final stage of the event.should understand the potential of the "Sponsorship
The next step is the "Sponsorship Make Model", aCreate and Manage Model" and should strive to
more recent version, in which the sponsor plays antransfer it to its clients.Riccardo Tafà, RTR
active role in the creation of the event, taking part inSports Marketing Agency. Professional Consultant
its conception and organising it according to its ownExpert on Sports Sponsorship and Strategic
objectives and values. If properly coordinated, thisMarketing Management. 10 years of experience as an
model is a winning one, as it allows to createAdvertising Company specialized in sports such as
moment-events that are rich in meaning for theFormula 1 and MotoGP.