Feature: Talking technology through sport - December 2003  

Claire Walker

The potential and possible pitfalls of promoting technology are analysed by Claire Walker, managing director of European communications consultancy, Firefly Communications.

The ability of sport sponsorship to promote brands through association has proved resilient through the downturn - companies invested £1bn in sport in the UK in 2002. The big spending sports brands, brewers and financial services companies dominated spend; think Barclaycard, Nationwide, Lloyds TSB, Lucozade, Nike, Adidas, Guinness and Budweiser. But increasingly, technology companies are moving into the field. This trend, led by Vodafone's involvement with Manchester United and latterly Ferrari, is set to continue. But as with sport, how well companies plan and prepare for the 'sponsorship game' dictates whether a programme delivers commercial success. Sport sponsorship can be extremely effective in raising brand profiles, reflecting the positive strong emotional perceptions that are unique to sport. But as with generic sponsorship programmes, one of the biggest pitfalls that companies face is a failure to adequately understand their investment. Anecdotal it may be, but a problem that we have encountered on more than one occasion is that a company's board wishes to become involved in a sport simply because the management team enjoys watching it! Therefore, when a client asks us to assess whether it should become involved in a specific sport, we apply the tried and trusted methods that marketeers use to evaluate generic sponsorship programmes. The type of questions to ask include:

• Who do we want to reach and why?
• What is the end goal of the relationship? Brand awareness, a change in brand perceptions, increased sales? What opportunity is there for direct customer dialogue?
• How much money will we need to invest to promote the relationship?
• Can we involve our employees?
• What vehicles will we use to promote the event?
• How will we evaluate success?
• What are the expected returns? Can these be delivered through standalone marketing campaigns?
• How long will the relationship be?

If any of these questions are not fully answered and the outcomes understood, the programme is likely to disappoint in the end. In addition to the above, in our experience, the best relationships provide an opportunity for the sponsoring brand to showcase its technology at work. By talking technology through sport it is possible to conceptualise how often complex solutions are applied in every-day settings.
A good example is Hewlett-Packard's sponsorship of BMW Williams, a relationship that we helped promote. Through the sponsorship, HP is able to bring its core brand credential of innovation to life in the pit lane. Its systems provide instant analysis of how driver and car are performing and enable the team to simulate the race in line with its selected strategy before it has run. The advanced nature of the technology provides an interesting story in itself to take to the print and broadcast media, while key customers are able to witness the systems in action in the exciting and fashionable environment of Formula 1.
Although Formula 1 requires a high budget, the underlying principle of supporting an event that provides an intrinsic opportunity to promote the technology can be applied to smaller ticket deals.

The role of the media

And whatever the sport, we advise clients to assess how the print and broadcast media can play a lead role in the promotion of the relationship. PR provides the optimum tool to highlight the sponsorship by providing independent third party endorsement of event partnership. When preparing PR support it is important to ensure that the right messages are created to secure a direct link between the sponsor and maximise the emotional response to its investment.
Used creatively, it is also an extremely cost effective mechanism to stretch the promotional dollar. During the last FIFA World Cup we helped Avaya, a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses, make the most of its involvement with the tournament. Although the company was playing a key technical role in the event, its participation was overshadowed by higher profile lead sponsors. Avaya tasked us with raising the profile of the company's relationship with FIFA quickly to establish a direct link between its brand and the tournament. Adopting a creative strategy, we helped Avaya create a World Cup table soccer competition for the media, with the prize of a specially branded Avaya/FIFA table soccer game. As an additional humorous hook, the press also had their picture taken with the actual World Cup trophy.
During the event, Avaya personnel provided informal information on the company's involvement with the World Cup. In total, 28 teams of analysts and journalists attended the event, including 'premier league' representation from the BBC and a range of national media. This was an excellent event for introducing Avaya to key journalists that otherwise may not have been interested in meeting them at that time.
If diligently planned, sport sponsorship can provide a valuable medium to promote technology brands and also solutions in action. It is important to ensure, however, that all programmes are evaluated after the event. Benchmarks should be set at the outset of the project that may cover depending on the original objectives:

• Perception change of the brand
• Brand awareness
• Sales leads
• Employee perceptions
• Media coverage

Some of our clients ask us to carry out perception surveys among small groups of stakeholders including customers, partners, media, employees, target customers and shareholders to assess the impact of sponsorships. This is a useful benchmarking process and can track the true impact of campaigns once end audiences have digested the sponsorship. We also use this process to ask audiences what impact they believe communication of the event had and which channels made the most impact. This helps improve planning for future events.
As in many communication disciplines, a common partnership that provides an opportunity to showcase technology as well as rigorous planning and the setting of measurable objectives will help ensure success of sponsorship programmes. As with sport, diligent planning and creative flair can produce excellent results.

For further information visit www.fireflycomms.com

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