Case Study: Microsoft UK's sponsorship of the 2002 Commonwealth Games  

In 2002, Microsoft UK became the first ever single technology platform for a major multi-venue sports event when it signed up as the official IT sponsor for the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. Sport and Technology's Editor Rachael Church spoke to the key players involved in the sponsorship about the nature of the partnership, the benefits accrued and whether the experience was one that will be repeated.

Microsoft branding at Manchester 2002

At the end of 2000, Microsoft UK was approached by the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, M2002 Limited, to become a sponsor following the demise of Atlantic Telecom which had been signed up previously. Prior to the approach, Microsoft UK had never undertaken sponsorship before of any kind. Sarah Fasey the Commonwealth Games project director for Microsoft UK takes up the story: "Our local office supplied software to the original M2002 organising committee as a community giving project. What became clear was that it was a much bigger and more complex project and after a series of meetings we saw it as a fantastic opportunity for Microsoft UK and that we should be there."

The activity was weighed up against other marketing activities and it was considered that the Games gave Microsoft a broader opportunity not only to support image and reputation objectives but to showcase technology and entertain customers. Microsoft UK therefore became the official software and technology partner of the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Susan Hunt, who was general manager of sponsorship for M2002 Limited, is clear in defining the objectives from the event perspective at that time: "We wanted a leading edge approach but not a bleeding edge approach. The Games are very risk adverse so we needed be sure we could absolutely deliver what was the minimum standard excellently. So we wanted solidity and a company that could make it happen." She continues: "We had to have delivery. We also sought companies that could pick up our brand values and run with them as well. We were lucky in Microsoft that we could deliver the two. But the priority in this instance was being able to deliver."

Objectives and target audiences

Microsoft UK provided the first ever single technology platform for a major multi-venue sports event. Fasey explains: "M2002 wanted the simplicity of one single platform. In the past, such as in previous Olympics, you had lots of different IT companies involved and then you had to spend a bunch of money on systems integration because of the different systems and then you needed a whole bunch of people to help you integrate them all. They [M2002] didn't want to be forced down the road of having to involve lots of different consultants to make the system work." M2002's Hunt expands: "To be able to deal with one partner with the size, clout and capacity of Microsoft UK was a definite advantage. There is no better IT company that we could have worked with."

Financial details

So did any money change hands or did Microsoft UK just supply peoplepower and kit? According to Betty Maitland, who is a sponsorship consultant to Microsoft UK and was involved in the M2002 sponsorship: "The majority was in value in kind. However, it is generally known that top tier sponsors paid $3m." Microsoft UK's Fasey adds: "They needed comprehensive infrastructure to run the games on, multiple sports, athlete tracking, managing the athletes village, media centre etc. They needed a lot of support from the hardware and software perspective so it was largely a value in kind deal."

Microsoft hospitality at Manchester 2002

Marketing

According to Microsoft UK's Fasey the company wanted to get three things out of the games. "One was to show case our technology which we did. It was the first ever single multisports event to run on one platform - in this case Windows - and it was very successful. Secondly we wanted to exploit hospitality and we got fantastic feedback. We took 1,400 customers during the course of the 10 days." Post event research carried out by the Event Marketing team showed 89% gave top scores for the experience and 100% would attend similar hospitality. "The third thing was to demonstrate that we were good guys really and that we are a business in the UK and contribute to the UK," adds Fasey.
Fasey feels that prior to the Games, "the general public was quite cynical I think and the Games didn't have a lot of noise around them. But the minute they started everyone got behind them and we got good feedback internally largely due to the fact that we'd done something visible that our employees could be proud of."

Execution and exploitation
Technology

The technology platform involved a team from Microsoft UK working as a partner to M2002 during the 18 month build up to the Games. Explains Fasey: "We had some of our people there helping design, build and make sure it was working. Then there were support people on site to sort out any bugs or faults so that there weren't any problems from the users' perspective. So we had a team of around 20 support staff there during the Games on site 24/7."
And further help was never far away if needed adds Fasey: "We had our people on site but if something had happened that they couldn't fix then they would have been calling on the bigger teams in Reading, London and the US. They would have had access to whatever resources were needed to fix it."

Awareness/image and reputation

Awareness of the sponsorship was promoted to achieve several image and reputation objectives. Microsoft supported UK athletics events in the build up to the Games which gave opportunities to promote Microsoft's involvement in the Commonwealth Games to the TV audience and also to gain a greater understanding of the way major sports events worked out.
In terms of internal promotion Microsoft UK had great fun according to Fasey. "We had a relationship with Tanni Grey Thompson as part of our marketing programme and she came to our head office a few times, she came to our charity day and sports day which got people engaged. She also spoke at our company conference which was very inspiring. We also had competitions to win tickets to go to the event and looked for volunteers to be involved on site. We also put an Internet CafÈ into the athletes village and we had our own people there to show people how to use e-mail and Xboxes etc."

Tanni Grey Thompson OBE, Microsoft UK's M2002 ambassador

Managing the sponsorship process

According to M2002's Hunt, the event's modus operandi was inspired by the Olympics and was aimed at teaching sponsors to leverage an involvement "without the branding and the easy stuff such as signage and hospitality. It's more about what are the things that are going to help you fulfil your marketing objectives through this property. It's more of a marketing proposition."
Regular sponsor workshops were held in the build up to the Games. Hunt says: "In retrospect we would have made them less process-driven and more inspirational/ideas-driven. The problem was that there were so many first time sponsors that we had to make the workshops very prescriptive in terms of timing, ticket applications etc, the basic stuff. That took up so much time that we didn't have enough time to inspire them on how they could leverage their sponsorships. We did provide case studies and encourage them to do various things and most of them did."
The workshops were combined rather than aimed at individual sponsors explains Hunt: "For example, Cadbury spoke about what they did during the Olympics in Sydney and we had various speakers in from time to time to inspire all the sponsors. Regular work in progresses ended up being held monthly."
There were two camps of sponsors according to Hunt: "Those involved from a marketing perspective and those who were also suppliers such as Asda supplying food and Microsoft providing IT. There were therefore dual work in progresses - ones where we treating them as a client and ones where we treating them as a supplier. Contact reports were all circulated so everyone knew where everyone was up to. There was regular phone contact too."

Outcome and evaluation

M2002 and Microsoft UK are proud that a single technology platform was achieved. Says Microsoft UK's Fasey: "It [the single platform] made it a much simpler process. In terms of cost it was 10 times cheaper than the previous Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City which is a comparable size."
In terms of measuring the success of the sponsorship Hunt believes there are lessons to be learned: "Because Microsoft and many of the sponsors came on relatively late in the piece, there was a scramble towards the end in terms of measurement. There could have been more benchmarking and we did try and encourage them but there wasn't much time. We did everything we could to facilitate that but it something we could have done better."
Research of Games spectators by Intrepid showed 32% perceived Microsoft much more positively and 48% slightly more positively. Microsoft's involvement was positively received as respondents did not expect a large US company to be a sponsor. Overall there was a 13% shift in attitude with 84% of this positive.
Microsoft's infrastructure successfully demonstrated scalability to major enterprise customers and provided a valuable case study. Xbox: became the official console and provided an onsite consumer experience resulting in 45,000 trials. Xboxes were also well received in the Athletes Villages resulting in 13,000 visits. A MSN dedicated Games channel received 240,000 hits and 6000 competition entries.

Lessons to be learned

According to Microsoft UK's sponsorship consultant Maitland: "As a first time sponsor, valuable lessons were learnt about the amount of budget needed to support any future sponsorship; the commitment by all parts of the company and the need for technology partners to fully exploit the technology category."
M2002's Hunt believes the sponsorship couldn't have gone more smoothly as far as the operations were concerned. "The biggest success was that the Games imposed a personality on Microsoft and showed people the fun side through hospitality and gaming. It wasn't all clinical IT stuff, it was showing how technology can impact people in day to day life and put a relaxed informality on everything they did."
Nothing was ever a problem with Microsoft UK adds Hunt: "They were terrific friends and neighbours. We were amazed how friendly an organisation they are and that they really are a separate company to the US one and driven by the values of this country [the UK]. They proved themselves to be relaxed and competent. It was a really good partnership."
Maitland comments: "The Commonwealth Games provided the first sponsorship to really work as integrated marketing. Sport was seen to be a highly visual way of demonstrating Microsoft's products."
But would Microsoft UK do it all again? Fasey wouldn't rule it out: "We are certain that we would do something similar again. It was a new experience and a lot of hard work but we are glad that we did it and learned a lot." Microsoft UK has no other sponsorships planned at the moment, but according to Fasey: "We are feeling our way through a couple of proposals at the moment." And one can't help but think that an Olympics hosted by London in 2012 would be high up on Microsoft UK's wish list.

Rachael Church - Editor (rchurch@sportandtechnology.com)

Susan Hunt, Sports Marketing and Management - +44 (0) 20 8323 8104
Betty Maitland, Consultant and managing director of Sponsorship Online - +44 (0) 1428 751195

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