Recently I attended an inspiring and interesting presentation involving sports
sponsorship. Hosted by Price
Forbes, Ant Garstang took us through Dimension Data and Qhubeka’s journey to compete and
partner in the greatest cycle event on earth, in a two hour talk.
The
Tour de France needs little introduction but perhaps the best way of describing
the scale of the TDF event is to borrow the jaw dropping infographic contained in
BusinessInsider’s portal: Tour de France, world's biggest annual sporting event, is
an amazing race and breathtaking logistical feat. Click and
peek, then read on.
The
presentation was an informal, anecdotal account of what the tour is about that
gave one the feeling of being privy to an inside scoop on the drama that is the
TDF. And there is drama, from “Cav” being knocked off his bike by Peter Sagan’s
now infamous elbow to the logistics of feeding riders an equivalent calorie
intake of >40 odd hamburgers a day (and a few pomme frites no doubt) from
different local kitchens, as the tour travels. All very interesting indeed,
especially the firsthand accounts.
To
the uniformed, Dimension Data are the headline sponsor of a team competing in
the TDF. They also provide groundbreaking technical services to the Amaury Sports Organisation (A.S.O) the owners of the TDF enabling the viewer and
competitors access to data such as speeds, times and distance, relating to the
race and competitors in an unprecedented way, realtime. Price Forbes are insurers of Dimension Data.
Qhubeka is an inspiring charity which gives purpose to the riders and opportunities
for sponsors to leverage off the good that they do.
Apart
from the intrigue of the race itself, the human machines that compete in it and
the logistical operation that follows the event daily, the presentation to an
IP lawyer is equally, if not more fascinating, in other ways. These
observations stood out:
The Philanthropic Message
There
seems no doubt that Dimension Data’s partnership, through Ant, with charity Qhubeka and the
Team is attractive. The fact that the companies have African heritage, empower
African cycling and Africans must have created a compelling message to the TDF event
owners that enabled them to be involved in such an elite event. For this to
have made sense, both the company and the charity needed to be world class,
innovative and have a track record. Put differently, both the event and the
sponsors were able to leverage off the philanthropic and empowerment message which
is significantly more compelling than the usual pay-to-play sponsorship
package. To understand this point better it is worth reading the Dimension Data
website
which details their history in cycling and the relationship with the Team and
the Qhubeka Charity. A stand out from Qhubeka is that their own message is
neither patronizing nor stereotyping of Africa and its people; they identify a
problem and explain how bicycles can fix it. In philanthropic terms, this is
desirable.
Senior Executive Engagement
I
have always felt that unless there is board level support in a top level
sponsorship deal, it is unlikely to succeed. Sponsorship often simply creates
the platform to promote a brand. That platform is created through the event or
initiative. However, the ability and desire of the brand itself to use that
platform creatively is what differentiates a poor sponsorship from a bad one. In
other words, the sponsorship agreement is where the relationship only begins. Dimension
Data’s Senior Executive has/had some cycling enthusiasts and clearly supported
the decision. This quite obviously galvanized others to innovate around the
concept and make a success of the partnership. There are other examples where
the board inherits a sponsorship from a previous leadership group, or changes
the direction of the company so that it no longer fits with the sponsorship
alignment. In those cases the sponsorship will inevitably not deliver.
Return on Investment
It
is often difficult to know what exactly is achieved through a sponsorship. Yes,
the relationship looks and feels good, gives brand exposure but it can be very
difficult to measure. Red Bulls F1 sponsorship cleverly positioned their energy
drink and the results could be measured in sales, I imagine, quite instantly.
For a technology service provider I suspect that the ROI is not as tangible. The
same would be the case if a law firm sponsored a golf event. However, discrete measurables
are becoming more available and increasingly useful as a gauge of the
effectiveness (or not) of a sponsorship. Social media activity, website traffic
monitoring, granular viewership information, social return on investment
algorithms and increasing access to benchmark norms and information make
sponsorship easier to track, assess and ultimately negotiate. In this instance,
the fact that Dimension Data are both sponsor and service provider must have
also made the ROI more attainable. In addition, the return is not just a
measure of sales return but brand positioning and awareness.
African
companies are no strangers to global sponsorships. The presentation provided a unique insight on what appears to be a very successful
and innovative partnership. Thanks to Greg Dillon for the invitation and to Price Forbes for their wonderful hospitality.
