Mo Sponsor Money Mo Fan Support

             In a recent post on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network, Alastair Macdonald declared that “Olympic Sponsorship Can Work.” Macdonald then described how his company is completing a study that looks at brand awareness, customer acquisition, and brand perception metrics. Since Havas Sports & Entertainment is a company that operates in the sponsorship space, it may not be surprising that its metrics found that companies that were official sponsors of the 2012 Olympic Games were seeing significant return on investment on their key metrics (more of which can be found here).

            What’s more surprising is a finding that was buried towards the end of the post. Macdonald said his firm’s study found that, “Despite the media's best efforts, people feel remarkably warmly towards the sponsors: three times as many agree as disagree with the statement ‘The Olympic Games are better as a result of the money received from sponsors’; and twice as many disagree as agree that ‘The Olympic Games shouldn't have any sponsors.’”

            There is a popular perception that sponsorship is a necessary evil – that audiences tolerate sponsorship at games and competitions. Sports organizations having corporate partners is just another way for teams and leagues to generate as much money as possible even as they receive millions of dollars or billions of dollars in ticket sales, media rights, and event revenue. Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank articulated this seemingly popular belief when he said, “I don’t think anybody has ever opened a bank account or decided to buy a CD because a bank’s name is on the stadium.”

            Yet Havas’s study directly addresses these issues. In fact, fans understand the impact that sponsorship has on their favorite organizations, teams, and leagues. In addition, the sponsorship activation does not detract from the overall fan experience. In fact, the study shows that fans may actually want sponsors to be a part of these events.

            Highlighting that sponsorship either enhances (or at least does not negatively impact) the overall fan experience can be a critical element of sales pitches that rights holders can make to potential partners. It is true that an increasing number of marketing managers, media buying agencies, and company owners are requiring sports organizations to provide a tangible return of investment (ROI). Even after receiving ROI data, however, many corporate partners need to be convinced that their target demographics will view their sponsorships in a positive light. Havas’s finding is a good first step for making this case.