Driving Differentiation through Sponsorship

Here’s one… Over the months of Thursday Thoughts I’ve written to date, I’ve raised concepts around the merits of sponsorship, the value, the measurement and the overall potential it’s capable of as a business strategy (Read: it’s more than a marketing play…). Today’s thought draws our attention towards its ability to provide differentiation that’s hard(er) to copy. 

Let’s start by thinking about brand and business USPs. 20 or 30 years ago, it was far easier to build a moat around your business; either through NPD or a brand positioning that was difficult to replicate. Today, the pace of life and ability to pivot and change means that the opportunity to mimic what is working for other businesses or categories is far easier to integrate into your approach.  

As more entrants come into play, at a more rapid rate of knots, the need to constantly evolve is paramount. Take ‘Food Delivery’ as a category. In the early phase we had one main player in Uber Eats who were quickly joined by the likes of Deliveroo, Menulog, Foodora, DoorDash, Milk Run et al… What all of these businesses were able to do, is observe. They could watch from afar and plan an entry strategy to create as big a splash as possible until the next entrant came in. 

What I find interesting about these newer business categories is how quickly they all turned to sponsorship as a way to differentiate. I was across the Deliveroo x St Kilda deal, I enjoyed the Door Dash approach with the State of Origin, we all loved the Uber Eats activity with Channel 9 around the Australian Open… Same thing for FinTech. The volume of deals being done locally and globally from these relative ‘start-ups’ is immense. 

What they have all correctly recognised, is that audience passions are the most persuasive way to connect and land a message. We are hardwired to seek out our passions. We think about them more often, have deep emotional connections and an availability bias that is almost impossible to replicate through ‘spots and dots’. 

It doesn’t stop with newer product categories. Some of the world's biggest consumer brands have recently turned to sponsorship in their plight to stay relevant. Google’s recent deal with McLaren F1 Team or Spotify’s deal with Barcelona spring to mind - examples you’d never expect to see under the view of ‘why would they need sponsorship…’’.

So here’s the thought. If you’re facing a competitive threat, have a think about how you can use your sponsorship/s to say something unique about your business that is hard to replicate. Be original, get creative and open the doors for sponsorship to be more than a logo somewhere, to an integrated part of your overall go-to-market approach. Here’s some thoughts to spur you along…

1. Sponsorship, by its very nature, provides category exclusivity. While your competitors can buy advertising around yours, they can’t buy the same sponsorship. 

2. Unlock what makes the audience tick about the sponsorship. Consider this, and how - as a business - you could play a genuine role in amplifying it. (Hint. People care more about their passions than they ever will about your brand). 

3. Think about how the assets you’ve secured can work across the broader business than just marketing. For example, how could they be used to strengthen the supply chain, improve front-line staff performance, enhance thinking around NPD etc.

4. Ask the right questions. Why have we got sponsorship? What is it for? How are we using and measuring it? Get under the hood and develop a crystal clear understanding in order to be able to defend its use when the pressure increases and the urge to ‘buy more display’ creeps in...

In the fast-paced, ever-changing world we operate in, it’s likely your access to people's passions through sponsorship that can provide the strongest, clearest point of difference for your brand or business… 

Power of Three

Here’s one… A trend I’m predicting to gather momentum this year is the inclusion of a third party to partnership marketing. As the creative standards grow within the sponsorship sector, the demands for uniqueness and originality grow with it. 

I’m not suggesting that a conventional Brand x Rights Holder engagement is insufficient - far from it. What I’m seeing is a greater opportunity to connect and inspire by folding a third ingredient into the mix. 

Like many trends, this is one I’ve seen bubbling up under the surface within various subcultures. One of particular note is the masterful work of the Shoe Surgeon. This artist has forged an incredible niche by dismantling our favourite sneaker brands and re-building them with a bespoke twist. Be that another fashion brand, or even a confectionary brand, the results are captivating and unique. 

So what can this third element look like? In my opinion, it doesn’t always need to be another brand - it could be - but another element that brings additional equity to the outcome. It could be a person, a media channel, another property or indeed another brand. 

Arguably, we’ve seen examples of this third pillar for a while, but I’d also argue this was more default than design. The role of ambassadors sitting across multiple sponsorships is a good example. Where I see the potential value is by building these outcomes from the ground up and thereby adding specific elements together with a clear idea in mind. 

I’ve been working with a business in the US recently and have made this third element a core part of their partnership marketing strategy. It’s a simple addition to a strategy that acts as a turbocharger, not a straightjacket. We’re currently working on some exciting campaigns that bring these two other elements into play, and I’ll share outcomes when it’s suitable to do so. 

In the meantime, have a think about what brand, person, channel or technology you can add into your campaigns to bring a new and unique element to the execution. I’m fairly certain it’ll pay dividends.

Taking Training To The Next Level

Here’s one… I’ve written over 20 Thursday Thoughts since opening the ‘doors’ at Super-Sub only 8 months ago. I’ve found writing about our industry and sharing my observations so liberating, and have really appreciated the input and feedback so far. Rarely however - if at all - have I written about my own work as Super-Sub…

Earlier this week, the news of AI powered investing application ‘Jaaims’ being announced as the new Official Training Partner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs broke. I was proud as punch to see this deal come to fruition. Jaaims are more than a market-leading business in the online investing space, they were my foundation client. With both of us being relatively new on our respective journey’s, we’ve forged a path together to disrupt the market and produce outcomes others may have thought about, but never did. 

The background to this deal is a great example of what happens when you don’t leap straight to executions or logos… Jaaims’ unique advantage is their powerful AI which consumes over 10 million stock and business data points per day (it even analyses a company annual report in under 73 seconds and provides an investing decision). It means for the retail investor like you or I, that the decisions we make on what stock to buy is backed up by more information than would be humanly possible to consume alone. Not only that, it also scans global sources to gauge vital sentiment around businesses. Net = it gives investors the confidence to trade and not rely on their own gut feel or “mates advice”. 

In essence, Jaaims works tirelessly in the background to ensure that when the time comes to place trades, you (the investor) are in the best position possible. And therein lies the link to this new opportunity as the Official Training Partner. We knew that explaining how Jaaims works needed a clear analogy. When thinking about sport, and team sport in particular, success on the field of play comes down to the countless hours spent 'in the background' on the training field. This logic and understanding of training, and how the activity is seen by fans, paved the path to this new deal.

Beyond the fact this partnership rings true on so many levels, I’m really happy for Jaaims’ Founder, Tui Eruera and his entire leadership team. To have a thought as big as he did and to make it happen, and to see your brand grow to the point where it adorns the training jerseys of a team like the Rabbitohs is something most of us will only ever dream about. 

So here’s my learning for you all - start with the question: “What am I trying to say, and how can I be told with authenticity”. Jaaims move into their 3rd year as a partner with the Rabbitohs and it’s going to be great to see our campaign come to life and bring this new narrative to the table.

Making Sponsorship Strategy Simple

Here’s one… How many of you are working to a clearly defined partnership/sponsorship strategy framework? Maybe it was created specifically for a particular opportunity, or a more holistic approach across the organisation. It might have come from the Rights Holder, or be a retrofit from the broader comms/marketing strategy. Regardless of where it came from, operating without one is a fool's game.

If you’re in the camp of “I’ve got a strategy, and it’s shit hot”, then I doff my cap in your general direction. If you’re in the camp of “I don’t have a strategy” or “I have one, but I’m not convinced it’s driving anything”, then you’re in very good company. Why? Well, how often have you heard a sponsorship justified as an Executive decision or “too good an opportunity to pass on”? I don’t have an issue with either of those rationale, but I have a monumental issue with not taking the time to develop a strategy to support it. 

My go-to argument in regards to why a specific sponsorship strategy is needed is a simple one; you wouldn’t buy media without a plan (strategy) so why buy a sponsorship without one… (you dig?).

Part of the reason many partnerships exist without one is that there was no time to divert towards creating it. Or, worse, “why do I need a strategy to put our logos on an LED or dish out tickets?” It’s not my place to bash you over the head, but I’d constructively argue both responses lack vision or ambition. Writing a strategy ain’t hard. With a simple framework, it’s child's play, rewarding, fun and will absolutely drive greater outcomes from your sponsorships. It’s also a great tool to engage stakeholders who otherwise didn’t appreciate what the sponsorship was for. 

So what does a simple sponsorship strategy framework look like then, Clarkey? Good question. I came across an article written by a phenomenal leader called Chris Hirst back while working in the UK. He suggested that a successful outcome started out with a powerful audacious goal, and that reaching those goals would then require a way of working and an executional approach. Simple, three-step thinking. The more I thought about it, the more I realised it was exactly relevant to how we approach sponsorship strategy (or at least how we should). I’ve since used this approach professionally, personally and to great effect. It goes like this…

Step 1. What is the big audacious goal of the partnership? Brainstorm it. Get creative. What could it be? Make it big and bold (people don’t remember average). Think about it in terms of what you’d like to be known for as a result of being a sponsor. Think about what fans would wish existed around the thing it is you’re sponsoring. Write it as a statement of intent. Use words that capture, simplify and excite. This is your Ambition’

Step 2. Think about how you need to behave as a sponsor? You can’t behave as you would through advertising, so think about how to make your brand relatable. How will you approach your role with credibility to the audience? How will you be seen as ‘adding value’ and not just logo-slapping? Think about it in terms of your character; how would you like to be seen? This is your ‘Attitude’

Step 3. Finally, what do you need to do in order to achieve your audacious ambition in a manner which reflects your attitude? How would you break this into tasks; Rome wasn’t built in a day. How will you measure the impact? How will you allocate inventory, teams or budgets? Write this again as a statement; simple, clear and actionable. This is your ‘Activation’. 

It’s that simple. Audacious Ambition, Attitude and Activation. Sure, there are more fancy approaches, and you may find you need to add elements to this, but it’s a bloody good starting point if you feel you don’t have a clear strategy in place. 

When I left Octagon to start Super-Sub, I used this framework to think about how I wanted to operate in order to remain focussed and on-task. It works like this:

Ambition: To change the way people think about sponsorship (Why? Because society needs access to passions, and sponsors fund those passions; no sponsors, no passions - yuk!!)

Attitude: I am sponsorships #1 fan. (Why? Because getting people to think differently takes passion,conviction and energy. I articulate this as “The game-changer in sponsorship”)

Activation: To inspire thought and action through knowledge, support and encouragement (Why? Because we can all do this, it just takes a little bit of time, effort and budget). 

I’ve used this approach so many times, and not once has it failed to deliver outcomes. It’s easy to do, fun to do, quick to do and will set you up for success. Take it, tweak it, call it your own. The more we make our sponsorships grounded in a strategy, the harder they’ll work and the better off we’ll all be when more marketing dollars tip into our channel. Simple. 

You’ll still need to write creative strategy for how you actually bring the assets to life, but this will be informed by the sponsorship strategy and keep you honest about how your brand comes to life. If you need any help with this stuff, reach out. It’s why I started Super-Sub; to sub in and help where needed. 

Peace. 

We're NFI and it bothers me...

Here’s one… remember at school when you didn’t get that converted invite to the ‘party of the year’ the whole class were frothing about?? Might just have been me… anyway, the feeling of not being invited to something everybody else is, ain’t a nice feeling; whether it's a birthday party or the “Worlds Largest Online Advertising Event” known to man…

If you work in the comms industry, there’s a strong chance you’ll have seen the ads promoting AdWorld. It looks pretty good and I’m toying with attending, but what caught my attention is an example of what concerns me greatly about the role and visibility that sponsorship/partnerships have in the overall universe of marketing. To put it bluntly, we’re not invited…

Not invited? Can’t you just buy a ticket? Well, yes, you can, but what I’m referring to is that our sector is unrepresented as one of the “Tracks” (topics/channels covered). You’ve got everything from Content Marketing, Conversion, Lead Gen, SEO, The Future of Advertising, Performance and Design, Social Media, eCom, Email, Media and Growth Hacking, but no sponsorship/partnership track - not even as an aspect of a different track. 

There’s a pretty formidable lineup of speakers (the great man Mr. Rory Sutherland along with the respected Mr. Seth Godin) and epic subjects covered that I genuinely think is something us sponsorship practitioners should attend, but it saddens me that we aren’t represented? 

In the case of the ‘Party of The Year’ at school, if you weren’t invited, it’s likely that you’re just not cool enough. WTF? Not cool? Unless you’ve lived under a rock your whole life, we’re the coolest part of marketing going. We wrote the book of cool? You need to wear protective gloves to touch us we’re that cool. 

I’m aware this is bordering on a rant, but I long for the day that we - as an industry - are seen, valued and invited to the events that are shaping the thinking of the marketing universe. Perhaps the reason we struggle with people thinking we’re all about ‘awareness’ and 'logo-slapping' is because we’re not at these occasions to share the stories about how we’re everything other channels aren’t; for starters, we exist in the real world. Go figure. 

To the organisers of AdWorld, I commend you for the quality of the cohort, speakers and breadth of tracks. It’ll be an awesome event. That said, if it’s not too late to throw some razzle dazzle to your party, give me a shout. I can pull together an unreal squad of our industry's finest like you’ve never seen before. 

The day we’re present at these events, we’ll know we’re doing the right thing and that the appreciation and acceptance of sponsorship/partnership marketing is gaining traction and putting our industry into the limelight in which it naturally and inherently exists. 

If you’re not invited to something, there’s a reason… Let’s work together to shout about the myriad reasons we offer. 

A Huge ‘Like’ For Sponsorship

Here’s one… Like me, you may have woken this morning to huge news in the sporting world of a landmark deal between Facebook and the 2023 Rugby World Cup hosted in France. The deal sees the godfather of social media become the ‘Official Social Media Services Supplier’ for the tournament. It’s a first on a number of levels but mainly the first time this designation has been sold and the first time Facebook have taken an official foray into the world of sponsorship. 

Welcome to the party, Facebook… You get an immediate ‘like’ from me as a rugby fan, and you can count this as a share too. 

There are a few layers to this deal I thought was worth sharing with you all, but what really got me thinking was what this deal represents. Look at it this way, Facebook has ‘existed’ around every major sporting and cultural event since its inception. I used it at the 2012 Olympics in London, the FIFA World Cup in Russia and more recently at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan as did gazillions of other fans around the world. 

As a user generated content platform whose role is to ‘facilitate the ability for people to connect with their friends’, they’ve been able to associate to all of these events without the need for a formal rights relationship. So what changed? 

Before I give my view on that, it’s worth winding the clock back slightly to the UEFA EURO 2020 Championships which took place in June of 2021 (owing to the pandemic). The brand which caught my attention most was TikTok who signed on as an official sponsor only as recently as the February. While social media platforms have long been associated with aspects like media rights and streaming rights, it’s not been all that common if at all to see them associated with the other consumer-facing brands as sponsors. 

In the case of TikTok and the Euros, it was an opportunity early in their evolution to position the brand as more than just a platform for teens who dance and lip sync, but as a brand that is also relevant to an older 25-40 audience. A smart move to ensure their proposition isn’t a panfire, but an evolving part of the zeitgeist. 

So what changed? Well, nothing really. If you separate how you personally use these platforms for a moment, they’re like any other service-based business that needs to differentiate themselves. TikTok had a perception issue, so they turned to the strongest channel available to address this; sponsorship…

As far as Facebook is concerned, the rationale behind this deal is likely a play at driving brand preference in the face of increasing competition for consumers' time. As an official supplier, they’ll be afforded access to event IP, promotional opportunities, access and the ability to build targeted and integrated activity like they plan to run around the events legacy program ‘Campus 2023’.

There is a bloody powerful message here for me. Facebook is one of the wealthiest brands in the world. They have a huge footprint and access to a media budget that would make your eyes water, but have turned to sponsorship as the channel of choice to help tackle a business challenge. 

Imagine the consumer insights they have access to. The way they know how our minds work (tell me you’ve seen ‘The Social Network’??). They know how to reach their audience, and it’s little surprise to me that they’ve chosen a sponsorship to do that. 

There’s a saying “your network is your net worth”. Well, having Facebook (and TikTok) join our global sponsorship network is a huge vote of confidence in the channel. This is a big day for our industry, people. A big day.

Sponsorship is not Advertising

Here’s one… How do you view sponsorship in the context of your brand communications? As in, what communications message do you assign to sponsorship channels vs. other channels? 

A common error in sponsorship is to apply advertising to sponsorship touch points. It’s an easy one to make, as more often than not a sponsorship is part of a broader campaign and therefore logic suggests that all touch points need to land the same message. 

So why do we fall into this trap? Well, there are some common themes to be aware of:

1. Fans not Consumers - When you’re using a sponsorship to reach your audience, you have to remember at that moment in time they are a fan, and not a consumer. They aren’t at the event to engage in advertising, but to engage in their passion. 

2. Emotional vs. Rational - Advertising typically lands a rational message around product, promise or promotion. Sponsorship is the only channel at your disposal that purely exists in the emotional reality. I’m not saying it can’t ‘sell’, but it’s what you say to sell that counts. 

3. Lack of Thinking - Most sponsorships are typically acquired as part of some sort of promotion or engagement hook. As such, it doesn’t receive the depth of thinking and strategic approach it should.

4. Path to Purchase - Finally, depending on your product category, a sponsorship interaction is likely quite far away from actual purchase. If you sell instant gratification then you can ‘advertise’, but the majority of consumer products require quite the effort which is not what fans are there to do. 

Now we’re aware of where we go wrong, what things do we need to be thinking about? Simple:

1. Think about the Frequency Illusion (that phenomena which explains why we always notice the same things once we’ve engaged in them). Expose fans to your brand in a provocative and persuasive way, then plan media outside the event to land the sales message…

2. Think about context. Fans' mood is guaranteed on approach to the event, but unknown on the way out. How will you adjust messaging to account for this?

3. Leverage the exclusivity. One huge benefit of sponsorship is to be able to engage an audience outside of your competitors. Think about what this means or adds to your overall communications challenge and leverage the heck out of it. 

4. Think psychographics not demographics. As a sponsor, you’re engaging in emotions, not rational truths. Understand what makes the fan a fan and how that differs from other aspects of their life. Play to this nuance.

5. Have some balls. If you’re a sponsor brand, have the belief in the power of sponsorship and don’t just default to an advertising message “because at least it’s consistent”. Fans don’t give a monkeys about brands at the point of consuming their passions, so be provocative and value adding.

Sponsorship is not advertising. Advertising shouts at consumers while sponsorship engages with fans. 

Time to put a rocket up our collective proverbials...

Here’s one… How many articles, polls or posts have you seen since the closing ceremony about the sponsorship deals our athletes may now attract having ‘proven’ themselves at Tokyo2020?

https://www.bandt.com.au/expert-tips-the-aussie-olympians-most-likely-to-win-gold-with-marketers-dollars/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Expert%20Tips%20The%20Aussie%20Olympians%20Most%20Likely%20To%20Win%20Gold%20With%20Marketers’%20Dollars&utm_campaign=B%26T%20today%3A%2010th%20August%202021

I have nothing against these articles. In fact, they will gradually help us get to a better place by further shining a light on these remarkable individuals, but here’s my point. 

The men, women and (in this example of the Olympics), kids who represented their nations around the world are all extraordinary examples of the human race. Dedication, commitment, tenacity, belief and the walking embodiment of what we’re all capable of to one degree or another. They were always a marketeers dream but they just didn’t have that exposure that made us feel they were worthy of our marketing dollars… 

Why? No reach, no audience, no eyeballs = no value. C’mon people. Really? There isn’t a brand or organisation in Australia or the world for that matter that doesn’t have a reputation or perception problem that doesn’t need a solution (bear in mind a good NPS is 28!). Finding ways to tell their brand story with authenticity does not come from a 30” TVC formed of a wonderfully fabricated narrative and beautifully conveyed by actors, but from proof and evidence. 

There was a kid in my school back in the UK called Anders. His mum was an astronaut. Anders had very few mates and was often found awkwardly standing at the edge of the playground at break. He wasn’t the cool kid and nobody knew at the time his mum was an astronaut. One break, while all eyes were on the cool kids with the Reeboks and slick haircuts, someone shouted out from across the playground “this kids mum is an astronaut”... Anders became a highlight of our year. His mum came in and did a talk. He was still a wallflower, but everyone knew Anders and how his mum might be in space one day. 

Let me break this down:

Anders = unique story and perspective (think Athlete)

Kid who shouted = provided the reach (think media plan)

If you work in marketing, either client or agency side, it is your opportunity to find and shout about an ‘Anders’. Your opportunity to promote the incredible abilities and characters who exist in our society; athletes, dancers, artists et al. Stop looking for the bright lights and flick the switch yourself - it’s waaaay more valuable to help someone on their way up than cling to someone who is. 

A point really well made in Andrew Hornery’s article in the SMH where he describes the slim pickings as far as formal budget allocation to athletes is concerned. Athletics Australia has a budget of $1.7m to support athletes. Compared that to the $123.3m Australian businesses ‘wasted’ on digital spend in the 2nd Qtr this year, and it helps one realise the need for more non-Federation funding changes. 

https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/why-the-formula-for-funding-athletes-like-peter-bol-must-change-20210803-p58fi7.html

To conclude… Reach is a vital part of what we do but you are missing the trick if you start with it. You can buy reach for toffees these days, but you can’t fabricate authenticity… I hope our athletes get the backing and rewards they some rightly deserve. I hope businesses across the country and world sign them up, but I really hope we all take a moment to realise that they were always worthy of our support, we just didn’t give the time to discover that. 

Why Reach Keeps Me Up…

Here’s one… I’ve wanted to write about ‘reach’ for a while. It’s the single biggest concern I have with our industry, and one I think we all need to be well aware of.

With NSW in the midst of a lockdown due to last god-knows-how-long, and other states experiencing their own ‘squeaky bum time’ now feels like the right time to talk about reach. So why does it concern me as much as it does? The answer lies in a number of places, and I’ll do my best to outline them.

1. Selling sponsorship based on the audience it reaches, while important, allows the marketing industry to view sponsorship as a media channel and therefore compare it to other media channels. While many of our top properties come with huge audiences, none of them can reach as many consumers as other channels can for a fraction of the cost. Ergo - we’re wrongly educating the industry that the strength of sponsorship is its ability to reach an audience vs. its ability to persuade an audience. 

2. When sport grinds to a halt, sponsors run for the hills. We saw this at the outset of Covid, and we’re at risk of seeing it again now. Marketeers want make-goods, refunds or terminations because they’re no longer reaching fans in the numbers they were sold. Fans are fans regardless of whether an event is cancelled or not. Clearly this is a case by case thing, but I’d bet the majority of brands with grievances were just logo slapping in the first place. 

3. Focussing on reach takes the focus away from actually using sponsorship. If you’re justifying sponsorship spend based on reach and therefore media value, it’s highly likely you’re not leveraging IP or integrating the sponsorship into your business or value chain (hint: this is where sponsorship will crush any other media channel for performance). Sponsorship isn’t a media channel, it’s a business strategy. Logos mean nothing without a proposition behind it. 

4. Reach blurs the lines of logic. It’s like a crack pipe for the sponsorship industry. You just want more and more of it regardless of whether there is a better-placed property to help solve your problem, albeit with a smaller reach. Are we overlooking opportunities to partner with more niche properties in search of others with maximum reach? I reckon we are…  

So if reach really does worry me, what do I propose we do about it? Well, it’s actually quite simple. Don’t start with it, don’t focus on it and don’t justify against it. 

Instead, focus on finding the property with the best potential to solve your problem. Then, build the sponsorship proposition that aligns the property with your business and/or brand strategy. Finally, get creative and design a solution that can be integrated into your business. 

Only once you’ve done this, can you then use what reach is available to hit your audience. If you need more reach than the property provides, top it up with paid spend. You will end up with a far more powerful approach that isn’t impacted if an event is postponed. 

I’m super passionate about this topic and hope my concerns and suggestions have been clearly articulated. Selling/buying reach is a race to the bottom. We have a mountain to climb to get the collective marketing industry to see sponsorship for its myriad advantages and to use it to its best to solve problems. Reach is always going to be important, but it can also be our demise...

How Purpose Opens Doors

Here’s one… have you ever found yourself in that dichotomy of ‘do I elevate our purpose into marketing executions or just leave it as a tab on the website and tell people we have one if they ask’? 

Well, let’s see if we can use an example to suggest why elevating purpose into everything you do might be the right thing for the sports & entertainment industry…

This week's Thursday Thought comes from the amazing work being led by the team at Forest Green Rovers in the UK’s League Two (I mentioned them last week). Given the topic around the worrying carbon costs of our passions, I wanted to highlight a few more of the specific areas FGR have gained ground with since their transition into a purpose-led business and sports club. 

It’s fair to say that their transition to purposefulness was helped by being Chaired by a huge advocate and protagonist for environmental sustainability; something which flew in the face of culture at the time, Dale Vince OBE.

The impacts of their efforts are only just starting but are nonetheless bloody impressive. Here’s a simple timeline of progress since setting the focus on driving their purpose. 

2010 - Green industrialist Dale Vince becomes a major shareholder in the club and later that year became Chairman. 

2011 - Vince instigates a ban on meat consumption by players which soon extended to removal of meat options from the menu at concession stands. Additionally, 180 solar panels were installed generating 10% of the energy needs of the club 

2012 - The playing surface was certified organic and was maintained by robotic machines driven by solar power, winning an award from the Institute of Groundsmanship for its focus on sustainability

2015 - FGR became the world’s first all-vegan football club

2016 - The club announced a new design for a 5,000 seat stadium to be built entirely of wood and yet it wasn’t until 2021 that the designs gained approval from the English Football League

2018 - The club became the first football club in the world to be certified by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as Carbon Neutral 

2021 - the team strip was the first in the world to be made from composite material made up of coffee grounds and recycled plastic 

2021 - FIFA recognised FGR as the ‘Greenest Team in the World’

Great work, FGR, but here’s where it gets more interesting for me. The dogged focus on their purpose drew relevant brands into the mix as commercial partners. A scan of the partner list on the clubs website reveals the story: 

Brands who share the same focus and values. Brands who want to contribute to FGR’s successes. Brands whose customers demand such authenticity. A perfect synergy indeed.

It’s rarely seen in sponsorship that such an alignment takes place. It’s not to suggest we must all strive for this, but it’s a great yardstick for what can be achieved. 

Not only is FGR the Greenest Team in the World, but I’d argue they’ve also got the most sustainable partner roster too...

How close are we to Sponsorship’s ‘Tipping Point’?

Here’s one… Would you believe me if I told you that you’re 7x heavier when you engage in your passions than at any other point in your life? 

Like many millions of you, I’ve been glued to Netflix taking in Sir David Attenborough's latest attempt to get the world to take climate change seriously. Like many millions of you, I’ve been equally as touched and concerned at the realities facing all of us and our individual and collective obligations in helping to reverse some of the ‘boundaries’ highlighted in ‘Breaking Boundaries’. 

So what does this mean to us - primarily those in the sponsorship industry? Well, back to that reference to your weight… Clearly I’m not suggesting your waistline ballooning, but I am telling you that your carbon footprint is on average 7x greater when consuming a passion of yours than at any other point in your life. Take that in. Your impact on the environment is 7 times as great just by doing something that makes you, you. 

Over time fans have demanded an increase in the levels of sophistication, attention to detail, ‘raising-of-the-bar’ and overall ‘thrills and spills’ when it comes to measuring their value for money. As an example in the space of only a few short years, the Australian Open has catapulted into the best sporting spectacle in the southern hemisphere from what was a great tennis tournament into a fully blown culture, sport and lifestyle festival. But at what cost?

I remember going to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK when I was a kid. Loads of cars roaring up the hill of Lord March’s land. Back then there was the odd 3x3 marquee offering refreshments and give-aways etc. Fast forward a decade and you’ll find what we see today; rows and rows of extravagant one-off builds displaying the very best cars from every auto brand known to humankind. What we find at today's event is a something-for-everyone solution that gives fans little choice but to put the festival on the annual calendar. 

What these brands and events are adding to our lives as fans brings an inordinate amount of value and experience that we’re all the better for it, but heeding the insights from Prof. Johan Rockstrom would convince us we need to reset our expectations. 

This is a pure supply and demand situation; fans demand greater value for money, rights holders supply it.

It’s a rarely reported outcome of the Olympics that the venues created to host them turn into white elephants pretty quickly. We saw Olympic greatness in Brazil when Schooling beat his childhood hero Phelps to the gold in butterfly claiming Singapore’s only ever medal. Just 12 months later, the scene of the triumph looks somewhat different…

In Sir David Attenborough’s documentary it called for our collective contribution in reversing the boundaries or ‘tipping points’ in our everyday lives, so what can we and should we be doing through sponsorship?

From a sponsors point of view:

1. Expectation - quite often, glitz and glam is requested to appease the ‘powers that be’ about the merits of a sponsorship. Having the C-Suite and Board rock up for a cheese sandwich and lukewarm mug of tea doesn’t cut the mustard nor leave the best impression. It’s the Sponsorship Directors responsibility to set the expectations up the chain in order to avoid unnecessary expense in execution.

2. The brief - the task being set for the agency needs to recognise the requirement for the solution to be ‘lighter’ and more sustainable. Bigger is not better. It’s certainly going to garner attention, but don’t be fooled by it. Attention to detail, strong insight and sharp execution will win the race. 

3. KPI’s - challenge your partners to deliver concepts that are carbon neutral or at the least have a reuse or recycled factor to them. I’ve walked around warehouses full of builds that ‘will be used next year’ that never were… What Waste Management does with the WM Phoenix Open in Arizona is top class - 99.9% reused or recycled.

From a rights-holder point of view:

1. Set the guidelines - great focus is given by rights-holders on ensuring sponsor activity does something for the fans and not just the sponsors ExCo, but ensuring activities fit into a stringent set of guidelines around environmental impact is critical. 

2. Publicise progress - own your destiny and path to sustainability. Nobody expects there to be no environmental impact in what you do, but don’t let the positive impact you create become invisible. Help fans know you’re on a journey to sustainability and promote it. If you need inspiration, look to Forest Green Rovers and the journey Dale Vance and his team have been on (more in this in next week's feature)

3. Standardised spaces - as much as I don’t like the one-size-fits all approach to the US Open, the standardisation of the fan environments takes the opportunity for brands to ‘peacock’ out of the question. The retail precinct around Show Court 3 at Melbourne Park is a brilliant example of standardisation that still enables creativity. Having attended US sports events in consecutive years I can tell you they roll out the exact same activations year on year. Not only is this cheaper, it also gives fans a chance to register messages, recognise activity and gain that year on year familiarity to the event. 

We’re all in on this one together. We have to be. If we all set ourselves the same challenge of reducing our carbon footprint at events year on year, we’ll be doing our part. It doesn’t need to impact sponsorship value or creativity either. If anything it can help to drive it further forward. 

If you need convincing of the merit of marketing your purpose, pop the kettle on and get comfy for a google session on the topic. Or I could save you the time and tell you it’s bloody powerful. 

Sir David Attenborough and his cohort of scientists haven’t relented in their efforts to get us all to pay more attention to the devastating impacts we’re creating to the environment, so let’s not overlook our opportunity to play our part. 

The Naomi Osaka Rule

Here’s one… What role should we play, do we play or can we play in regards to protecting the mental wellbeing of the athletes we seek to commercialise? I’ve spent much of this week going over and over the recent concerns with Naomi Osaka and her withdrawal from the French Open. There are hallmarks in this example that point to the areas we should be doing a better job at as an industry and there’s a role we can all be playing in that.  

ICYMI - Naomi Osaka announced prior to the French Open that she wouldn’t be taking part in the tournament's mandatory post-match press conferences citing concerns over her mental health. The news put the sports and entertainment industry into a tailspin of conflicting opinions, morals and judgement, but mainly just headlines about how much she was being fined

Owing to the resulting interest in her refusal to partake in the interviews, Naomi ended up withdrawing from the Major in the interests of removing the distraction she’d caused to other players, but it’s where we’re left as an industry that I find particularly important to discuss. 

I must start by saying that our collective welfare, mental health and wellbeing has never been of more importance than it is today. The circumstances we’ve all endured and are enduring these past 18months have pushed us all to our limits, and beyond, and I find examples like Naomi’s particularly concerning. 

What’s happened since the withdrawal? Well, of course the International Tennis Federation will undergo an investigation into the treatment of players in the hands of the media, but my worry is that this is only one part of the problem, and focussing just on the media will distract us from looking at the other key factors.

Yes the media play a huge card in this topic, but isn’t their job to ask the tough questions that help mere mortals realise these people are only human? Society looks to those in the spotlight as a source of comfort, inspiration and relatability. We need to see angst in order to learn how we can all overcome it. 

I reached out to a good friend and WTA Board Member earlier this week to get their read on things. Like me, they felt the issue here wasn’t purely about the media but something that lay closer to home for Naomi; her representation…

As you’ll appreciate, agents nurture talent in order to find them commercial deals which supplement their on-court earnings through lucrative endorsements. In return, they are rewarded for their efforts. For the most part, this important relationship works very well, yet sadly there are an increasing number of examples where it doesn’t; and I fear in Naomi’s case that’s what we’re seeing. 

Like many highly-strung athletes, Naomi is actually an incredibly shy person off court. She has a very sharp moral compass and deep interests in other areas of her life, but what she isn’t is the bulletproof marketing machine that she’s sold to be. It’s not that she shouldn’t be taking commercial opportunities (far from it), but more so that she be better guided and protected by those around her as she does so.  

Setting expectations of the commercial realities of professional sport takes a back-seat to physical training and competing. It’s something I experienced first hand earlier this year when I was approached to work with young Aussie golfer Steph Kyriacou as she prepared to take her first season on the LET. It wasn’t until talking with Steph that it became clear that little time, if any was given to educating athletes on the commercial realities of sport. Media training, sure, but the gory details about what brands will expect if they sign deals with them, less so. 

So what can we be doing better? Here’s a few thoughts:

1. Clearer communication. This will always lead to results. Better communication with the athlete around their purpose, principles and values in order to understand what is right and wrong for them, and doing this early enough in the journey to greatness for it to be embedded is vital. My work with Steph covered how to think of her brand, her boundaries, morals and values and also things to consider when being responsible for a brand's image other than her own. 

1. Better guidelines. There are sadly occasions where the media overstep the mark in the nature of their questions and are then largely unaccountable to the ramifications. We see agents stepping in to cut off questions, but the damage is already done by that point. We need to help the media by shaping an appropriate approach where they’re able to elicit the insights they’re looking for without doing so at the expense of the athletes' wellbeing; if they do, there should be fair implications. 

1. More authenticity. As athletes get more wise to the world of the commercial aspects, they’re better able to accommodate deals which may stray from their core beliefs. Setting clear frameworks for athletes early on in order to protect their welfare through appropriate deals is vital. The worry here is that they seem harmless on the surface, but have a highly negative compounding impact that hugely damages athletes' sense of self. ‘Selling out’ is a fear all athletes have, and recovering from this can take some time. 

This is a difficult topic to unpack and likely to draw all types of opinions. For me, the most important thing we should be doing as an industry is to run towards the issue, not away from it. I’m not casting blame or doubt here, ultimately we’re all responsible for situations like we saw with Naomi, I just hope we can find better ways of connecting fans with their passions without being at the expense of such precious muscles such as the mind...

3 Points of Contact

Here’s one… have you ever wondered what happens if you go rock climbing and take both hands off the wall at the same time (or both feet for that matter)? I’ll save you the hassle; you’re highly likely to fall off. 

The ‘3 Points of Contact’ rule is one of the oldest and most important rules to understand in order to stay safe and enjoy climbing. It means that at all times, you have both hands and a foot, or both feet and a hand in contact with the surface. Obvs, but what does this have to do with partnership marketing? Good question. I've recently been working on a portfolio review for a client and the thought occurred to me that the more points of contact we form between a brand and the rights holder, the less chance the sponsorships have of ‘falling’ (or failing). 

Think about IP utilisation or assets like MCBE’s and tickets. The more deeply these are used within the brand organisation, the stronger the performance of the sponsorship. How many times have you heard that a sponsorship was pulled because it wasn’t performing rather than it having ran its course? Lots I’d imagine. I’d also imagine in a large number of these cases that the assets weren’t really being used which is why it was pulled as opposed to being used but not performing… 

So what might ‘Three Points of Contact’ look like? Well:

1. IP - There are very few brands in the world who are more meaningful, desirable and immediately identifiable to your audience as the brands of their passions. Contact number one should be taking your rights holders brand through every relevant touch point in your brand architecture. Websites, end-frames, holding messages on call centres, artwork etc. If you’re not using their brand as far and wide as relevant, you’re leaving huge sums of value on the table. 

2. Integration - How many departments within your business know about your sponsorships? Do they know what the portfolio strategy is, how they are being used or measured? Empowering the broader business on what sponsorships your brand has and how they can play a role in their day-to-day is contact number two. 

3. Experience design - Most contracts will have some form of money can’t buy experience (MCBE), player appearance or similar. Quite often there’s little logic on why these assets are in the contract in the first place, but they can provide valuable return nonetheless. Sitting down to plan out how you can use these assets takes less than a day and can be a quick win on getting your sponsorships to work harder for you. That’s contact number three.

So there you have it. There are many other ways to draw contact points between your organisation and the partner, and we don’t need to be confined by the conventional reality of two hands and two feet. My point though is this; don’t hang from the wall by one hand and complain when you fall off and land in a puddle. 

If sponsorship isn’t performing, I’d bet it’s likely due to its lack of integration...

Now that’s team spirit, Telstra.

Here’s one… now we’re a few weeks on from the Telstra Small Business Week, what can we all take away from Telstra’s activity through their NRL and AFL sponsorships?

While the concept of ‘pass-through’ is nothing new (Mastercard have built their business by buying rights and sharing them across myriad issuer and merchant partners), this particular execution is a strong proof point of the brands objectives to support small businesses and an interesting execution to boot. 

So what can we take away from this? Well, here’s some fodder for thought:

1. Sponsorship can drive the value chain - Sponsorships provide an unreal power to forge relationships and work towards common goals. For Telstra to bring so many SME’s into play here is evidence. Working your sponsorship through your value chain is rarely done, but oh so powerful when it is. Do it!

2. Slap-on-the-back logo usage - This is some brand slapping I applaud. Why? Because it means something and supports a strong narrative. Having the confidence to ‘turn off’ your brand in order to ‘turn on’ another's is a clever way of re-injecting interest back into your brand. Over time, fans can become impartial to brands with long tenure. While that doesn’t mean there’s a problem, it does mean that pulling off something like this actually drives a reinvigorated awareness and interest into your brand. 

3. Insightfully rich - We always look for the unique fan insight into leverage activity, but an idea like this leans on a far broader insight around the Australian spirit of the ‘have a go’ attitude and the essence of ‘mateship’. It’s a clever way of giving the campaign licence to exist outside of the stadiums in which it appeared and into the zeitgeist around the country. You could be an NRL rejector and still be moved by what Telstra have done to help others. 

4. Up in Lights was a big gesture, but has a HUGE impact on business owners - Few of us will know what it’s like to launch and grow your own business. I’m only just at the start of my journey, but can only imagine the sense of excitement and pride that comes from seeing your dream ‘up in lights’ and broadcast to the nation. I know how good it feels to see your own logo on a keep cup, let alone a footy field! 

5. Don’t say, do - This is categoric proof of the power of sponsorship to do ‘real’ things that mean ‘real’ things. There is no other brand touch point that actually exists and touches people in the way sponsorship does. If you have a strong brand purpose, how are you using your partnerships to prove it? 

6. Collaboration - There’s no doubt this would have been a ball-ache to pull off (pun intended). Managing conflicts, exclusivities, multiple stakeholders is a serious undertaking. The entire project team from both Andrew Abdo and Kylie Rogers to Jeremy Nicholas and his leadership team at Telstra right through to the broadcast partners, agency partners and commercial teams at the clubs should be proud of what they’ve pulled off. Don’t get me wrong, this wouldn't have been all rainbows and lollies but when all is said and done, great things are never the easiest to do, but the most rewarding to be a part of. 

Here’s to hoping activity like this gets recognised far and wide as another strong example of raising the tide mark in the strategic and creative execution of sponsorship. 

Bravo, Telstra. 

The Sweetest Deal of the Year

Here’s one… can a brand we’ve all grown up with, whose purpose is to spread joy and which can be found in cupboards, convenience stores and servos right across the nation be the much-needed driving force in growing the game of Rugby? I absolutely think so. 

Hot topic of the day was news around Rugby Australia’s landmark deal with confectionary manufacturer, Cadbury. Only mere weeks after news that RA lost their previous partner GFG Alliance (blessing in disguise), this is possibly the best news for a sport which deserves good news. 

ICYMI the details of the agreement can be found below but what it means is that Rugby now has the chance to exist and drive relevance to millions of Aussies who have likely lost touch with the game in the recent past. 

https://www.rugby.com.au/news/rugby-australia-announces-fiveyear-partnership-with-cadbury-2021512

I don’t have a crystal ball, but predicted back in October 2020 that the Wallabies would end up with a partner who can be found in every house in Australia. I spoke with only last week who was quietly optimistic about who was on the cards to replace the embattled GFG, but for that brand to be a brand with the instant appeal such as Cadbury and for them to be front and centre on our National teams is a tasty prospect indeed. 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/greatest-sponsorship-ive-never-seen-andrew-clarke/?trackingId=%2BzNOIQfGeZMYmIaNh59asQ%3D%3D

Key to all sponsorships are the strategies that supports them and the creativity that lands them into the laps of those intended. Here’s a handful of elements I’d love to see come to fruition:

1. Bespoke products - When you’ve been making chocolate in Australia for over 100 years, you can make pretty much anything. A fan-led creation would be fantastic and a great way of using RA’s IP on shelves around the country - getting the Wallabies brand into the public domain will be a critical opportunity.

2. ‘Willy Wonka’ activations - I can see the golden ticket promotions, fan activations and general excitement Cadbury can bring to game day. Eating chocolate releases dopamine and other endorphins. Capitalising on these excited fans around the match will be a walk-over try in the scheme of things. 

3. Integration - Rugby in Australia needs more visibility. Driving IP integration into limited edition packaging and even working with retailers to pass-through rights will help with the cause. 

4. Tackling obesity in kids - No pun intended on this important topic, It would be a shame if this important area was overlooked as the program rolls out. Teaching kids that treats such as chocolate are a perfectly suitable reward after effort and hard work is where sport and rugby can play a huge roll. 

5. Product integration - Talk to Joe Roff or Campo and they’ll tell you about the support needed for retired players. Like many sports, what happens after retirement can be a bleak outlook. Might be a nice opportunity for Cadbury to drive a program around their ‘Old Gold’ product to provide financial support for the part players.

Growing up in the UK and following Rugby religiously, I would fear any fixture against the Wallabies. It’s fair to say that Rugby has been in a difficult position in the past few years, but the values that underpin the game and it’s participation are values lesser seen in other sporting areas. 

Bravo to the entire team.. I’m off to buy a Crunchie…

Allow me to introduce myself, myself, myself…

Here’s one… imagine going to a dinner party and introducing yourself by repeating your name three times to each person you walked up to? I’d suspect you’d be quickly labelled an ‘odd ball’ or at best a bit ‘quirky’. 

Unless your dinner party is being hosted in an echo chamber, the chances of this happening in real life are somewhat slim. The sports industry however... now that’s a different kettle of fish. 

And so to Thursday Thought #4: To enable their partners to provide valuable make-goods at the outset of the pandemic, the ICC enabled four nations to utilise their front of shirt for the first time to promote a partner. In Australia, we saw Alinta Energy adorning the Test team shirt along with the shorter format strips. Initially, this relaxing of the rules was to be a short-term fix, however it’s now accepted that this new asset will be in place for the longer term. 

So what’s my issue? Surely this was a swift and smart move by Cricket Australia to help provide value-add to a Platinum partner? Yes, it was (is), but my gripe comes down to how this valuable opportunity was executed…

Alinta Energy already had a sleeve patch along with a right breast patch on the test team shirts. Adding the chest provided a ‘three card flush’ and effectively dominated one of the most valuable bits of commercial real estates in the game of Cricket. 

To use this opportunity to say your name three times is what leaves me perplexed. Why? Well, it would certainly bolster the media value so I can see that point, but for what benefit? Alinta’s move into cricket was to support brand growth outside of their homeland in WA, so wouldn’t it have been a better opportunity to use this new spot to promote their creative cricket proposition (Supporting Your Home Team) to compliment the two other brand placements? 

Perhaps all isn’t what it seems, and the ICC mandated whomever takes that spot to only amplify existing placements? That would make sense when considering Sandals did exactly the same with their ‘Windies’ opportunity. Maybe it all came about too quickly to secure the internal alignment to run a different message on the chest. Who knows but those involved at the time, but my point is this. We must look beyond a logo to find success in sponsorship… As I’ve said before, you wouldn’t run a brand TVC with just a logo for 30”, so why do it through sponsorship… 

This Thursday Thought isn’t aimed at Alinta, but I’m using their situation to illustrate a point. We see the same things happening all over the sports and entertainment worlds. There is significant merit in ensuring fans recognise your brand when associated with an event, but there comes a point where the repetition becomes wasteful (or to soften that, a missed opportunity). 

Look at Formula One or Moto GP… If you’re interested in counting brand exposure, then fair dinkum, but if you have anything more important to say, say it. 

The flipside of this is a grimy area of landing sales propositions as we saw with Vodafone’s first year back in Super Rugby where they sold data plans through virtual field signage, but clarifying a ‘reason for being’ makes sense. 

When Santander first started sponsoring the British GP, nobody knew who they were; they’d only just acquired the popular bank Abbey National. So, to announce themselves to the British public they took naming rights to a huge national event to tell fans who didn’t know who they were or what they did, nothing… 

We have to sharpen up. We have to respect the environment we’re going into (it belongs to the fans) but we have to help them understand who we are and why we’re there. 

Don’t live in an echo chamber. If you need assistance in crafting your reason for being and folding that into your asset utilisation, give us a holla. It just takes some game-changing thinking.

Blink and you’ll have missed it

The sports world was dominated this week by the Punch and Judy saga that was the European Super League; the breakaway Football competition formed of 12 ‘super clubs’. 

Upon first impressions, many of us would have been little surprised by attempts from clubs to control more of their financial destiny. It’s not the first time this has been attempted, and it won’t be the last. In fact, it’s a tale of ‘will they/won’t they’ that we’ve seen from other global sports platforms, namely Formula One and Golf. 

Beyond the obvious heavyweight jostling going on through the media, and some of the firmest words I’ve heard from a sporting President in my life, the key pieces to take from the saga (in my opinion) is thus:

1. Don’t feel sorry for these 12 clubs financial situations. Of all professional sporting teams globally, these are the least affected from the COVID-19 impacts. Their cries for more income is embarrassing. 

2. Don’t let this take your eye off the real issue in Football. Racism. It would be a terrible outcome if this fiasco does anything to diminish the slow momentum in that regard. 

3. Let sport be sport. Sport relies on unpredictability, underdog stories, dreams and hopes. Limiting any of the variables in sport and you’ll end up with an entertainment product. A case perfectly made by the 1,000’s of fans of the 12 clubs protesting AGAINST their inclusion. 

4. Two eyes, two ears and one mouth. The key from all of this is to ensure we, as an industry, are prepared to look and listen to what was driving this and the lessons we can learn more so than just weighing in with misguided points of view. There are always two sides to this. We have to learn from them in order to define the correct paths forward. Same point for the ESL, same point for the Premier Golf League, same point for the Super Formula (F1 example). 

Sport will always dish out heaped spoons of mayhem such as this. UEFA, the PFA and the Unions will all do well to sit down and come to better terms moving forward. For now, let’s just focus on the more pressing issues facing sport.

Don’t stare at bricks

Here’s one. Australia’s second favourite weekend pastime after sport is the property market. It’s an insight that led to Real Estate Australia’s ‘Other Saturday Game’ campaign for their AFL sponsorship. 

With that in mind, allow me to use a property analogy to spark a thought... 

Picture that dream home down the road you wished you owned. Yes it uses your favourite materials, has a unique design and the perfect aspect, but what you’re actually in awe of is a finished product that stands proudly and prominently in the street rather than the process undertaken to create it. The same can be said for the many sponsorship campaigns we see.  

The reason is this... Knowing what to do with the pile of bricks that led to the house requires deep knowledge of architecture, design sensibility and construction and fit-out knowhow not to mention the all important project plan and budget.

Well, imagine the assets you receive as part of your sponsorship contract are those very bricks. For many brands out there, there is quick and easy access to the expertise to build your dream campaign on your behalf. But what about those of you that don’t have that access?

Architects, designers and builders don’t come cheaply, but what if I told you that you could write the plans, mix the cement and lay the bricks yourself? 

I’ll leave the naff analogy there, but what I’m saying is this: regardless of your business, its challenge, the strategy or budget, ‘making’ something with your assets is vital to the success of your sponsorship and we’re here to help.

We started Super-Sub to enable more brands access to the expert knowledge needed to make a success of sponsorship in a way that gets you to stronger outcomes faster therefore saving budget for leverage. How? By subbing us in, you’re bringing on an expert to power your existing teams with the knowledge and skills needed to create a meaningful impact through your sponsorship and change the game for your business. 

If you’re staring at a stack of bricks and not a powerful solution, let us help you. It’s easier than you think.

Proof of Purpose

One of the tipping points in my journey to opening the doors at Super-Sub was a comment made to me by one of my clients who said “I knew I wanted to work with you when you told me the story about Nongshim and the Supercars”. I knew what they were referring to, but was unsure about what part of that story could have been so pivotal. 

On reflection, what made it valuable was ‘proof of purpose’; how my actions at the time became the reassurance someone would later need that sponsorship can work. So what happened? We need to wind the clocks back to November of 2014. 

I’d just signed a one-race deal in Formula 3 to contest the season finale event at Homebush as part of the Supercars support bill. I’d been doing some business coaching with a guy who was responsible for the AU distribution of a Korean noodle company called Nongshim. When he learned of the opportunity I had to race, he was quick to ask whether I could help him drive some visibility for his brand in their heartland area of Western Sydney.

I’ll spare you the detail but we landed an idea called the Nongshim Hot Lap. Happy with the campaign, we looked forward to the race until we learned from Supercars that they were cancelling the F3 event due to low grid numbers. The whole campaign was up in the air and relied on having a car on the grid for the Hot Lap to land. 

I was deviated at losing my drive in F3, but quickly moved focus to how I could help Nongshim press ahead and have a positive impression of sponsorship in general. I set about negotiating with other teams to see what inventory was available at the eleventh hour. We had little budget left, but a very friendly man at Erebus helped us with a windshield banner on the #9 Erebus car of Will Davison. 

Davison had struggled in his E63 AMG that season, but managed to get things to come together to make the Top 10 Shoot-out in quali and then went on to take Pole Position for the race. You couldn’t make it up. A noodle brand called Nongshim who only days earlier thought they’d be sponsoring me in F3 found their brand broadcast to thousands of fans around the country. 

The race was the race, but the lesson was clear to me. While racing was a huge part of my life, my purpose was helping brands see potential in sponsorship and hence why I put their needs above my own when it came to losing my ride.

I think back to this experience frequently. As practitioners in sponsorship it is our duty and responsibility to ensure brands have a positive experience and don’t merely just rock up with a logo somewhere. There is ALWAYS something that can be done to drive a positive outcome - it just takes passion, perseverance and purpose.

Super-Sub was established on this purpose and will stop at nothing to ensure clients maximise their returns through smart, fast, passionate solutions.