Sports Sponsorship Activation
In the last two blogs I have talked about background history of sports advertisements and examples of endorsement deals from athletes. In this blog sponsorship activation will be the topic and I hope that after reading this, the next time you attend a sporting event that you will recognize activation.
Imagine being at a Washington Wizards game at the Verizon Center and it is the fourth quarter and Lebron James, of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is shooting free throws. On the big screen you notice that is says “Fowl Shot” presented by Chick Fil A, which means that if Lebron misses both free throws everyone in attendance will win a free Chick Fil A sandwich the next day . That is an example of sponsorship activation because the brand name is being promoted to the audience hoping that the next day they will go out and get Chick Fil A. “Sports sponsorship activation is a way of leveraging corporate sponsors’ investments in sports properties. Corporate sponsors form strategic alliances with sports properties primarily for the purpose of marketing goods and services” (http://navigatewithpurpose.com/sports-sponsorship-activation-co-branding/). There are many different techniques of activations that teams and corporate sponsors implement, so the next time you are at a sporting event you can make the connection and cannot miss them.
An excellent example of sponsorship activation comes from the Toronto Raptors and Swiffer, who actually won the Team Sponsorship Activation of the Year award in 2015. “The Raptors created a highly entertaining program with Swiffer, which resonated throughout Toronto,” said John Abbamondi, NBA Senior Vice President, Team Marketing & Business Operations (http://www.nba.com/2015/news/07/17/raptors-team-sponsorship-activation-award/). The Raptors did a lot of things with Swiffer but their most popular activation was the “Man Clean” movement. The point of this activation was to draw a new audience to Swiffer and to change the stereotype that only women need to buy and use cleaning supplies. Amir Johnson, who plays for the Raptors, was the ambassador of the movement and he would go to fans houses and challenge them to “up their game” in cleaning and would demonstrate how to use products.
Another unique way to engage fans with activation is during breaks of the game. The New York Islanders teamed up with the Children’s Foundation and did a “Chuck A Puck” contest. It was a 50/50 contest that fans could buy pucks before the game started and then at a break in the action had to hit the target and the closest fan who hit the target would win half the money that was raised.
Sponsorship activation allows for sponsors to have the ability to reach fans so that they know about products or services that are offered. Next time on my blog we will dive into the future of sports advertising and what creative ways teams and sponsors are doing to reach fans.