Category: Uncategorized
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How important is brand alignment in sponsorship?
When brands are building a sponsorship strategy and considering which sports properties to partner with, there are many factors in the mix: audience fit, reach, visibility, activation potential, exclusivity, availability, budget. The list is quite long. I think one of the most under-appreciated factors is brand alignment. And by that I mean, do the core…
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The storytelling appeal of sport in B2B
Chelsea FC finally have a front of shirt sponsor in the form of IFS, at least until the end of this season. I’ll admit I’d never heard of IFS (so the sponsorship has already achieved something) but they “provide industrial AI and software for businesses that manufacture, service, and manage complex assets” in industries like…
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Sponsors are getting more (big) air time at the Olympics
I’ve been loving the Winter Olympics for the last couple of weeks. Joyous to see the bravery and skill of all these athletes, and the sheer fun they seem to be having in the process. I’ve also spotted some fairly visible sponsor branding, which until very recently was a complete no-go at the Games. It’s…
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What are we *really* trying to do?
“What are we *really* trying to do?” The most important question in the formulation of any brand’s sponsorship strategy. This comes well before thinking about audience insight, brand alignment, potential properties, activation and measurement. Even before thinking about specific objectives, we need to be clear on the primary business challenge that we want sponsorship to…
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Who watches the Winter Olympics?
The 2026 Winter Olympics starts in just a few days. It’s an event I really enjoy – a rare reason to watch sports that don’t usually cross my radar. The likes of snowboarding, ski-jumping, ice hockey, speed skating and, yes, curling. It’s always fun, but (and maybe this is a bit of UK bias) I’m…
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Why sport will thrive in a world of AI slop
I’ve been spending more time on Substack lately and Joe Pompliano shared a piece the other day which I thought was really interesting. Basically it was an investment thesis from Ari Emanuel that goes something like this: as AI makes it easier and cheaper to create ‘content’, sport (especially live sport) will become more valuable.…
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Making sense of multiple sponsorships
In a big brand, especially a global one, sponsorships often take on a life of their own. If decision-making is devolved to individual markets or regions, people will make their own decisions on what to sponsor and how to bring that to life, based on the specific needs and nuances of their market. Nothing wrong…
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Don’t be reactive
Many years ago when I was running a PR agency, we had a global drinks client; one with multiple household name brands in its portfolio. One day they asked if we could help them to launch and activate a new sponsorship for one of their brands, with a very famous Premier League football club. Great.…
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When is a fan not a fan?
In sport and sponsorship we often talk about ‘fans’. But this term can be lazily used to encompass everyone from the die-hard loyalist going to every single match, through to a very casual follower who may never actually attend in person. For a sponsor, it’s important to understand that not all ‘fans’ are the same.…
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Is image transfer in sponsorship a real thing?
I watch quite a lot of golf on Sky Sports. My wife would probably say that ‘quite’ is doing a fair bit of heavy lifting there, but anyway it’s for work, innit? Rolex is pretty heavily involved in golf, and has been for a long time. And despite (or maybe because of…) the incredibly pompous…
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Drinks brand preferences of US Open fans
With the US Open Tennis underway (sort of) I decided to take a look at some of the brand preferences of fans of the tournament, focusing on what they drink. The data comes from GWI, and is a global audience of people who watch the US Open live, either on TV or streaming. Fairly engaged…
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Sponsorship isn’t just about buying eyeballs
Unofficial Partner is a brilliant podcast covering the business of sport. I highly recommend it. I’ve never been a guest, but I have written a few pieces for their website. A recent episode featured Peter Hutton, a guy with a pretty stellar sports media background including Sky, IMSG, Eurosport and Meta. He’s also a fellow…
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The role of sports sponsorship in shaping reputation
This is an article a recently wrote for Linq Advisors (a new consultancy focused on creating impact through reputation). I’m one of Linq’s advisors, specialising in how to use sports sponsorship to shape and drive reputation. Sport has, for many decades, been a powerful vehicle for establishing, shaping and improving reputation among brands, businesses, and…
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Is the Women’s Euros audience just a load of ‘big eventers’?
Like 16 million other people in the UK (mostly in England I guess) I was glued to my TV yesterday watching the Lionesses pull off a magnificent, if slightly surprising, win. I’m a pretty avid football fan, and I took my family to the 2022 final at Wembley, which was amazing. But if I’m honest,…
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Are Wimbledon fans posher than the UK average?
The Wimbledon Championships are a staple of the British summer sporting and social scene: a genuinely premium event with a set of brand partners to match. This premium image also brings with it a reputation for fans of Wimbledon being, for want of a better word, quite posh. And this might be exactly what those…