Rich Ratcliffe, Associate Director, Creative at Weber Shandwick looks into how creative comms can drive greater value from your sponsorships.

Across the industry, sponsorship has grown to become an integral part of the modern business of sport. At almost every level of every sport, brand partnerships now play a key part in the success of athletes, clubs, competitions and associations.

As it’s influence has grown, approaches to sports sponsorship have evolved too. Today, the possibilities are so much more than just logos on shirts and athlete appearances.

However, it is often the case that brands often neglect to explore these options, failing to realise the full potential of sponsorships they invest in as a result. Similarly, some athletes and sports organisations can be guilty of viewing the terms of sponsorship as a series of obligations, rather than opportunities to dive additional value from brand relationships.

This is a mistake, as the best brand partnerships deliver value for both parties, uncovering new ways to connect with existing fans, incentivising engagement and even growing the overall audience.

A well-executed communications campaign can be a key tool in driving these kinds of benefits. But in such a crowded space it is also important to stand-out, so creativity is key.

Fortunately, there are some great creative sponsorship activations out there which we can all take inspiration from. Here’s a few I’ve enjoyed in recent years…

Cleveland Browns and Bud Light - “The Victory Fridge”

This is a great example from some of our Weber colleagues in the US that really demonstrates the importance of understanding your audience. In 2018, following a winless season, the NFL’s Cleveland Browns partnered with key league sponsor Bud Light to develop a comms initiative that would polish its image and re-engage a dispirited fan base. This led to the launch of the “Bud Light Victory Fridge”, a campaign specifically designed to reward fans for their loyalty.

Fridges filled with free Bud Light beers for fans were placed in bars across Cleveland - fridges that would automatically unlock in the event of the Browns securing their first W since 2016. Not only did this result in media coverage exceeding 400M impressions, featuring in Forbes, ESPN and USA Today, the campaign also connected with fans, featuring heavily in jubilant posts they shared on socials when victory was finally achieved and the fridges burst open.

McLaren Honda and Esso - “The Race of Legends”

This is a fun project I was lucky enough to work on. Both the McLaren Honda race team and its sponsor at the time Esso were conscious that motorsports, F1 in particular, are perceived as somewhat elitist by the general public. To address this, both brands were looking for an idea that would help a broader audience of people feel closer to the sport and its stars.

In response, a campaign was developed that focused on karting - the more accessible entry point and grassroots of motorsport - and the affection that even F1’s top competitors have for it.

Campaign hero content featured a race between Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Mika Hakkinen, Stoffel Vandoorne and David Coulthard captured in full 360 FR - the first to allow fans to experience all the action of a competitive race from the perspective of every driver taking part.

An integrated approach saw VR devices take out on tour for the general public to try, branded Google Cardboard giveaways, and promoted posts taking advantage of 360 functionality on YouTube and Facebook. This resulted in millions of views across owned channels, as well as coverage across media outlets including Mail Online, Sky Sports, and Channel 4.

Stevenage and Burger King - “Stevenage Challenge”

This collaboration between Burger King and Stevenage Football Club has set a new benchmark on what can be achieved when brands bring real creative thinking to their comms activations.

Many were puzzled when Burger King agreed to sponsor a deal with Stevenage, a team at the bottom of the fourth division of English football. But the strategy became clear with the launch of the Stevenage Challenge, an invitation to play as Stevenage on FIFA 20 - the most played video game in the world - sign the best players and get free Burger King food in return for sharing video content on socials of them scoring goals.

This resulted in tens of thousands of pieces of content featuring the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe and Neymar wearing the Burger King logo! Meanwhile, the campaign saw Stevenage become the most played team on FIFA worldwide and its replica sales increase 300 per cent.

Replicating the success of these examples means understanding the key role athletes and sports organisations play in helping sponsors to develop creative campaigns with impact. First and foremost, no-one understands their fans better, so it is viral they share any insights that can help improve targeting and create content or initiatives that the audience will genuinely value.

Beyond this, it is about formalising the ideation process. It is important to take the time to develop a really solid creative brief that addresses the needs of both parties, but that also ensures there is enough wiggle room for out-of-the-box thinking.

This latter part is important - brand partners should be encouraged to surprise, and even shock with their suggestions. Not every idea will be the right fit - many definitely won’t - but by broadening the conversation in this way, you increase the change of landing on something special that will cut through and drive the added value from sponsorships that both partners should be striving for.