A well-planned sports sponsorship strategy is key to achieve your goals successfully and cost efficiently. In this article, we look at five case studies of leading brands who have created impactful sports sponsorship strategies to achieve key business and marketing goals.
Over the past 20 years, SportQuake have invested $750m+, helping brands to build effective sports sponsorship strategies. If you’re interested in learning how we could help you to review your current strategy and identify areas for enhancement, contact Pat McColgan at [email protected]
Cinch Announce Themselves In The UK Via A Multi-Sport Sponsorship Strategy
Challenge: As an influx of UK cartech businesses emerged in 2019, Cinch wanted a high-profile marketing platform to quickly drive top-of-mind nationwide awareness and elevate their brand above competitors.
Strategy: A multi-asset, multi-sport sponsorship strategy:
Result: Cinch put their brand front and centre of the UK sporting calendar by prioritising high-visibility partnerships in football (Tottenham sleeve sponsor, Crystal Palace shirt sponsor & SPFL naming rights sponsor), cricket (England shirt sponsor) and rugby (Northampton Saint shirt sponsor), generating huge year-long exposure across TV, media and print. With an extensive digital rights package included in all these partnerships, Cinch maintained exposure away from match days via online campaigns and competitions, engaging fans with everything from car giveaways to once-in-a-lifetime experiences (e.g. Tickets to the Super Bowl with NFL UK).
For an example of how this approach has driven similar results for brands in other regions, check out Autohero’s ascent of the European cartech market.
DXC Drive Global Growth As Manchester United Sleeve Sponsor
Challenge: With sights set on international expansion, DXC wanted a marketing strategy to promote their business and product capabilities across the world.
Strategy: Having consolidated their position in their domestic Australian market as a key sponsor in cricket (the country’s most popular sport), rugby and motorsport, DXC made global headlines as Manchester United sleeve sponsor.
Result: As the most supported team in the Premier League (the world’s most popular league) with 170m+ followers on social media, aligning with Manchester United provided excellent economies of scale, with a single partnership resonating with audiences in all of DXC’s key global territories. As sleeve sponsor, the software company received an exclusive branding platform, driving huge exposure via on-kit branding, as well as LED perimeter advertising and interview backdrop coverage throughout the Premier League season.
Importantly, as a B2B-focused brand, sponsoring Manchester United allowed DXC to integrate their technology throughout the club, providing an excellent business case study on the impact their software could have in improving the fan experience at one of the world’s biggest sports brands.
Stake Maintain Market Dominance With High Exposure Global Football & F1 Sponsorship
Challenge: Having experienced a meteoric since launching in 2017, Stake needed a unique global platform to differentiate their brand and maintain market advantage as challenger businesses emerged in the online betting and casino sector.
Strategy: A multi-sport sponsorship strategy focusing on big branding plays, including Premier League shirt sponsorship (Watford & Everton) and F1 sponsorship (Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake naming rights partner).
Result: Stake became a key presence in the world’s leading sports competitions, with Premier League and F1 sponsorship showcasing the brand to an annual audience of over 7bn. The brand supplemented this global strategy with regional partnerships to boost awareness in key markets, including India (Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC), LATAM (UFC Regional Betting Partner) and Oceania (Israel Adesanya). Stake took brand ambassador efforts to the next level in 2022 alongside Drake, creating an authentic collaboration with the rap icon (who already used the platform) and promoting their brand to his 220m+ followers in the process.
Vitality Reach A Wide UK Audience With An Inclusive Sports Sponsorship Campaign
Challenge: Having launched in 2014, Vitality wanted to build their business and authentically promote their wellness mission to a diverse audience across the UK.
Strategy: A multi-sport strategy across the UK’s most popular sports to engage both male and female audiences.
Result: Vitality used sponsorship to deliver on their three key marketing objectives. Firstly, Premier League sponsorship drove huge awareness via match day LED perimeter advertising, interview backdrop coverage and exclusive competitions & experiences. Secondly, the strategy amplified Vitality’s health and wellness mission, with brand ambassadors, including Jessica Ennis-Hill & Mauro Itoje, elevating campaigns. Finally, Vitality reached both male and female audiences via a well-planned strategy that resonated with both demographics, including football (Premier League), cricket (T20), hockey (GB hockey), netball (England netball) and athletics (Park Run).
Monster Increase Global Brand Presence With Premier League Sponsorship
Challenge: Having built a successful sports marketing program within MMA, motorsports and extreme sports, Monster Energy wanted to diversify their sponsorship portfolio to grow beyond the US market and increase their global brand presence.
Strategy: A high-density, multi-club aggregation strategy in the Premier League.
Result: Having grown their market share in the US, Monster’s eight-team Premier League sponsorship gave the brand a high-density marketing platform in the world’s most popular league, including TV branding at 40% of Premier League games, promoting their products to 200+ markets around the world. The approach proved extremely successful in generating awareness for the brand, combining with their existing sports sponsorship portfolio to become one of the Top 50 Most Marketed Brands In Sport, according to Nielsen.
Want To Learn More?
Get in touch with the SportQuake team to learn more about these strategies and how sports sponsorship could help your brand at [email protected] or read our “Why Football Sponsorship” page.