In the sponsorship world, the summer of sport offers the perfect opportunity for activation.
The coming months will likely see computer-generated images of local athletes beamed onto famous landmarks, billboards taken over by brands promoting their association with major events, and on-pack promotions promising free tickets to games.
Whether they be world record attempts, airplane flyovers or cheeky Paddy Power vans parked outside of soccer grounds, there are plenty of activations that have been done many times over.
Thankfully, the emergence of new technologies and media platforms means that sponsorship activation is diversifying into different areas, in some cases allowing for modern twists on some much-loved classics of the genre.
Even as sports marketing evolves, there are some fundamentals that experts believe ring true for any era of sponsorship activation and other pitfalls which some still struggle to avoid.
Do… something unexpected to stand out
Louise Johnson, the global chief executive of Fuse, believes we’re entering a “golden age of sports marketing and partnerships”.
However, attention spans are narrowing and consumers are being bombarded from every angle by advertisers as well as sponsors, which makes it harder for brands to stand out.
Platforms such as billboards, murals and other forms of out-of-home (OOH) advertising might still serve a purpose, but at a time when people increasingly have their heads in their phones it is the sponsors that are leaning into new technologies to create more immersive experiences that are cutting through.
For brands with bigger budgets in particular, innovations like artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and even holographic technology are enabling sponsors to deepen connections with fans and tell stories in different ways.
“I think as an industry, we are much better at really being progressive and using the assets in a creative and integrated way,” Johnson says. “I think the next frontier is how do you keep evolving sports marketing assets to make sure that they are really fit for modern sports marketing.
“So how are you connecting it to commerce? How are you looping in with streaming platforms? How do you use first party data to really personalise your activation, and also the role of AI within activation as well.”
Click here to read more
By Sportspromedia