Case Studies

Challenge
The Rugby World Cup in Australia was one of the major sporting events of 2003. Official partners spent around £2.5 million each to sponsor the event while in the UK alone a hardcore group of 12 brands spent a total of £14 million in an attempt to create an association with the event. The tournament presented Sponsorship Intelligence with an opportunity to offer a value-added service to the myriad ZenithOptimedia and Sponsorship Intelligence clients involved in the sport/event.

Solution
In conjunction with ZenithOptimedia’s in-house IT and Systems department, Sponsorship Intelligence produced a dedicated and tailored interactive overnight ratings delivery system. Aside from overnight ratings delivery, the password protected website also offered data analyses and details of the latest news stories around the event. A partnership with SportBusiness.com also helped Sponsorship Intelligence take the system to a wider industry audience.

Outcome
The system was available 24/7 and gave those in both Hemispheres access to TV ratings in key international markets. The ratings data was also analysed versus other key sporting events using the raft of global data available to Sponsorship Intelligence. This gave the information greater resonance and allowed users to place it in its proper context. The addition of a range of the latest news stories covering the event made the website the essential source for tournament information.

Challenge
15 Partners each paid FIFA $20 million to sponsor the 2002 FIFA World Cup™. Consequently, they wanted to make sure that they were getting their money’s worth. This was also a priority for FIFA, who were concerned prior to the World Cup that the Partners had not promoted it as vigorously as previous sponsors had done. Therefore a comprehensive research package was proposed to determine an evaluation of the sponsorship packages sold by FIFA.

Insight
The 2002 FIFA World Cup™ took place between 31st May to 30th June and was co-hosted by two nations, Korea and Japan, with 32 participating teams. As 33.4 billion viewers watched the 1998 FIFA World Cup™, the Partners therefore had an extremely large audience accessible to their brand. FIFA hoped to determine the effectiveness of sponsoring such a high profile event as the 2002 FIFA World Cup™.

Solution: Three-Fold Research Package
A three-fold research package was presented to FIFA which included TV Audience Data Reporting, Exposure Monitoring and a 13 Market Consumer study (Pre-wave and Post-wave). The aim of this comprehensive research package was to determine overall media value for each Partner, and involved a complete redesign of Sponsorship Intelligence’s Media Measurement Software and Recording Systems.

Results
The most comprehensive research programme ever to be delivered to FIFA and its Partners. An interactive website
created for FIFA, where overnight ratings from 42 countries, and exposure scores for each of the 64 matches could be viewed exclusively by FIFA and the Partners. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, the average length of visit to the website being over 33 minutes, and with 7 new visitors each day.

Business Objectives
To support the sponsorship strategy by continually assessing the return on investment accruing from the newly conceived sponsorship programme.

Insight & Understanding
Focus shifting from traditional event branding and leveraging to engaging consumers on their terms (e.g. through nurturing youth sport). “In the spirit of rugby” developed as umbrella proposition to emphasise the objective of making rugby more accessible to local communities. Six Nations sponsorship replaced in favour of partnerships with ‘ambassadors’ and unions making for a more fragmented sponsorship programme.

Execution & Evaluation
SI designed a questionnaire to incorporate key performance indicators and provide opportunities to benchmark results with existing studies. A flexible sample composition was designed to allow niche groups to be examined in more detail. Results were re-weighted to reflect the make up of the general population.

Using SI’s specialist brand monitoring software, all key televised rugby events were monitored for Lloyds TSB brand exposure. The exposure was valued using ZenithOptimedia advertising rates based on the target group of ABC1 men. Press, radio and internet mentions were also monitored and evaluated.

The ROI
All results were continually assessed against targets and remedial measures recommended where possible
Optimum event branding scenarios were proposed following continual brand audits. Ad-hoc sponsorship rights valuations were produced to assist with ongoing sponsorship rights negotiations.

Challenge
Dorna Sports SL hold the commercial rights to the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (MotoGP). This premium motorcycling competition provides a showcase for cutting edge prototype motorcycles, and offers commercial partners a truly global marketing platform. Intense competition for sponsorship investment and an increasing need for accountability prompted Dorna to approach SI for research assistance. Dorna required sales collateral to justify the rights fees asked for an event title sponsorship.

The MotoGP is broadcast in 208 countries to a cumulative TV audience of over five billion. The 16 events constituting the MotoGP calendar are staged in diverse markets spanning the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. Existing research indicated that sponsorship of an event would allow a sponsor to exploit key imagery associated with the sport such as progression, dynamism, passion and unpredictability.

Solution
Following consultation with Dorna, SI recommended that a property rights valuation be conducted. This analysis, which involves the systematic valuation of every element (tangible and intangible) of a sponsorship, was deemed the ideal tool to help the organisation ascertain the true value of an event title sponsorship.

Results
In close partnership with Dorna, SI examined all the likely benefits accruing to an event title sponsor such as likely impacts at the event, brand exposure (TV and press), and associated imagery. Dorna used the detailed report, which outlined the calculations involved in the valuation process, in their ongoing sponsorship negotiations.