Such is the power of sponsorship that the custodians of all major sport and events are rapidly changing. The real owners of events are now increasingly brands and it's predicted that in the next 20 or so years, every major sporting event will have propriety networks.
Brands will actually own new sports, players and everything that goes with it. By this I mean they will be independently owned in the same way Red Bull is now as much an event as it is an energy drink.
The prediction is this is the way things will continue to go. Any time you want to watch a game, you log in and buy it directly from the supplier. The fact is corporate sponsorship will be as important as ever because each event still needs to be monetised. It's simply that the ownership of major events is now changing and so is the way we participate in events. When a brand owns the sport, it's not just the venue that carries the brand's name – the actual sport is a representation of the brand.
According to Dr David K Stotlar Professor at the University of Northern Colorado, the new world of event ownership has come about because of a couple of factors.
Firstly, it's because we now live in a world of big data targeting and personalisation. What this means is that brands are able to be more targeted in their approach. It's much easier for brands to know their customer preferences, their likes and dislikes from their favourite sporting teams, to how often they attend a match and what they consume at each game. Brands now know which sports or events are a favourite for their target audience and these are the one's they're backing.
Secondly, with so many video production options available to both sponsors and consumers, the ownership of events is as much a shared experience as anything else. Branding is about reaching the hearts and minds of consumers. Through the shared passion for a team or an event, fans get to shape the brand experience and have a great opportunity to engage on a level no other marketing channel can match.
This is the power of sponsorship and this is why the priority given to sponsorship will only increase as we continue to embrace and engage with our fans through our digital capabilities.
Want to know more about what this means for you? Check out some of our other blogs at eventsponsors.com.au or drop us a line at info@eventsponsors.com.au, we'd love to hear from you!
