These companies have historic ties that go way beyond a contractual relationship. They form a true alliance and their products are intricately linked.
Few alliances in sport are as iconic as the one between Ferrari and Shell. Their collaboration roared to life in the 1930s on the F1 racetrack, but the ties that bind run far deeper than that.
Gatorade is a product that has become inseparable from sports in general and football in particular. PepsiCo, owner of the brand since 2001, has not only ensured the continued success of its partnership with the NFL, but has found a way for that success to spill over to its other brands.
The best conferences in the world are built with an ambitious concept in mind – something larger than simply gathering big names, filling seats, and selling tickets. This is why we founded Relevent with one ambitious vision: to be the go-to conference for people who want to challenge, push and redefine the status-quo of sponsorship marketing.
H&M had the brilliant idea of leveraging a theme to form a bond with a very specific segment of the population. The program they created gave the company the opportunity to interact with the target audience all year long thanks to a shared passion.
What we like about this partnership: The tie-in between these two brands is so natural. The niche event gives the brand the chance to generate content and to get behind a cause.
By David Tokarczyk, Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada
Safety was a key concern in my decision to visit Brazil given the constant media reports about the dangers of visiting the country. With the Zika virus spreading, the SC Johnson insect repellent brand Off! took the savvy step of becoming the official insect repellent supplier of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, a move that reportedly had sales soaring over the same period last year. What is interesting is that SC Johnson is a competitor of Olympic Global Sponsor Procter & Gamble.
By Samantha Phelan, Manager, Sales and Service, St. John's IceCaps.
Two years ago, in the lead-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Beats by Dre—a popular headphones brand—took to the internet with a uniquely crafted “Game Before the Game” video featuring famous soccer athletes, Neymar and Sturridge, emulating what their pre-game rituals looked like.
The presentation centred around the misguided practice of organizations spending "big money" to establish platforms such as magazines, blogs and video channels and then obsessively force-feeding them content, simply because the platforms exist.
Lee described how some businesses are the masters of their own misery, creating content-guzzling monsters that—in a vicious circle—"keep growing and thereby require more and more input." Ironically, efforts to beef up platforms leave in their wake ever-expanding monsters bloated full of token content.
By Joey Franco
In a world where the dissemination of brand communications is dictated by a mysterious and constantly-evolving media landscape, companies like French need to be at the top of their game and on top of the many mechanisms that make up today’s connected world.
Relevent15 conference review
by Loretta Di Vita
He may exhibit a direct manner and the super-charged energy of the Tasmanian Devil on a sugar rush, but Pierre Ladouceur also has a sensitive side that doesn't take long to surface. Beneath the callous of drive and experience, he is somewhat of a—softie.
Hearing him speak easily of "emotional resonance," "a better world for all," and "developing sustainable environments," it quickly becomes apparent that he truly cares about everything that is worth caring about these days. So it's no surprise that even his marketing company has—as he puts it—"heart."
Indeed it was this social conscience, coupled with entrepreneurial flair that led him ten years ago to set up Turbo Marketing to "help companies define and communicate their social and environmental commitments."
Relevent15 conference review
by Loretta Di Vita
Louis-Félix Binette, President and Co-Founder of f. & co, a Montreal-based creative agency, is a diplomat—not only of the capital "D" variety, having had a career in politics and the Canadian foreign service, but also a self-described natural-born diplomat.
Binette is what we call by popular vernacular, a “people person.” "I have a strong innate political sense, allowing me to bring people together, and manage expectations and sensibilities," he reveals.
Within the world of sponsorship marketing, Dr. T. Bettina Cornwell, Professor of Marketing at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist School of Business, is a force of good. A self-professed number cruncher, she applies science and empiricism to keep things real, ensuring objectivity, transparency, and ethics in corporate sponsorship analysis in the areas of sports, arts and charity.
It's only fitting then that someone so principled speak of the ideal of "greatness", as she did in her presentation.
Cornwell believes that many marketers are shooting themselves in the foot—sacrificing greatness—by amassing too many messages and losing focus. "Often times brands have several ideas and audiences and attempt to accomplish too much at the same time. In sponsorship, this can lead to a thin treatment of each component message or worse, confusion," she explains.
There’s something special about the atmosphere at a major festival or popular event that reels in the crowds and has sponsors willing to dig deep into their pockets to get in on the action.
That vibe, unique to every event, is created by a multitude of factors that promoters strive to shape and influence to give event-goers an experience that is positive—and hopefully memorable.
Ever been approached by a rude or overzealous security guard at an event? Did it leave you with a bad taste in your mouth? These kinds of negative experiences, or an excessively long wait at the concession stand, for instance, can seriously tarnish an event’s reputation, whereas positive experiences—brought on by good logistical planning—help build and reinforce an event’s favourable image.
It’s important, then, to carefully analyze each and every contact point a visitor may have with an event, including those with sponsors, which can play a big part in creating a positive experience with on-site activations.
A sponsorship is a sophisticated and complex marketing tool; it entails an entire strategic process of solicitation, negotiation, and customer service. What’s more: professionals who are responsible for sponsorships must fully grasp both traditional and non-traditional marketing communication channels as well as the inner workings of several different markets. Sponsorships can be leveraged to achieve many objectives and reach different target audiences. It is therefore important to understand the basics before launching a full-fledge sponsorship campaign.
Some marketing stunts become overnight successes. Some are easily forgotten, while others stick. Here are some of our team’s favourite partnership activations and celebrity endorsements.
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