when sponsors go too far
A View Too Far ?
When, late in 1998, the IOC found itself under a battery of allegations surrounding bribery and doping scandals, vast quantities of column inches were devoted to the possible impact the controversy would have on the Games' sponsors. " Anything that affects the positive image of the Olympics affects us", said a spokesperson for Coca-Cola at the time. And given that synergy and enhancement of brand values is regarded as one of the major reasons for sponsoring anything at all, it's easy to see why companies are requiring increasingly rigorous and accountable sponsorship contracts, that offer protection to the sponsor and an opt-out in the event of a credibility disaster.
In this instance it's the sponsor who is wielding the power of the chequebook and marketing dollar in order to, quite rightly, demand action from rights holders. But sponsors have also been accused of pulling rank in different ways - meaningless soccer tours to satisfy the sponsor's geographic priorities, political lobbying to encourage the awarding of major events to markets with the greatest commercial potential. At a time when the need for corporate social responsibility has never been more evident, it is extraordinary how many sponsors underestimate the ripple effect of misguided actions.
If controversy on the part of a sport has the potential for harm to a sponsors' brand, is it not possible that the inappropriate behaviour of the sponsor itself could be perceived as doing damage to the rights holder? Banks of empty sponsor seats at the Sydney Olympics (furious punters), the renaming of long-established football stadium at the heart of a community with a corporate brand (Valley Parade in Bradford, now called, or not, as the case may be, the Bradford and Bingley Stadium). And did the residents of the tiny town of Llansantffraed in Wales have a sudden surge of brand loyalty when their local semi-professional soccer club became Total Network Solutions FC?
There is evidence to suggest that the consumer is becoming increasingly cynical about the role of brands and globalisation of products. The assault and battery of commercial messages has reached a level where the new pollution we have to deal with is commercial intrusion. There is no doubt that the working practice and social responsibility of brands and companies is coming under increasing scrutiny, and increased action on the part of the consumer.
In a recent study undertaken by the Future Foundation, 60% of all adults claimed they would not buy from a company that they believed had done something wrong. In April the actions of a group of students stopped a famous soccer player from inaugurating a Nike sponsored tournament at a school in Rome. The students distributed pamphlets that said "no sweatshops", resulting in the cancellation of the event. The tournament included over 4,000 high school students all over the Rome area.
In July, Spanish soccer club Athletic de Bilbao announced the launch of its own brand of kit bearing the brand name "Athletic". The decision was taken to allow the club "to position itself ahead of the commercial politics of the multinationals that sponsor football clubs". In a similar vein the English FA also announced the possibility of dropping the presenting sponsor position for the FA Cup, in a desire to protect the brand equity of its flagship event.
The majority of rights holders are however, reliant upon the sponsor dollar for survival, at the same time that sponsors increasingly recognise the power of the big event as a means of reaching the commercial-weary consumer. The most successful partnerships will be those where there is greater transparency between rights holder and sponsor, where rights holders understand the value of their own brand and the need for that equity to be protected, and where sponsors understand the impact of their activities within the wider context of the societies and communities they operate in. Just as Michael Willmott writes in his excellent book Citizen Brands - "Companies through their direct actions and though their intermediaries - brands - are an integral part of the social and economic world they operate in, needing to reflect the aspirations and values that exist", so the stakeholders in the sponsorship industry will need to understand and address the wider role which sponsorship plays in the society they operate in.
Sally Hancock
Chief Executive
Redmandarin
