Blogs

The European Sponsorship Association was a media partner of last week’s sold-out SportsPro Fan Conference, held at the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Packed full of insights from industry leaders and #ESAmembers, the conference attracted more than 350 attendees. Here we outline five key themes from the summit. Women’s sport is flying – but brands need to invest properly to reap rewards As many have documented, women’s sport has moved from the periphery into the limelight in ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Hello, I’m Laura and I head up the Partnerships & Sponsorship team at m/SIX. Tell us what your company does and what makes m/SIX unique. As an agency, we pride ourselves in being honest, energetic and pioneering. Everyday our specialists combine data, creativity and trading at scale to build industry-leading solutions for some of the world’s most recognisable brands. What makes m/SIX unique is that the agency is a ... read more

With the biggest date in Britain's annual cycling calendar around the corner, rEvolution's Gayle Jenkins looks at the state of women's cycling The Tour de France is one of the biggest sporting occasions of the year, receives seven figure sums in sponsorship deals annually and is shown on mainstream TV around the world. Efforts to create a women’s Tour have been made, but there has not been an official women's Tour de France in 30 years, with the last such event held in 1989. Is this due to ... read more

How is Asian investment altering the commercial landscape of the English game? Sixteen years ago, Chinese telecoms company Kejian cast a solitary figure in English Premier League sponsorship, as the only Asian brand to appear on a shirtfront. Fast forward to 2019 and there are eleven front-of-shirt sponsors from the region, with a further seven shirt sleeves bearing the name of an Asian company. All this comes at an aggregated cost of approximately £160m per season. The Asia region is now ... read more

Gavin Peters, ESA Awards Committee member and Chief Strategy Officer at Wi5, gives us his thoughts on writing that killer awards entry... We all know how easy it is to de-prioritise an awards entry to the point where it’s seen as a bit of last-minute admin to get to a day before the deadline. Because not only are all the senior people tied-up in project delivery, pitching and marketing, but that great campaign you did speaks for itself anyway, right? Unfortunately not. No matter how good ... read more

Ahead of our next two-day ESA Leaders Programme starting in September, we speak to Course Leader, Russell Soden, from course partner Russell Soden Consulting. Course highlights Understanding the role of the leader in the world of sponsorship and developing the skills and strategies to build your own highly effective leadership style, lies at the core of the course. Increasing one’s self awareness – becoming more highly attuned to those tendencies which may currently be undermining ... read more

5 reasons for sponsors to stay tuned to the Women’s game, post WWC19 Ultimately, the Lionesses' amazing world cup adventure unfolded in a very familiar way, with a red card and a missed penalty to rue. The scriptwriter even threw in a headbanded tormenter. This time the name was Morgan, not Modric, and her tea drinking gesture after scoring the opener in the semi-finals became one of the defining images of World Cup 2019. Despite the heartbreak, England’s journey has inspired many. Their ... read more

An extraordinary final has opened a gateway to a new, dissimilar and burgeoning audience It is rare, which is what makes it so special, but just occasionally the extraordinary nature of an event allows it to cross societal boundaries; through age, race, religion, gender and background, into the very essence of what it is to be human. Such an event offers a joyous and shared middle ground between you and your children, your mother-in-law, your neighbour, shopkeeper, bus driver, pub landlord, ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Ben Treadaway, Vice President EMEA at Wasserman. What are the main areas of focus for your business? Wasserman was founded in 2002, and, back then, our roots were in sports. We’ve evolved considerably since then; now, we’re a full-suite marketing services and representation agency, delivering work across the worlds of music, art, entertainment, social, tech, content, and beyond. Our teams are built with capabilities across ... read more

by ESA Member, CSM Sport and Entertainment It’s March 2018, Melbourne. The then four-time Formula One (F1) World Champion Lewis Hamilton causes controversy ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix by posting a video on social media of a steady stream of old, white, male fans walking in to the Albert Park circuit.  In it he criticises the lack of diversity amongst the fans coming to F1, questioning why nothing has changed in the 11 years he has been in the sport. How do ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Jeremy Thompson; I’m CEO and one of the founders of caytoo. Can you tell us in less than 100 words what your company does? We connect rights holders and brands using data and intelligence; our unique approach ensures that we create partnerships which work for the long term because they are objective-led and value-driven. We use a blend of our experience in big business, PR and comms and consulting to bring a professional approach ... read more

Please click here for the full article by ESA member Sian Kilgour, of Cirkle Partnerships ... read more

by ESA Member, CSM Sport and Entertainment Formula 1 (F1) is often cited by its critics as a sport which conflicts with the ambition of a more sustainable future. However, if you look beyond the simple statements and predictable headlines, you’ll find this argument isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. On the track, aspirated, V8 engines have made way for cleaner, hybrid power units. Powered by a mix of 1.6l internal combustion engines – generating 1,000bhp - and energy recovery ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Fiona Crichton: Head of Partnerships The SSE Hydro, Glasgow How did SEC come to work with Rights Holders and Brands? What ‘bigger picture’ did this relationship seek to meet? Our Live Entertainment venue opened in September 2013. It had been decided previously that we should offer Naming Rights to generate income for the business. The business brought in AEG Global Partnerships as a consultant, to ensure best practice in securing ... read more

Is sponsorship simply logos and champagne? by ESA Member, CSM Sport and Entertainment As a kid, I grew up watching cars race. Inside, I had posters on my wall. Outside, I’d watch them roll around the streets of Monaco. Boasting big brand logos, gleaming in the sunshine, speeding around a track adorned by yachts and exquisitely dressed individuals. For decades, Formula 1 has been perceived as an unquestionably elitist sport. With races in 21 countries and over 600 million fans ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Merrick Haydon, Managing Director, rEvolution, London I co-founded Revolution Sports in 2015, with my late business partner and close friend Rod Kohler. Rod sadly died from Pancreatic Cancer in February 2018, having played a key role in the exciting acquisition by Chicago-based sports marketing agency, rEvolution, that came to fruition in September 2018. As a global group, our competitive advantage starts with a sustainable ... read more

by ESA Member, CSM Sport and Entertainment. What if we told you that the exclusive world of F1 team sponsorship is a little more inclusive and accessible than you might imagine. That over the past 15 years, the cost of entry to the F1 paddock has edged steadily closer within reach. Head over to CSM Sport and Entertainment's website to read Part 1 of 4 articles. Part 2 coming soon. ... read more

By ESA Board Director, Katie Traxton Missed out on Cannes Lions this year? Here are ESA's top takeaways in 60 seconds: Friday 21 June 2019 - Taking pride in our partnerships It’s our last day in Cannes, which comes with a tinge of sadness, but also triumph over the new creative highs celebrated, satisfaction over the announcement of the first ever Entertainment Lions for Sport and anticipation of what we’ll get to see, learn and have our minds blown by this time next year. ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Fredda Hurwitz – Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, RedPeg How did RedPeg come to work with Rights Holders and Brands? What ‘bigger picture’ did this relationship seek to meet? It’s important to first understand our history before answering this question, as it makes a lot more sense in context. RedPeg is an award winning, independent brand engagement agency, set up by our founder & CEO, Brad Nierenberg, nearly 25 ... read more

by Stuart Wareman - ESA Board Director and Director of Partnerships & Strategic Alliances, Europe, for Marriott International Brands receive proposals from rights holders constantly and most never see it past the first inbox. How do rights holders cut through and be more efficient in their new business approach?  It’s all about changing the conversation and becoming business and marketing consultants, offering solutions to brands. Here are my top tips to rights holders, in ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Robin Fenwick – CEO, Right Formula How has Right Formula grown in the 10 years since you opened for business? When we first began, I felt that specialising specifically in Formula 1 was important until our brand had generated the broader awareness it needed. It allowed us to have cut through and attract some of the very best talent in the marketplace. Over the past ten years, we’ve been fortunate to take some of our ... read more

ESA Sponsorship Sales Certificate Course Director, Cat Hawkins provides us with some course highlights and key takeaways. What are the course highlights? It’s always a pleasure to see the progress students make from the first session to the final assessment – generally there is a more confident articulation of the unique opportunity their platform could provide to a sponsoring business and this is, of course, a key skill for any seller. Often the intangible attributes in any given opportunity ... read more

By Sophie Morris, ESA Board Director and Director of Millharbour Marketing SponsorLive: The European Sponsorship Association Summit took place 28 - 29 March 2019. Now in its fifth year, SponsorLive partnered with ESA to create Europe’s must-attend sponsorship conference. In my role of concluding and closing the event on behalf of ESA, I noted the key takeaways of each session, which I have summarised for you below. Vincent-Baptiste Closon, Head of International Sponsoring, BNP ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Chris Gratton – Head of Sport and Entertainment, UK My role is really two-fold – I lead our Sport and Entertainment offering as part of the Brand Marketing practice here in the U.K., so am responsible for driving our client delivery and growth across the network. I also lead EMEA for FleishmanHillard Sports, a key focus here is also overseeing growth in this area across the region and working with other regional counterparts to have ... read more

January 2019 saw ESA's Brunchtime event presented by Founder and CEO of The Marketing Academy, Sherilyn Shackell with an engaging overview of Lessons in Life and Leadership. 5 Key Takeaways: 1We all have a ‘Mildred’ - our inner voice that tries to protect us from getting hurt. It’s the voice that says “You can’t do that.” Or “Are you sure you want to do that?” or ‘If you try that you’ll fail’ or ‘You’re totally faking it and everyone knows’. It’s the voice that makes us stop trying new ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Lothar Rentschler, Senior Marketing & Sales Director EMEA What are the main drivers for joining ESA? Having held a board position within the German Sponsoring Association (FASPO) many years ago and now being a part of GLORY Kickboxing, it was clear to me that we want to be part of the wider sponsorship community to learn and share best practices and to develop opportunities. GLORY Sports International, the parent company of GLORY ... read more

70 speakers, 30 sessions, 650 attendees and five new forums focusing on the future and impact of technology in sports business. Announcing an unrivalled line-up of industry pioneers and sports specialists at the top of their field, all coming together to share their knowledge, experience and insights at the sixth edition of SportsPro Live. The extended agenda will delve into the most disruptive topics transforming the industry ... read more

In 2006, the European sponsorship industry was worth €9.5 billion. Today it is worth €27.7 billion. So what’s changed and what does ESA now do to ‘inspire, unite and grow the sponsorship industry’ on behalf of our brand, agency, rights holder and advisory members? Underpinning our work is a passion to champion the power of the sponsorship sector. In an ever-fragmenting communications landscape, sport (accounting for 66% of the industry in 2017) still brings massive audiences together like ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Emily Caroe, Director of Mallory Group. I set up Mallory Group in October 2016 with my former client at Jaguar Land Rover, James Toller. Jimmy and I felt there was a gap in the agency market for a small, hungry agency that has understanding of all four sides of the sponsorship strategy and activation mix. We have worked as rights holders, global brands, in the media and at creative agencies and this knowledge, when pooled, provides really ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? I’m Matt Powell, Sponsorship Account and Sales Manager for Ascot Racecourse. We are an independent racecourse, most famous for Royal Ascot, which is held every June. Last year we welcomed over 600,000 people through the gates over our 26 racedays. How did Ascot Racecourse come to work with your current sponsors? We have a simple sponsorship model here, with Official Partners forming our top tier and then Official Sponsors beneath, all of ... read more

by Sophie Morris - ESA Board Director | Millharbour Marketing The Good, the Bad and the Ugly were exposed at the November 2018 ESA Breakfast event, where ESA member, Mark Reed of Heaven Media presented an overview of the esports market and case study examples of both good and not-so-good sponsorships. Mark then moderated a panel of industry experts and key brand players. Brands have been aware of the commercial potential for esports for some time now, but the perception has ... read more

by Jackie Fast, ESA Board Director In fourteen seasons of The Apprentice, never once has a candidate come from a sponsorship background – until now. With over 8.5m viewers tuning into the popular show each week, sponsorship is slowly infiltrating the homes of Britain, and, as an ESA Board Director, I couldn’t be more pleased. Not only are people questioning what the crazy girl with the weird accent is doing on each task, they are also questioning what my background in sponsorship ... read more

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is partnering with ESA, as we continue to raise standards and celebrate creativity across the industry. As part of this exciting new partnership, ESA is supporting Cannes Lions' newly announced Entertainment Lions for Sport awards, encouraging ESA members to enter the award and to attend Cannes Lions International Festival of Marketing. Read the full press release. Alongside Cannes Lions' newly launched Entertainment Lions for Sport in ... read more

Brownie points if you spotted the news in Philip Hammond’s Autumn budget that there will be a new tax on the manufacture and import of plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled plastic. The news was dominated by Hammond's statement that single-use waste is “convenient for consumers, but deadly for our wildlife and our oceans.” Whilst some might have wanted to see the government also introduce a 'latte levy' on plastic drinks lids as something visible in city-dwellers' day-to-day, ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Mark Covington, CEO of SNAP Sponsorship How did SNAP Sponsorship come to work with Rights Holders and Brands? What ‘bigger picture’ did this relationship seek to meet? My own rugby club started a journey to redevelop the clubhouse to future proof its ability to offer great facilities to boys and girls, men and women alike. This resulted in a £1.2 m spend and a considerable loan to service. As a club, we had historically relied on ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Richard Payne: Director – Sports Accounts Can you tell us in less than 100 words what your company does? SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC. is an experienced and focused sports research agency, working with clients from across the full sporting landscape including sponsors, federations, tourist boards, facilities, retailers and equipment manufacturers, as well as some of the biggest sporting events and venues in the world, like Wimbledon, ... read more

Andy's 'ESA Duty' chat by Andy Westlake - ESA Chariman It’s been a busy couple of weeks on ESA duty. First up, we were very excited to be invited to be part of the SBC Sponsorship Forum - it was a great day at the Hilton Olympia and provided an opportunity for a broad range of stakeholders from the betting and gaming sector to gather to discuss opportunities to create value through sport sponsorship. There were some great speakers and a real sense of how sponsorship can continue ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Michael Flynn, CEO & Founder of dataPOWA and the engine POWA index. Can you tell us in less than 100 words what your company does? DataPOWA has conceived and produced the POWA index, the sponsorship scout for the sports industry. It’s a data-driven, real-time sports sponsorship valuation engine which crawls trillions of data points across 60 unique data sets, including social media, search engines, sports media sites, broadcast ... read more

From parody to powerhouse: Nick Speakman discusses the rise of SPORF SportsPro caught up with Nick Speakman, Founder and Head of SPORF, to discuss the ever-changing social media landscape and how success is measured in the industry, ahead of the ESA partner, SportsPro TBC 2018 conference to learn earn more from the company’s founder about the future of the social landscape, the effects of the relaunch and how success is measured in the world of digital media. Six years ago, Nick ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Hi, I’m Katie Beney. I’ve been Senior Corporate Manager at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for nearly two years. For the first time in its 194 year history, the RNLI is making some of its assets available to commercial partners and we’re currently marketing a lead partnership opportunity with RNLI Lifeguards. Why has the RNLI decided to explore to sponsorship? What “bigger picture” does this relationship seek to ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? Joe Tompkins – Senior Associate at Onside Law I’m a commercial sports lawyer who advises clients across several major sports, with a particular focus on cricket, rugby, cycling and football. My main focus is advising rights holders on high-value sponsorship agreements and other contractual matters relating to their exploitation of commercial and media rights and their delivery of international sporting events. Tell us a little ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? I am Kazeem Abimbola, Managing Director of Connect Marketing Services Limited, a Sponsorship and Experiential Marketing agency located in Africa’s largest commercial hub, Nigeria. Connect Marketing Services creates experiences that help brands connect to their audiences, engage and build lasting, profitable relationships. With global and local partners and affiliates, we boast of over a decade servicing world class brands in ... read more

ESA Arts Sponsorship Certificate course Director Peter Raymond explains the role of sponsorship within the arts and culture industry: What is the ESA Arts Sponsorship Certificate? The Arts Certificate is the industry’s only formal training course for those wishing to practice in private fundraising via sponsorship in the arts and culture sector. It has been in existence for 3 years and was created via a collaboration between ESA and Cause4 (endorsed via Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy) ... read more

What’s your name and position within the organisation? I’m Mary Gleeson, Head of Brand Partnerships for Underbelly. Underbelly is a Rights Holder in the entertainment sector producing a number of live events and festivals across the year. In 2018, we will produce 8 live events in London and in Edinburgh and these include Five Guys Named Moe in London’s West End, Underbelly Festival on the Southbank, London, Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh’s Christmas and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. ... read more