What’s your name and position within the organisation?
Emma Sheldrake, Head of Commercial Partnerships at Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Lord’s Ground.
How did MCC come to work with its current sponsors/ rights holders? What “bigger picture” did these relationships seek to meet?
Cricket is a complex landscape, with a complicated structure of rights split across the Counties and MCC. It’s an amazing sport, and our partners are as passionate about celebrating success as we are. We’re in a privileged position in many ways at MCC, the brand itself holds a huge amount of prestige and brands can truly align themselves with our traditions and values.
We have a fantastic portfolio of partnerships that have longstanding and multi-faceted relationships with the Club. J.P. Morgan have been our Principle Partner for 10 years and our relationship is deep rooted and ever-evolving. As naming rights holders of the J.P. Morgan Media Centre, we are able to deliver extensive brand visibility across all of our controlled channels and offer unique experiences to clients that no other venue can. For example, playing on the main ground at Lord’s is not something that is accessible to all. Seeing our clients fulfill life-long dreams is something incredibly special.
How is the effectiveness of the relationships measured? What metrics do you use?
It’s completely bespoke to each partner. J.P. Morgan’s objectives are very different from Marston’s, for example, and we’re adaptable to those.
We measure the sponsorship engagement through its reach, i.e. TV exposure, digital, social and PR. We extend that into attendances through match-day tickets, hospitality etc. Spectator feedback is also important, particularly when measuring experiences.
Evaluating our partnerships is as important to us as it is our clients. It helps identify where we need to evolve and challenge our delivery, but also enables us to celebrate success.
What’s your rights holder USP?
We’ve actually just undergone an extensive review of our brand and its positioning within the game – both Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Lord’s – which has brought the Club and the Ground closer together. Part of this evolution has led us to define what makes MCC and Lord’s special. Globally, we’re affectionately known as the Home of Cricket. Established in 1787, there’s a lot of charm and heritage to our brand. We’re an independent voice within cricket and the guardians of the Laws of the game and we’re fortunate that we have a passionate Membership and following who have a very strong emotional attachment to the Club.
What are the current trends within your business area, and how are they affecting how you work and how you deliver on strategy?
Gone are the days when sponsorship was very transactional – thankfully! We are working harder than ever before to secure partnerships that provide added value for both sides.
The key for us is flexibility. Tailored rights and an authentic narrative for every brand we have a conversation with. We’ve got a finite amount of physical assets, but the key to us leveraging more value in partnerships is our data and ability to produce content. Hence, we’re focused on investing into our technology infrastructure and creating more digitally-led experiences for our Members and customers.
How are you harnessing and executing on digital strategy, and what problems/ opportunities has this created?
MCC has an ambitious digital roadmap, and our investment into technology infrastructure, underway. We’ve been behind the curve until now, but we know we have a very engaged global audience that we’ve been able to nurture. The digital landscape is forever evolving and we’re understanding what technologies work best for us and our Partners. This enables us to create the very best experiences both online and in-ground. We’re lucky enough to have incredible Technology and Digital Departments who work alongside each other, which enables us to expand our partnerships and commercialise through content.
What challenges have you encountered, and how have they been overcome?
MCC is an established institution, with a huge amount of history. We’re diverse and equally complex and there is a perception that MCC is elitist and not accessible. That has been a barrier to growth in the past, however, it’s a very progressive environment and that misconception is fast disappearing. On the back of two incredible World Cup wins for England in 2017 and 2019, it’s a really exciting time to be in the game at its spiritual home. We’re in a healthy position and are creating new experiences to attract and welcome the new audiences that have come into our world and will continue to do so with The Hundred this summer. Earlier this year, MCC introduced a new visual identity, which in itself is an evolution of the Club’s heritage. The new brand can be seen across all MCC and Lord’s digital and social channels and communications. At Lord’s, the visual elements will start to come life as we work through the transition in the coming year, transforming the Ground and visitor experience.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We’ve recently brought our Partnerships sales team in-house and I’m pleased to say that we’re engaging with an incredible array of potential new Partners.
Lord’s is open for business!
