The eleventh edition of the leading regional event on the field of marketing and sponsorship in sport in South Eastern Europe – the SPORTO Conference – once again brought together all the key people from the industry. Interesting presentations and sparkling debates with guest speakers from all over Europe added to the appeal of the two day conference. More than 400 people from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany and UK were present.
Sponsorship strategy & activation, digital & fan experience, corporate hospitality, merchandising and brand building are just a couple of topics that were discussed, while experiences from major events in 2014 (World Cup Brazil & Olympic Games Sochi) were also shared with the auditorium. SPORTO 2014 serves as an all-around platform that contributes to the development of the sports business field and offers a great opportunity for networking. Leading brands (sponsors) and sports properties, agencies, as well as international media, young professionals and students make an exciting mix of attendees that not only educates and exchange experience, but also connects and engages.
Check out some of the videos with guest speakers and hear about important takeaways:
“We need the ability to debate and discuss,” said keynote speaker Patrick Nally, who talked about the past, present and future of marketing in sports. The “founding father” of modern sports marketing told us that you must not live in the past, but the lessons learned are very important and also added: “Sport is the most passionate thing any of us can be involved in. Use that!”
#allin or nothing? For Thomas van Schaik this is no dilemma. adidas’ Global Brand Director thinks that the success of the FIFA World Cup 2014 campaign is down to the fact that it was made by the people that love the sport. “Genuine insight, that is what fans embrace,” said van Schaik, who was not shy to talk about the Luis Suarez biting incident or about the fact that they had a vast majority of all their digital materials prepared up front. “It was just a matter of using it at the right time,” he said.
Richard Ayers, digital innovator and CEO of 7league made the packed auditorium think about the things that you shouldn’t do on digital platforms. “The most important thing is to know yourself. Don’t try to be something that you’re not,” pointed out Ayers and added how important is to find the right people to do the job.
Keep it simple. Tell a story. The best sponsorship in the UK in the past 20 years – the Lloyds Bank and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Partnership – was presented by Sally Hancock, who was directing the activation. “We were very strategic. We had to be really clear at defining the value our company could add to the Games,” Hancock pointed out.
“Fan engagement is everything. It all comes down to it. It’s crucial to maintain the link between you and the fans,” explained Nikola Čavić of Nordeus, an inspiring Serbian start-up that produced the most played online sports game Top Eleven – Be a Football Manager. It has become so popular that they are officially collaborating with the best clubs in the world and were able to secure Jose Mourinho as their global ambassador.
Many other great lectures – on regional or global scale; like the UNICEF and Boštjan Nachbar story from Chad – were held at the conference and you can check out more video interviews on our YouTube channel. For further insight, please check the timeline of @SportoConf or search Twitter using the hashtag #sporto2014.
More about the SPORTO Awards and Brands
SPORTO Awards winners (presented by Slovenian Marketing Association; DMS) were also announced at the conference. The best sponsorship campaigns from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia will also have the opportunity to feature in European Sponsorship Association’s (ESA) Best of Europe category at the forthcoming ESA Excellence Awards Ceremony (January 29 2015). You can find more on DMS website.
SPORTO Brands of the year 2014 (in association with Mediana) among athletes and clubs were also announced for the eight consecutive year, again also for Croatia and Serbia. Tina Maze, Peter Prevc, NK Maribor, Sandra Perković, Marin Čilić, KHL Medveščak Zagreb, Ana Ivanović, Novak Đoković and KK Partizan were chosen by the public. You can read more about the survey here.
Would you like to know more about SPORTO?
Please check out the latest issue of the SPORTO Magazine – among other things featuring Novak Đoković in an exclusive interview, Tim Crow (Synergy), Ricardo Fort (Visa) –, the high-profile bi-annual publication about marketing and sponsorship in sport that serves as an added value to the SPORTO experience. You are very welcome to engage with us via our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) or send us an e-mail at info@sporto.si.
A big thank you from the SPORTO Team
We would like to thank all our partners and everyone that participated or attended the event in beautiful (S)Portorož. We are honoured to be able to host all the big names from the industry at one place. Athletes are also becoming a vital part of our event: this year we hosted – among others – a boxing world champion, Paralympic gold medallist, three times basketball Euroleague winner, a former member of six NBA clubs …
Already excited about #sporto2015? The date will be announced soon.
–ENDS–
Photo galleries: Day 1 / Day 2 / Gala Dinner / Party