Member Spotlight:
SSE plc is one of the UK’s leading energy companies, involved in the generation, distribution and supply of electricity and in the extraction, storage, distribution and supply of gas. Its core purpose is to provide the energy people need in a reliable and sustainable way. It supplies energy to around 8.58 million energy and home services customers throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.
SSE has a strong pedigree in sport and entertainment sponsorships, and has recently announced a deal to support ITV’s coverage for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Colin Banks, Acting Head of Sponsorship at SSE took time to tell us a little more.
When did the relationship with ITV’s Rugby World Cup start, and how long does it run for? SSE has been working on the relationship with ITV since the start of the year, and made the announcement in April. Our plans have kicked off and we’ll be activating around the deal until the end of the competition on 31 October.
We have also secured another partnership with Kaleidoscope Entertainment on their new documentary, ‘Building Jerusalem’, which tells the story of England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup triumph.
What “bigger picture” did this relationship seek to meet? We have a solid history of sponsorship, and support of rugby from grassroots to elite level. All of our sponsorships tap into our customers’ passions and allow us to give them more through our SSE Reward platform. We know that rugby is a sport that excites our audience, and both ITV’s World Cup coverage and Building Jerusalem give us opportunities to create meaningful experiences and offers to give back directly to our customers.
Through the relationship with ITV we will have significant exposure throughout the UK in September and October. We will have TV idents on all coverage including ITV in England and Wales, STV in Scotland and UTV in Northern Ireland, supported by a strong digital and social campaign that drives competition assets and exclusive customer benefits. We’ll be hosting these competitions both on the ITV platforms and exclusively for our customers on our ssereward.com platform.
In addition to the sponsorship deals, we are hosting a customer party at The SSE SWALEC stadium in Cardiff on 26 September. The party will show live coverage of the day’s matches, including England v Wales from Twickenham, alongside family-friendly games, food & drink and appearances from some Welsh rugby legends.
The customer party is a great example of how we integrate across our sponsorships, with both the SSE SWALEC venue and the Welsh Rugby Union involved in supporting this event.
How important is it to measure the effectiveness of the relationship? It’s very important. We carefully monitor and measure the impact of all of our sponsorships to ensure we are achieving our goals. At the start of any project we set out robust aims and objectives that we can track and report against. It is also critical in shaping the ongoing direction of our sponsorship strategy, as we can build outcomes into future plans and properties.
How are you harnessing and executing on digital strategy, and what problems / opportunities has this created? Digital is a critical element of our sponsorship activation strategy. Interconnected platforms and activities allow us to create fully-integrated campaigns, which drive meaningful engagement with the SSE brand. There is always a challenge in terms of developing your offering but the opportunities are almost endless with regards to refining the way in which you can interact with your audience.
For this sponsorship we will be activating heavily through both SSE and ITV owned digital channels. We have a number of public-facing and customer only competitions, which will be driven through digital and supported through other platforms.
Innovation in its widest sense is something we are always conscious of, and, where it will add a significant impact, we are always willing to try something new. For the launch of our campaign, we unveiled unique ‘Sounds of Victory’ bottles, which contained crowd noise from some of the home nations’ most memorable matches. We launched them at a bespoke pop-up shop in London with four ambassadors from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Social media – cure or curse?? Social media is only a curse if you let it be. For us, it’s a critical part of our sponsorship communications strategy and we use it effectively, to enhance and engage with consumers around our sponsorships.
What are the 3 key bits of advice you can offer to other sponsors of a similar ilk, now that you’ve gone through the process of establishing this relationship? Overall, you need to be strategic. When looking at sponsorship opportunities, take time to consider your options, why you think it fits your business and, crucially, what you want to get out of it. Don’t be tempted to chase something just because you’ve seen it work for another sponsor. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for you.
Never be afraid to look at refreshing and updating your strategy. As you become more involved in sponsorships you will learn what works for you and for your brand and you can tailor your approach to ensure you maximize the impact of your time and investment.
Don’t worry if a single sponsorship doesn’t tick every box for you. Each one will offer something slightly different and you can build a portfolio to make sure each of your objectives are met. Some properties will of course cover everything, but they can often be more expensive and you can face more competition to secure them. These sponsorships could have high value for you but it’s worth considering whether the same, or indeed more, impact could be achieved through a number of smaller properties.
Any final thoughts Colin? If you take a look at where SSE was a few years ago in terms of sponsorship, the business has taken some exceptionally bold steps to make sure we can do more for our customers.
Taking on the title sponsorships of massive entertainment venues (The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, The SSE Arena, Wembley (formerly Wembley Arena) and The SSE Arena, Belfast (formerly The Odyssey Arena)), our top tier partnership of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and our recent commitment to women’s sport via our sponsorship of The SSE Women’s FA Cup and partnership with The FA has given us recognition across the industry and has seen a lot of groundbreaking work within the business in a relatively short period of time.
We can now offer tangible benefits directly to our customers via our ssereward.com platform and that is a significant differentiator for us in our highly competitive market place. Those bold steps have allowed us to stand apart in our industry and demonstrate that SSE really is “Proud to make a difference.”
You can find out more about SSE sponsorships at https://www.sse.co.uk/about-us#Sponsorship and customer benefits at www.ssereward.com.
