Russian sports sponsorship market has faced no fewer challenges than the European one. Cancelled competitions, safety measurements, restrictions on the number of stadium visitors… It came as a shock at first. However, this is where new digital solutions and partnerships started to appear. What is going on with the sports market in Russia? What are the plans for 2021?
Evgenia Maltseva, a member of ESA and CEO of Sponsor Consulting Russia, has met several members of the Russian sports market. Among those are representatives of FC Zenit (ESA 2021 award nominee), HC Avangard Omsk, IRON STAR and platform Sport kak biznes.
How did COVID-19 influence the sports market in general and the sponsorship market in particular?
Vladimir Voloshin – Partner / Newman Sport & Business Consulting
A traditional business model that had been shaping in the last years came to an end in 2020. Many starts were postponed or cancelled, we had cash deficiency and accounts receivable. A lot of valuable employees were gone. We lost talents who could drive high sales and provide safety of events, customer service, marketing and communications. We opened registrations for the next year shortly after the current start had ended. Thanks to that, it was possible to cover the costs of event organization, marketing, and paychecks. We tested our demand and forecasted other revenues with partners and sponsors. It was very risky to predict an increase in the number of participants, revenue and income of the organizers. We also were not sure if new sponsors and partners would come.
Robert Ter-Abramyan – Chief Commercial Officer / HC Avangard Omak
Offline events suffered most. Many leagues ended their championships and did not play out the season in 2020. A lot of events were not held at all. Partners lost part of income, and a couple of factors had to compensate for the lost contract obligations – for example, we did it through the next season or replacement of options. We also faced a significant decrease in the income generated from general tickets and season tickets sales. On the other hand, there was an increase in the share of souvenirs sold online. There was a reduction in the expenses for an entertainment programme, and accordingly, we revised agreements with contractors. However, new costs were coming up – to meet the requirements of the COVID-19 regulations.
When it comes to brands, there is a tendency to host events and activations online. For example, there was Red Bull Flick; a new championship organized by Counter-Strike with their own IT-infrastructure, Nissan Intelligent Cup, an intellectual quiz-activation as a result of the automotive brand and FC Spartak and FC Zenit cooperation.
Could you name a few new products and solutions on the Russian sports market in 2020? The ones created under the influence of the epidemic.
Zhanna Dembo – Public Relations Officer / FC Zenit
Global self-isolationmade clubs think of new ways to support teams. There were some main ways of cheering on during pandemic, such as online tribunes organized through Zoom and participation of fans in the match remotely through the stadium intersound. We created new formats of content and online activations of sponsorship contracts. There were live broadcasts, shows, quizzes, quarantined challenges – these are all highlights of 2020. For example, FC Zenit social media accounts published a series of videos under the hashtag #TrenirujsyaDoma! with home workouts from a fitness coach Maria Burova. Team members of FC Zenit together with chefs from St. Petersburg cooked various meals in Instagram live show Domashnyaya zagotovka.
Ilya Balakirev – Head of the Department of Special Sponsorship Projects / FC Zenit
The club creatively approached commercial activations, as well as congratulating the best player of the month – our forward Malcom received the award in a contactless way. A drone delivered his prize – G-Drive. Luchshij igrok marta– right into the window of his apartment. This video became viral and spread across many Russian and foreign news media and blogs about sport. We activated a huge number of sponsors – about 15-16, also because everyone wanted to be more digital. Earlier it was possible to activate sponsors at the stadium, now there is only one option left – the club’s online sites. We integrated many sponsored activations into the club’s online communications. This is why most of the partnership agreements were kept in place. Online communications also fostered the creation of new content formats.
Vladimir Voloshin – Partner / Newman Sport & Business Consulting
Sports events always were, and they remain to be, a showcase of opportunities that attract a specific target audience, future partners, and sponsors. The 2021 sponsorship search season has essentially failed because no one is sure of anything. All sponsors lost sales. Nowadays sponsors are concerned not only about such measurements as ‘outreach’. To a greater extent, they need to see ‘engagement’ of the audience in communications, their response to the club’s offers and whether the audience makes purchases. There should be developed a portfolio of services that can operate in conditions of turbulence and high external risks, bans and restrictions.
Robert Ter-Abramyan – Chief Commercial Officer / HC Avangard Omak
There are significant changes in the direction of online communication with fans. We try to support clubs even without offline events. For example, HC Avangard Omsk provides additional content next to live broadcasts – Studio 55 live via YouTube. This Studio goes live before the game, during the halftime and at the end of the game. We integrate show business stars and sports experts into this project. So far we had Jaromír Jágr, Vladislav Tretiak, Boris Mikhailov, Nikolai Lemtyugov, Shnur, Maria Kozhevnikova, Yolka, Aresniy Popov and many others. The hosts discuss games with the guests and offer to take part in various challenges. We make use of this content later on for HC Avangard Omsk promotion.
Were there any new notable sponsorship deals and partnerships in Russian sports in 2020? The ones that influenced the sports market in general.
Ilya Balakirev – Head of the Department of Special Sponsorship Projects / FC Zenit:
We noticed that betting companies became more active in sponsoring domestic sports organizations in 2020. Also, large sponsors, such as Tinkoff Bank, joined Russian football. There is an increase in the field of cybersports and collaborations with bloggers. For instance, FC Zenit participated in ‘Samaya Bystraya Liga’, which is a cyber football tournament that took place in the spring of 2020. It was a project organized by online media Sports.ru, MegaFon and FC Zenit. The club continues to actively work with opinion leaders on popular social media platforms. For example, a video clip created by Kirill Kolesnikov, who is a popular TikTok blogger, not only received a large number of views but also got into one of the most popular football pages – account 433.
Robert Ter-Abramyan – Chief Commercial Officer / HC Avangard Omak
I would mention two projects. The first one – Yandex and HC Dinamo. They created a unified ticket system, and HC Dinamo could use the entire toolkit of Yandex media services, integration into the loyalty program, traffic exchange, and attraction of new customers. The second – KHL and SAP. They created a database of hockey fans, a platform that allows clubs to communicate with fans and learn the behaviour of the target audience in more detail. In return, KHL received a fan base of all clubs.
Artem Milakov – Sport kak biznes
There is sportrecs – the most notable sports startup in the Russian market. This is a media platform that positions itself as “Sports YouTube” and has ambitions to become a world leader in the distribution of sports content. They have a lot of partners, and I think this is probably the most noticeable phenomenon in the sports industry in Russia now. There are also three projects within our platform Sport kak biznes – online academy Sportologia, club Sport kak biznes PRO and Continental Sportstech Accelerator.
Vladimir Voloshin – Partner / Newman Sport & Business Consulting
I would mention focusing on B2BC partnership models because all the largest transactions and investments of the last 6 months happened in this particular bundle (OTRI + Azbuka Vkusa// Spartan + Marvel // ZWIFT + UCI (Esports World Championship), Spotify + This Girl Can // NextVR + Apple TV. HOT SPORT – digital partner for commercial projects in the field of sports and health.
Do you have any expectations for 2021?
Zhanna Dembo, Public Relations Officer of FC Zenit
Creation of engaging content and use of current key platforms, such as TikTok and others, are going to be in higher demand in the current quarantine conditions. The main direction of marketing and PR in the coming years will involve partnership collaborations, battles for a new audience and the creation of a lifestyle brand for a sports organization.
Vladimir Voloshin – Partner / Newman Sport & Business Consulting
I would say that during 2021 we fulfilled promises for 2020. The agenda for 2021 looks pretty busy due to previously postponed events but at the same time, everything is very uncertain. People buy registrations for only trophy starts which have a limited number of slots. If many slots are expected, then people will postpone purchases until the last and the number of participants will drop. Players will fight for existing runners, not new ones – they do not know where to get them. Consumers live in a so-called ‘hibernation mode’: they use their ‘storage fat’ to maintain internal stability. At the same time, we see that the consumption of online content continues to rise. It reduces the cost of people’s access to sports and health.
Nowadays events only cannot keep business viable. Filters are locations, status, modern and safe infrastructure, comfort, cost of participation and accommodation in the infrastructure, difficulty levels of distances, entertainment, climate, customer service, and the overall atmosphere. Also, whether there is an emotional programme for the whole family, and whether participants and fans are engaged.
Future lies at the interface of industries: AirBNB, Retail, Banks, Travel, Healthcare (tests) federal programme, lookout for new talents, CRM, Media (podcasts, AI, VR, AR).
Artem Milakov, Sport kak biznes
My expectations are optimistic. I want to believe that the Russian sports industry has received a wake-up call and it will become more fans- and sponsors-oriented.
