Branding & sponsorship

Akash C.MathapatiAsst Professor – Marketing Area

Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studiesakashcm@gmail.com

• Sponsorship is a powerful marketing tool.

• Not only can it increase brand visibility and develop brand associations but it can potentially cut through the clutter and provide a unique opportunity to build a relationship with customers by creating an emotional bond with them.

• Sponsorship is highly flexible and can be tailored to meet a wide range of marketing and business objectives.

• sponsorship is defined as aligning a brand with a marketing asset in order to exploit the associative and commercial potential created by the alignment thereby helping to meet specific objectives that positively impact on brand image and / or sales.

The power of sponsorship

Akash C.Mathapati

A successful sponsorship can:• Heighten visibility• Reinforce or shape brand image and build brand equity• Demonstrate brand / product attributes and company

values • Reach consumers in an environment of their choice -

permission marketing• Shape consumer attitudes through association• Differentiate a brand from its competitors• Generate “free” media exposure

The power of sponsorship

Akash C.Mathapati

A successful sponsorship can:• Incentivise staff internally and the trade externally• Create corporate hospitality opportunities• Create differentiated brand experiences for customers -

experiential sponsorships• Offer merchandise opportunities• Combat larger ad budgets of competitors• Fulfil social responsibilities to community development• Provide a platform for an integrated communications

campaign

The power of sponsorship

Akash C.Mathapati

• Sponsorship’s growth relative to that of traditional media can be attributed to the following:– decreasing efficiency of other media

(fragmentation)– changing social priorities– increasing need for two-way communication

with customers• Sponsorship provides a platform for

bringing a brand to life, creating a physical manifestation of the brand and its key attributes.

The Benefits of Sponsorship over Traditional Media

Akash C.Mathapati

• Sponsorship communicates with people in an environment where they are more emotionally receptive.

• Consumers have become less receptive to traditional, more intrusive media platforms and, as a result, sponsorship’s role as a permission marketing tool is gaining relevance over other more intrusive mediums and is therefore making up a larger portion of the overall marketing budget.

The Benefits of Sponsorship over Traditional Media

Akash C.Mathapati

Sponsorship is changing• While sponsorship is growing in stature as a marketing

medium, the environment in which it operates is also changing and is characterised by the following:– An increasingly competitive environment– Diversification of sponsorship platforms– Discerning sponsors approaching things from a more

commercial perspective– Engaging consumers at many different levels including the use

of new media technology– Increased focus on accountability and measurement

Akash C.Mathapati

• Sponsorships should be a physical manifestation of the brand and therefore provide an excellent opportunity for the brand to touch and interact with consumers on a personal, rather than a mass exposure level.

• The focus is therefore shifting towards driving customer participation and involvement at events - engaging the customer at many different levels thereby providing them with memorable brand experiences.

• Providing consumers with memorable experiences is key - Consumers are emotionally and rationally driven. “Don’t treat customers just as rational decision makers. Customers want to be entertained, stimulated, emotionally affected and creatively challenged.” - Bernd H. Schmitt “Experiential Marketing”

Engaging consumers on a Personal Level

Akash C.Mathapati

2012 London Focus: Panasonic Sponsorship Strategy

•    Despite  using  the  2012  logo  in  most  creative  in  the  UK  since  2009,  the  brand  has  run  little  dedicated  Olympic  advertising   so  far

•    Its  most  focused  2012  campaign  broke  in  autumn  2011   around  the   launch  of  its  Smart  Viera  3D  TV  product.  The   association  with  the   Olympics  was  highlighted  through  a   gymnast  using  the  TV  as  a  piece  of   apparatus  in  both  press  and  TV  ads

•    Other  noticeable  activity  has  come  in  the  form  of  taxi  

advertising  on  the   side  of  black  cabs  across  London   •    Although  specific  Olympic  activity  has  been  scant  of

 late,  the  brand  did   use  Kelly  Holmes  in  a  print  campaign  back  in  2008   Film  Nation  Shorts  

Akash C.Mathapati

• In March 2010 Panasonic teamed up with the Cultural Olympiad to support ‘Film Nation: Shorts’. This is an ongoing project supported by the UK film council with funding through the Olympics Lottery

• The project “gives 14/15 year olds the chance to make films celebrating the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”, comprising an annual competition which launched in 2010 and will run until the summer of 2012

• The best of the films created are to be broadcast at London 2012’s ‘Live Sites’. These sites are positioned around the country and feature big screens that act as centres for live information, video, news and community events for the Olympics

• Panasonic’s role has been to firstly act as presenting sponsor, whilst also supplying equipment at training sessions for participants up and down the country

Akash C.Mathapati

3D EVENTS• At LOCOG’s twoyear countdown event in Trafalgar Square the brand

had major presence and installed a 3D Future Zone where fans could watch live classic Olympic moments in 3D  

• In May 2011, Panasonic launched its 3D Cinema roadshow. The tour gives cinemagoers the chance to view archived Olympic Games footage in 3D at over 40 cinemas across the UK

• Through  its  Olympic  Facebook  pages,  Panasonic  has  simultaneously   promoted  its  Olympic  products,  offered  consumers  the  chance  to  win   tickets  to  the  event  and  backed  its  3D  Tour  

• In  July  2011,  Panasonic  launched  a  range  of  Olympic  products,  including   a  camcorder,  headphones,  memory  card  and  Lumix  cameras

Akash C.Mathapati