Sports Sponsorship: Three Secrets To Winning Big For FLB Brands

No matter where you're based, there's no denying that sport is currently commanding the attention of the media. In fact, those paying attention will have noticed that the way in which we experience sporting events is getting more and more intimate.

Advances in livestreaming and social media mean viewers can engage with the action anytime, anywhere, and from multiple angles. For brands, this presents a huge marketing opportunity.

Sponsoring sports events can:

• Increase visibility and enhance brand credibility and positioning.
• Create an association between your brand and qualities like speed, performance, elite lifestyle, and success.
• Demonstrate your brand’s relevance by placing it in the midst of what’s happening now.

For these reasons and more, sports sponsorship remains a highly attractive option for brands in the Fashion, Luxury and Beauty (FLB) sectors. The question lies in how to maximize your ROI from any sponsorship.

In our recent sports sponsorship whitepaper, we highlighted four case studies from 2022. These case studies showed how FLB brands used partnerships with top sporting events to drive massive Media Impact Value™ (MIV®). Drawing from that report, here are three key takeaways on how to win big at sporting events. 

1. Think beyond logos and banners

There are many ways to connect your brand to a sporting event beyond the traditional trackside banners. And with sporting events offering such diverse viewership demographics across multiple channels, it’s important to design sponsorship activities that are memorable and provide ample opportunity for content creation.  

Let’s look at Ralph Lauren 's partnership with Wimbledon, for example. The brand’s campaign involved designing staff uniforms, dressing celebrities, and co-hosting a star-studded tea party in collaboration with British Vogue . This ensured the brand stayed visible throughout the event and across multiple channels, from print media to social platforms.

In our Louis Vuitton case study, we saw how the fashion house created a bespoke travel case to house the trophy for the F1 Grand Prix. 

The monogrammed case featured in all of Sergio Perez’s trophy presentation photos (one Instagram post generated $166k in MIV®). It even opened up extra content opportunities, including a behind-the-scenes look at the trunk’s creation. 

With so many brands competing for attention everywhere we look, it’s essential to think outside the box and find on-brand ways to make your sponsorship message stick. 

2. Find the right mix of Voices

Voices encompass different players who shape the customer journey – these include Media (like magazines), Celebrities, Influencers, Partners, and Owned Media (e.g. the brand’s own social channels). Our analytics consistently show that finding the right balance of Voices is key to maximizing ROI on any campaign. 

Ralph Lauren’s Wimbledon strategy is a perfect example of this. The $1.9M+ the brand won in MIV® was generated through partnerships with both celebrities and media outlets as well as through their own social posts. In this case study, Media proved the most lucrative Voice for the campaign thanks to its focus on celebrity activities. 

Meanwhile, ROLEX generated a massive $12.6M in MIV® at the French Open, with the Partner Voice standing out as the key driver. By leveraging the event’s own official social media channels, Rolex was able to get in front of millions of captivated tennis fans, proving the value of forging strong partnerships with sporting events. 

3. Embrace short-form content

Social media has changed the way we create and consume content, with short-form digital media content seeing massive growth. This means that, even as viewers continue to tune into live sporting events, they’re increasingly consuming additional content before and after the event, and using second screens to share content and review statistics as the event unfurls.

Match highlights, training sessions, player interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage are all increasingly popular subjects of short-form content. They provide brands with a fast track to the screens of younger audiences. 

As shown in our report, a 30-second YouTube video on the Roland Garros account netted Rolex $272K in MIV®, while even shorter Instagram and TikTok videos have also proved highly effective for brands. 

Ready to win big?

Sports viewership is increasing. The more excitement and emotion an event creates, the greater the opportunity for brands to increase their visibility, reinforce their image, and boost their positioning in a competitive market. 

Is your brand ready to take the plunge and win big with sports?

Read more about how sporting events are a growing opportunity for FLB brands and get the four case study strategies in full by downloading the report today.

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