By ‘Biola Kazeem

For many years, brands have used sports as a platform to reach mass audiences and build brand equity. The reason is simple, sports attracts not just attention but passionate and frenetic followership. Sports also encapsulate and bring real life expression to brand attributes such as leadership, passion, energy and winning. Advances in technology and proliferation of media has meant that sports teams, events and major players are able to cultivate world wide following.

Brands now sponsors teams, events and appoint sports men and women as brand ambassadors, spokesmen and women to create brand awareness and enhance appeal. More than ever before, numerous opportunities lie in wait for brands to create and strengthen the emotional connection with consumers and also bring clarity and elaboration to their brand message. But as with all things, if not carefully thought out, a brand might get its fingers burnt in using sports as a platform to reach its audiences. So what are the important elements or factors that a brand should be look at in leveraging sports and the numerous opportunities it provides?

The perfect fit.

Sports sponsorship is built primary on the concept of Value Transfer. This means that the brand “borrows” positive attributes and associations from the endorser and transfer same it to the brand and its products. To get bang for their buck and avoid dissonance, a brand has to consider how a team, event or sportsperson’s personality fits with their brand personality. The idea is not to fall for the one size fits all mentality that pervades the marketing communication landscape. A perfect example of how to ensure a perfect fit is Globacom’s sponsorship of the Super Eagles and National football league. As a pan-Nigerian brand, Globacom realized that nothing brings a sense of ownership and fraternity to Nigerians more than football. To therefore be seen as a brand that partners with the Super Eagles to bring joy to millions of Nigerians helped Globacom build equity.

Peak Milk’s usage of Kanu Nwankwo as a brand ambassador resonates deeply as well. When someone whose career was nearly upended by a diagnosis that his very existence is in danger but recovered well enough to win titles tells you to believe you can achieve anything, you tend to want to believe. MTN’s sponsorship of the World Cup also makes a lot of sense. The sponsorship helps cement it as Africa’s leading Telecoms Company. It also ties in well with its Africa wide brand and business strategy. There are other examples that pose more questions than answers. It is hard to see the strategic fit in Kanu Nwankwo and Fidelity Bank. Same will go for Gulder’s sponsorship of street soccer.

Another factor to consider in sports sponsorship is that sports teams and athletes are transient by nature and peak performance is never gauranteed. Therefore, developing a long term strategy on a team and athlete carries some measure of risk. Sport teams and athletes peak and decline. At their peak, they sign lucrative endorsement deals based on their present performance and projections on future performances. These projection don’t always go according to plan and as performance wanes, the brand finds it difficult to derive value from its outlay. For instance, Enyimba used to be the pre-eminent football team in Nigeria. Same would go for the once much loved Super Eagles who attract as much derision as they attract followership these days.

The Nigerian League has not fully lived up to the promise that persuaded Globacom to pay billions and the brand is presently locked in a battle to extricate itself from what has obviously been a good deal for the Nigeria Premier League but a bad one for Globacom.

However, some teams, events and sportsperson have found a way to remain relevant through the ages. Real Madrid’s image is built on its illustrious history and commitment to attract the world’s best players. Manchester United’s aura is heavily derived from its never say die attitude and winning mentality epitomized by its knack to win games and titles from losing positions and its remarkable recovery from the Munich air disaster to capture the European Cup ten years later, the first English team to do so. Jayjay Okocha still commands respect and acclaim for his football skill while Shooting stars and Enugu Rangers are still highly revered even though they have lost followership and have struggled in recent years.

The more you look, the less you see

An undying thirst to follow sports teams, events and personalities equally matched by the willingness of the media to provide even microscopic details means that sports would always attract viewership and dominate conversations. But this can be a double edged sword for brands. There is a tendency for audiences to tire quickly of what they see all the time and move on to the next best thing. Understandably, the commercial nature of professional sports means that athletes and teams find it hard to turn down offers. But in being anywhere and everywhere, they lose their star appeal and stop becoming credible when used as a vehicle to reach audiences.

While appeal and popularity is very important, it is important that the sports team , event or person are still perceived as credible. Kanu Nwakwo and Jayjay Okocha have peddled everything from banking to water and even toiletries. While they doubtlessly bring awareness to a brand, its doubtful if they add equity or market share to all the products that they endorse. They more they appear with wildly varying products and brands, the more consumers become insulated and even begin to feel exploited. Careful thought therefore must be applied to ensure that there is a balance between popularity and appeal and credibility.

The huge exposure that sports teams, events and person enjoy also means that there is a risk of them overshadowing the brand. While some brands have enough strength and depth to withstand even the biggest of personalities, upcoming and new brand eager for awareness have to be careful so as not to get the very opposite.

The team, the person or the event?

Depending on the strategy and financial clout of the brand, a brand might decide to sponsor a sports person, team or event. Pepsi is famous for its insistence on using the world’s best footballers such as Messi, Totti, Beckham, Henry, Yobo, Osaze and Obafemi Martins amongst others as endorsers. To strengthen its premium position and enhance its world wide appeal, Heineken chose to sponsor a prestigious event, The UEFA Champions League rather than a team or player.

Brands like Nike and Adidas use a combination of all three. Globacom has in the past used a combination of all three as well. MTN prefer to sponsor teams and events rather than individual players. The point is that they all add different dimensions to the brand communication and should be carefully exampled for attributes and associations they will transfer.

Scandal, scandal, scandal!!

Sportsmen, teams and events are made and broken by the media. Fueled by a need to get scoops and exclusives, the media are going to unbelievable lengths to uncover well hidden secrets and shred all the myth surrounding sports people and teams. When this happens, the sports endorsed brand suffers as much as the endorser, if not more.

The Tigers Woods unraveling shows clearly how indiscretions in the personal life of an athlete can significantly affect the fortunes of endorsed brands. In the immediate aftermath of the scandal, a study by Christopher R. Knittel and Victor Stango, both economics professors at the University of California estimate that shareholders loss caused by the scandal was between $5b to $12b.Numerous other brands pulled advertising and cancelled entire campaigns. The Nigerian League is always subject of bad press as a result of the predilection of officials to bribe referees, misappropriate funds and its incessant bouts of hooliganism. It’s hard to see how sponsors can derive any value from a much derided property.

Apart from scandals, the perception of a sportsman or team can also affect its ability to influence consumers. Some endorsers could lose their appeal with the public and that can cause noise in the communication process. Mikel Obi used to be the apple of the nation’s eye until recently. Run-ins with the authorities, reported indiscipline, and perceived unpatriotic disposition means that he is now at best, just a hugely divisive figure who courts as much disaffection as affection. Despite his huge popularity, it is hard to see how he can add significant equity to a brand. Yakubu Aiyegbeni would join him on the shortlist.

In all, given the huge cost of leveraging sports to reach audiences, grow market share and build/strengthen brands, brands brand owners and managers have to consider numerous factors prior to deciding on what team, event or person to use as its vehicle. Leveraging sports is certainly not as easy as it looks and if not well managed, a brand can incur financial and brand equity losses that are better imagined than experienced.

'Biola Kazeem is a Lagos based brand communication and strategy consultant. He is the editor of brandworknigeria.com and can be reached on editor@brandworknigeria,.com.