“Now is not the time to run and hide”. A POV On The Sponsorship Industry In The COVID Era

As events are being cancelled and postponed due to the effects of COVID-19, rights holders and brands are faced with unprecedented challenges and questions about how best to manage the situation. Naturally, a lot of people ask themselves what the industry will look like on the ‘other side’.

Over the last couple of months, we [Paul Poole] have worked with clients, sponsors and partners, helping them make a decision on what to do with their rights packaging and what ‘bounce back’ activities to undertake. Every client, sponsor and partner is different but there are a few principles and notions that, in our opinion, are worth taking into account during this time.

• It is easy – and in some cases mandatory – to postpone an event, however, we believe that rights holders that go ‘against the tide’ will be long-term winners. What that looks like will depend on each individual case but now is the time to get creative and test new formats, setups and distribution channels.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has created a buyer’s market for sponsorship rights – brands are looking for deals and are incentivised to be creative.
• There is huge value in the market for brands brave enough to commit budget rather than wait until a return to normality.
• There is a clear opportunity for brands not just to be seen as supporting rights holders who are affected financially by prolonged disruption to the calendar, but to be the brand that was there in times of uncertainty. This is a unique opportunity to strengthen relationships and increase brand loyalty.

In addition, we have also been digesting a number of white papers and briefings on how to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic from a marketing and Sponsorship perspective. Our friends at BBH have developed a useful white paper sharing instructive examples and data to guide marketing discussions, specifically how marketing can help, how teams can be mobilised in the coming months and how to position your brand to emerge well on the other side. To read the full briefing, please see www.paulpoole.co.th/BBH/covid19.pdf.

We also found the briefing from the agency Goat very useful. It outlines some of the ways in which communication, creation, learning and consumption are changing, and how brands and rights holders might best adapt and maximise a new increasingly digital world. To see the full picture, please see www.paulpoole.co.th/goat/covid19.pdf.

There is no doubt that these are challenging times which could very well have a lasting impact on the Sponsorship industry. However, it is the actors who are arming themselves with the best-available data and making tangible plans on how to move forward in an uncertain environment that are most likely to come out on the other side best prepared to navigate this new reality.

That means finding the bridge between your products and services and new needs and mindsets: sell to help – not to move product. Stay active – a lot of marketing activity does not require physical proximity; you can still make powerful marketing happen.

Author: Paul Poole, The Sponsorship Experts