Saturday, January 2, 2010

Sports sponsorship.

I'll admit, I am not a sports fan. I regard watching a bunch of money-grubbing, hopped-up thyroid cases as an utter waste of time. So sports sponsorship is lost of me.

That said, I am not a dope, and I can put myself in a sports fan's shoes. So let me ask you, does anyone for a minute think Papa John's sold one more pizza than they would have for sponsoring the Papa John's bowl that pit two 7-5 college football teams against each other? AT&T, who sells over-priced and under-reliable cellular service, were they helped by having a logo on Tiger Woods' golf bag all these years? Is anyone anywhere more likely to buy a Ford because they sponsor the 12-19 Knicks' post-game show?

And Citifield, home of the perennially mediocre Mets. Has anyone taken out a mortgage or opened a savings account because of that example of misguided corporate largesse?

Let's face facts. Sports sponsorship exists to get corporate execs (about the only people who can actually afford to attend a live sporting event) free tickets to events they are too cheap to pay for with their own money.

5 comments:

Tore Claesson said...

And how many additional cars did Volkswagen sell when they paid Rolling Stones a fortune for the privilege of putting a sticker on some of their cars by sponsoring their 1995 concert tour? Mick & Company even made fun of the fact. They'd never be seen dead in VW. But a handful of star struck VW executives got to see their idols close-up at a cocktail party or something. I wish I had been invited. Although I would never drive a Stones marked VW. And I'm a Stones fan.

jape said...

I suspect you're right; but is there any research which demonstrates your case? Or that sponsorship works?

george tannenbaum said...

Jape, never forget. Research proves research works.

Anonymous said...

It's a shame you're not a sports fan and a lot less of an advertising enthusiast. Sports is infinitely more enjoyable and a thousand times more relevant to the human condition than writing buckslips.

And while some professional athletes might be "a bunch of money-grubbing, hopped-up thyroid cases," most athletes are very talented people--a lot more talented than 99% of the people who work in advertising.

Plus unlike advertising professionals, athletes are rewarded based on actual performance. Sucking up and the sort of aggressive stupidity you see in ad agencies don't lead to success in sports.

Also sports requires real teamwork. Your average adman is too insecure about his or her talents to ever work in a true team format. In an agency, everyone sees everyone else as a threat. That's a good reason why working in an agency can never match the exhilaration and simple human joy of being on a winning sports team.

Unknown said...

Show me your research that indicates traditional advertising sold anything. Sponsorship is just part of the marketing and for you to belittle it shows you know very little about marketing. DO you really think te cos. are doing it for the tix? You know less than is evident in your writing.