Passion for sport is constantly growing, both in terms of numbers of fans, and numbers of active participants. At times of big international sports events such as the Olympics or the World Cup, it is easy to see how the number of companies that decide to allocate their advertising budgets to sports sponsorship or other sport-related activities increases. Advertising agencies themselves often pin their strategies on a sense of sporting spirit in order to enhance the appeal of the message conveyed.
RTR believes that the strength of sports marketing lies precisely in its capacity to leverage the passion that consumers nurture towards sport. Sponsorship is not merely a question of appearing with one's logo on a competitor's shirt or on the advertising hoardings at an event. Above all, it means projecting the specific values of the sport onto the company and its brands and ensuring that this association registers with the target group in question.
Sport is an extremely flexible tool, as it allows businesses and advertising agencies to communicate with different types of target and to put together modular campaigns that can be shaped according to the specific requirements of the sponsor. It is also an effective medium because it permits actions to be measured on a case-by-case basis and to transform the activity into promotional campaigns whose purpose is to leave their mark on different types of public, off the field of play as well as on it.
Yet this is not all: sport is one of the few tools which, as well as ensuring repeatability and continuity, offers the opportunity to engage in co-marketing, B2B and public relations ventures, the relevance of which is stressed by all advertising agencies.
The tradition of sports marketing shows how, until now, throughout the entire sponsorship world, two different models have been applied. The first is the classic model, in which the sponsor purchases a package that has already been devised and is only involved in the final stages of the event. Another model, which is certainly more current, is the one in which the sponsor plays an active role in the creation of the event, taking part in the planning stages and fashioning it around its own goals and values. The latter model, if it is coordinated effectively by a competent advertising agency, is without doubt the best, as it allows event-moments to be crafted that are rich in meaning for the consumer.
The prevailing trend, then, is to move away from the “Buy” model – mere sponsorship of an event – to the “Create” model – the creation of an event. For each sponsorship project RTR carries out an analysis of the market and of current trends at an international level. What is emerging at the present time is the fact that the state of the art is moving towards a model that is different yet again, a model that we might define as the “Create and Manage” model, in which not only is the event created, but all activities pertaining to it are managed too.
It is clear, then, that when operating in this kind of universe, it is necessary to turn to organisations which are in possession of an extremely high level of expertise, which are perfectly familiar with the rules and which are able to maximise the returns obtained from a sports marketing campaign through the total management of a carefully crafted sponsorship campaign. In short, the advertising agencies to which companies turn must be able to deal with the most disparate requirements by offering an all-round service.
RTR's approach is to pursue this direction, which maximises the capacity of the events that are devised or sponsored to capture their audiences. This is possible through careful monitoring of media coverage, an extension of the timescale of the event that enables the pre- and post-event stages to be lived and, still further, through the creation of a community that garners consumer loyalty and engenders a sense of belonging.
In this context, the role of the advertising agency as consultant becomes fundamental. We at RTR have 10 years of experience in dealing with the market in this field and an international portfolio of clients, and we are confident of our ability to provide made-to-measure services for those who intend to use sport as a communication tool to reach the relevant markets in a targeted manner.
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