How Sports Sponsorship Gives Brands A Breath Of Fresh Air
Published on
by Frederik Festner
A Fresh Start
Life is fast-paced, and people’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. To remain relevant, brands and companies need to constantly reinvent themselves if they want to continue reaching their desired target groups in the long run. Sports sponsorship offers a powerful way to successfully shape a brand relaunch. Whether it’s a complete restart after a crisis or a desire to boost brand awareness and reach with a new approach, sports sponsorship brings a breath of fresh air and passion to the table.
In this Insight:
Sports Sponsorship: A Gamechanger In Marketing
Sports sponsorship is much more than a logo on a jersey or band advertising. It’s the perfect marketing arena to arouse emotions, tell stories and create a close connection to the target group. More so than any other platform, sport connects and generates dynamism that brands can tap into to tell the relevant messages in an emotional, sustainable way.
Why sports sponsorship works for a brand’s fresh start
Passion is at the heart of a successful brand relaunch. It gives a brand authenticity and ensures that messages are truly felt, not just heard and seen. Sports sponsorship offers the perfect platform for making this passion visible. Read on to learn how sponsorship boosts the brand presence and how brands can sensibly integrate this into their marketing mix.
The benefits of Sports Sponsorship
Emotional Connection
Sport represents passion, team spirit, power – values that brands can convey from the off to forge ahead in their respective markets.
Targeted Approach
A brand can target one core group via exclusive club or athlete partnerships.
Innovative Platforms
Sport is always evolving – and reach, too, is increased by additional touchpoints such as social media, streaming or other digital products. This is how a fresh start, combining all channels, generates success.
Positive Image Transfer
Sport’s charisma can be deployed to benefit the brand in question. In turn, the positive image automatically colours the relevant messages in the campaign.
A Strategic Investment
It’s not hard at all: with the help of sports sponsorship, the energy and dynamism of the sport are transferred directly to the brand. For companies wishing to reposition themselves, in particular, this energy is crucial if they want to have a sustainable impact on the target group. Brands can tie their story to sporting metaphors and success stories, making their own relaunch not just more tangible but more emotional, too.
Another key is the long-term loyalty generated through sports sponsorship. While traditional campaigns often merely generate short-term attention, sports sponsorship forges relationships that grow with every season, every game, every goal, every victory – and every defeat. It is this continuity that gives brands not just visibility, but the opportunity to keep presenting themselves in a new light, too.
A fresh start involving sports sponsorship is much more than just a marketing trick: it’s a strategic investment in the emotional connection between brands and people.
Red Bull: A Shining Example
Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine the sports world without Red Bull. Be it extreme sports, football or Formula 1, the beverage manufacturer has gained a firm foothold in the sporting landscape and is one of the major global players. But how was this possible? Red Bull has created a unique brand identity thanks to its involvement in extreme sports. With large, unusual events, the company showed courage, drew attention to itself, and demonstrated how adrenaline and innovation can be positioned at the heart of a brand. A strategy that proved successful. Red Bull has established itself as the market leader in the energy drink segment, while simultaneously building up an unmistakably, globally recognised brand identity. A textbook fresh start for the brand, aided by sports sponsorship.
Incidentally, the skilful use of content marketing goes hand in hand with this success. Videos depicting spectacular moments from events regularly go viral and boost the brand in a sustainable fashion. When sports sponsorship crosses paths with creative campaigns, this maximises their impact!
Brand Relaunches Via Sports Sponsorship
After Puma’s tricky competition against Adidas and Nike, the sports brand repositioned itself as a dynamic force thanks to its partnership and kit deal with Borussia Dortmund. This partnership became a symbol for Puma's return as a relevant player, showing how a clear connection to a successful football club can boost a brand’s identity – even in the long run. The contract runs until 2028.
Under Armour experienced a few challenging years – so it used its partnership with Dwayne Johnson to symbolise authenticity and strength. This collaboration highlights that sports sponsorship can support a fresh start in the fitness domain, as well as in traditional sports.
Deutsche Telekom has been the main sponsor of FC Bayern Munich for years and makes use of this platform to connect its brand to innovation, stability and success. Thanks to this partnership, Deutsche Telekom is viewed within an emotion-laden context that underscores its technology leadership and reliability. The pairing of telecommunication and sport is particularly successful via campaigns focused on digitalisation and interaction with fans. “Sports sponsorship is a core component of our marketing strategy,” says Henning Stiegenroth, Head of Sport & Sponsorship at Deutsche Telekom AG. “Football, in particular, plays a crucial role in our portfolio as a strategic communications tool.”
ING-DiBa successfully used its partnership with Dutch football to show off the brand in a positive, community-minded light. Thanks to the close connection with football clubs and fans, the bank was able to expand its visibility and relevance to new target groups, while simultaneously emphasising its values of fairness and reliability. In addition, ING-DiBa has also established itself as one of the key sponsors in German basketball, supporting the sport in all kinds of ways. Its connection to basketball has helped the bank to target a younger audience, one that engages with sport, while also conveying its values of team spirit, dynamism and fairness.
Conclusion
Giving a brand a fresh start via sports sponsorship is a safe investment in the future. The combination of emotional appeal, enhanced reach and authentic brand presence make this strategy a real game-changer. Driven by passion, every company can celebrate marketing success – provided they have enough courage, the right partner and a sophisticated strategy.
