How have valuations been shaped by the ever evolving world of Canadian sponsorship marketing? In a context where how brands connect with and engage consumers is changed rapidly, so should our approaches to valuation.
And we discussed all that and more in November’s breakfast forum at Real Sports.
But before we got into the details of valuation, Lisa Ferkul, Scotiabank’s Director of Hockey Partnerships highlighted the biggest and best campaigns of the day. They’re bold and powerful partnerships from which we can all learn a thing or two. We looked at Sick Kids’ ‘VS’ campaign, UBER’s delivery of on-demand merchandise to Chicago Cubs fans, Covergirl’s 1st male spokesperson James Charles, Cristiano Ronaldo’s $1B lifetime deal with Nike, NBA’s partnership with Next VR, Shaw’s Road to the Grey Cup content hub, Toronto Maple Leafs’ #STANDWITNESS Campaign and the upcoming NHL Centennial Classic. If you haven’t heard of any of the above mentioned partnerships, take a minute because they’re definitely worth a look!
So how has valuation evolved?
Starting us off by presenting the most up to date view of the current landscape of Canadian sponsorship, Norm O’Reilly, Fox Professor Management, Ohio University & Partner Consultant, T1, presented the latest findings of the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study. The CSLS showed us that while spending has grown over 60% since 2006 (up to $1.70B in 2015), the 10-year evaluation average is only 3.7%, indicating that evaluation has declined. But why? Reasons cited by O’Reilly included: 1) properties are now picking up the slack; 2) agencies are integrating more evaluation into their work; and 3) doubt that current evaluation tactics are effective and reliable. But what activation tactics do we really think drive the best business results? 44% of agencies and 35% of properties said branded content, while sponsors listed branded content, public relations and broadcast as equally effective drivers of positive results.
To access the full report, visit the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study at http://sponsorshiplandscape.ca.
Monique Giroux, Vice-President, Sponsorships & Strategic Partnerships, CIBC, outlined the bank’s three main objectives for evaluating every partnership.
- Does it build the business? Will it build revenue? The expectation is that for every dollar spent on sponsorship, CIBC gets two dollars back in ROI.
- Does it build the brand? Given that CIBC already has a claim of notoriety amongst the Canadian public, the search for partnerships focuses on ones that will provide amplification and enhancement of the brand.
- Does it engage employees? Successful partnerships should build employee pride and provide them with substantial and exciting volunteer opportunities.
Presenting an agency’s perspective, Lindsay Rennie, Director of Sponsorships at Lumency started off with this thought: it’s called VALUE-ation. Valuation is not a take-it-or-leave-it price tag generator, but everything has a value and good properties know their value. Partnerships should be organized around shared objectives: build a world class experience by exposing your audience to innovation; create more revenue streams by maximizing brand engagement; and provide a memorable interaction with a highly engaged clientele. Bottom line: customized and weighted criteria will always give you a better valuation because every brand’s strategy is unique.
Thank you to our moderator, Norm O’Reilly and to our speakers Monique Giroux and Lindsay Rennie for their time and incredible insights. And thank you to Lisa Ferkul for presenting an exciting and thorough Market Watch!
Upcoming Events:
December 14th - Final breakfast forum of 2016 and AGM. Registration details to follow.
Activate applications are still open! SMCC’s unique program is looking for the next generation of sponsorship marketers. Visit http://bit.ly/1EKqSYS for more details.
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