Driving Business Through Sport

AN ANALYSIS OF EUROPE'S SPORTS SPONSORSHIP INDUSTRY, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES AND BEST PRACTICE.

What are the most popular sports broadcasts in each European country ? What is the most popular sport in Spain ? What is the total global expenditure on sponsorship ? What did MasterCard achieve from its sponsorship of the 1998 World Cup and how did it meet its ten sponsorship objectives for this event ? If you want to know the answer to these and many other questions you will have to buy a copy of  "Driving Business Through Sport", marketing journalist Simon Rines's comprehensive and exhaustive study of the European sports sponsorship market.

Accurate, in-depth and impartial sponsorship information on a Pan European basis, whether it be details of who sponsors what, television audience figures, research data, case studies, best practice and rights fee figures is notoriously hard to gather and consultants are forced to glean whatever information they can from a variety of sources.

At last the answers to most of our questions are contained within the 468 pages and ten sections of Rines's report which covers the following areas :

1. Market Overview

• Size
• Rights Costs by Sport
• Industry Sector Analysis
• Top Sponsored Sports
• Sponsorship v Advertising
• Most Popular European Sports
• Issues Confronting European Sport

2. Formulating Strategy

• Setting Objectives
• Sponsorship Strategy
• Setting the Budget

3. Research & Media Evaluation

• Research Strategy
• Pre-Research
• Finding & Assessing the Property
• Evaluating Success
• Media Evaluation

4. Sponsorship Types

• Team Sponsorship
• Personalities
• Event Sponsorship
• Venue Sponsorship
• Technology Sponsorship
• Broadcast Sponsorship

5. Case Studies

• Schweppes & Formula 1
• UPS Olympic Games
• MasterCard – 1998 World Cup
• Mercedes-Benz – ATP Tour
• BMW
• Guinness & the 1999 Rugby World Cup
• EF Education & The Whitbread Round The World race

6. Direct Marketing in Sport

• Marketing through sports properties

7. Special Events

• Using events to enhance sponsorship
• Special Events in isolation
• Participation Events

8. Integrating the Marketing Disciplines

• Sales Promotion
• PR
• Hospitality
• Signage
• Merchandising

9. Understanding the Risks

• Contracts
• Contingency Planning
• Ambush Marketing
• Insurance

10.    Television & New Media

• Media Ownership
• Sports Rights on Pay TV
• Sports Broadcasting Regulations
• New Media & Technology

Each section is punctuated with figures, charts, graphs, statistics, advice and examples of best practice.

Not a book to read from cover to cover but one to dip into when facing a specific problem or needing to find the answer to a question.

Without a shadow of doubt "Driving Business Through Sport" is the best source book or management report on sponsorship I have ever seen and no consultant or agency can afford to be without a copy –  buy it straight away !

Review by Greville Waterman,
Managing Director
The Sponsorship Consultancy
for the European Sponsorship Consultants Association newsletter – January 2001

“The report has become a very valuable tool in our work at FIFA. It shows a great deal of understanding of the sponsors, as well as the property owners. It will become very important in the planning and evaluation of upcoming events. Congratulations to all who worked on its production!!”

Michael Black, Director of Competitions, FIFA

“At long last somebody has produced the essential Bible for our business. Greatly overdue!”

Alasdair Ritchie, Worldwide President, Octagon Marketing

"A balanced and well researched analysis of the sports marketing industry. It is a 'must have' reference that spends very little time on our library shelf."

Jamie Graham, Head of Research UK

"Driving Business Through Sport is an impressive, complete and extensive report on sports sponsorship. This ''Bible' 'of strategic theory and real case studies is a valuable tool for all marketing professionals."

Roddy Drysdale, Marketing Communications Manager, HQ Philips Batteries

"A most remarkable piece of work. It is thorough, comprehensive, very well constructed, filled with an extraordinary amount of extremely accurate information and written with the utmost clarity. Its case histories, insights and authoritative guidance are all invaluable. The report deserves great success."

Robert Heller, Founding Editor of Management Today and Britain's leading authority on management issues.

"Driving Business Through Sport is the most thorough examination of our business to date. The case histories will, I am sure, prove valuable to many who sell, whilst the research and market overview information makes for a great educational tool and reference."

Mark Cornish, Managing Director of Sponsorship Information Services (SiS)

"The Report pulls together a lot of material in one volume making it an invaluable reference for those researching the developing relationship between sports, sponsorship and the media. The wide ranging case studies in particular offer useful material for teaching purposes."

Dr Raymond Boyle, Head of Department of Film and Media Studies, Stirling Media Research Institute, University of Stirling

"It's a veritable gold mine of information, which no serious sporting body that wishes to propel itself forwards in the digital age should be without. It provides a snapshot of the minds and views of some of the most seasoned players in the global sports and media industries. Vital knowledge about sport marketing and the new channels of communication has been carefully collected and assembled in a palatable, unbiased and extraordinarily informative report."

Martin Cracknell, new media commentator, Sports Marketing magazine.

“Driving Business Through Sport offers a comprehensive guide to the novice and established sponsor alike in their strategy development, and explains the fundamentals of making the most of your investment. In an ever-evolving industry, such an 'encyclopaedia' will be in constant use!”

Andrew Walsh, Senior Account Manager, SPORT + MARKT AG

“If sponsorship is to survive and prosper, more knowledge and higher sophistication is badly needed by all parties in the sports sponsorship industry. Driving Business Through Sport offers an impressive and complete compilation of facts and experiences for the benefit of the sellers and the buyers in the sponsorship market. In fact, all major players in the sponsorship markets should own a copy.”

Jimmy Clark, Clark Marketing, Sweden

“Delighted with the report, particularly the case studies. From a brand owner's perspective, it gives powerful clarification of the medium's opportunities and how to get value from a major sponsorship. When is issue two for sales”

Adrain Rose, Managing Director, Azorie Consulting