Tuesday 8 August 2017

Darren Olivier

Dimensions of a Tour De France Sponsorship

Recently I attended an inspiring and interesting presentation involving sports sponsorship. Hosted by Price Forbes, Ant Garstang took us through Dimension Data and Qhubeka’s journey to compete and partner in the greatest cycle event on earth, in a two hour talk.
The Tour de France needs little introduction but perhaps the best way of describing the scale of the TDF event is to borrow the jaw dropping infographic contained in BusinessInsider’s portal: Tour de France, world's biggest annual sporting event, is an amazing race and breathtaking logistical feat. Click and peek, then read on.
The presentation was an informal, anecdotal account of what the tour is about that gave one the feeling of being privy to an inside scoop on the drama that is the TDF. And there is drama, from “Cav” being knocked off his bike by Peter Sagan’s now infamous elbow to the logistics of feeding riders an equivalent calorie intake of >40 odd hamburgers a day (and a few pomme frites no doubt) from different local kitchens, as the tour travels. All very interesting indeed, especially the firsthand accounts.
To the uniformed, Dimension Data are the headline sponsor of a team competing in the TDF. They also provide groundbreaking technical services to the Amaury Sports Organisation (A.S.O) the owners of the TDF enabling the viewer and competitors access to data such as speeds, times and distance, relating to the race and competitors in an unprecedented way, realtime.  Price Forbes are insurers of Dimension Data. Qhubeka is an inspiring charity which gives purpose to the riders and opportunities for sponsors to leverage off the good that they do.
Apart from the intrigue of the race itself, the human machines that compete in it and the logistical operation that follows the event daily, the presentation to an IP lawyer is equally, if not more fascinating, in other ways. These observations stood out:
The Philanthropic Message
There seems no doubt that Dimension Data’s partnership, through Ant, with charity Qhubeka and the Team is attractive. The fact that the companies have African heritage, empower African cycling and Africans must have created a compelling message to the TDF event owners that enabled them to be involved in such an elite event. For this to have made sense, both the company and the charity needed to be world class, innovative and have a track record. Put differently, both the event and the sponsors were able to leverage off the philanthropic and empowerment message which is significantly more compelling than the usual pay-to-play sponsorship package. To understand this point better it is worth reading the Dimension Data website which details their history in cycling and the relationship with the Team and the Qhubeka Charity. A stand out from Qhubeka is that their own message is neither patronizing nor stereotyping of Africa and its people; they identify a problem and explain how bicycles can fix it. In philanthropic terms, this is desirable.
Senior Executive Engagement
I have always felt that unless there is board level support in a top level sponsorship deal, it is unlikely to succeed. Sponsorship often simply creates the platform to promote a brand. That platform is created through the event or initiative. However, the ability and desire of the brand itself to use that platform creatively is what differentiates a poor sponsorship from a bad one. In other words, the sponsorship agreement is where the relationship only begins. Dimension Data’s Senior Executive has/had some cycling enthusiasts and clearly supported the decision. This quite obviously galvanized others to innovate around the concept and make a success of the partnership. There are other examples where the board inherits a sponsorship from a previous leadership group, or changes the direction of the company so that it no longer fits with the sponsorship alignment. In those cases the sponsorship will inevitably not deliver.
Return on Investment
It is often difficult to know what exactly is achieved through a sponsorship. Yes, the relationship looks and feels good, gives brand exposure but it can be very difficult to measure. Red Bulls F1 sponsorship cleverly positioned their energy drink and the results could be measured in sales, I imagine, quite instantly. For a technology service provider I suspect that the ROI is not as tangible. The same would be the case if a law firm sponsored a golf event. However, discrete measurables are becoming more available and increasingly useful as a gauge of the effectiveness (or not) of a sponsorship. Social media activity, website traffic monitoring, granular viewership information, social return on investment algorithms and increasing access to benchmark norms and information make sponsorship easier to track, assess and ultimately negotiate. In this instance, the fact that Dimension Data are both sponsor and service provider must have also made the ROI more attainable. In addition, the return is not just a measure of sales return but brand positioning and awareness. 
African companies are no strangers to global sponsorships. The presentation provided a unique insight on what appears to be a very successful and innovative partnership. Thanks to Greg Dillon for the invitation and to Price Forbes for their wonderful hospitality.

Darren Olivier

Darren Olivier

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