Relay Worldwide Sports Sponsorship Symposium Kicks Off in N.Y.

Relay Worldwide Chair & CEO Wally Hayward opened the first day of the SBJ/SBD Relay Worldwide Sports Sponsorship Symposium today at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Hayward said, "We as an industry have to keep two things in mind -- the theme for the next two days: partnership and accountability. We as agencies and clients must continue to be more innovative, more strategic and deliver bigger and better results for all our programs moving forward. We must continue to challenge our partners at the leagues, networks and other properties to continue to provide us with more. We cannot be complacent as an industry. We have a huge opportunity to gobble up more of that $310B (in traditional marketing spending) that is sitting out there looking at ways to connect in a relevant manner to consumers to build long-term loyalty for brands."

State of Sports Sponsorships: Relay Worldwide Chief Strategic Officer Rich Luker, in his presentation, "The State of Sports Sponsorship: The New Era of Accountability & Partnership, " stated there are five competitors in the field: brands; advertising; media-technology; sports; and music and entertainment. Luker: "We are looking for our piece of that ($310B), but we can do it in such a self-focused way that we forget the other part of what this is all about, and it's (kids). We don't make real connections with people, we're wasting the brand's money." He added, "Do we really understand the strength of the position that we hold? That's what partnership and accountability are all about. And you can take in several ways. It's not just partnerships and how do we find other ways to reach people and put things up and signs and get notoriety. It's not just accountability, and it's not just ROI. It's really accountability to be doing the kinds of things that improve people's lives."

Highlights from Relay Worldwide SBJ/SBD Sports Sponsorship Symposium

The 5th annual Relay Worldwide SBJ/SBD Sports Sponsorship Symposium kicked off today at the Marriott Marquis in N.Y. Here are some highlights from today's morning sessions.

Panel: "The Sponsorship Budget: Allocating National and Local Dollars"

Panelists: White Sox VP & CMO Brooks Boyer; NFL Giants Senior VP & CMO Mike Stevens; Bank of America Senior VP & Sports Sponsorship Executive Ray Bednar; Sharp Electronics Associate VP/Strategic Marketing Andrew Kritzer; Wasserman Media Group Prinicpal Tom Fox

The Issue: What category do you wish leagues kept their hands off of?

The Skinny:
Boyer: "The area of financial services get a little hairy. That's one I'd like to see them leave along."

Kritzer: "On field signage. During MLB national broadcasts, you're no longer on (if you're a sponsor of the team). The efficiency you thought you had all of a sudden goes down."

Fox: "There's a real value to having every team locked up under one contract. Having one thing consistent creates a premium. It might cost less (if a league passes a category off to teams) because you might not buy every team."

Stevens: "In the NFL, we're not that constricted."

Greatest Hit: "All of them" - Boyer

Panel: "Power Brands Speak Out: The Chief Marketer's Perspective On Growing a Brand Through Sports & Entertainment Marketing"

Panelists: Google North American Advertising & Commerce President Tim Armstrong; Under Armour Senior VP/Sports Marketing Bill Kraus; ESPN Senior VP/Marketing Katie Lacey

The Issue: Social networking and new media.

The Skinny:
Lacey: "I think we're all just trying to figure out how far we can go, how far do we have permission to go, how far do we need to go. The reality is that everyone is looking to do something different at different points of time."

Armstrong offered an example of a web site that gives fans a look behind the training regimen of [Colts QB] Peyton Manning. "I think there's the world we know about in professional sports and the world that's (behind the scenes). I think that will be the explosion in social networking around sports."

Greatest Hit: "That will be the most expensive parking spot we've ever paid because we'll end up buying another Lexus." - Armstrong, on avoiding the $39.95 parking fee at the U.S. Open because Lexus, an Open sponsor, offered fans driving its models free parking.

Highlights from Relay Worldwide Sports Sponsorship Symposium
The Relay Worldwide SBJ/SBD Sports continues today in N.Y. The opening session will be, "The ROI Dilemma: An Industry-Based Common Metric, " featuring Visa USA Group Director of Partnership Marketing Andrew Cohen; McDonald's Senior Director of Marketing Alliances John Lewicki; ING VP/Brand Development & Sponsorships Steve Baskin; Relay Worldwide VP/Consulting Matt Pensinger; and AT&T Executive Director of Sponsorships & Events Eric Fernandez.

Here are some highlights from yesterday's afternoon sessions:

Panel: "Athletic Endorsements: An In-Depth Examination of Coca-Cola and LeBron James"

Panelists: Coca-Cola Director of Sports Marketing Ellen Lucey and LRMR Marketing CEO Maverick Carter

The Issue: How is Coca-Cola making the most of its relationship with one of the world's most marketable athletes - LeBron James? And how is LeBron James making the most of the brand so many believe he has become?

The Skinny:
Carter: "In the Coca-Cola portfolio, there were brands he naturally consumed - Sprite and Powerade. ... They had never done a sponsorship with an athlete or an entertainer for multiple brands."

Lucey: "He's been very involved. ... His fingerprint has been all over the stories and programs."

Carter: "That's true. LeBron as a person is very cognizant of how he sounds, how he looks, what his jeans look like, what his lines are."

Panel: "The Opportunities For Innovation: Value-Added Sports Sponsorships That Reach Targeted Market Segments"

Panelists: Hilton Hotels Corp. VP/Brand Marketing Jim Cone; Russell Corp. President Doug Kelly; Miller Brewing Sports & Entertainment Marketing Manager Peter Laatz; Herbalife Director of Strategic Alliances Brian McKinley; Xbox Live Senior Director Bill Nielsen; and John Paul Mitchell Systems VP/Sports Marketing Julie Solwold.

The Issue: Why are companies looking at niche properties to expand their brands?

The Skinny:
McKinley: "As a direct selling company, our model of marketing is completely different, so we have to really market to our distributors. The L.A. Galaxy gave us a global opportunity to do that, even though David Beckham hasn't been playing on the field. The people wearing our name on his jersey have become walking, talking billboards for us."

Greatest Hit: "Unless someone starts flying around in jet packs, no other football league is going to catch the NFL in terms of popularity" - Laatz, on upstart football leagues as being good opportunities for innovation.

College Sports, LeBron Highlight Relay Sponsorship Symposium
The Fifth annual Relay Worldwide SBJ/SBD Sports Sponsorship Symposium continues at the Marriott Marquis in N.Y. Here are some highlights from yesterday's afternoon sessions.

Gatorade Sports Marketing Dir Scott Paddock

Panelists: State Farm Insurance Collegiate Sports Sponsorship Coordinator John Althoff, Coca-Cola Sports Marketing Director Valerie Kravitz, Gatorade Sports Marketing Director Scott Paddock, Alltel Sponsorship Marketing Director Samira Zebian.

The Issue: What's driving the continued increase in spending on collegiate athletics?

The Skinny:
Kravitz: "For those of us already involved with college sports, it's not the next big space; we're already in it."

Paddock: "The reason you invest in college sports is to tap into a rabid fan base."

The Issue: What are the pitfalls of a marketing strategy with collegiate athletics?

The Skinny:
Zebian: "For us to see value today, we need to permeate the entire campus. Schools need to see ou relationship as a partnership, not just a donation."

Paddock: "When we first go into the market, we had deals over handshakes and that let us put our product on the sidelines. It's so competitive and expensive today, though, that you have to have solid analytics to justify your spending."

The Issue: Where are the new opportunities in college sports?

The Skinny:
Althoff: "Partnerships with athletic conferences only go so far, whereas I can get involved in a lot of different avenues -- not just over a weekend -- by partnering directly with universities."

Zebian: "We're looking for non-traditional opportunities like partnering with fanu.com, so we can be the official wireless provider of fans, rather than a school or conference."

Greatest Hit: "Florida -- the birthplace of Gatorade -- because they're the best hydrated" - Paddock, on his pick to win this year's football national championship.

Panel: "Athletic Endorsements: An In-Depth Examination of Coca-Cola and LeBron James"

Panelists: Coca-Cola Director of Sports Marketing Ellen Lucey and LRMR Marketing CEO Maverick Carter

The Issue: Why did you align him with both Sprite and Powerade?

The Skinny:
Lucey said, "It started with Sprite. Sprite had a real interest in his energy and charisma. In talking with LeBron, he had a long relationship with Powerade. He drank it all through high school and wanted to see that relationship continue."

Carter: "It made sense because Powerade aligned with him as an athlete...Sprite is ingrained in his lifestyle -- where he eats and where he hangs out. It's really helped him because he goes across a couple of brands and exposes sides people may or may not know."

The Issue: What is the strategy for Team LeBron?

The Skinny:
Carter: "Partnership, not sponsorship, is the key thing. It's never been LeBron aligning with a company, doing a deal and LeBron wearing a polo with Coca-Cola on the front of it. ... It's more about how does a partnership come together that's authentic for LeBron. It's about a relationship where LeBron can give the brand or company what they're looking for and they can reciprocate it back to him."

Dixon Presents Case Study On Campbell's Connection To Football

Greatest Hit: "We got a call from Shaq and his mom wanting to participate in the campaign. If that doesn't say success, I don't know what does" -- Dixon

DEWALT: DeWalt Director of National Sponsorship Jon Howland discussed the company's efforts to market on a grassroots level, particularly to Hispanics. He outlined a four-pronged strategy of reaching the demo, which involves knowing the "end user" where they buy, where they learn, where they work and where they play. DeWalt's success within the Hispanic community is a result of demonstrating to the people who use their tools they they are reliable, efficient, and the fastest. Howland said, "For many Hispanic workers, they get paid by how much they do. So the faster they work, the more money they make." DeWalt has placed a bilingual presence in the community, providing job safety and power tool training events. Most importantly, Howland says DeWalt's tools sell themselves by word of mouth, making it critical to focus on grassroots marketing. Howland said, "We don't spend a lot of time on traditional marketing."

Howland Discusses DeWalt's Grassroots Marketing Effort

VITAMINWATER: Glaceau Senior VP/Marketing Rohan Oza presented a case study of vitaminwaterk, saying that with supply of celebrity endorsers and a product people enjoy, marketing is easy. Oza said six years ago when the idea for vitaminwater first came up, they had to craft an entire new category for enhanced water, a category that has exploded since their innovation. He attributes the explosion to early involvement from rapper 50 Cent, who then enlisted other celebrities and athletes to help with the campaign. The company boasts over a dozen spokespersons, including Red Sox DH David Oritz and Spurs G Tony Parker. Oza said, "We've made not just a great brand, but a pop culture icon."

Greatest Hit: "Everyone we hire lives and breathes the brand" -- Oza.