Corporate social responsibility and sponsorship go hand in hand so it’s arguably the most significant development in years in terms of the opportunity it provides rights holders to engage sponsors

The greater demand from society for companies to behave in more socially responsible ways has created challenges in almost every aspect of how it functions. The most visible manifestation is how it markets or communicates itself to the world and this pressure has created all manner of initiatives from the utterly ridiculous to the incredibly sublime.

Initiatives falling into the former camp tend to be so far removed from the reality of the company’s product or service (“drink a beer/coffee/soft drink to save the world”) that it generates only derision, scorn and perhaps even reduced sales for a time. The key for a socially responsible initiative to work from a public perception or ‘marketing’ point of view is that it resonates with what the company does.

This is where sponsorship is incredibly powerful. It is the most effective or resonant marketing channel to promote a company’s socially responsible credentials. A company can take out advertising to say it’s socially responsible or it can engage in sponsorship to prove it’s socially responsible.

Therefore, it has become a proverbial sledge hammer for rights holders to open doors with potential sponsors. However rights holders themselves also need to employ CSR (corporate social responsibility) tactics, particularly as they are often ingrained in their local communities.

As our recent biennial analysis of team sports’ main sponsors revealed, this double-whammy meant gambling, alcohol and fizzy drinks saw the largest fall in the number of deals.

So here are some key pieces of advice for rights holders to take advantage of this new era and open doors with brands.

Be Forensic
The goal of a rights holder when prospecting for potential sponsors is to show how your platform is well-aligned to a brand’s values and/or how it can help them achieve their marketing and business objectives.

Corporate social responsibility and sponsorship starts with auditing your entire organisation and rights to assess what could be conducive to a socially responsible sponsorship – be it around health, poverty, gender or racial equality, sustainability.

Is it where you’re based, is it the sector you operate in, is it the composition of your workforce or fanbase, is it an in-house initiative you’re already working on? Do you have a charity partner? This is obviously a natural and relatively easy way for a brand to plug into an already ongoing CSR programme and perhaps help raise it to the next level.

It could be almost anything; the LA Clippers ultimately secured a major sponsorship with female-empowerment dating app Bumble because it was the only NBA team with a female president.

Be Flexible
If there aren’t any current assets, can you identify new ones that help a brand achieve their goals?

Tottenham Hotspur recently announced a first-of-its-kind ‘Official Battery Technology Partner’ with VivoPower (a sustainable energy solutions business) who will help the club accelerate its goal to being a net-zero carbon business. On a similar vein, Italian football team Udinese collaborated with car manufacturer Dacia on a project to transform their stadium to completely C02-free which went along with the naming rights.

Be Diligent
In an era of heightened demand for CSR, rightsholders must be more cautious of who they partner with – again note the drop in gambling and alcohol sponsorships – and consequently undertake more due diligence. Norwich City, very much a family club, had to cancel their sponsorship with gambling firm BK8 due to a public outcry from fans who spotted the sexualised nature of the firm’s social media marketing activities.

Be Prepared
When it comes to corporate social responsibility and sponsorship, rights holders at the least need to be prepared for a backlash if the sponsor isn’t seen as socially responsible.

The ECB’s new competition The Hundred was created specifically to engage children and families. However, on announcing KP Snacks as the principal sponsor it faced severe criticism – which it seemed somewhat unprepared for – from health campaigners who strongly objected to the partnership promoting unhealthy snacks to children, particularly with a battle waging on the obesity crisis.

The Football Association seems avoided this level of criticism around their partnership with Mars by creating the joint ‘Just Play’ initiative. This has had a substantially positive social impact by getting one million participants from all ages, abilities and backgrounds more active through grassroots football.

Like the FA, Premier League side Brentford recently announced Hollywoodbets as their new shirt sponsor. Perhaps with the Norwich situation in mind, the press release showed how the South African bookmaker is ‘extremely passionate’ about supporting their communities by partnering with more than 100 grassroot teams. The partnership also began with a donation to Brentford’s Community Sports Trust through their Golden Goals campaign while Brentford has also announced a partnership with GAMSTOP, to provide access to the UK’s free online gambling self-exclusion programme.

Be Brave
CSR is a highly emotive, passionate and difficult area to control so if rights holders are to provide such a platform for brands they must be brave and willing to go the distance otherwise it can damage relationships and public perception.

The Euro 2020 football tournament took place during LGBT’s Pride month which presented a timely platform for brands to promote diversity. However, organisers UEFA refused to allow one of the participating stadiums – the Allianz Arena in Germany – to light itself in rainbow colours and also banned any advertising incorporating the LGBT rainbow at matches played in Russia and Azerbaijan. Tournament sponsor VW who displayed rainbow graphics throughout the tournament publicly spoke out against their partner’s decision – which won’t help with renewals or attracting new sponsors.

An extreme and near ‘impossible’ example concerns the Tokyo 2020 Olympics going ahead despite the pandemic. The sponsors were clearly concerned about the negativity and wasted investment from an event going ahead (a) against the the public’s wishes and (b) without spectators. Sponsor Toyota decided not to run Olympics-themed TV ads in Japan which the NY Times described as “a symbolic vote of no confidence from one of the country’s most influential companies.”

So from a purely sponsorship point of view the very brave decision would have been to postpone the games. Unlikely but you get the point.

Be Long-term
Thinking about corporate social responsibility and sponsorship needs to be long-term. Driving change at a societal level takes years, decades. Together with the increasing need to avoid being exposed or criticised for short-term marketing stunts (e.g. the  ‘ridiculous’ referred to earlier) rights holders must provide a long-term platform for brands to achieve their objectives.

Barclays – who recently signed a record-breaking multi-year deal with football’s Women’s Super League – said that a long-term partnership is the only route to driving sustainable change. Los Angeles-based club Angel City FC, the latest team to join the Women’s National Soccer League, has formed as a social purpose club and will only engage with sponsors who “are true partners in our quest for quality”. Ten percent of the revenue from the deal with Gatorade – their new Exclusive Sports Drink’ and founding partner – will be invested into developing opportunities for young female coaches.