The definitions of what constitutes a “sponsorship” and what we mean by a “TV program” have changed meaningfully in the last decade-plus. In the past, if you sponsored a sports entity, your package included signage at a venue, some tickets for your best customers, and an advertisement in some sort of print product, like a game program. More innovative ones might include a clever promotion.
Today, a package might still include those elements. But brands have also realized they can aim for deeper engagement, too. They’re finding ways to be perceived as adding value to the fan experience and, most relevant to what I do, they’re looking to be storytellers. And the television landscape has shifted to accommodate that desire.
Sports is full of great stories. It used to be a partner could get involved peripherally, say by running commercials in a game broadcast or magazine show on a network, perhaps including a “brought to you by” (or even “proudly brought to you by,” if they wanted to really stress how excited they were about the show). Maybe you’d get some product placement. You can still do those things if they make sense, but you can go so far beyond it.
We’re working with a property right now that encompasses a lot of the possibilities for the expanded world of sports sponsorship. The College Gridiron Showcase & Symposiumgives prospective professional football players a chance to show their skills for NFL, CFL, and (most likely) XFL scouts. It also aims to help prepare them for some of the on- and off-field challenges they’ll face in their desired career. As you’ll see in the video trailer we did for the CGS, these young men have some incredible stories when they arrive at the showcase, and then they have five days to go as hard as they can to position themselves to write their next chapters.
Many brands like to be associated with qualities like perseverance and high achievement. They also know American football is the country’s most popular sport. And there are a ton of ways they can get involved, including carrying video content on their own websites/social media, embedding into a network broadcast, or something creative we haven’t even thought of yet. That’s something new in sponsorship – the sponsor getting in on the ground floor to shape the way their content is presented.
CGS has diversity/inclusion angles, and that’s something companies have started to really prioritize – want to put on a women’s football coaching clinic at the CGS? Plus, they can still get a lot of the traditional sponsorship assets, like signage that generates earned media exposure on the field and TV commercials.
It’s an exciting time in the world of sports content. Brands can take advantage of it in so many ways they never used to be able to.
Rush Olson has spent more than two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities through Rush Olson Creative & Sports, Mint Farm Films, and FourNine Productions.
