The Annual Sponsorship Business Survey 2012 - Sporsora

T h e A n n u a l S p o n s o r s h i p B u s i n e s s S u r v e y 2 0 1 2 P a g e | 10
3.0 | Social Media
3.1 The Industry’s Outlook on Social
Media
There is a very strong feeling in the profession that
social media is here, it is here to stay and that it is
essential that the sponsorship business engages
effectively with it.
78% of sponsorship heads agree that social media
is now a must for all sponsorship campaigns; with
only 7% in disagreement.
Despite this prevailing view, only 48% felt that
their industry made good use of social media;
concern on this was felt most strongly in North
America where only 16% of sponsorship heads
agreed that social media was being put to good
use.
We as an industry make good use of
social media
25% 27%
Agree Disagree
50% 48% 49%
16%
UK Europe North America
With the explosion of social media use and the
continual improvements and developments
occurring within digital media, there is no surprise
that many heads believe their social media
campaigns are not reaching their full potential. It is
only recently that Twitter has started to take
brands seriously by differentiating brands’ pages
from other users, allowing closer integration with
other forms of media and increasing opportunities
for engagement with their fans. With social media,
it is now easier to reach a global audience. Ali
Russell, Chief Operations Officer at Rangers
Football Club, stated that the club is looking into
social media and all the different ways they can
leverage the social networks to connect with their
5 million global fans. Similarly, Arsenal Football
Club is ramping up digital marketing activity and
social media initiatives to engage its international
fans.
3.2 Individual Endorsements
Social media allows fans to
communicate directly with
their idols, allowing sponsors
to embed their brand and
gauge fans perceptions. The
resulting goodwill between
the fan and sports star ultimately leads to the
athlete having the power to influence fans’
purchasing behaviour globally. Kaka and Cristiano
Ronaldo are among the most followed sports stars
on Twitter with over 8.1 million and 6.5 million
followers respectively, highlighting the vast global
reach that social media provides. TWSM reports
that personality sponsorship increased by 13% in
2011 and we expect this trend to continue growing
in 2012. Sponsors must however be aware of the
risks that arise from the use of stars that are
increasingly prone to overstepping the boundaries
and posting controversial comments on Twitter.
Social media has also escalated the pace at which
negative press spreads across the world making it
imperative that sponsors cite expectations of
appropriate behaviour in contracts with their
sports stars.
3.3 Traditional Advertising
The impact of social media in sponsorship has
contributed, many think, to a reduction in the
benefits achievable from traditional advertising,
such as viral email advertising (which is only used
by 30% of businesses surveyed). With a
sponsorship focused audience it is not surprising
that advertising continues to be seen as giving a
poorer return than sponsorship. Despite this,
ZenithOptimedia predicts global ad expenditure to
accelerate to US$486 billion in 2012 – a 4.7%
growth. The results of our survey do however
provide a reminder that the traditional forms of
communication matter too.
44% believe that there is a real risk within the
industry of over reliance on social media and
consequent neglect of other communication
possibilities; only 27% actively assert their
disagreement with this.