B2B brand sponsors soccer team—what are they thinking?!

Mon, Jul 20, 2009

by Christopher Vitrano, Nelson Schmidt

In a recent BtoB Magazine article, “Aon sets global goals for soccer sponsorship,” we learned that the insurance brokerage company inked a four-year, $132 million sponsorship deal with Manchester United. The article cited comments from several Aon executives along with a few industry experts. It was Al Reis’ quote though that got me going.

Because Aon is a B2B brand, Mr. Reis stated “I think it would make more sense to have Coca-Cola or Nike as a sponsor, something that has more universal appeal.” I understand, but given how business brand communications have evolved to include more emotive messaging, and when put in the context of what Aon executives said they are trying to achieve via the partnership, I think it’s a great move.

Affinity Levels of Sports Sponsorships

Along with all the conventional business communications Aon uses, they now have a unique component to add to their brand story. One that is alive and full of passion, drama and emotion. It’s these kinds of conversations that B2B brands should also have with their audience groups.

The way I look at this, the title sponsorship with Manchester United works across four main levels of personal connection. The more levels a corporate sponsor can leverage, the better the cumulative effect.

Sport: Soccer, enough said. Its global universal appeal extends well into day-to-day corporate and workplace interactions.
Team: Manchester United, so if any of Aon’s business audience groups are interested in the sport of soccer, the majority will most likely have an emotional opinion of Manchester United. Being a fan of a rival club is just as good.
Event: From Barclay’s Premier League, to numerous prestigious cup tournaments all the way through to the “Skills and Drills” Aon’s Mr. Prosperi highlighted in the article; there is a framework of local-to-global experiential touch points.
Player: Here’s the really interesting level. Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United’s top star and arguably the world’s best soccer player was just transferred to Real Madrid. What drama!

Yes, the cost of $132 million over four years should be proven to generate a meaningful business return on investment for Aon. I’m confident that they have thought this through and will act as Simon White recommended in the story.

Corporate sponsorship of sports stuff is nothing new. However, I like what Aon decided to sponsor. Instead of a passive, ambient stadium naming deal, they chose to position their brand with something that a great deal of their (expansion) market personally cares about on multiple levels. And in a relationship-driven industry, it’s going to be a powerful perception to have.

I hope we hear more from Aon on the effectiveness of the relationship as the sponsorship plays out in order to give other B2B brands similar ideas to consider. Why should Coke and Nike have all the fun?

Share and Enjoy: