BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Did our partnership assets reach the target audience or demographic? What is the broadcast media value of a jersey sponsorship? What is the impact on customer retention and acquisition? Those were the questions FlyQuest Sports was thinking about as the team headed into the 2018 North American League Championship Series (LCS) for League of Legends (LOL).
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Even though we have Block in our name, Block Six Analytics is not a blockchain company. However, we do see blockchain technology impacting our business in ways that are likely to surprise many in the sports industry. More specifically, blockchain could alter sports media and sponsorship in counterintuitive ways.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Famed management consultant and professor Peter Drucker is arguably most well-known for the axiom, “What gets measured gets managed.” That is one reason why the results of a recent study of sports partnerships by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) are so surprising. The ANA found that only “37% of respondents reported having a standardized process for measuring their return on sponsorship.” So why are so few sponsorships being measured?
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
One of the most common issues in sponsorship today is that properties / rights holders (teams, leagues, events, athletes, etc.) for non-traditional sports want to attract non-endemic partners. Conversely, non-endemic partners want to determine if they should sponsor new properties to generate lifts in meeting their revenue and brand goals. The solution to this problem is fit and communicating fit through data.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
In a finding that is likely unsurprising to most in the sports industry, a recent study completed by two University of Sussex economists found that sports fans are irrational in their support of teams. More specifically, “that the happiness that fans feel when their team wins is outweighed – by a factor of two – by the sadness that strikes when their team loses.” What may be more counterintuitive is that these results likely are a good thing for the sports industry as a whole and sports sponsors in particular. How could that be possible when teams are making their customers unhappy?
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
The only thing arguably better than beer is free beer. That is exactly what Anheuser-Busch (AB) and the Cleveland Browns have announced with their most recent sponsorship activation. AB and the Browns found a unique ways to activate a sponsorship that drives customer engagement and increases brand perception.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
While esports continues to mature in its development, the OWL does highlight a challenge to its future growth. Much of the revenue articulated in the OWL example is accrued by Activation Blizzard as the game publisher of Overwatch. Game publishers receive the bulk (if not all) of the franchise, streaming, and broadcast fees for esports leagues rather than having that revenue shared among the teams as is the case with most other professional sports leagues.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
One of the biggest challenges in the era of big data is monetization. How do you monetize information at a time when so much data is being created? One answer to that question is to find an immediate use case where the information an organization generates addresses a critical business challenge. That is exactly what the NBA has done in its new deal making MGM Resorts its official gambling partner. This new relationship is generating significant attention because it is the first of its kind in a major professional sports league. Yet, that is really not the most significant component of this deal.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Even though we have Block in our name, Block Six Analytics is not a blockchain company. However, we do see blockchain technology impacting our business in ways that are likely to surprise many in the sports industry. More specifically, blockchain could alter sports media and sponsorship in counterintuitive ways.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Famed management consultant and professor Peter Drucker is arguably most well-known for the axiom, “What gets measured gets managed.” That is one reason why the results of a recent study of sports partnerships by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) are so surprising. The ANA found that only “37% of respondents reported having a standardized process for measuring their return on sponsorship.” So why are so few sponsorships being measured?
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Marketers, teams, leagues, events, and athletes often state that a sports partnership delivers engaging content that resonates with companies’ core audiences in unique ways. A recent post in The New Yorker, however, may contain some of the most compelling and surprising evidence yet to prove this point.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Multiple people sent B6A a copy of AdAge’s most recent post titled “MARKETERS DEMAND MORE (AND MORE) FOR SPORTS SPONSORSHIPS.” This article focuses on Anheuser-Busch InBev's (AB InBev’s) new approach to sponsorship where “leagues and other so-called rights holders get paid more if they reach certain goals, like making the playoffs.” The reason that AB InBev is implementing this strategy reflects a fundamental shift in how partners approach the space. In particular, partners want to know the answer to this question: Why is a specific sponsorship good for my specific company?
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
It is never a good thing to run out of beer. To run out of beer during the world’s largest sporting event seems to be a particularly big “problem.” However, that appears to be exactly what is happening in Russia during the 2018 World Cup. So why is supply not keeping up with the demand and why is this potentially good news for the World Cup’s official sponsor Anheuser-Busch InBev?
BY JOSHUA L. HERZBERG AND ALEXANDER CORDOVER
Block Six Analytics’ Media Analysis Platform, MAP analyzes sports video broadcasts to compute how long in-stadium signage appears on screen. However, other computer vision products like Amazon’s Rekognition and Google’s Cloud Vision can also perform this task. Both offer text localization (finding text in a video frame) and optical character recognition (reading the text) services akin to what MAP offers. But which product is most accurate?
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Content rights holders should take notice of branded content’s impact and how both companies and agencies are viewing its success. Branded content is certainly not the only way to deliver higher levels of engagement. However, quality and engagement is an increasingly important factor when buyers are making purchasing decisions about advertising and sponsorship.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
One of the more surprising sponsorship agreements to come to fruition recently is a deal that will feature “Visit Rwanda” on the sleeve of Arsenal’s jersey while also making “Visit Rwanda” the official tourism partner of this English Premier League team. Why would the Rwanda Development Board want to be the sponsor of a team hundreds of miles away from the country?
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
The U.S. Supreme Court decision that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) is unconstitutional will have a dramatic impact on the sports industry. The new revenue is not just from taking fees on the bets themselves. In fact, some of the big winners of the PAPSA decision are sponsorship rights holders.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
NBCUniversal is a good example of how content providers are changing their approach to advertising valuation. By understanding its customers’ businesses and developing success metrics based on achieving companies’ brand and revenue goals, NBC is putting itself in a better position to communicate value and generate incremental revenue growth.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Aston Villa recently announced that it signed “a kit manufacturing deal” with Fanatics. What seems like a standard merchandise / apparel deal on the surface, however, “may be at the forefront of a revolution” in sponsorship and licensing in sports. This is not just because the Fanatics logo will not be on the jersey of the English soccer club team.
BY ADAM GROSSMANEsports rights holders can use Ashland University as an example of why companies should become esports partners. In particular, rights holders can show non-endemic sponsors how partnering with a team or league helps these companies generate more revenue or more effectively reach their brand objectives in novel ways that create competitive differentiation.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Earlier this week, the PGA Tour announced that it was changing its slogan from “These Guys Are Good” to “Live Under Par.” Changing one of the most prominent features of the PGA Tour brand after 20 years would be news on its own. What is potentially more interesting, however, is the thought process behind the change.
BY ADAM GROSSMAN
Yesterday, Anheuser-Busch announced a decision to utilize "a new sponsorship model that promises to shake up the industry. It is built on incentives for performance on the field, pitch or court, as well as off of it". In 2012, B6A explored a similar approach The Emirates Group employed with the Arsenal as part of a larger deal including a jersey sponsorship. That blog post is included here.