UFO Info Week-End

It is essential to address such key issues at contract stage he explains

“It is essential to address such key issues at contract stage,” he explains.Should the event sponsor choose not to take up the television sponsorship, the broadcaster should be encouraged not to offer it to a direct competitor. Although this is yet to arise in the UK, it comes a step nearer this spring with the European launch of the new World League of American football, sponsored by Reebok. World League is a joint partnership between the National Football League and Fox Inc / News Corporation.The immediate “threat” posed by TV sponsorship depends on whether event sponsors also have the first option to buy the television sponsorship, says Graham Bridgwater, marketing director at the sports sponsorship consultancy CSS. But broadcast sponsorship deals – like those struck by ITV with Panasonic for its World Cup ‘94 coverage, or with Sony for the last Rugby World Cup – can smother event sponsors’ activities.In the US, a growing number of broadcasters are taking over the management or co-ownership of sports events themselves. In the past, sports authorities received most of their funds from event sponsorship; now television rights can be more lucrative, and broadcasters have more clout.

Event sponsors need media exposure to promote their brand association. But we want to ensure event sponsorship is protected, as it is the life’s blood of many sports.”The balance of power within sports is undoubtedly shifting. Television offers one-off awareness; event sponsorship is more about long-term image-building,” says Mike Scott, director of the ISS “Both are capable of living happily side by side. This month the Institute of Sports Sponsorship will distribute a pro forma contract advising its members on what should be covered in any sponsorship deal.

The initiative follows the publication of a 10-point voluntary code of conduct, which includes a call for members to turn down television deals unless the event sponsor has been approached first, and to ask broadcasters to invest a proportion of sponsorship money in developing the sport concerned.
“Companies get involved in event and programme sponsorship for very different reasons. Attention is now turning to how event sponsors can protect their investment. No one watching live and exclusive Premiership coverage on Sky Sports can ignore the fact that the motor company sponsors the programming. But the success of some heavily branded broadcast sponsorships is bad news for sports event sponsors, who fear television will dilute the value of their deals. FORD means football for soccer fans with satellite dishes.

Then take the weekend off, read some good fiction or take a long hike, and be raring to go at 8am on Monday.You will dramatically raise the odds of having somethlng to brag about to your grandkids, even if your partners do look at you askance.TPG Communications. Gary Withers, the British marketing services whiz, joins the parade away from dull business.So, amen: Groupware yourself to the hilt I’m all for it. But use the technology to do something with pizzazz, not just to be a lightning-fast drone.And KPMG – next time a client asks for serious help but wants it in three to five days, give it EDS, IBM and Coopers’ phone, fax and e-mail numbers. Ad man David Ogilvy ison the same wavelength, bragging of having fired many more clients (who were wearing down his staff) than have fired him. He rips lawyers, accountants et al, for taking business that doesn’t help them grow or turn them on (He says providing professional servlces should be fun. (And then KPMGers will complain to me – they have before – that their services are becoming commodities.)My response to KPMG, sure to garner a hatful of “don’t be naive” letters from readers, is, `So don’t respond to asinine requests from clients.”David Maister, the premier observer of professional service firms, agrees.