Remember Dan and Dave? Two athletes sponsored heavily by Reebok for the Olympics in 1992. Only problem was Dan failed to qualify, making an 8 month campaign useless. According to Sport Business Associates, global sponsorship of professional sports teams in 2006 is estimated to reach US$33.6 billion. This amount of spending certainly shows that sponsorships have become a huge venue for advertising dollars but do they always deliver?
Obviously, some sponsorships work out just fine, but for every win there is the prospect of a Dan and Dave fiasco or a Michael Landis in the Tour de France.
The impetus to write this post was Jet Man. If you did not see this, Yves Rossy strapped a 120lb winged contraption onto his back and flew across the English Channel. He was sponsored by Hublot Geneve, a high end, technically advanced watch firm. A very good fit. I went out to Hubolt's website and they have done a great job of integrating the sponsorship into their website and relating Jet Man to their brand. I can't help to think, though, what would have happened if Jet Man blew up over the English Channel?
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