As the Euro 2020 tournament comes to a close, we take a look at the sponsorship deals which went very wrong and discuss the lessons all brands should heed from this.
First came Cristiano Ronaldo’s angry removal of two Coca-Cola bottles placed near his microphone in a press conference ahead of Portugal’s opening Euro 2020 game against Hungary in Budapest, angrily followed by his statement ‘drink water’.
Next up, France star Paul Pogba, a devout muslim, removed a bottle of Heineken placed directly in front of him as he undertook media obligations following France’s opening victory against Germany.
While some may dismiss these moves as trivial, the reality is they have had a huge impact. Coca-Cola’s market value dropped by $4 billion after Ronaldo snubbed the brand and while Pogba’s reaction may be harder to quantify, it certainly indicates a lack of respect for and understanding of cultural sensitivities which could have long lasting repercussions for The Coca Cola Company.
So what can brands learn from these faux pas?
Do your research
Research is key before agreeing to any sponsorship or endorsement deal. Questions to consider include: will we reach our target market with this deal? Is this the correct platform or media type to convey our brand messaging? Has the talent or organisation worked with multiple competitor brands in the past? Does the deal represent a decent ROI and is the partnership authentic? Finally, paying attention to the finer detail is key.
While The Coca Cola Company undoubtedly evaluated their investment in the Euro 2020’s Championship as a whole, the endorsement fell down the instant the team on the ground decided to arbitrarily place bottles on the tables at every press conference without researching each players preferences and personal views on the brands. Perhaps, a better tactic would have been to offer a drink to the players on their way into the conference which they could carry in if they chose to do so. Which leads on nicely to our second point…
Authenticity is everything
We’ve all sat and watched an advertisement or viewed a sponsored post on social media that made us cringe. The reason? It wasn’t authentic. Brits in particular, have a higher bulls**t radar than most other countries around the world, so here, more than ever, authenticity is vital.
It doesn’t matter if a personality or influencer is a perfect fit for your brand or if an organisation/event represents the perfect way to target your core market if the third party does not feel the same way. There MUST be mutual interest and, dare we say it, love, on both sides to make a partnership truly authentic. A personality or organisation chasing a big pay out for little involvement/activity or one that has worked on multiple commercial deals with competing brands in the past, gets an instant no from us.
Ensure your deal works across all territories
Another point to consider when negotiating any endorsement deal is which territories it will cover. If you are looking at a multi territory deal, it is important to consider how the content needs to be tailored to resonate in each market. For example, signing a US based deal and rolling out the same content in the UK is never a good idea. US brand communications are almost always more corporate and brand heavy than UK consumers can stomach. So ensuring you have enough budget in order to edit content to suit each market is important. Less is more. We would always suggest doing less, better rather than overstretching and falling short.
Evaluate risk
Associating your brand with a celebrity, influencer, organisation or event can be a risky business. As Coca-Cola’s market value drop proves, adverse publicity in any form can tarnish a brand – even by association. As such it is important that brand teams constantly evaluate the risks of any deals, and are quick to distance themselves from actions that don’t align with their brand’s values.
Before entering into a sponsorship deal, it is important to undertake a thorough risk assessment which looks at all risk factors, how engaged the person/organisation is and importantly, the likelihood of any ambush marketing activity by competitor brands that could undermine the value of the sponsorship.
Once complete the potential risks identified should be covered off in a watertight contract to protect the value of your investment. A poorly drafted agreement can leave the sponsor trapped in a deal that causes ongoing damage to the sponsor’s brand.
Are sponsorship and endorsements worthwhile?
When things go well, sponsorships and endorsements can be mutually beneficial. Think Nike and Michael Jordan; Adidas and David Beckham; and the 14 plus year association between Lancôme and Isabella Rossellini. However, as the Euro 2020 Championship has proved it’s not all plain sailing. Using the above as a simple check list should help brands navigate the potential pitfalls of any future deals.
