Sports Sponsorship on the red carpet
Sponsorship agencies and property holders and are set to shine on the red carpet at the upcoming Discovery Sport Industry Awards to be held in Johannesburg on 11 February.
Campaigns shortlisted for this year’s Best New Sponsorship category are Audi with ‘Proteas’; ‘Jean de Villiers’ campaign by Citadel Investment Services; Dimension Data’s ‘Absa Cape Epic’; Engen’s ‘Cycle in the City’; ‘FNB Cape Town12 OneRun’ by First National Bank; Huawei’s ‘Say My Name’, and Standard Bank’s ‘Never Stop Moving Forward’ Ironman campaign.
These campaigns show the diverse nature of sponsorship from leveraging brands through national teams, individual athletes, energizing existing event platforms to building new ones.
Sponsors made creative use of products and services ensuring brand alignment, whilst adding value to the sponsorship property. Audi incorporated an onscreen speedometer displaying delivery speeds during Protea cricket games, while Citadel shared inspirational stories with Jean de Villiers and the Dad’s and Lads series highlight personal interaction with clients.
Dimension Data’s technology expertise ensured fan messages reached riders in real time and Engen added a fresh exhilarating compact format to road cycling.
FNB also took to the streets but through a mass participation event using road running attracting runners from all walks of life, and Huawei created a new sponsorship category using handset, tablet and Talkband products in rugby and soccer team activations.
Standard Bank took Ironman global and established a Championship race attracting new participants and through live coverage ensured that many eyes were focused on South Africa.
The campaigns prove that sponsorship can play in all industry sectors and can allow a brand to reach customers globally and on a more personal level.
The annual red carpet event in celebration of successes in the South African sponsorship industry, takes place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg on 11th February 2016.
Tickets are available and can be booked through www.sportindustrygroup.co.za #DSIA.
