Sponsorship Snacks
By: Advanced Sponsorship Insights
Tags: Sports, Data, Sponsorship, News, MLB

Sponsorship Snacks

Introduction

One of the seemingly endless discussions in sports is the question of the GOAT (greatest of all time). Messi vs. Ronaldo, Nadal vs. Federer, but probably the most controversial is LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan. Both were exceptional athletes but played in different eras.

Jordan has become a global icon. He has his own brand, his own sports team (Charlotte Hornets), and his own movie. Space Jam is a 90’s classic, also for non-basketball fans.

In 2021, LeBron continues to fuel the GOAT debate. Last Saturday, Warner Brothers released the Trailer for Space Jam 2. The movie has been produced by LeBron’s media venture ‘SpringHill Company.’ Next to LeBron in the leading role, multiple NBA stars star in it. Do you think the new Space Jame can become a classic like just like the original?

How Jordan Brand uses their legacy to activate new players

From a distance, there is nothing spectacular about Jordan signing NFL receiver Jarvis Landry. But if you look at how Jordan and Landry are communicating the new partnership, it gets interesting.

Nike has managed to keep the hype around their Jordan shoes even in a generation that never saw MJ play. We discovered that 32% of the people who purchased an Air Jordan shoe were 16–24. That is the second-highest percentage, just behind the age group up to 34 years.

Landry is a true sneaker fan. You can take an educated guess on what his favorite brand is. It was his lifelong dream to sign with Jordan. Also, he is a teammate and childhood friend of superstar Odell Beckham Jr. He fits perfectly into their athletes portfolio because he lives the legacy of Jordan. To celebrate his new deal, Landry posted pictures of himself imitating iconic Jordan photos.

Jordan Brand is an expert in leveraging their legacy to market and activate new products and athletes. While some people argue that Nike is losing high-profile players (Neymar, Lewandowski, etc.), Nike and Jordan are still focusing on the experience and feel of the brand. The question arises whether Nike would rather have a superstar player or a childhood Jordan fan on its roster.

How the MLB rejuvenates itself

Major League Baseball (MLB) is old. The average age of an MLB fan is estimated at 57 years (Source). That is fifteen years older than the average NBA fan. Yikes. I already hear voices arguing that you don’t need young fans, but it turns out you do.

Good luck trying to convince your son to go to a baseball game that takes five hours. He does not even have the patience to listen to a three-and-a-half-minute song. GenZ loves easy rules, fast-paced action, emotions, and personalities. The MLB currently has none of it. The league disciplines players for celebrating and the rules are complicated, and the games take ages. The result: Only 9.78 million fans watched the 2020 World Series, a record-setting low (Source).

The good news is that the MLB is very aware of their problems, and they are willing to change the rules to adapt the game to the 21st century’s needs. The league already experiments with new rules that fasten the pace of the game. Examples include a pitch clock, limiting defensive shifts to allow for more hits, larger bases and limited pickoff attempts to encourage stolen base attempts, and an automated strike zone (Source).

Early signs are positive. ESPN has stated that MLB TV viewership among 18–34-year-olds increased by 69% with 18–34-year-old MLB viewers, and 83% among women 18–34 years old (Source).

What’s in it for sponsors? Existing sponsors are in a good position to get undervalued deals. Because of their long-lasting relationships, both parties are inclined to prolong the relationship. If the sponsors are betting on a younger MLB, they could see deals become more profitable in the future.

The arena that has been turned into a laboratory by PayPal

PayPal has entered a 10-year partnership with the Major League Soccer (MLS) team San Jose Earthquakes (Source). If you are not a hardcore fan of American soccer (like me), you have never heard of that team. Why would PayPal sign them?

They are neighbors. The arena is just 3 miles (4,8 km) away from PayPal’s headquarters. They support locally. Seeing how the pandemic has affected local areas, consumers want big brands to support local businesses. Similar to Chealse’s free sponsorship areas, PayPal will donate a part of the signage and social media assets to a select small business in the Bay Area.

With an average of 40 years, the MLS viewer is the youngest fan in the American sports landscape (Source). An internal analysis reveals that 41% of GenY state that they are confident using contactless payment. Comparing this to 28% of GenX, one can see the benefit of addressing a younger audience.

PayPal is by far not the only company that looks to streamline sales and reduce physical contact. Yet, this partnership is different. It allows them to test new technology that is easily scalable. Once other clubs see how well the technology works for the San Jose Earthquakes, they could become eager to get it themselves.

We have talked about how sponsors continue to solve problems for their properties, not just pay a sum of money. PayPal could use their ‘lab stadium’ to gather data and solve problems. Then, they can expand to every arena on the planet. If PayPal manages to achieve a breakthrough, it is not unrealistic that sports clubs will wait in line for a sponsorship. PayPal could change the power dynamics and become a brand that is pulled by sports clubs.

The Bundesliga Sustainability Table looks very different than the real one