They call it “the halo effect.” Many people tell me it’s a big issue and very negative when it comes to sponsorship naming rights of buildings, events, and programs. I don’t completely agree. It’s true that it takes time and money to overcome a halo effect naming right, but when activated properly and supported by the property itself, the halo effect can be overcome.
The halo effect occurs when a property has been previously named. Brands often look at such properties and say, “We don’t want to name that because it had a name before and people won’t recognize the new name that we place on it.” Hogwash!
There are many buildings that have had multiple names and the brands do quite well. Among them are The Palladium/Corel Centre/Scotiabank Place, Olympic Saddledome/Canadian Airlines Saddledome/Pengrowth Saddledome/Scotiabank Saddledome, O’Keefe Centre/Hummingbird Centre/Sony Centre, Calgary Performing Arts Centre/EPCOR Centre, GM Place/Rogers Centre, and others. When the brand invests in the naming right, it needs to activate and position its brand. If the needed investment is not made, “those people” are correct—the halo effect will kill you.
A few weeks back, I wrote about my experience at the Honda Canada Celebration of Lights (COL) event in Vancouver. It was awesome! This is a fantastic property that has had more naming rights than China has tea. But when Score Marketing Inc. was able to bring Honda into the naming title for the COL this year, it was great. It is an old event that has been around a long time. It has had its ups and downs. But as the property rejuvenated itself, making it more applicable to the audience and worked with corporate sponsors such as Honda and The Keg, it was fantastic. Mature properties can be refreshed. The COL truly did this and it worked for the audience, the sponsors, and the property itself. To those involved—well done!
Another aspect of the halo effect that I will discuss next week is naming a community icon building and how that can be perceived.
These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcomed as well. Please add your thoughts or comments below. Thank you for reading and your feedback.
Brent Barootes