It seems as though everything that is fixed down is now named, and even some things not fixed down. Just about every major Canadian facility in pro or amateur sport is named after a brand. There is the Rogers Centre, ScotiaBank Saddledome, ScotiaBank Place, Air Canada Centre, Brandt Centre, Save On Foods Centre, Propsera Place, Conexus Arts Centre, WestJet Harbor Front Stage, TCUP and so on. Many major events, such as the CIBC Run for the Cure, ScotiaBank Nuit Blanche, RONA Bike for MS, and Investors Group Thanksgiving Day Walk for Alzheimer’s are also named.
As I have always said, the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole. When sponsorship is done right, there is way more income to be realized from a property perspective in selling sponsorships other than the naming rights, than just selling the naming rights and forgetting about anything else.
From the brand side, unless the naming rights sponsorship is integrated more deeply than the just the name allocation, and a strategic activation plan is undertaken, it usually is not a great investment. I believe that a naming right must dig deeper to deliver benefits and assets that leverage the brand, deliver onsite activation opportunities, align with corporate goals and objectives, and have measurable ROI metrics in place. Without these elements, both the brand and the property lose. It is not a good investment.
The trouble is that, in most cases, such a plan does not exist. It is all about putting a name on a property for the sake of “getting the brand out there” or simply ego to name a property. Far too often, it is an advertising agency or a marketing manager without sponsorship expertise or knowledge that undertakes such investments. And it shows, both in the naming as well as the failure to renew the sponsor at the end of the term.
One must also take into account how names roll off the tongue and where anyone really knows what the “name means.” Look at the ACC. Most call it the ACC. If you don’t know that it stands for Air Canada Centre (and millions don’t), you are not helping the brand with its investment. Perhaps in this case, it wasn’t so much the naming right as it was “buying the business” and ensuring the Raptors, Toronto FC, Marlies and Maple Leafs all travel exclusively on Air Canada.
What about the Ashley Furniture Homestore Pavilion in Phoenix? I assume that this is a highbrow symphony hall or ballet centre, not a place for Tim McGraw, Motley Crue, Poison or Def Leppard concerts. And boy, what a mouthful! How about the Save On Foods Centre in Victoria? Does the local hockey team play there or is it where you shop for groceries? Or how about the Sleep County Amphitheatre in Portland, Oregon?
Not really how you want to promote a rocking good time venue for concerts, is it? And then there is the legal and dental profession that just can’t be left out. In Tampa, Florida, we have the American legal referral service 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre and the Comfort Dental Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado.
Maybe it’s just me, but maybe it’s about time we went back to making sure that it is always a win-win scenario that meets the goals and objectives of both parties and their stakeholders. Perhaps properties need to quit looking just at the dollar signs and look at their entrance signs as well. Perhaps brands need to invest their dollars more strategically versus getting sold a bill of goods by a great salesperson who is looking for the commission payment versus the property and brand’s needs.
These are just one person’s thoughts. What have you seen?
I found this article interesting from the perspective that the public and media change the name of landmarks. I was in Toronto when the Air Canada Centre was being built and had a conversation with a colleague who was concerned that the public and media were calling the Air Canada Centre “The Hanger”. When I told him I was hearing more media and people saying the “ACC” he was somewhat relieved that ACC had a more positive feeling even though Air Canada lost some identity.
I think you are right in that some companies get the name on the building to achieve more or exclusive business and better ROI. One area sponsors and the business or non-profit entity need to consider is how the brand name will be changed by the public and media looking for a “street name”
Thanks for the weekly commentary. They stimulate thinking about how our agency presents itself.