I�m Grant Gardner and you�re listening to Statistically Speaking, a podcast from the Samford University Center for Sports Analytics in Birmingham, Alabama. I�m Zachary Taunton and each week we are going to explore how big data and advances analytics is impacting the business side of sports. So, here is this week�s episode... --- Zachary Taunton (ZT): Welcome back to Statistically Speaking, my name is Zachary Taunton, and I'm here with my co-host, Grant Gardner. How are you doing Grant? Grant Gardner (GG): Good. Thanks for having me, Zach. ZT: Alright, so today we're going to talk a little bit about the trends in sponsorship in the sports world because sponsorship is a really big deal in the sports world. It�s often where a lot of people make their money. So, quick question: tell us a little bit about what sponsorship is and how it works and then we'll get into some more current trends. GG: Typically, when you think of sports teams making money the first thing that pops into your head is gate revenue. That�s the ticket sales, you know, people coming in the door, but really that is only a small portion of how sports teams are making money. Probably, the two biggest sources of revenue for sports teams are sponsorships and licensing. Sponsorships you know would be what you see in the stadium, the signs the billboards, stuff you see on the the Megatron...the Jumbotron, but it's also partnerships that companies have with the teams. Dasani is the official water of such-and-such team or the official hot dog of this baseball team. That is going to be where the teams are going to make a lot of their money. ZT: Now, let�s talk about those types of sponsorships. With Dasani being the official water, or whatever that sort of thing is. Do you think, and it's a question I've heard a lot of people ask, do you think that Dasani actually makes their money back on that? Meaning like you have an official everything for the NFL. Do you think that's worthwhile and if it is like why does that work? GG: I think it depends on the company and sponsorship. I think the biggest thing is: is it authentic? If it's a local brand, like I know recently Samuel Adams signed a deal with the Boston Red Sox and Sam Adams is you know the beer of Boston. And previously, I think their sponsorship was with Budweiser, which is a St Louis brand, and I think that Sam Adams really works with the city of Boston and it feels like a true partnership with the team. Or if you look at Target Field in Minneapolis. Target is based there in Minnesota so it makes sense for Target to sponsor with a Minnesota team. It�s gotta work, it�s kind of like influencers on social media. If they are pushing something that is not authentic then people aren�t going to buy into it. But when you look at things like Coca-Cola sponsoring the Olympics, I mean those are just two iconic brands, the Olympics and Coca-Cola and it is probably going to work. It helps that they're both you know American brands, but when you're working with something like the Olympics it's probably not going to hurt you in that kind of deal. ZT: Can�t really hurt. Okay, so this is sort of a good transition point to current trends. I think one of the ones we�ll start...one things we need to talk about...is current trends in activation. Sponsorship activations are changing a lot from the old-fashioned way of doing things to crazier and crazier activation. So, let's talk a little bit about current trends and just sponsorship at large and also activations and what worked. And what are some of the crazier things that you have seen people do and why have they worked, or not? GG: Once again, I think it needs to be authentic to your environment. Like at the University of Alabama game - you know not far from here in Birmingham - they had the Hibbett Sports pom-pom wall and you know those crimson pom-poms that you see at the game, that's an iconic part of SEC football. And Hibbett gave those away for free to any fan walking into the stadium and that just makes sense. It�s not super fancy, but it works for that environment and obviously you're going to see more elaborate ones at the Super Bowl, and different events, I think there's was a lot at SXSW a few weeks ago in Austin. But it's got to be unique to the environment. It's got to be something that can go beyond just that setting, something that's going to be shared on social media talked about in the press. That's not going to just affect people that are at the event, but people throughout the industry. ZT: You keep using the word unique, and I think that's a really important word, in our society where people are getting hit on average with 3000 commercial messages a day and just another sponsorship doesn't necessarily work. So, sponsors are having to come up with new ways to become unique to stand out to their audiences and it's not like the number of personal messages hitting people are about to go down anytime soon. You'll see some ridiculous types of sponsorships out there. Now� GG: And another thing I�ll add there is: I don't think people are opposed to advertising or sponsorships in general it's just that they are opposed to things that inhibit them from going about their day. So, if I'm scrolling through a news article on the internet and I scroll down and I get one of those full page pop-ups that makes me you know basically enter my email and give away my social security number before I go on reading the article...that inhibited what I was doing. But if it's something that genuinely contributes to what I'm doing and is part of my environment at like a sports stadium or I don�t know, a branded video that I'm watching for the content. But within the content its created by a brand. Patagonia does a great job with this where� ZT: Red Bull, Red Bull. GG: Yeah, Red Bull and Patagonia are probably two of the biggest brands and they have their hand in the sports industry, it�s mainly outdoors. But, you know Red Bull is all over these cliff diving and BMX and Motorsports events, but it doesn't feel like it's taking away from the event. it feels like it's actually enhancing it. And I think that�s important. You need to be a part of the conversation, not inhibiting the conversation. ZT: Absolutely, now the sport that you're most interested in, and one that our listeners probably know very little about, is actually cycling. So, let�s talk about first cycling at large, but also sponsorship within cycling. GG: So, professional cycling is not just the Tour de France and I think a lot of people when they hear that I am a cycling fan that�s all they know. And it�s justified, it is the center of the cycling season... ZT: You know I have actually seen the Tour live three times. GG: ...And I am very jealous, but when we look at cycling it is more than just that race and it�s very different and people think it�s like the Boston Marathon or the New York Marathon where it�s like an event that has pros, but it�s kind of a semi-pro event and you enter it as an individual race. It�s not like that at all. Pro cycling it�s much more like Formula 1 or NASCAR where there are these very established, organized teams that are a part of a league and are competing to win the Tour and ultimately compete within other events within what's called the WorldTour. There 18 teams at the top level of cycling that compete in events like the Tour de France...the Giro d'Italia which is the Tour of Italy and some other one-day races like Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders and so it's just a big, very historic great sport but the problem is it's completely propped up by sponsorships. So, teams don't have a traditional name like Liverpool Football Club where it's tied to the city of Liverpool and the kit has a sponsor on it. In the past out it's been like Carlsberg, or Manchester has the Chevy bowtie on the front of their jersey, but the team is actually the sponsor. Team Sky is one of the top teams in the sport right now or the famous Belgian team is Quick-Step Floors and it�s sponsored by an in-home flooring company and then a very popular American team right now which is based in Colorado, but really you wouldn't know by the name...their name is EF Education First-Drapac powered by Cannondale... ZT: They should shorten that name. GG: Yes, and sadly you know - it would be great if they were Boulder Cycling Club powered by Cannondale or something like that - but the sport relies so heavily on the sponsorships and naming rights sponsorship like these teams have. It's crucial to funding for the team. And unfortunately, within the past couple of years we've seen several teams fold and it was because they couldn't get a new naming rights sponsor. Ultimately, the sports as a whole relies very heavily on these sports sponsorships. You noticed at the Tour they are constantly handing out caps and Frisbees and cups... ZT: Detergent! They hand out detergent... GG: ...and this race caravan comes through...and you know all the barriers have the Vittel mineral water logo on them. Each stage finish is sponsored by a different brand. Each leaders jersey within the race has a different sponsor on it and it's just cloaked in sponsorships, probably more than any other sport. Without those sponsorships unfortunately, the sport would cease to exist. ZT: And of course, one of the big reasons for that - at the beginning of this conversation we talked about gate revenue and cycling doesn't have that. One does not have to pay to watch the Tour. You can just look up the route and show up on the roadside somewhere and hang out. Obviously, that really cuts into the amount of money you can make which is why sponsorships become the thing because it's really all there is. Now would you say the fundamental misunderstanding of the sport of cycling is just an American phenomenon? It seems like that happens a lot where people think that you know, �It�s just the Tour de France.� And they don�t think about it much beyond that. Is that only an American thing or is that a worldwide problem? GG: I would say it's predominantly in America. I think that Americans like to think that their sports are the best sports and the only sports. Especially us living here in Alabama and the football culture; no one in Britain cares about college football. And honestly if you look at the fact that soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world and Americans have yet to cling to that. But I wouldn't say it's just America, if you look at Great Britain they weren't really heavily affected by cycling until the rise of Team Sky and Great Britain's track cycling program that won them a lot of gold medals from the last few Summer Olympics. So, I think if you create a culture, especially on the Olympic level, as well as having your youth participate in these sports and then you can see the sports growth within the culture. And then to come back to our sponsorship conversation, if an American company sponsored a soccer team, or cycling team, I think it would create that brand affinity that Americans already have with that company and cause them to be more involved in that sport as well. ZT: Alright, and as we close out, one last question. As it relates specifically to cycling...do you see the sport of cycling growing in the US anytime soon? GG: In the US it is going to be hard and it's going to take a star. ZT: You mean Lance Armstrong didn�t pull it off? GG: Yes, you know Lance did a lot of good for American cycling and then unfortunately ended up being a lot of bad. But it's going to take a star...honestly it's going to take more licensing and TV coverage. It's hard for Americans to get cycling on TV. Most times you�re going to have to pay a subscription to watch some of these races, but I think cycling is growing as a whole throughout the world. If you look at some of the races that we had earlier this winter in Columbia I mean streets are just packed and you know it was elbow-to-elbow on the roadside. Part of that is you have these very popular riders like Rigoberto Uran and Nairo Quintana who have just kind of transcended culture in Columbia. So, it's going to take star power as with most American sports they are driven by stars. But also I think it's just the ability to watch it on TV and grow that affinity towards the sport. ZT: Fantastic. Thank you so much Grant and we�ll see you guys next time. --- Thank you for listening to Statistically Speaking. This podcast was created and produced by Zach Taunton and Grant Gardner. To learn more about the Samford University Center for Sports Analytics, and download more episodes of the podcast, visit our webpage at samford.edu/sports-analytics and follow us on Twitter @SamfordSACenter.