Comment: Sponsor.Online Has High Expectations For 2020
After an eventful 2019, SPONSOR.ONLINE has high expectations for 2020 which will take football sponsorship to the next level.
“2019 was a great year,” said the company’s managing partner Ludo Cernak.
“We got the chance to prove our concept and show teams and brands a fair, easy and transparent way of getting deals.
“Bringing the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League winner Christian Karembeu as an investor and advisor to SPONSOR.ONLINE made our voice stronger and has made us the leading digital marketplace for professional football.”
Maximilian von Portatius, managing partner, highlighted their event presence last year as key to preading their message. “We got invited to major football business events, and that gave us an opportunity to explain how a digital marketplace changes the game,” he said.
Presenting “A New digital era of Sports Sponsorship” was “a rewarding task”, according to Max who continued: “Even though some clubs feel uncomfortable embracing the new, most are aware of the necessity to adapt to the digital sales world.
“How do you reach the global markets and manage the increasing number of sponsorship rights if not using the internet? Increasing the human sales force is impossible for most and unprofitable for many.
“What logic is there to take the digital data of social media, for example, offline into a PowerPoint presentation instead of making it ad-hoc available and transparent to brands?” he stated further.“Brands are requesting this more and more.”
Based on interaction and feedback from clubs and brands, SPONSOR.ONLINE will continue to evolve as a platform, as Ludo comments. “We have heard what global brands expect from us and we put it in the marketplace. They can get to their target audiences (or discover new ones) with just a few clicks.”
Lastly, Max sees an immense “untouched” market across global football which “was only accessible to global brands.”
This will be changed by SPONSOR.ONLINE, as Max states: “It is now possible for Asian or Middle East brand managers interested in the Premier League or LaLiga (for example) to buy straight into sponsorship opportunities available.”
For 2020, both managing partners see many more sponsorship opportunities opening up for clubs. “We are opening new markets and adding language options to our platform,” they said. “Further we will increase our women’s football and eSports inventory. Eventually the barrier of 500 professional teams on SPONSOR.ONLINE will be broken and more than €500 million of available sponsorship opportunities can be expected.”
Image: PA Images
