It was recently announced that the sponsorship of AIG, a global leader in the world of insurance, with the the All Blacks, the most famous and iconic team in world rugby.was not going to be renewed. It has been a news that has caused a lot of impact as it is one of the most recognised sports sponsorships at a global level.
This termination of the agreement could perhaps be interpreted as a case of unprofitable sponsorship, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is undoubtedly one of the most fruitful and profitable partnerships in the world of marketing in recent years, and we will analyse why later on.
It is important to specify that, as such action within the marketing mixSponsorships usually form part of a temporary strategy in accordance with specific corporate objectives. Although it is always recommended that, in order to be effective, this type of agreement should be long term, it is also true that once the objectives set at the beginning of the agreement have been achieved, the relationship has an expiry date.
In this case it can be said with absolute certainty that for AIG the partnership with the All Blacks has been a complete success and the objectives envisaged at the beginning of the agreement have been more than fulfilled. In addition to the benefit of this agreement for the company, it should also be noted that for the sports marketing industry, this agreement has also set a benchmark for best practice and trends, which we will undoubtedly see as the norm in the years to come.
The beginnings
In 2012, AIG decided to restore its old corporate name. After the bankruptcy and subsequent bailout by the US government in 2008, the company dropped its name and adopted other names for its businesses and divisions such as AIU, Chartis or SunAmerica.
After a few years, the insurer's management realised that changing the name did not solve their reputational and image problems. In the Internet era, it is certainly not easy to erase a turbulent past, let alone regain the trust of former customers. The key was therefore to change the communication strategy and not to try to hide their past problems. It was necessary to start again, bring in a new discourse and thereby improve the company's reputation.
The first measure was to thank the American taxpayers who had contributed to the rescue of the company. and secondly, to convince existing and potential customers that the restart was based on sound principles and values.
It is in this scenario that the need arose to look for a global sponsorship asset, to find a property that reflects the values that the brand wanted to transmit and that was flexible enough to be useful to the more than 80 markets in which the company operates globally.
The arrival of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team, was not, however, straightforward. First of all, it was necessary to study which was the best communication platform and which was the best after a thorough study it was decided that the sport of Rugby was the best possible support for the objectives and values that needed to be communicated.. These were the main arguments for their choice:
- A global, diverse and socio-economically attractive fan base.
- A standard of respect and fair play in competition, far above that of major global sports.
- Growing popularity globally, especially in the US.
- Inclusion of Rugby in the 2016 Olympic Games and World Championships in key markets such as Japan.
Once it was clear that the narrative of the company's new discourse was going to be through Rugby, reaching an agreement with the All Blacks seemed the most obvious move, as they are the most successful team in the history of the sport. Equally, the genuine values of the New Zealand team fit like a glove with the message that the 'reborn' AIG wanted to convey.
However, there was a problem: the iconic New Zealand national team jersey had never carried advertising, it was something of a 'sacred territory'. The solution came in the form of an agreement that went far beyond putting the logo on the front of the jersey, it was a very broad agreement that encompassed all of New Zealand's activity as a country, linked to rugby, including the women's team and social inclusion programmes through the sport itself. The commitment to values was not a question of gimmickry from the outset, but was clearly vocational. This was undoubtedly one of the reasons for the success of the agreement: a credible and sustained story line.
A four-year deal was signed for approximately €15 million per season. This agreement was renewed in 2016 for a further four years until the end of this year, which is when the contract is officially terminated. Compared to their previous sponsorship of the Manchester United football team (reportedly at around €45 million per year), the All Blacks were arguably a 'cheap' property, something that added positively to the performance of the reborn AIG. It remained to be seen whether the investment was then comparatively as profitable. By way of comparison, just a year into the relationship, the company realised that the return on investment achieved up to 2009 with football was actually far less profitable than with Rugby. No one doubts the power of the Manchester Reds in the world sporting universe - they are undoubtedly one of the most powerful global sporting brands - but that sponsorship was ultimately perceived internationally as eminently English. A property like the All Blacks, on the other hand, could be embraced just as naturally by an Englishman, an Argentinean or a Japanese. There is no polarisation, no country effect, no more and no less than a global sporting icon, which does not generate rejection of any kind in general.
From a communication point of view, the All Blacks with their genuine image of diversity, as well as their impeccable track record of human and sporting values, recognised with such prestigious awards as the Laureus and Princess of Asturias awards, were also an important factor in their success. much more effective vehicle for message delivery than Manchester United was. Despite the imposing media visibility of the Premier League's most successful team, the communication of their messages rarely went beyond their loyal fan base.
Activation
With regard to the exploitation of sponsorship, AIG took a very innovative approach from the outset and, making a virtue out of necessity, developed a powerful activation strategy, aimed at thinking much more about the message, rather than merely global brand visibility, a priori its main weakness.
It has to be said that still too often, when it comes to evaluating the return on investment of a sponsorshipIn the media, brand visibility is still seen as an absolutely paramount factor. The All Blacks, despite their enormous global prestige, have annual television viewing figures that are very modest compared to the big teams in football, NBA basketball or Formula 1. After all, we are talking about a national team in a sport that still has comparatively small television audiences and few competitive highlights throughout the year.
It was therefore time to be resourceful, and AIG had to be clear that it had to maximise investment in ways other than the traditional ways of displaying the company's logo. As I will explain below, it was a a communication strategy based on the digital environment and very pioneering at the time, the recipe for the success enjoyed over the eight years of the 'All Blacks-AIG' agreement..
In these days when the world is shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, we are witnessing an unusual rapprochement of the great figures of sport with their fans, through online communications of all kinds, whether through Instagram Live or YouTube channels. This situation, forced by circumstances, I don't think it is going to be limited to an issue limited to this period. On the contrary, I believe that from now on it will mark a way of communicating between fans and sports heroes that is here to stay, and in this sense, the actions that AIG has been developing since the beginning of the sponsorship were going in this direction. We only have to see how the current situation of total paralysis of sporting competitions is giving us extraordinary moments of digital closeness with the sportsman or woman.that, until recently, we would not have imagined. Think, for example, of Formula 1 stars sharing virtual races with amateurs or professional gamers. Think of those vis a vis chats between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. Even when dealing with each other virtually, we have rarely felt our heroes as close as we do now.
All of AIG's digital actions with the All Blacks, complemented by other live experiences, always sought to build on this feeling of closeness. The aim was always to work on the complicity between the stars of the team and their universe of receivers. Let's look at some examples of this:
- Digital content campaign 'branded content' adapted by countries with the message 'Tackle your risks', where a star of the team makes a tackling move and knocks down threatening characters. #TackleTheRisk, an original three-minute online film
- All AIG employees received one of the iconic AIG jerseys. (60,000) and special conditions for customers who apply.
- Rugby clinics in the different marketsfor different groups and stakeholders, with the presence of active All Blacks players or retired legends.
- Competitions and games in the digital environmentas a commercial tool to support the acquisition of new contacts, with prizes for attending matches and signed official merchandising.
- Frequent thank you communications The company's taxpayers who bailed out the company with their taxes, as well as society through the 'Thank you' and 'Giving Back to the community' campaigns.
In summary, the conclusion can be drawn that not necessarily all sponsorship is critically dependent on media impact (mainly television). AIG's innovative approach shows that with the right actors, it is possible to carve out an important niche in the saturated world of social media content.. There are few sporting icons with enough pull and appeal to pull it off, but clearly the AllBlacks have proven themselves capable of it and offer, by different routes than the traditional ones, an outstanding return on investment.
AIG, eight years after the beginning of this partnership, is one of the most solvent companies in the world with a solid reputation, where its employees can have a legitimate pride of belonging and its clients can have confidence in the good use of their savings. The bar is set very high for the successors of the world's most legendary rugby team in this new phase.
Pablo de Villota
Head of Sport & Entertainment Area of Proa Comunicación