Corporate Citizenship co-hosted a special event with sister agency CSM “Sustainable Sponsorship: Creating lasting commercial and social impact” on 25 April 2018. With guest panellists Seb Coe, Chairman of CSM Sport & Entertainment; Liz Nicholl, CEO of UK Sport; Justin King, former CEO of Sainsbury’s and Martin George, Customer Director at Waitrose, the session was moderated by Corporate Citizenship CEO Neil Davy. The evening’s discussion focused on identifying how sport and business can co-create authentic partnerships that create lasting impact for businesses, brands and rights holders alike. Key themes that arose from the discussion:
- Sponsorship should always be authentic. It must align with the values of the organisation so that it feels real for the both consumers and colleagues alike.
- Although measurement is key in evaluating partnerships, the connection to consumers’ hearts should be front of mind.
- There’s an opportunity for both businesses and rights holders to better understand the others’ priorities; closer collaborations can open-up more innovative, flexible and impactful partnerships.
- Future partnerships are likely to tackle systemic issues such as environmental concerns or physical inactivity, those traditionally seen as the responsibility of the government.
- We can anticipate the emergence of unusual and atypical alliances and partnerships in the future, potentially involving multiple businesses, including direct competitors.
Click here to download the summary.