01732 759725
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SPONSORSHIP
had a huge impact on the business,
both professionally and from a morale
perspective. Our people came together and
worked tirelessly to deliver excellent service
and support and work alongside other
suppliers whilst realising their needs and
requirements.”
How have you leveraged the
opportunity to maximise your
investment?
Andrew Jones:
“The cherry on the cake
for us was the success of the club in the
UEFA Womens Champions League, getting
through the first round to then be drawn
against Barcelona, who they beat, making
them the only English club left in the
Champions League to make it through to
the quarter finals.
“The additional media frenzy this
caused was incredible and we have gained
tremendous exposure on TV and through
social media.
“Our sponsored match this season is
on 9 May against Arsenal Ladies FC, which
promises to be another exciting game with
an immense pre-match media build-up.”
Julietta Khoshaba:
“We use it for
corporate entertainment. We’re allowed
four guests per race, the hospitality is
excellent and you get a great behind-
the-scenes experience. There’s also the
excitement of going to a high-profile,
adrenalin-filled day, which makes for a
terrific way to build new relationships
or cement old ones. Thanks to this
sponsorship, we’ve had some fantastic
days out and spending time together helps
us get to know our clients even better and
on a more personal level.”
Gary Downey:
“By taking the time to plan
a whole mix of activities around the shirt
sponsorship, we have managed to raise our
profile and capture incremental business
too. The KCC team have been tremendous to
work with; they understand the commercial
requirements and that we have to generate
a return from this investment.”
Darrell Minards:
“Across multiple
channels: social media, events, in-house
showroom, competitions, PR, web.”
Jeremy Spencer:
“Where the Games
were concerned, through increased brand
awareness definitely.
“Where the Rugby Is concerned, we
are just beginning to kick this off now (no
pun intended) and from April we will start
running incentives and promotions across
our business units.”
What do you see as the key benefits
for dealers in going down this route?
Julietta Khoshaba:
“There’s the
association with a sport that’s popular
among a huge fan base; the fact that there
are 11 races per season means we’re in
front of race attendees and viewers at
home for seven months; plus, of course, all
of the race footage that’s shared via social
media. Finally, it’s a fun-filled network and
relationship building opportunity.”
Gary Downey:
“If they are committed
and put the time and effort in there are
benefits to this, but it really isn’t something
to play at. Often, smaller, local sponsorship
aligned with networking activities can be
very effective at creating new business
opportunities.”
As a manufacturer, how does
sponsorship benefit your dealer
network? Have you got them and
their customers involved?
Darrell Minards:
“Xerox’s channel
partners participate in, and directly benefit
from, Xerox’s sponsorships. Channel
partners’ customers attend events (Cirque
du Soleil performances, WTA events)
and, as they are our customers, channel
partners themselves are often our guests at
sponsored events.
“I’m also sure many of our channel
partners are engaged in sponsorships for
many of the same reasons that Xerox is.”
Jeremy Spencer:
“All our dealers seem
very keen to participate and clearly are
keen on the sport of rugby. It allows us
to show them and the wider world the
breadth of our portfolio and the strength
of our brand in action.
“We will be introducing opportunities
to participate in the games, which our
dealers can take advantage of, and we
hope they will stand alongside us and be
proud to be a part of the Toshiba brand.”
...continued
All our
dealers seem
very keen to
participate
and clearly
are keen on
the sport of
rugby.
Xerox: Cirque du Soleil performers strike a pose before their
special performance in the Xerox stand at drupa 2012
Toshiba: Brett Gosper, CEO of World Rugby, and Noriaki Hasimoto,
Corporate Vice President EMEA, Toshiba Corporation
