O2 quick to get The Point of venue sponsorship.
POSTED IN Blog 9.11.2008
Following on from major sponsorship acquisitions, such as the 02 arena (Formerly the troubled Millenium Dome) in London, O2 recently announced a deal with Dublin’s Point Depot to sponsor their music venue.
The reluctance of big brands to stamp their names on established landmarks seems to have faded in what is quickly becoming a growing trend. We’ve seen it develop in Premiership football over the last few years with teams such as Bolton (Reebok Stadium), Wigan (JJB Stadium) and Arsenal (The Emarites Stadium). Their sponsorship strength being that the brand name is less associated with the fortunes of the team and more as a testament to football as a whole. It can illustrate strength, passion and dynamism in a brand and can underline the ability of a Brand to reach out and tap into the loyalty a fan shows for their club.
This is not, of course, universal. It depends largely on the nature of the Brand to begin with. The there are the fans. Limerick’s new rugby ground, Thomond Park, is a prime example of where passion for a team can lead to an avid rejection of perceived opportunism by a ‘Big Brand’ culture. I suppose, as with all sponsorship, it needs to be a good fit for all parties concerned.
The branding by O2 of the point will no doubt be watched closely by potential sponsors as well as other venues. If successful it could provide a precursor to further sponsorships in non-sporting venues. O2 have been quick to recognize that the public rarely care whether they are going to see Westlife/Rolling Stones/U2 in the Point or the O2 Arena, the long-term difficulty if other big brands get on board may ultimately be that they also don’t care where they go to see their favourite act.
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