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Senior Account Manager Maryann Stevens who looks after a number of large scale hospitality programmes for clients argues no.

When the new UK Bribery Act was announced there was much speculation on how this would impact businesses and in particular corporate hospitality.  How would this be enforced and what steps should businesses consider to prevent bribery in the workplace?

Clamping down on major corruption

The Government has said that bribery can take many forms and corporate hospitality is just a small part. The Government’s focus will be on clamping down on major corruption cases, however lavish hospitality will be under observation and businesses will need to justify expenses.

Anti-bribery policies and procedures need to be emphasised

The Government has sought to emphasise that companies when reviewing their anti-bribery policies and procedures, should adopt a risk-based approach. This puts the onus solely on the companies to assess the risks and tailor their policies and proceduresIf there is a risk of bribery, the company will need to demonstrate the steps it undertook to prevent or address bribery.

In conclusion…

Corporate hospitality will not be high on the Government’s agenda, and it will not intend to prosecute every instance that may fall foul of the Act.

However, bribery is a serious issue for any company (either offering or taking it) and almost all companies offer or receive hospitality. How do you know that your employees aren’t taking bribes (therefore impacting efficiency) or offering them which could mean serious legal implications?

Sponsorship hospitality, due to its often VVIP or ‘money can’t buy’ experiences (which can include foreign travel) is higher risk, in particular sponsors or companies giving or receiving high volumes of high-end hospitality must take note.

Key steps to take

1) Understand the issues – for example what is/ isn’t considered as corporate hospitality bribery.

2) Analyse the risk – start analysing the risk of bribery occurring within your businesses.

3) Study the guidelines - The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) has drafted a publication with guidance on the UK Bribery Act 2010 available at no cost to its members.

4) Set policies - put a policy and set of procedures in place to take any necessary measures now that the Act has come into force.

Maryann is a member of the European Sponsorship Association UK Bribery Act Working Group formed to focus on the implications of the UK Bribery Act.

At Generate we have developed a number of corporate hospitality distribution and purchasing systems for sponsors or companies with high volume hospitality.  These systems enable businesses to track all corporate hospitality spend including purchase objectives, ensuring transparency and taking steps towards bribery prevention.

For further information about these services contact Maryann Stevens on 00 44 (0) 845 241 8111 or ms@generatesponsorship.com

Head of Events Sam Moqbel reviews the biggest events of the year. With commercial sponsorship and/or brand experience opportunities available at all of them (even the Royals) the UK Sponsorship and Events industry is more buoyant than ever but beware of the pitfalls.

1. Royal Wedding

Uniting the country in a feeling of ‘Britishness’ unseen in decades, the Royal Wedding was an example of an exceptionally executed national event, with all security considerations managed seamlessly. A proud moment for Britain; even the sceptics couldn’t refute the feeling of goodwill on the day.

2. UEFA Champions League Final

The UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium was an opportunity for London to showcase its infrastructure prowess. Wembley played host alongside a week-long festival celebrating the game in London’s Hyde Park; allowing fans  the opportunity to get up close and personal with the sponsors and UCL Trophy. The biggest football game of the year went off without a hitch, proving that England has the capacity and industry knowledge to produce show-stopping worldwide events. Sponsors were able to tangibly connect with the fans ahead of the game, bringing the consumer experience closer to the action than ever before. A nod to the FIFA ruling earlier in the year of England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid.

3. RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Whether you have green fingers or not, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show continues to break attendance records year on year. It is the place to see and be seen for a host of celebs and its broadcast coverage on the BBC continues to attract interest from around the globe.

4. Glastonbury

Glasto is a behemoth. Its popularity in the last 15 years has escalated to such a degree that it is the global platform to which all other festivals are measured. However, ahead of this year’s event there are reports that cracks are appearing; column inches filled with fans disappointed with headliners that hark back to the 90’s ahead of new emerging talent; marking this year’s event as one to watch. And what’s wrong with The Wombles, Mr Eavis? (or is this a cunning PR plan to advertise Glasto’s family-friendly credentials?)

5. London 2012 Olympic Countdown Clock

With 500 days to go until the Opening Ceremony, OMEGA, Official Timekeeper for the London 2012 Olympic Games unveiled the Olympic Countdown Clock in a high-profile launch event at London’s Trafalgar Square. An edgy, contemporary design was revealed and the countdown to the Olympics was officially underway. Until it broke.

This was an Olympic first. The clock stalled on 500 days, seven hours, six minutes and 56 seconds to go. Omega was suddenly under intense media scrutiny and in a race to get it ticking again. Brand image is key in high-profile partnerships like the Olympics, and OMEGA felt the full force of the British press.

6. Royal Ascot

Hats off to the five-day racing feast that marked the 300^th anniversary of Royal Ascot in 2011. In recent years, Royal Ascot has developed into more of a festival atmosphere with music and entertainment accompanying the racing, and punters having an extra incentive to remain in the exclusive surroundings of Ascot Racecourse. Has the exclusivity of the racing that race-goers used to experience been muted to allow for a more broad attraction? The ‘brawl’ this year confirmed that the event was  no longer as exclusive but maybe this is just a simple reflection on society and that the Royal has had to open its doors to a ‘broader’ audience.

7. AEGON Tennis Championships vs Wimbledon

The Queen’s Club precursor to the Wimbledon Championships has always been felt by the Brits as the major’s more accessible sibling. AEGON took the helm in 2009 from Stella Artois to great plaudits. The AEGON Tennis Champs were granted the honour of becoming an official LTA tour event, bringing the sponsor’s association increased awareness with consumers and media. Wimbledon might be internationally famous but with Britain’s Andy Murray taking the title this year, the spotlight really shone at Queen’s and through developing their association with Tennis, AEGON have created a partnership that looks to become synonymous with the sport for years to come.

8. The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

For years the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race has been steeped in historic rivalry, with the Thames-based event drawing in hundreds of thousands of spectators. The event is a sponsors dream; accessing key, AB1 fans and providing VIP hospitality on the shores of the Thames. The problem is I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head who the sponsors are…

Strategic activity around the main event should be leveraged so that sponsorship objectives are felt by their target markets, as opposed to a (unmemorable) branding exercise.

9. The 2011 British Open

Following the success of Rory McIlroy’s outstanding winning performance at the US Open this year, The 151^st British Open will be a media frenzy. McIlroy now has the world backing him to grasp the next major (having messed up his US Master’s title chances).

Can Royal St Georges provide the backdrop for an outstanding year for the young Brit? It will be interesting to see how the event holds up to the media onslaught in July.

10. Rugby World Cup 2011

The Rugby World Cup will be hosted by New Zealand in September as Rugby’s finest battle it out on Kiwi soil. The sport has seen an eventful year so far, with scrutiny over the home nations being captured by the press. This showcase event will be the measure.

With New Zealand being 11 hours ahead of GMT, the sponsors will have to build this into their planning and provide consumer experiences that incentivise the public to be involved when they should be sleeping. It will be a great spectacle regardless, but the investment that sponsors have made will need to be evident on a fan level.

Have your say at www.generatesponsorship.com/blog

With a year to go until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the consumer and commercial landscape will start to be dominated by the greatest show on earth. The key question we should all be asking however is: ‘have I considered the impact this will have on my business?’ From consumer ticket promotions to corporate hospitality, the Olympics will be an increasingly ever present and powerful presence over the next 12 months. Are you confident that your current plans embrace or counteract this?

Uniquely, to date there has been less marketplace activity/clutter around the Games, thus creating opportunities for brands with one year to go. There are more opportunities than you think…

Recent Nielsen research shows 13 million UK adults already feel more positive towards brands involved with the Games; not just official sponsors. There are still a number of ways brands can benefit from the excitement and the engagement in the marketplace without having to become an official partner.

For example, benefits including:

• Enhanced brand perception and credibility via sponsorship of athletes, teams, governing bodies and events
• Creation of platforms for advertising, PR and promotions
• Client and supplier hospitality opportunities
• Employee engagement and motivation
• Capitalising on increased and diversity of footfall / customers / spend into the country

The ‘year to go’ milestone on 27^th July 2011 is the most important and will be celebrated as such by the public, athletes, sponsors and London. From here on in, London 2012 will dominate the cultural and sporting agenda, as well as the consumer and commercial landscape both on the ground and in the media. Finally, London as a city will be transformed in a way we have never seen before.

It is an exciting time for the industry, the country and its inhabitants, and will truly be a once in a lifetime event for London! Most interestingly there are more opportunities available than you think.

To discuss opportunities available to capitalize on the Olympics please contact Ben Bradley, 00 44 (0) 845 241 8111, bb@generatesponsorship.com

Generate Managing Director, Rupert Pratt finally answers the question that has been evading him for the last 2 years and finds the essence of traditional sponsorship at the heart of the answer, but warns against over commercialisation.

Premiership footballers aren’t usually my first reference when it comes to industry insight but it was left to the likes of Ferdinand and Owen to answer a long standing debate. Twitter has increasingly dominated the media and marketing agenda but I struggled to see what these short text broadcasts actually achieved apart from telling me what was at the top of someone’s head? For example, I know England Rugby scrum half Danny Care likes Nando’s because he tweets from there every other lunch time but do I really care Danny?

Twitter was getting lots of coverage for the wrong reasons, over the last 12-18 months stars with short fuses tweeted their anger when they should have counted to ten. Rights holders and sponsors were defenceless and a week couldn’t go by without another tweet shocker. Press officers had woken up to a new world order where there were no restrictions of access to public and media, and no control mechanisms. Even a twitter embargo for European golfers at the Ryder Cup was instantly broken and ignored.

Twitters evolution – meaningful insight

But this is where twitter began to seriously evolve, direct access to the stars delivering meaningful insight. Suddenly fans had behind the scenes access to the most exclusive of areas, what was really going through a players mind during the most critical moments. Michael Owen can’t tweet from the penalty spot but he embraced the medium for the first time in order to tell fans what he really thought about a recent performance. Ferdinand to correct what he thought was a misrepresented interview, skipping the media and going straight to the fans.

What does this mean for ‘old new media?’

Twitter and old media have already forged an alliance. I use the internet while watching sport to check stats and settle sports debates. The Channel 4 show 7 days used new media to allow viewers to directly interact with its participants. The Royal Wedding was another watershed moment. With the worlds eyes fixed on one TV event, the public stars and celebrities shared their thoughts with each other in real time. The Champions League final recorded more tweets per minute than any other event.

So now I see the point, how do we commercialise it?

Attempts to monetize tweets have generally backfired. Paid for endorsements are marked as such and are not well received. A more traditional, subtle form of communication is required and when a certain product does get endorsed (Pippa Middleton and Zara) sales go through the roof.

Sponsorship and new media are made for each other

Advertising is about telling you what advertisers want you to think. Sponsorship is about advertisers paying for an endorsement in return for a favourable response. It is more subtle but no less effective if carried out correctly.  The best sponsorships are natural associations, communicated directly to fans without intruding and ideally enhancing a fans consumption of their passion.

What’s the key to success?

Twitter, like most forms of new media and sponsorship are perfect bedfellows. Sponsorship is about engaging fans with content they are passionate about. New media is a platform for large groups to communicate, but new media needs two things;

• Meaningful content
• A shared interest for people to do so

Sport and entertainment has these in abundance. The key to success is enhancing people’s consumption of their passion with relevant and meaningful content, easy.

Let us know what you think. Email us at fresh@generatesponsorship.com, blog it at www.generatesponsorship.com/blog/ or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/gsponsorship

Mike Mainwaring, former sponsorship manager at Carlsberg and Barclay’s iShares  and now Consultancy and Activation Director at Generate, argues twist.

How the sponsorship market has evolved over the years?

Over the last three decades sports sponsorship has been in an almost permanently bullish state. Rights holders have held all the aces (and the face cards) whilst brands have fallen over themselves to bet their marketing pounds on associations and rights packages without always having a clearly thought through strategy.

A buyers market?

The top end of the market remains bullish with sponsors recognising that sponsorship delivers unrivalled customer and consumer loyalty when it’s needed most. But the recession has created a buyer’s marketplace with many high level rights currently available; from the FA taking between 18 and 24 months to sell their two trophy assets, and UEFA Champions League team Bayern Munich advertising in the British press to sell their shirt sponsorship to many events and teams resorting to last minute deals.

So why are so many sponsors still overpaying?

However now the tables appear to have turned across the majority of the marketplace, brands that have yearned for a better deal appear afraid or incapable of making strategic decisions. They are either; folding and stepping away from the table altogether, or showing their cards and paying over the odds.

Standard Chartered paid top dollar for Liverpool FC and Budweiser leapt in at circa £8m pa for The FA Cup. Standard Chartered significantly upped the investment going into Anfield, which is great for the club and the fans won’t complain, however this is a club that were not in the Champions League and are still far from able to guarantee any Champions League football for the remainder of the deal. Getting an equivalent advertising value equal to the size of your deal is not real ROI. What is the real business impact that supports this investment?

As for The FA Cup, Eon were already over investing and went into year 5 by default/as a favour to The FA and despite the continued decline of the competition, (more through the growth of other competitions being financially more important to the clubs, think UEFA Champions League, Premier League and Championship promotion, than through a particular failure of The FA), Bud still felt it appropriate to invest at a similar level to the out-going sponsor.

Now is the time to buy, but buy strategically

In the words on Johnny Cash…”you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em and you’ve got to know when to fold ‘em”.

Right now there are some great deals to be brokered and whilst the market is still at an apparent impasse, it is as good a time as any in the last 30 years for brands to:

• (re-)evaluate their strategies
  • In the instance of a new sponsor – does it represent value for my business?
  • For an existing sponsor can I negotiate better terms?
  • Determine their specific objectives (and KPI’s)
  • Plot their road-map
  • Negotiate

Make a pre emptive strike on a willing and flexible rights holder before the economy picks up and the savings will multiply over the years. But go into the market:

• Knowing what is right for your business strategy
• What the value of the opportunity is to you (not the media ROI)
• What you are prepared to pay
• Having done your due diligence

Many rights holders are struggling to justify the level of investment into their properties that they desire, whilst brand and sponsorship budgets are under their greatest scrutiny ever. This last point is not a scenario that is likely to change soon, however whilst rights holders are in a weakened position, now has to be the time to play.

Post London 2012 may create an even greater vacuum in the marketplace. For those brands with the right insight and understanding of the market, there are great opportunities (from Glasgow 2014, RWC 2015 to Football, F1, Music and the Arts (where funding is being cut) to deliver a very strong deal that will benefit both the brand as well as the bottom line.

Don’t gamble by making a ‘reactive decision’ (because if you do the house always wins) or ‘fold’ (ignore the opportunity sponsorship presents). If you want an honest and upfront perspective, but most importantly a strategically supported decision our door is always open and we are happy to chat.

To discuss call or email Mike Mainwaring on 00 44 (0) 845 241 8111, mm@generatesponsorship.com