Rabobank & Sports

Rabobank is the biggest Dutch sponsor in sports  for a long time. They have 38 million Euro invested in sponsorships. The company launched a new sponsoring campaign; 'Win more than the game'. The idea behind this campaign is structural sponsoring for top-class sports and sports for all. Rabobank is sponsoring in cycling, hockey, horse-riding and sports for the disabled. The company also sponsors local sport clubs for recreational use and sports for the youth.

Rabobank does not only support these sport activities with money, knowledge and expertise are also included in the sponsorship. The company offers them their network and connections to help them with their ideas and putting them in practice. So instead of sponsoring through money, this company is trying to form a long-term relation that is structural and durable. One of Rabobank's famous slogans is 'Together we bring sports further'. This stands for the creative style of sponsoring that the bank is applying.

It strikes me that Rabobank is using such an involving and original style of sponsoring. I think that their way of sponsoring is bringing sports and marketing close to each other in a very progressive manner. With their slogan 'Together we bring sports further' ,Rabobank shows that they believe in cooperation. By working together it will be able to bring sports to another level. I also like the fact that Rabobank is not basing it's sponsoring on single payments, but on durable relations. This way the company is really helping the improvement of sports. 

ABN AMRO And Sports

ABN AMRO is sponsoring different initiatives and big events in sports, community, culture and business. The public knows ABN AMRO especially for its sponsoring in sports events. The bank is known for being the head sponsor of the football club Ajax.

Next to football ABN AMRO is also intensively promoting through tennis. This year their will be the 38th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. The company started in 1974 as the head sponsor of this big event.

The bank is also sponsoring events and teams in hockey, golf and running. The company doesn't sponsor events with a religious or political nature. Neither individuals or party's.

Remarkable is that ABN AMRO isn't only sponsoring top-class sports, but also sports for all. On top of that the company is sponsoring sports events for disabled people. The ABN AMRO World Wheelchair Tennis Tournament is a great example for this positive way of marketing.

ABN AMRO is all about marketing through sports. I like how the brand is so intensively involved with sports. Especially the fact that the bank is sponsoring sports events for disabled people. Because of ABN AMRO, these people have the opportunity to play in professional and qualitative tournaments. Normally these events are subsidised by the government, so it's great that ABN AMRO is stimulating and promoting this. Besides, the bank is also promoting sports for everybody. This way they have a bigger audience and more people will be attracted. These marketing actions have social aspects, that's why I think ABN AMRO is a great marketeer in the business.

Sports Marketing Idea Of The Year (2009)

In the winter of 2009 Red Bull launched a surprising marketing idea called 'Project X'. Red Bull build a secret half-pipe hidden in the mountains of Colorado. The snow there is like powder and only experts can snowboard in those areas. That's why Red Bull was able to dodge the media and keep it secret. The energy drink brand did not inform the public on purpose. The company invested a large sum of money into this project. 300 man hours were used to build the foam pit, 250.000 of cubic yard of snow were moved, 30 heli-bombs were dropped to get enough loose snow and 8000 lbs of steel was used. This shows the immense scale of this project.

Shaun White the most talented snowboarder of our time, was the lucky man that was qualified to use this very special half-pipe. Filmed from a helicopter in the middle of the mountains Shaun White did the most amazing tricks. He even did a series of tricks he invented himself and were unseen.

I can understand why this was the best sports marketing idea of 2009. Red Bull came up with an amazing idea and did not even inform the media about it. The secret and hidden aspects make this project very interesting. I can imagine people finding this project very cool, because its so creative and unusual. This way the project started a viral process, which Red Bell of course anticipated on. A lot of people started talking about it, and later on the media loved it.

The video's that resulted from Project X and the tricks that Shaun White preformed were breathtaking and I really liked it to spend time reading about this project.

'Red Bull Gives You Wings'

Red Bull is an energy drink created by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. He started his company Austrian Red Bull GmbH in 1987. Nowadays Red Bull has developed into the most popular drink in the world. Through aggressive advertising it has spread its popularity. The brand is sponsoring many tournaments, sports teams, celebrities and even record labels. The slogan the brand is using is; 'Red Bull gives you wings'. Indicating the energy you get from the drink. The company claims the increase in performance, concentration, emotional status and vigilance.

Red Bull is especially concentrating on extreme sports. They advertise through any extreme sport you can name, even rare and unknown extreme sports. Nowadays the brand really stands for extreme sports. The brand is one of the biggest companies sponsoring anything that has to do with sports.

Red Bull is the perfect example of marketing & sports. It became the most popular drink in the world through sports. This is why I admire Red Bull for its advertising tactics, sponsoring and excellent marketing.

However I have some doubts about the brand. In 2009 researchers found traces of cocaine in the popular drink. I am against drugs, it has ruined a lot life's. So the fact that they used it as an ingredient, while even children are drinking it is bizarre to me. Studies have shown that regular use of Red Bull is certainly not healthy. This makes my opinion about Red Bull rather negative. Sports shouldn't be used to promote drinks that are unhealthy, and especially not when there's drugs in it.

'Stand up, Speak Up'

There is a lot of racism in European football. On national television everybody could see how Spain's coach Luis Aragones made racist comments about Thierry Henry. Eto'o was the subject of racist supporters, they made monkey sounds whenever he was in possession of the ball. It also often happens that supporters do the Hitler salute. There are numerous of other racist examples. This is very offending for the players themselves and the soccer fans.

Thierry Henry protested against this growing problem together with Nike. They launched the campaign  'Stand up, Speak Up' in 2005. The symbol of the campaign is a black and white wristband. Fans can wear this wristband to show their opposition against racism. The campaign also included television commercials and t-shirt designs. The wristband promotion raised 6 million Euro for the campaign.

I have a lot of respect for Thierry Henry for his decision to finally do something about the racism in football. I'm really offended by the racism that is still connected to the sport. Soccer should be a game to unite people, not dividing through racism. I also admire Nike for helping Thierry on his mission against racism. Nike associating its brand to this very positive social campaign was a great marketing success. The fact that 6 million Euro was raised with the wristbands show this even more. I hope other big brands will stand up against racism in the future too. It has showed that it has a great opportunity for marketing.

'Me, Myself'

In February 2009 Adidas officially launched a new campaign 'Me, Myself'. The campaign's main motive is to support the launch of their new women's website. On this website women will be able to share their personal stories about the struggles they have during sports and daily training.

Individuality, motivation and inspiration are the key aspects in these stories. It is possible to vote on these stories via Facebook and other social networking applications. The three women with the most inspirational stories and the most votes will be staring in the campaign next to famous basketball star Candace Parker. Candace Parker is the face of this campaign, she is the best the best female basketball player in the world. The winners will have a photo shoot with Candace Parker. These photos will be used in on-line and in-store marketing advertisements. Just like the 'Impossible Is Nothing' campaign Adidas is having a lot of success with these inspirational and personal style of marketing. 

I really like the interactive aspect from this campaign. The fact that it is possible for the public to vote, makes this a remarkable campaign for all the women around the world. The posted stories are an inspiration and motivation for women. Not only in sports, but also in their daily life. It will stimulate their self confidence and individuality. I personally think every women have the right to become an independent and strong woman. The Me Myself campaign from Adidas is helping the emancipation of women. There are still people that have the idea that women should be home with their kids. I hope Adidas breaks this image with their campaign. And i hope a lot of women will be inspired by the winning stories.

'Impossible Is Nothing'

In 2007 Adidas launched a remarkable campaign named 'Impossible Is Nothing'. The campaign is based on true stories from more than 30 athletes from all around the world. These sports stars tell about the obstacles they faced on their way to becoming successful, which looked impossible for them at first sight.

Each athlete chose a turning point in their career which was defining for them. They also made hand-drawn illustrations and words  that stand for the problems they faced an their persistence to hold on to their dreams. The campaign was handed to the public through clothing designs, posters, books, documentaries, commercial films and exhibitions.

'Impossible Is Nothing' is one of my favourite campaigns. It inspires people to do what they dream of. And it gives the message that hard work will accomplish your goals, even though there are a lot of obstacles on your way. The stories are very personal and touching, it is the perfect way to the catch the attention of the public. The fact that they took so many athletes, all with different stories shows the scale and quality of this campaign. How Adidas linked all of this to its brand is exemplary for marketeers all around the globe.

Next to commercial aims Adidas also stimulates its customer socially. This way Adidas makes profit and the public is also stimulated in a very positive manner. This created a win-win situation that is progressive for both sides. And that is way this marketing campaign is so successful and respected around the world.