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Value of Olympic Sponsorship questioned at Future Sponsorship Conference
MUMBAI: Sponsorship practitioners from all over Europe recorded a resounding vote of no confidence in London’s Olympic sponsorship programme and indeed Olympic sponsorship in general at ESA’s annual European flagship conference, Future Sponsorship, in London.
Over 200 figures from all areas of the sponsorship industry took part in a survey that asked the question – Are domestic Olympic packages (Locog) good value for money?
A staggering 79 per cent said No. The Tier One Olympic Sponsorship Programme did not fare much better with 66 per cent of delegates believing that the IOC’s Top sponsorship programme did not represent good value for money.
Locog had some very ambitious targets for generating revenue from sponsors and certainly had some initial success in attracting sponsors for the London Games. However, as companies began to feel the full impact of the credit crunch, attracting sponsors for the Games in London in recent months has proved to be much harder.
The over-riding message from several of the speakers including rights holders, sponsors, agencies, accountants and lawyers was the need in the current climate to deliver measurable returns on sponsorship investments.
Indeed one sponsor revealed that as little as 25 per cent of the measurable value of their sponsorship programmes now comes through what used to be considered sponsorship’s main asset – Media exposure and brand awareness.
As if to reinforce the results of the survey, there was a call for ‘sponsorship‘ to be reclassified and even renamed to more accurately reflect the marketing role which sponsorship is now so effectively delivering for thousands of companies and brands.
American sponsorship industry guru, Lesa Ukman issued a stark warning to the sponsorship industry across Europe when she revealed that in the US, any of the financial services companies that received financial help from the government were no longer allowed to undertake sponsorship programmes.
The European Sponsorship Association’s Chairman, Karen Earl was quick to pick up on Ukman’s comments, “What we heard about the American market and the new restrictions imposed on the financial institutions is extremely worrying and shows that there is still a massive lack of understanding of the potential of sponsorship as a marketing discipline.
” It is still seen by many as having philanthropic connotations and at a corporate level providing opportunities for excess and waste. The Sponsorship industry is now worth in excess of 8 billion Euros across Europe and for the leading companies and brands it is an absolutely vital component of their overall marketing plans”.
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Navi releases new ‘Hurrypur’ film focused on speed and simplicity
Auto breakdown turns F1-style pit stop in campaign film set to Baalti’s track
MUMBAI: When life’s in the fast lane, Navi wants even your breakdowns to be over in a blink. Navi has rolled out a new film under its ongoing ‘Hurrypur’ campaign, doubling down on its core pitch speed and simplicity in everyday transactions.
The film opens on a familiar hiccup, an autorickshaw breaking down mid-ride. But what follows is anything but ordinary. The repair unfolds like a Formula 1 pit stop swift, precise, almost cinematic. Within seconds, the tyre is replaced, the vehicle is back on the road, and even the fare negotiation wraps up in record time.
Set to US-based musical act Baalti’s track “123”, the film uses rhythm and pacing to mirror its central idea, in a world that moves fast, everything around it must keep up.
The narrative builds on Hurrypur, a fictional world where time is treated as currency and delay is almost obsolete. Through exaggerated yet relatable scenarios, the campaign reflects a broader behavioural shift consumers increasingly expect instant responses, whether from people, platforms or payments.
Navi Limited MD and CEO Rajiv Naresh said the Hurrypur universe is designed to highlight the company’s focus on delivering seamless, time-efficient experiences. Meanwhile, creative agency Sideways and director Ayappa KM leaned into humour and visual energy to push the story beyond a typical product-led narrative.
Instead of listing features, the campaign sticks to storytelling turning a routine inconvenience into a high-speed spectacle.
Because in Navi’s world, even a pit stop refuses to slow things down.
