Ambush Marketing & strategies
by: sankar.deepthi
Total views: 15
Word Count: 2256
Often classified as a form of “guerrilla” marketing, the term was coined by the originator of cause-related marketing – Jerry Welsh - when he was at the American Express. The ambush or parasitic marketing is the marketing which take the advantage of value of publicity of major event specifically sports event without paying the requisite fee and being the official sponsor. It has affected world cup football, World cup cricket and Olympics in a big way. Ambush marketing is the name given by an event proprietor to any marketing campaign which takes place around the event but does not involve payment of a sponsorship fee to the event.
For most events of any significance, one brand will pay to become the exclusive and official sponsor of the event in a particular category or categories, and this exclusivity creates a problem for one or more other brands. Smaller companies cannot afford the kind of amounts which larger conglomerates and multinationals like LG, Samsung, Coke, Pepsi, Reliance, etc pay for getting the sponsorships, which runs into millions of dollars. This is one of the basic reasons that are perpetrating ambush marketing.
Highlights in ambush marketing history include:
• 1984 Olympics: Kodak sponsors TV broadcasts of the games as well as the US track team despite Fuji being the official sponsor. Fuji returns the favor in kind during the Seoul 1988 games of which Kodak is the official sponsor.
• At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Nike sponsors press conferences with the US basketball team despite Reebok being the games’ official sponsor.
• In the greatest ambush marketing feat of all time Nike’s man Michael Jordan, Air Sponsorship himself, accepts the gold medal for basketball and covers up the Reebok logo on his kit.
• 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway: In response to official-sponsor Visa’s claims that American Express is not accepted at the Olympic Village, AmEx creates an ad campaign claiming (correctly) that Americans do not need “visas” to travel to Norway. The 1994 Visa-AmEx affair was a continuation of a scrap featuring the exact same campaigns from the 1992 Winter Olympics.
• 1998 World Cup, France: Nike again.
• 2000 Sydney Olympics: Qantas Airlines’ slogan "The Spirit of Australia" sounds strikingly similar to the games’ slogan "Share the Spirit." Qantas claims it’s just a coincidence to the sound of official-sponsor Ansett Air helplessly banging its fists on the conference room table.
• 2002 Boston Marathon: Nike strikes again. As adidas-sponsored runners come off the course they are treated to spray-painted ‘swooshes’ honoring the day of the race, but not the race itself.
Common examples of ambush marketing are as follows:
• Conducting promotions where the prize is a travel package or ticket to the event.
• Promotional giveaways using the official logo, words or symbols associated with the event.
• Advertising using the match schedule.
• Associating with the event without actually using the official logo, words or symbols.
• Advertising taking the form of "good luck" or "congratulatory" messages to teams or individuals participating in the event.
• Displaying banners in the stadium or causing a block of spectators attending an event to wear clothing which promotes a competitor product.
• Using strategically placed spectators at key camera points in venues to be picked up by the cameras for unauthorized media exposure.
• Using a sky banner or blimp over a stadium or venue, or in the viewable airspace surrounding a stadium or venue where an official match or event is being played or held in order to promote a brand, which is not associated with the event.
Likely Forms
Ambush Marketing takes many forms. Two of the main forms are-
Association Ambushing- the non-sponsor gives the impression of being an official sponsor by using words or symbols associated with the event; and
Intrusion Ambushing- the non-sponsor piggybacks on the media and spectator exposure of the event by, for eg, advertising near event venues.
Different Strategies of Ambush Marketing
Researchers have identified five of the most commonly employed ambush marketing strategies:
Sponsoring Media Coverage of an Event
Kodak’s sponsorship of the ABC broadcasts of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics when Fuji was the official IOC sponsor.
Sponsoring a Sub-Category within an Event
During the 1988 Olympic games at Seoul, Kodak secured the worldwide category sponsorship for the Games, while Fuji obtained sub-sponsorship of the U.S. swimming team.
Making a Sponsorship-Related Contribution to a Players’ Pool
Ian Thorpe being sponsored by Adidas’ when Nike was the official clothing supplier for the Australian Olympic team. Thorpe was even photographed with his towel draped over Nike’s logo at a medal presentation ceremony to protect
his personal contract with Adidas.
Engaging in Advertising that Coincides with a Sponsored Event
Intense advertising done by a competitor during or around a sponsored event.
Other Dilution Strategies
A final category is comprised of an eclectic array of activities undertaken in an effort to dilute the advantage held by the sponsor. These strategies are often combined with techniques discussed in the five preceding categories. A nonsponsor may purchase tickets to an event with which it is seeking to create the perception of an association. By distributing these tickets to customers, employees, or as prizes in contests, an association may be assumed by some people in the market. If so, the ambush effort has been effective.
Another commonly used dilution strategy is the confusion technique. This strategy requires the ambusher to develop creative promotions that consumers naturally associate with the event or property. Steinlager Beer was an official worldwide sponsor for the 1991 World Cup of Rugby. The English rugby team is generally a strong contender; therefore it is a potentially valuable property for a sponsor. During the competition, the English team would play its “anthem,” the familiar song “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Imagine the outrage on the part of Steinlager executives when Foster’s Beer introduced its advertising theme song “Swing Low, Sweet Carry-out” sung to the same beat and tune as the English team’s anthem.
Another creative strategy was American Express’ declaration that if you went to Lillehammer, Norway, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, you would need a passport but not a visa. Of course, its real focus was not travel documentation required to enter Norway; rather, it was directed at Visa International, one of the official sponsors of the Games.
Yet another strategy is to sponsor other events that take place in the venue of the event being ambushed. This strategy allows the ambusher to create an indirect association with the event. Additionally, photos used in subsequent advertising further reinforce the misinterpretation that the ambusher is affiliated with an event when it is not. Ansett Australian Airlines was the official airline of the Sydney Olympics. Major competition took place at Stadium Australia outside of Sydney. Qantas Airlines sponsored the Bledisloe Cup, a rugby competition played between Australian and New Zealand national rugby teams.
The event was also contested at Stadium Australia. Later advertising that featured Qantas and the stadium created further confusion as to who the official Olympic sponsor actually was. Pictures in advertising placed Qantas at Stadium Australia during the Olympic competition; that association is exactly what the ambusher was seeking to achieve. It is easy to understand why event organizers have begun to demand clean stadia devoid of any signage as a condition for staging their events in a particular city, stadium, or arena.
A tactic that was a recent source of controversy is to encourage the wearing of clothing at an event when that clothing represents a company that is not a sponsor. Nonsponsors often give free T-shirts to fans in the hope that they will wear them to the event. In addition to clothing, the ambush strategy may call for the distribution of flags, signs, or other items that display the logo of a nonsponsor. Ambushers have been known to orchestrate the display of their brand names and logos by, in effect, hiring fans to wear their shirts and wave their flags. The controversy arises when a fan is confronted and the offending items are confiscated. What the organizers perceive as an ambush marketing strategy may simply be a fan’s decision. Should a fan wearing a Heineken T-shirt to an event where Budweiser is the sponsor be subject to having clothing confiscated or perhaps being denied admission to the event? O U L D A M B U S H M A R K E I
When should ambush marketing be considered?
• When a firm is doing a poor job supporting its official sponsorship.
• When there is a good fit with the target market.
• When adequate resources are available.
• When there is companywide support for the strategy.
• When it does not conflict with the ambusher’s existing sponsorships.
• When the ambusher is prepared for controversy.
• When it is aware of the legal restrictions.
Protection from Ambush Marketers
The first thing that the sponsor should do is learn how to ambush. If a sponsor understands how to ambush, then it can better assess its own vulnerability. The ability to envision how it could be ambushed should help the sponsor develop a more effective strategy to counter the efforts of ambushers. So some experts recommend that every sponsor should develop a plan to ambush itself. Once the marketer understands the tactics used, it can then implement.
The most important tool that can be used is primarily the responsibility of the sponsor. Every sponsorship must be effectively leveraged. Leveraging refers to the use of a variety of strategic initiatives that are designed to support the sponsorship and reinforce the public’s awareness of the official relationship between the sponsor and the event or property to which the rights fees have been paid. This includes efforts directed toward both the consumers and the members of the channel of distribution. Sponsors should not underestimate the importance of leveraging.
Another prevention strategy is to limit a nonsponsors’ ability to advertise in close proximity to the event venue. This advertising could take many forms. The easiest to control is the prohibition of advertising by anyone other than sponsors in the event venue itself. This concept has been referred to as the clean-stadium strategy. The second strategy is to limit the ability of nonsponsors from having any display of signage within a predetermined distance of the venue.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has required players to sign an agreement not to endorse any products that might be perceived as rivals of any ICC sponsor. This agreement includes a period prior to and after the completion of the competition in addition to the period during which the actual competition takes place.
Many experts believe that public relations and advertising should be used to educate consumers. The event organizer should publicize its sponsors and express appreciation for their role in staging the event.
Some also believe that ambushers should be identified in an effort to embarrass them in the eyes of the public. Although few would reject the idea that positive PR that identifies and supports event sponsors can be effective, the tactic of using negative PR in an effort to shame ambushers is of dubious value. Since consumers are not really turned off by ambush marketing, identifying the ambushers is likely to have little or no impact on consumer attitudes.
So educate in a positive way. Identify the sponsors and inform the consumers of the role that sponsors play in helping to stage the event and in providing entertainment opportunities for the public. If it is a cause-related marketing event, publicize the positive aspects for the beneficiary. Help the sponsors in their quest to develop recognition of the relationship between themselves and the sponsored property. Stress any benefits gained by the target markets.
Preventive measures against ambush marketing
• Learn how to ambush
• Leverage the sponsorship
• Limit nonsponsors’ ability to advertise
• Establish control over advertising during event broadcast
• Make a time-buy
• Limit broadcasters’ ability to sell time
• Prohibit virtual advertising
• Limit participants’ ability to endorse brands of nonsponsors
• Educate consumers
• Provide positive PR for sponsors
• Provide negative PR to shame ambushers
• Surveillance programs
• Limit number of sponsorships to a manageable number
• Prohibit pass-along strategy
• Incorporate sponsor’s name
• Legal restrictions
Conclusion
In conclusion, today sponsors are more aware of the necessity to ensure their brands as well as their money that is attached to the event. They have woken up to the risk of ambush marketing in which other companies, not the event's main sponsors, step in to exploit the potential of a major event. The aim to stop marketing ambushes of the event, ranging from rogue products bearing the event's logo to big campaigns by companies have not paid a penny to be associated with the sports event. Furthermore, there are some actions that are being taken to reduce the use of ambush marketing the sports world market.
The Atlanta Olympic Committee is will enforce a penalty for companies that follow the ambush marketing tactics. Ambush marketing not only happens in sporting events, but ambush marketing occurs during the sporting events the most. Sporting events are consider one of he biggest markets of today, and when there viewers there will be money involved. And sponsorship requires a large amount of money.
As for the future, there will be more restrictions on ambush marketers that will prohibit companies from exploiting the consumers. And if the companies continue to ambush the market organizer will try to give bad publicity to the ambusher.
References
1. Bounds, Wendy. 1995. "Fuji Move May Miff Kodak at Olympics"
2. Curthoys Jerymy, "Ambush Marketing and the Sydney 2000 Games ( Indicia and Image ) Protection Act : A Retrospective," Vol. 2 No. 2, June 2001
3. http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=98
4. Tina Shah “Ambush marketing”.
www.TheWritersOnline.com
(Read or Write Your Way to Big Success)
About the Author
Deepthi Sankar, working as a lecturer.
Rating: Not yet rated