By Omulo Okoth

People go down on their knees sweet-talking firms for corporate sponsorship. When it does come, it is normally after intense and serious negotiations, spiced with behind-the-scenes lobbying. Big firms like Coca Cola are adept at such negotiations, what with its long experience in sports.

They have deals running into millions of dollars with mass following sports like football and athletics.

Coca Cola is the brand that has made the best use of sports sponsorship, according to a study by Eurosport exploring businessmen’s relationship with sport.

The study, "Business & Sport: Perfect Partners" was conducted in association with Synovate and ZenithOptimedia. The aim of the research was to explore the effectiveness of sports advertising and understand how sport can best engage consumers who fit into the businessman audience profile. Two different groups of people were interviewed. Eurosport conducted ten in-depth interviews with senior marketers who use sport as part of their marketing strategy.

Made the best use

The second group was a sample of 1,600 senior business professionals in the UK, Germany, France Spain and Italy who fitted the businessman decision maker profile. They were asked to fill out a 25-minute questionnaire online.

When it comes to which brands have made the best use of sports sponsorship, Coca Cola came out top. Coke has been involved with the Fifa World Cup since 1978 and the Olympics since 1928. Adidas came second, having had a heavy involvement in football since 1954. Vodafone, a relative newcomer to sport, took third place, for its involvement in UEFA since 2006 and its F1 sponsorship since 2007. Other noticeable brands were Nike, BNP Paribas and Barclays.

Top sports partnership

The Mercedes sponsorship of the F1 Team was viewed to be the top sports partnership that has improved a business consumers’ opinion of the brand, with 43 per cent, closely followed by Audi’s FIS Alpine Ski sponsorship, with 40 per cent. The Toyota F1 sponsorship was third with 36 per cent, matched by Visa’s Olympics sponsorship with 36 per cent.

EDF Energy’s Rugby Union sponsorship improved business consumers’ consideration of the brand the most, with 34 per cent, followed by BNP Paribas’ Roland Garros sponsorship. Coca Cola virtually single-handedly won the 1996 Olympics bid for the US city of Atlanta, which hosts its headquarters. Watch General Motors with the 2016 Chicago Bid.

That is why when their deal with Sports Stadia Management Board (SSMB) collapsed only four months into the corporate relationship, which saw Nyayo National Stadium renamed Coca Cola Stadium, it caught the imagination of a nation grappling with its scarce resources to fund sports.

Negotiations were apparently lop-sided, which saw Coca Cola get quite some leeway, of course for their consideration of Sh117 million for the next three years. Now speculation is all over, how some members of the SSMB might have benefited personally from the deal, which cannot be proved, but which apparently provoked the Minister for Sport, Hellen Sambili, to intervene and order the name reverted to Nyayo National Stadium.

Some board members say they were left in the dark on the details of these negotiations and that they only saw the draft contract two months after conclusion of the deal.

Coca Cola has said they won’t accept the word ‘Nyayo’ in the renegotiated deal. One understands their predicament. It’s like putting food on one’s mouth only to be told not to eat.

Perhaps, the Government and Coca Cola should cede some ground and renegotiate the deal. The Government could perchance let the deal run then prepare better for the renewal. Coca Cola could also accept the word ‘Nyayo’ alongside its brand as a gesture of goodwill to a people who have contributed heavily to the success of this brand name.

—The writer (iomulo@eastandard.net) is The Standard’s Sports Editor