Sponsorship Changes
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Sponsorship Changes
From the Australian 28-12
One of the world’s biggest sport and major event sponsors, Emirates, will dump its decade-long partnership with golf’s Australian Open, and may withdraw from Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival altogether, as it puts its key Australian sponsorship arrangements under the microscope for 2018 and beyond.
Emirates’ worldwide sponsorship boss, Boutros Boutros, has told The Australian from Dubai that the airline had built such strong brand awareness in Australia, with a sports portfolio worth about $20 million a year, it no longer needed the same number of dedicated sponsorships here.
“When we first came, nobody had heard of Emirates,” Mr *Boutros said.
“Definitely, our research says our brand recognition in Australia is now very high. (The sponsorships) are no longer necessary.”
Instead, Emirates plans to rely more on sporting partnerships with global exposure, and less on those catering to specific *markets.
After winding up Emirates’ long-running sponsorship of the Melbourne Cup last month, Mr Boutros’s team is now in discussions about whether to keep its last remaining spring carnival sponsorship, the $2m Emirates Stakes in November, along with its marquee in Melbourne’s Birdcage at Flemington. Emirates’ *declining investment in Australian sport comes at a pivotal time for the industry, with sports bodies facing fears that revenue from media rights and attendances have peaked.
Mr Boutros said the ditching of Emirates’ naming rights sponsorship of golf’s Australian Open, worth about $2m a year, had to be seen in a worldwide context. “We don’t need it anymore,” Mr Boutros said.
“If I have a deal with the (European) PGA, why do I need another side deal?”
Mr Boutros said Emirates could not simply “keep spending and spending” on hundreds of sponsorships around the globe.
“You need to be smart,” he said. “When you look at Emirates’ sponsorships, we cover the globe. Every Australian who follows golf will continue seeing Emirates around the world. Same with horse racing. Same with soccer.
“At the end of the day, I have a budget every year. You have to follow your research and outcome.”
Mr Boutros, Emirates’ international vice-president for communications, marketing and brand, saidthe Emirates’ sponsorship commitments around the world were now worth $US350m ($451m) each year. These include the Arsenal, AC Milan and Real Madrid football clubs, London’s Emirates Stadium, the European PGA Golf Tour, the International Cricket Council and the Godolphin global racing empire.
Emirates was the sponsor of the $6.2m Melbourne Cup for 14 years, including its most recent instalment, won by Rekindling in November, before quitting the commitment.
A final decision on whether to continue sponsoring the Emirates Stakes, the last major race of the spring carnival, is set to be made next month, when Mr Boutros will be in Australia to meet with VRC authorities.
Emirates’ sponsorship review for its racing properties in Australia comes in the wake of the airline giant’s decision to ditch the Melbourne Cup partnership, which had been the centrepiece of a huge sponsorship outlay the airline made on the spring carnival.
Mr Boutros has for the first time revealed the size of that outlay. “The cost on us for the spring carnival has been about $7m a year,” he said.
“The Emirates marquee (in the Birdcage) is part of the package. To be honest with you, because we invested so much — continuation is good for us. But you have to weigh your costs.”
One of the biggest costs for Emirates was the marquee, which for many years was regarded as the hottest Birdcage ticket during the Melbourne Cup carnival.
Mr Boutros said this status came at a cost: “You have to build it from scratch every year. It’s about $1m for the marquee. You spend about $1000 (a head) on the marquee each year, entertaining 1000 people.”
One Australian event that has delivered for Emirates is the Australian Open tennis, perhaps this country’s biggest sporting event on the global stage. Emirates is believed to outlay $7m a year for its sponsorship of the grand slam tournament.
Mr Boutros said Emirates was committed to its partnership with the event, particularly given that it also sponsors two other tennis grand slams, the French Open and US Open.
He also indicated that Emirates remained committed to sponsorships of Collingwood in the AFL, and the Sydney and Melbourne symphony orchestras.
Mr Boutros has no plans to cut back Emirates’ sponsorships globally, but rather to ensure Emirates gets the best bang for its sponsorship buck.
He said this was a process that involved a detailed analysis by a large team.
“We don’t have one person (running sponsorships),” he said. “I am in charge of the strategy, and I have a lot of experts in each sport. I need someone who knows what to ask. We have a consistent image around the globe. There are a lot of roadshows, a lot of *exhibitions, and we have to look at every medium.”
One way Emirates is making its sponsorship dollar go further is by forming partnerships with sporting entities with global reach.
For example, it sponsors the Dubai-founded Godolphin horse racing empire, largely because its thoroughbreds race almost daily around the world.
“Every time a Godolphin horse races, the ‘Fly Emirates’ logo is on the jockey’s silks,” Mr Boutros said. Brand expert Angus Kinnaird of Brandway Consulting said that Emirates sponsorships in Australia had been effective in building “an association with high living and enjoying the finer things in life”, through events that were “aspirational”.
“Sponsorship is great for creating a level of brand recognition, and providing status in the sense of an association with aspirational sports and events — prestigious events like horse racing and senior-level golf tournaments.”
One of the world’s biggest sport and major event sponsors, Emirates, will dump its decade-long partnership with golf’s Australian Open, and may withdraw from Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival altogether, as it puts its key Australian sponsorship arrangements under the microscope for 2018 and beyond.
Emirates’ worldwide sponsorship boss, Boutros Boutros, has told The Australian from Dubai that the airline had built such strong brand awareness in Australia, with a sports portfolio worth about $20 million a year, it no longer needed the same number of dedicated sponsorships here.
“When we first came, nobody had heard of Emirates,” Mr *Boutros said.
“Definitely, our research says our brand recognition in Australia is now very high. (The sponsorships) are no longer necessary.”
Instead, Emirates plans to rely more on sporting partnerships with global exposure, and less on those catering to specific *markets.
After winding up Emirates’ long-running sponsorship of the Melbourne Cup last month, Mr Boutros’s team is now in discussions about whether to keep its last remaining spring carnival sponsorship, the $2m Emirates Stakes in November, along with its marquee in Melbourne’s Birdcage at Flemington. Emirates’ *declining investment in Australian sport comes at a pivotal time for the industry, with sports bodies facing fears that revenue from media rights and attendances have peaked.
Mr Boutros said the ditching of Emirates’ naming rights sponsorship of golf’s Australian Open, worth about $2m a year, had to be seen in a worldwide context. “We don’t need it anymore,” Mr Boutros said.
“If I have a deal with the (European) PGA, why do I need another side deal?”
Mr Boutros said Emirates could not simply “keep spending and spending” on hundreds of sponsorships around the globe.
“You need to be smart,” he said. “When you look at Emirates’ sponsorships, we cover the globe. Every Australian who follows golf will continue seeing Emirates around the world. Same with horse racing. Same with soccer.
“At the end of the day, I have a budget every year. You have to follow your research and outcome.”
Mr Boutros, Emirates’ international vice-president for communications, marketing and brand, saidthe Emirates’ sponsorship commitments around the world were now worth $US350m ($451m) each year. These include the Arsenal, AC Milan and Real Madrid football clubs, London’s Emirates Stadium, the European PGA Golf Tour, the International Cricket Council and the Godolphin global racing empire.
Emirates was the sponsor of the $6.2m Melbourne Cup for 14 years, including its most recent instalment, won by Rekindling in November, before quitting the commitment.
A final decision on whether to continue sponsoring the Emirates Stakes, the last major race of the spring carnival, is set to be made next month, when Mr Boutros will be in Australia to meet with VRC authorities.
Emirates’ sponsorship review for its racing properties in Australia comes in the wake of the airline giant’s decision to ditch the Melbourne Cup partnership, which had been the centrepiece of a huge sponsorship outlay the airline made on the spring carnival.
Mr Boutros has for the first time revealed the size of that outlay. “The cost on us for the spring carnival has been about $7m a year,” he said.
“The Emirates marquee (in the Birdcage) is part of the package. To be honest with you, because we invested so much — continuation is good for us. But you have to weigh your costs.”
One of the biggest costs for Emirates was the marquee, which for many years was regarded as the hottest Birdcage ticket during the Melbourne Cup carnival.
Mr Boutros said this status came at a cost: “You have to build it from scratch every year. It’s about $1m for the marquee. You spend about $1000 (a head) on the marquee each year, entertaining 1000 people.”
One Australian event that has delivered for Emirates is the Australian Open tennis, perhaps this country’s biggest sporting event on the global stage. Emirates is believed to outlay $7m a year for its sponsorship of the grand slam tournament.
Mr Boutros said Emirates was committed to its partnership with the event, particularly given that it also sponsors two other tennis grand slams, the French Open and US Open.
He also indicated that Emirates remained committed to sponsorships of Collingwood in the AFL, and the Sydney and Melbourne symphony orchestras.
Mr Boutros has no plans to cut back Emirates’ sponsorships globally, but rather to ensure Emirates gets the best bang for its sponsorship buck.
He said this was a process that involved a detailed analysis by a large team.
“We don’t have one person (running sponsorships),” he said. “I am in charge of the strategy, and I have a lot of experts in each sport. I need someone who knows what to ask. We have a consistent image around the globe. There are a lot of roadshows, a lot of *exhibitions, and we have to look at every medium.”
One way Emirates is making its sponsorship dollar go further is by forming partnerships with sporting entities with global reach.
For example, it sponsors the Dubai-founded Godolphin horse racing empire, largely because its thoroughbreds race almost daily around the world.
“Every time a Godolphin horse races, the ‘Fly Emirates’ logo is on the jockey’s silks,” Mr Boutros said. Brand expert Angus Kinnaird of Brandway Consulting said that Emirates sponsorships in Australia had been effective in building “an association with high living and enjoying the finer things in life”, through events that were “aspirational”.
“Sponsorship is great for creating a level of brand recognition, and providing status in the sense of an association with aspirational sports and events — prestigious events like horse racing and senior-level golf tournaments.”
