Eva Gerritse, Business Lead for Sponsorship Impact at Blauw Research, has been named Insights Professional of the Year 2022. She received the award during a festive MOAwards ceremony, where she was praised for her clear vision on research into the impact of sports sponsorship. What motivates her in this field and how does she make a difference?
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Congratulations on your award! How did you manage to convince the jury of your qualities?
Thank you! It is a huge honour to be named Insights Professional of the Year. The jury report says that the jury recognised my clear vision for sponsorship research, which has made us very successful and helped us build a great client portfolio. They also valued that I believe it is important not just to conduct good research, but above all to communicate research results in an impactful way and ensure that our clients actually put those results into practice.
Can you tell us a bit more about that vision the jury mentioned?
I have a clear vision for sports sponsorship and how you should determine whether sponsorship is working for a brand. It is a vision that differs from what is common in this industry. When you talk to sponsorship managers about research, they usually think of measuring the media value of their sponsorships. That usually comes down to how long your logo was on screen. Other research agencies specialising in sponsorship research often focus on that too. I want to help sponsors increase the success of their sponsorships by giving them insight into how they can get closer to their customers through the sponsorship, by tapping into the emotions that fans experience around sports.
Our research therefore focuses on the extent to which brands can strengthen their relationship with consumers through sponsorship. In this way, we help sponsors understand how they can ensure that sponsorship truly has an impact on the brand.
What makes your team so successful in this?
I think it is mainly because we don’t just look back, but rather help our clients to constantly take the right next step. In sports sponsorship, research is often a ‘snapshot’ of the past. We believe in looking forward, in constantly improving and never standing still.
And it is not just our clients we help to keep improving; we never stand still ourselves either. Our methods and analyses are always evolving. We are constantly looking at how things can be even better, and we keep developing new models so that, even in a changing world, we can show sponsors how to keep getting the most out of their sponsorships.
For example, in the past year, we introduced the Sponsorship Involvement Model, which provides our clients with concrete points for improvement that contribute to brand growth. Our Sports Media Profiler is also a great success. We map out in detail how sports fans behave when it comes to following sports. Sponsors ask their media agencies to base their strategy on the insights from our Sports Media Profiler.
You are the Business Lead of the Sponsorship Impact team. That team has grown significantly in recent years. What does your role look like at the moment?
My most important task is to translate our vision for sponsorship research into a clear strategy. I determine the steps we need to take to get closer to our goals. That plan covers people, products, methods, and partnerships, among other things.
I want to give the team a clear focus so they know what is needed to achieve our goals. And that also means having the courage to stop doing certain things. I also try to motivate everyone to get the best out of themselves and each other. In our team, there is plenty of room to grow, create new methods or products, come up with ideas and also make mistakes.
The jury report also mentions that you are regularly on stage to tell your story. How do you ensure that you reach your target audience?
On the one hand, I try to listen carefully to the market, and at the same time, I talk a lot about what we do. I speak as much as possible with people working in the world of sport and sponsorship. These might be sponsorship managers, marketers at sports governing bodies and sports marketing consultants, for example. In addition, we regularly publish our own infographics and reports that show what we can achieve with market research. I am also a columnist for a number of trade journals and websites. I also think it is important to share our knowledge and experience with the future professionals in our market. That is why I regularly give guest lectures, for example at the Johan Cruyff Institute.
Finally, you already work for some of the largest sports sponsors and sports organisations in the world. What ambitions do you still have for the future?
We do indeed already work for wonderful brands that are household names, as well as for the largest sports governing bodies and events in the world. Our research covers sports and competitions such as Formula 1, the European Championship and World Cup football, the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, and we conduct research in more than 40 different countries.
My ambition with Blauw Sponsoring Insights is for sponsors and sports organisations to see a partnership with us as a prerequisite for the success of their sponsorships. I believe we can truly help brands make the right decisions that make their sponsorships more successful. I want to build relationships with the world’s largest sponsors. These are major international brands that, like me, believe in the power of sports sponsorship and whose strategy is aimed at using sponsorship for brand growth. I hope we can help many more of them with smart research in the coming years.
