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Winning sponsors can do without sport

Very slowly, it seems that a little light is becoming visible at the end of the very dark ‘sport-free’ tunnel in which we have found ourselves for quite some time. Football league competitions are starting up again, but not in the same form that we were used to. It is even possible that we will see Formula 1 cars in action on a real road surface, rather than in a virtual race. The optimistic forecast is that large-scale events will start up again this summer, either with or without spectators. But we still have a long way to go before things are ‘back to normal’.

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No (logo) awareness, no glory

‘No awareness, no glory’. These almost prophetic words often cross my mind. Sponsor awareness is the driver of sponsorship impact and, as such, an important KPI for sponsors. The reason is obvious: if you don’t reach your audience with your sponsorship, you can’t expect your carefully crafted message to hit home. No awareness, no glory, in other words. Which is why sponsorship awareness measurement needs to get as close to reality as possible.

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Innovating in a radically changing world?

COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. We are shopping (much) more online, home educating our children and enjoying restaurant meals at home. Perhaps the biggest change of all is the obligatory social distancing from anyone who doesn’t belong to our household. Meanwhile, we continue to go about our business as best we can, at home and at work. In fact, wherever you look, innovations, NPD processes and product launches that were on hold until a few weeks ago are being started up again at full speed.

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What does the future hold for our shopping behaviour?

Shopping. It’s one of my favourite pastimes, and one of my favourite talking points too. Amidst all these virus stories, a (superficial) chat about shopping is exactly what I need to lift my spirits. But even then there is no escaping the C word. Because the virus is also having a huge impact on our shopping behaviour. Not just because of the functional restrictions, but also because of all those emotions raging within us – ranging from boredom to panic. Even my backbone feels less sturdy than usual.

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Brand: Stand by your fan

With revenues sinking fast amidst the current economic crisis, many companies have sprung into survival mode. Their knee-jerk reaction is to cut costs and make savings. That is logical – and even necessary. Unfortunately, the marketing budget is also hit by the cost-cutting onslaught. Which is less logical than it might seem!

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Formula One vs Formula E

The racing sport is one of the most important domains of our work in sponsoring effectiveness research. We measure the impact of sponsorships in both Formula One and Formula E for several global brands, some of which are active in both racing competitions. Our insights contribute to maximising sponsorship impact on brand strength. Sponsoring both Formula One and Formula E can be a strong combination for sponsors in racing.

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Esports: a ray of light in a dormant sporting world

These are uncertain times for everyone, not least for the sporting world. Everything is on hold. And we have no idea when we will next be able to enjoy sporting events. Lots and lots of people are in isolation at home, we're not allowed to go to the sport stadium, the pub or the canteen at the local sports centre.

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The unique power of sponsoring

This month, adidas extended its partnership with Stonewall F.C. The club plays in the Middlesex County Football League Premier Division, more or less the 11th level of English football. Not a level at which matches get shown live on TV. In other words, this partnership is not about reach as far as adidas is concerned. What matters to them is the value of a club that makes a difference at a social level, one which generates unique stories.

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The real value of sponsoring

Sport is about emotion. People feel an emotional bond with sportspeople, teams and events. The sponsoring of sporting events enables brands to build an emotional link with a relevant group of consumers in a way that no other marketing tool can. For that reason, the aim of sponsoring goes much further than reach alone. The unique value of sponsoring lies in bolstering the connection between consumer and brand. That is why sponsoring should ultimately lead to better scores in terms of brand objectives. Things like brand recognition, image, preference and purchase.

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5 February 2020

Formula One Insights

The new Formula 1 season is rapidly approaching. This year is the 71st edition and the programme features a record number of 22 races. Newcomers to the calendar in 2020 are the Grand Prix events in the Netherlands and Vietnam. The latter will be held on a street circuit in Hanoi. In the Netherlands, F1 will return to the circuit of Zandvoort for the first time since 1985.

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10 January 2020

Looking forward to 2020

At the end of the year I always get even more impatient than I normally am. Come late November I’m eager to fast-forward to the new year and tend to forget to reflect on all the great moments of the past year. And with 2020 gearing up to be a great sporting year, you can imagine that I cannot wait to get started this time round.

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18 December 2019

5 ways to radically improve your external communications

Every year companies just like yours send thousands of emails, newsletters and brochures to their existing and potential customers as well as members. The Dutch Tax Agency, for example, send around 150 million communications a year! Unfortunately, a lot of these pieces of company literature are unintelligible, confusing and downright deceptive. These are letters without purpose and they’re wasting your time.

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11 November 2019

Blauw can read minds

Suppose you could measure what people think and feel about your brand, without explicitly asking them? Without them even realising it’s about your brand? Blauw developed a method, the Brand Memory Assessor, which can do that, and ran a successful project with VodafoneZiggo about brand perception and the potential impact of TV campaigns.

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5 November 2019

Forget those viewing ratings

Live sport often tops the viewing rating lists. Major tournaments and decisive moments in the national leagues still draw lots of viewers. Even so, big changes are afoot in the way people watch sports. Viewing ratings are on a downward trend.

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The Fan Survey: Ten Years On

In 2009 we teamed up with KNVB Expertise to launch the first-ever Fan Survey in the Netherlands. The Dutch Fan Survey was developed on the model of the National Fan Survey as set up by the Football Association (FA) in England. The aim is to provide structural insight into the views and opinions of football fans and help football clubs improve the experience of fans.

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How Brands Are

One brand is not the other. But the principles behind brand growth are the same for all brands. Sharp’s How Brands Grow carries that name with a reason and is mainly about the latter. In other words, behind the growth of Alfa Romeo and Volkswagen are the same principles. Although no one will claim that a Volkswagen is the same as an Alfa Romeo. Volkswagen has a different memory structure than Alfa Romeo. In short: a different brand.

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The Sharp sharia: Kotler is dead

More often the books How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp are being mentioned. The marketing conversations are more and more about penetration and mental availability. Not weird, because in the meantime it is a standard on the booklist of every self-respecting marketing education. And especially now you hear more about it. Because this is the time for the plan making for 2020.

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UEFA Europa League Infographic

We have been researching global sponsorships since 1999. Based on a recent study in 20 markets worldwide we have gathered interesting facts about the UEFA Europa League, including interest levels and media consumption.

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Stop With Why

The world of research derives much of its raison d’être from the question “why”. No-one has ever been called stupid for asking “Don’t we first need to know why the consumer wants this?” You can’t say no to that. And yet I’m doing it myself today. Because asking the question “why” can often wrongfoot you. Why? I look at three reasons in this blog.

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Formule E Insights

Formula E is becoming more and more popular. The results from our global research show that interest levels outside Europe are considerably higher than in Europe. Formula E will visit two big cities in China, which is one of the top 5 countries with regard to Formula E popularity.

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7 December 2018

Lesson #1 in advertising: Where is it going wrong?

It was once referred to as “the Better Call Apeldoorn effect”: fantastic commercials that are promoting competitors, or at best the category in general. Because you don’t actually find out what company the ad is promoting until the very end. In this case, it’s the insurance company Centraal Beheer.

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29 November 2018

Formula One 2018 Insights

With the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, the Formula One 2018 season has come to an end. Lewis Hamilton – who already won the world championship a few weeks earlier in Mexico – finished his season in style by winning the final race.

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9 November 2018

UEFA Champions League Insights

Blauw Research has been working on research related to UEFA Champions League since 2000. We measure the impact of sponsorships for Heineken, PepsiCo and Nissan and we keep track of the developments of consumer behaviour with regard to following Champions League.

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8 November 2018

Copy test: how to handle functional illiteracy?

In The Netherlands 2.5 million people are considered functionally illiterate. These individuals are still able to read and write, but they experience difficulty understanding the content. Being functionally illiterate means a person can have trouble comprehending emails and written reports in their work environment. It also means they will have a hard time filling out complex forms, digesting medical and financial leaflets, or even reciting books to their children. These individuals naturally make up a portion of your audience – but how clear or murky is your messaging to them?

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5 November 2018

The Sharp doctrine: piss off with your purpose

Did Byron Sharp really say that? No. But it makes quite a good title for a blog, I thought. And I didn’t just pluck it out of thin air. Because at the very least you could say that Byron Sharp ignores the importance of a purpose for a brand in his books and therefore undervalues it. And the fact that he doesn’t write about it in his books on growing brands, what can you infer from that? And how could you, or perhaps should you, view that in terms of How Brands Grow?

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The “greedy search” for the optimum product design

A product is made up of many different characteristics. Hair dryers, for example, are available in various shapes and colours with different attachments, heat settings and motor types. Each of these characteristics affects the customer’s decision as to whether or not to buy.

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The Sharp doctrine: is segmentation really pointless?

“Target the market” is a much vaunted quote from Byron Sharp. And as often happens with quotes, they sometimes take on a life of their own. After a while, the context in which you read or heard it disappears. And once other people’s experiences and opinions are also thrown into the mix, at some point what you’re left with is that segmentation is pointless. Except that’s too simplistic and not entirely correct.

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18 September 2018

Research into brand sounds

Being highly recognisable is of vital importance, Byron Sharp concludes, and yet many brands handle their brand assets irresponsibly. You can read more about this in the book Building Distinctive Brand Assets , which contains a section on the power of sound in branding. The importance of brand sounds is set to increase, which is why we have done some research into this subject.

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The Sharp-doctrine: there's no such thing as loyalty

In conversations and discussions about How Brands Grow, you sometimes come across persistent misunderstandings. To name but three: 1. Sharp states that loyalty does not exist 2. Sharp says that segmentation is nonsense 3. Sharp ignores the purpose of a brand

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Book Summary Building Distinctive Brand Assets

'Building Distinctive Brand Assets' is a new book in the series How Brands Grow. It is written by Jenni Romaniuk, co-author of the second book by Byron Sharp. We have written a summary of this book, which you can download here for free.

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How Brands Grow at every level

Perhaps well known, but still always very indicative: the Tropicana case. A mistake that cost 23 million. It is certainly relevant now that the latest How Brands Grow book is out: Building Distinctive Brand Assets.

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Persona’s in segmentation research: a task apart

There is a debate currently raging on Twitter on the advantages and disadvantages of personas. Alan Klement, the author and expert on the Job-to-be-done (JTBD) theory, makes the case against personas because the naming and locations often do not reflect the most important elements of a demand segment (persona) although they are the most exciting in terms of communication.

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15 February 2018

Innovation leads to exponential growth

As an organisation, you want to know what your future looks like. It is sometimes said that ‘The best prophet for the future is the past’.

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2 February 2018

Innovation: what choices help you as a business?

Whether or not to innovate is not a choice; organisations that do not innovate cannot justify their existence. How and when you innovate in your business is a choice, however.

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1 December 2017

Nissan gives Intelligent Mobility boost by sponsoring Formula E

The Formula 1 season has just ended, but there’s no need for race fans to be bored. Next week, the third season of Formula E begins.

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28 November 2017

How popular is the Champions League now?

Following the winter break, there are no longer any Dutch clubs remaining in the knock-out phase of the Champions League. And it may be that Feyenoord was provisionally the last Dutch participant.

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20 November 2017

Euros create boost for women’s and girls’ football

This year, no-one could have missed the huge growth in women’s and girls’ football. Along with the KNVB, we have been monitoring the developments in the sport since 2014.

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Brand salience: attraction and mind presence at the right moment

The way we look at brand growth has changed in recent years. Attraction is currently the most important metric in research.

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Foresight Streaming: Being succesful by looking into the future.

How do you ensure that in this fast moving world, you remain one step ahead of the rest? If you could only gaze into a crystal ball, so that you could find out precisely where your growth opportunities lie...

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The solution to obtaining more and better feedback from your customers

Everyone knows them well, those emails in which companies ask for your opinions. “How many stars is your purchase worth?” “What do you think of our product?” “What did you think of your conversation with customer service?”

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Measuring the value of your brand

Brand equity or brand value, the value of your brand, is a vague concept.

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From satisfied to enthusiastic worker

You know the sensation: that warm feeling you sometimes get after a day's work. You switch off your computer and end your day with a satisfied feeling because everything went as it was supposed to.

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27 January 2017

Communication research for the government

Blauw Research is now a research partner for communication research for the National Government.

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26 January 2017

Association of Directors give their views on introducing new competition format

Op basis van de input van bestuurders van voetbalverenigingen heeft de KNVB het proces van invoering van nieuwe wedstrijdvormen voor pupillen vormgegeven.

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11 November 2016

AH XL online community to share customer experiences

Blauw has set up a temporary online community especially for the new AH XL store in Purmerend with 100 to 150 customers.

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2 November 2016

The Future of Sponsoring Research

Every half year, Blauw meets with its three UEFA Champions League (UCL) sponsoring partners.

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31 October 2016

Do you sometimes have a wire loose?

There was a major fuss recently. It was announced that the iPhone 7 would have no traditional 3.5 mm input to connect earphones with a cable! It was called Apple's biggest mistake ever and led to a great deal of publicity.

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20 October 2016

Sprinting to the ultimate goal

Quick, quicker, quickest! Agile working teams or scrum teams, are hot. Because with agile working you can develop something which responds to the market in a very short time. But working quicker can also be a disadvantage.

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26 September 2016

Innovation at Blauw: the Lab and start-ups!

Digital and mobile developments, clients with agile working methods, groundbreaking philosophies such as How Brands Grow, Big Data, Digital Analytics.

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20 September 2016

Blauw Research launches agile research label: SPRINT

SPRINT offers scrum teams solutions to integrate market research within agile projects.

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5 September 2016

Community research is… qualitative research with a quantitative twist

At Blauw Research, we do all kinds of research. Some of our projects are heavier on the qualitative and others are heavier on the quantitative, but we do it all.

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How 3x3 leads to 27 times flow

Allow three motivated parties, each with their own expertise and talents, to combine their strengths toward one higher common goal and the result can be tremendous.

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Can you make better predictions than a monkey?

Let’s say. You have the idea to let families goes on their holiday to France in a self-driving car. They arrive more relaxed and - more likely - their journey was more safe. An innovative idea, don’t you think?

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Anke Bergmans selected as Bureau researcher of the Year

As is customary every year, the MOAwards are handed out on the beach at Zandvoort. Anke Bergmans took the prize of Bureau Researcher of the Year back to Rotterdam.

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Brandtracking, Byron Sharp-way

Marktplaats called Blauw for a brand tracker, but actually wanted insights which they could use directly. The research bureau decided to get the ball rolling and to exchange classical brand measurement.

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14 September 2015

iBeacons link digital and physical world

iBeacons are often no more than a few centimetres in size and consist of a transmitter and a battery. And, just like a buoy or a lighthouse, they transmit a simple signal.

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2 February 2015

What does sustainability?

Wat levert duurzaamheid op?

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25 February 2013

Work the opposite of play?

Work the opposite of play?

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