ieg sponsorship report · 2016-05-09 · 2016 ieg, llc. all rights reserved. 6 ieg sponsorship...

© 2016 IEG, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 1

IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT

BEVERAGES

SWEET SASSAFRAS! HARD ROOT BEER TAPS NEW SPONSORSHIPS Breweries increase use of sponsorship to promote hard sodas. Hard root beer is gaining popularity, and brewers are increasingly using sponsorship to stake a claim to the quickly growing category. Among recent deals, Coney Island Brewing Co. is sponsoring next month’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on behalf of its eponymous hard root beer, while Anheuser-Busch InBev promoted Best Damn Root Beer as part of a new multi-brand partnership with last month’s South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive conference. In addition, Small Town Brewery earlier this month sponsored Baconfest Chicago on behalf of Not Your Father’s Root Beer. Industry sources point to the 2015 national launch of Not Your Father’s as kick-starting demand for hard root beer. The product is distributed by Pabst Brewing Co., which also owns an equity stake in Small Town Brewery. “The category didn’t exist 18 months ago. It emerged out of the blue,” said Rob Kreszswick, director of sales with Coney Island Brewing, which is owned by The Boston Beer Co. Demonstrating the beverage’s growing popularity, Coney Island Hard Root Beer is among the 12 best-selling craft beer brands in the U.S., he said. “To be in the top 12 is a pretty good milestone.” Coney Island partnered with Bonnaroo to reach young adults developing a taste for alcoholic beverages, said Kreszswick “They’re coming into alcoholic beverages and looking for things they grew up with. The sponsorship allows us to tap into that core drinker in an environment where they’re willing to try something different.” The brewery will sample root beer floats at the festival to play up the beverage’s nostalgic positioning, he said. Coney Island also gains pouring rights at the festival, said Alex Machurov, senior director of new business & partnerships with Superfly, the producer of the Bonnaroo music fest.

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MAY 9, 2016



“There’s a buzz around hard root beer. It’s a tasty, refreshing craft beer that will complement the overall under-the-sun experience.” Bonnaroo represents Coney Island Brewing’s first partnership outside its New York City home turf. Local ties include the Brooklyn Music Festival, SummerScreen and the summer concert series at MCU Park—home to the Brooklyn Cyclones. Best Damn Finds Success At SXSWAnheuser-Busch promoted Best Damn Root Beer at SXSW Interactive with the “Best Damn Billboard Bar,” an on-site footprint that, in addition to featuring a billboard that served beer, also offered live music, food trucks and games.

The program paid off on multiple fronts:• 2,500-plus attendees (92 percent of KPI)• 3,000-plus samples (102 percent of KPI)• 93 percent positive social sentiment

A-B, which launched Best Damn Root Beer in late 2015, also used the Bill-bar to promote the March launch of Best Damn Cherry Cola.

Sources Coney Island Brewing Co., Tel: 518/406-5640 Superfly, Tel: 212/375-9652



SPONSOR PROFILE

SPAM EXTENDS SHELF LIFE OF SPAMERICAN! TOUR Canned meat hits the road to reach new customers. Spam is hitting the road. Again. Looking to draw new consumers into the Spam fold, Hormel Foods Corp. has launched year two of The Spamerican! Tour. The tour will visit music festivals, air force bases and other locations over the next four months, including a July 28-29 stop in Austin, Minn. to celebrate Hormel’s 125th anniversary. Capitalizing on Spam’s unexpected presence in restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles, Hormel is using the program to sample recipes created by Dean Fearing and other celebrity chefs. Featured samples include cinnamon crusted Spam waffles with apricot jam drizzle and barbeque Spam jalapeno tacos with pineapple salsa.

“People have great experiences with our brand, and we want to get those experiences to people who know us already and those who have yet to try us,” said Jennifer Nolander, Spam senior marketing manager.

The marketing program reflects Spam’s growing use of experiential marketing, said Nolander. “Experiential marketing has become a more impactful way for us to engage consumers. So far it has been a great success.”

Hormel renewed the program in 2016 based on PR impressions and consumer feedback from the tour’s initial run, said Nolander, who recently received a thank-you letter from a consumer who attended last month’s Stagecoach music festival, one of the tour’s stops.

“She said she is not a customer, but is going to purchase Spam after trying some samples. That’s what Spamerican is all about.”

Hormel in 2016 added a new component to the program: a tie-in with Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit that sends care packages to overseas troops. Consumers who visit Spam’s on-site footprint or Spam.com can write a letter to a recruit, with Spam donating $1 to the nonprofit for every letter written.

The cause overlay supports Spam’s long-running support of the military, said Nolander, noting that Hormel shipped over 100 million pounds of the meat product to U.S. troops and allies serving in World War II.

Several of the chefs also have military backgrounds including tour host and Food Network personality Sunny Anderson.

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“The military has always been an important part of our brand, and we want to say thank you to service members who have done so much for our country.” The tour will visit 16 markets this year, up from 12 in 2015. In addition to Stagecoach, stops include the Wildflower Arts and Music Festival (Dallas), the Red, White and Boom! fireworks show (Columbus, Ohio) and the Country Thunder music festival (Twin Lakes, Minn.). The tour also will visit retailers in tour markets, said Norlander. “That’s a very important part of the program. It ties together Spam fans and brings us a cohesive program. Hormel promotes the tour on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), digital media and out-of-home media.

Match Marketing Group negotiated the partnerships and executes the program. Burson Marsteller and BBDO Minneapolis help coordinate messaging and creative. Apart from the Spamerica Tour, Spam’s largest partnership is the Waikiki Spam Jam Festival in Hawaii. The food festival features Spam-inspired dishes from roughly 20 restaurants in a four-block area in Waikiki. Spam has sponsored the festival for the past 14 years, said Nolander. Sales of Spam fell nearly 1 percent to $173.4 million in the year-ended April 17, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.

Source Hormel Foods Corp., Tel: 507/437-5611



EMERGING CATEGORY

SPEAKMAN USES SPONSORSHIP TO PROMOTE WATER CONSERVATION Legacy shower head brand joins growing list of bath product companies using sponsorship as a marketing platform.

Speakman Co. is using music festivals, nonprofits and other partnerships to help articulate its water conservation message.

The 147-year-old maker of shower heads and plumbing products celebrated World Water Day (March 22) with a pledge to help the U.S. save one billion gallons of water in 2016.

The company—perhaps best known for installations in high-end hotels—hopes to achieve that goal by encouraging consumers to change the way they shower, including use of the Speakman Reaction low-flow shower head.

Speakman, which launched the $25 shower head last year, says the product can reduce water waste by up to 20 percent per shower.

“We all know that water is one of our most precious resources. But we all love our showers too, don’t we? Speakman is committed to protecting both—water and a great shower,” said Kristin Barclay, Speakman vice president of product and marketing, in a statement.

The company has enlisted four partners to promote the campaign, three of which are located near its New Castle, Delaware headquarters: The Firefly Music Festival, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and the Nature Conservancy Delaware. Speakman also has partnered with the Surfrider Foundation.

Speakman is leveraging the ties to amplify its conservation message via a mix of digital and social media, cause marketing and product installations.

Speakman kicked off the Surfrider partnership with “Every Drop Counts,” a campaign that encourages consumers to skip a shower to save water. The company promotes the campaign with the “EveryDropCounts” hashtag.

Next month, Speakman will install 400 Reaction showerheads at the Firefly music festival, around which it will encourage consumers to limit their shower to the length of one song via the “OneSongLong” hashtag.

Later this summer, Speakman and Dogfish Brewery will ask consumers to “have a cold one” (#HaveAColdOne) by taking a cold shower to save energy. Speakman also will sponsor the brewery’s Dogfish Dash, a road race that benefits the Nature Conservancy.

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In addition, Speakman will donate $1 to the Surfrider Foundation and the Nature Conservancy Delaware (up to $100,000) each time a “Make Your Shower Count” (#MakeYourShowerCount) video is shared on social media. Speakman promotes the campaign, videos and other content on www.MakeYourShowerCount.com. Speakman joins a growing list of bath product companies using sponsorship as a marketing platform. Kohler Co. this year renewed its sponsorship of the Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival while Delta Faucet Co. last year sponsored the Warrior Dash obstacle course series.

Source Speakman Co., Tel: 302/764-7100



CATEGORY UPDATE

BEEF JERKY GOES UPSCALE, AND NEW SPONSORSHIPS FOLLOW Jerky makers increase use of sponsorship to reach new audiences and promote new products.

Who would have guessed? Beef jerky is going upscale.

Driven by the growing trend of healthy snacks, meat snack makers are rolling out products with innovative flavors and all-natural options targeted at health-conscious consumers looking for nourishing protein.

And the food industry has taken notice.

General Mills, Inc. this year purchased Epic Provisions, a maker of products ranging from jerky bites to trail mix, while The Hershey Co. last year acquired Krave, a manufacturer of specialty meat snacks.

The acquisitions come amid growing popularity of jerky. Meat snack consumption climbed 18 percent from 2008 to 2015, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm. Dollar sales of jerky rose 2.83 percent in the year-ended March 20, 2016, according to IRI, a Chicago-based research firm.

And companies are increasingly using sponsorship to promote the products. Case in point: Hershey included Krave as part of its new five-year partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Dollar sales of Krave soared 44 percent in the year-ended March 20, according to IRI.

Other recent deals focus on the category’s traditional audience: young adult men. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are more likely than any other age group to graze on snacks, according to NPD. Men eat far more meat snacks than women, although women are increasing consumption of protein-packed treats.

Ties include Oberto and Nitro Circus, Jack Link’s and the Red Bull Crashed Ice Competition in St. Louis, and Perky Jerky and Aspen Snowmass.

Jerky makers use sponsorship to accomplish the following objectives:• Access sampling rights• Gain sales rights• Access digital content • Support brand positioning• Gain IP for retail promotions

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THE TEN LARGEST BRANDS IN THE JERKY CATEGORY

Brand Dollar Sales YOY% Change Dollar ShareJack Link’s $745M (7.70%) 50.43%Private Label $136M 0.57% 9.25%Oh Boy Oberto $63M (2.92%) 4.28%Old Trapper $54M 88.94% 3.70%Matador by Jack Link’s $48M (0.68%) 3.28%Bridgford Sweet Baby Rays $42M 36.03% 2.85%Krave $35M 43.67% 2.42%Jack Link’s Small Batch $33M 54.47% 2.24%World Kitchens $23M (7.86%) 1.59%Tillamook County Smoker $21M 8.01% 1.43%

Sales in supermarkets, drug stores, mass market retailers, gas/C-stores; military commissaries and select club and dollar stores in the 52-weeks ending March 20, 2016, per IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.



ABOUT IEG AND ESP PROPERTIES

IEG has shaped and defined sponsorship over three decades. It is the globally recognized source for industry insights, trends, training and events via sponsorship.com, its annual conference, online publications, trend reports, surveys and webinars.

IEG is part of ESP Properties, a WPP company. As a commercial and creative advisor for rightsholders, ESP Properties helps organizations unlock greater value from their audiences and brand partnerships.

Our consulting team assesses and advises how to grow the value of rightsholders’ commercial programs. We do this through a full range of services across data, digital and content development to better understand audiences and create more relevant ways to engage with them. This provides brand partners with new ways to connect with communities of fans and followers, growing the potential value of commercial partnerships.

Our sales team provides partnership strategy and sales representation to the world’s most active sponsors, within and beyond the WPP network of brand clients. Through WPP we have extensive contacts and deep insights into what it takes to create successful partnerships.

For more information about IEG and the sponsorship industry, please visit www.sponsorship.com, www.espglobal.com, or call +1 312 944 1727.

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ieg sponsorship report · 2016-05-09 · 2016 ieg, llc. all rights reserved. 6 ieg sponsorship...

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