I’ve spent the last week devastated, angry, and proud. Why? I’m a Sydney Swans fan. But I’m not here to whinge. I’m here to use this as an illustration of why the fan response to the past week should serve as a wakeup call to sponsors.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Swans supporter. Massive. My husband and I have been high-level members for many years. Up to now, it’s been mostly tribal joy, with a few blips of disappointment. But the events of last week… well, that has been a rollercoaster.
If you’re not familiar with the situation, after winning a game in Melbourne and solidifying second spot on the ladder with one game to play in the regular season, five players – including several big stars – went out drinking, when back at the hotel, ordered up some uh… hostesses, allegedly partook in drugs, and were accused of sexual assault and interviewed by police.
KA-BOOOOM!!
When the story broke on Monday morning, fans of the club – the club with an unimpeachable reputation, the club with class, our club – were immediately devastated. Appalled at the alleged behaviour toward women. Gobsmacked at the stupidity and selfishness of the decisions they made. These were leaders of the club, including the vice captain, FFS! And all this right before what was looking like a promising finals run.
(Bear with me. Point coming soon.)
I was grieving like I’d lost a loved one, and I wasn’t alone. Malaise gripped the fan base, with many of us bewildered at how deeply it affected us.
To their credit, the Swans have done pretty much everything right since the news broke, including standing down the players straightaway, even though that made our finals chances much slimmer, cooperating with the police, and denouncing all of the behaviour as antithetical to everything the club stands for.
Then came Sunday. The last game of the season. We were there. All the people who have sat near us for years were there. It was a healthy crowd, all wondering how our club would fare, depleted and probably traumatised.
They stood up. The fans stood up with them. They triumphed over the circumstances. The crowd went wild.
Well, the players have had their individual sponsorships put on hold, as they should. But that’s not the big sponsorship takeaway here.
The big takeaway is about where the real power of sponsorship is, because it’s not with visibility. It’s not with data capture. And it’s not with all the banal “proud sponsor of” hoo-ha.
No, this has been a huge demonstration of what really drives sponsorship value and results: Meaning and passion. That depth of feeling people have for the teams, events, cultural organisations, charities, etc that they love. That depth of feeling in good times and bad – the boundless joy, the pride, the crushing disappointment. That’s where sponsorship’s power lies.
Smart sponsors aren’t leveraging benefits, they’re leveraging emotion. They’re not leveraging visibility, they’re leveraging meaning. They’re not messaging to fans, they’re authentically aligning with fan passions.
It can be easy to look at a fanbase as a target market – and for brands, they are a target market – but if you treat them as simply the receiving end of your marketing efforts, you’re overlooking the most valuable elements of your investment.
This blog is a good reminder. Please read The One Critical Skill Most Sponsorship Professionals Lack.
Whether the Swans’ finals campaign goes like we’d hoped or not…
Whether the players face any legal consequences for their choices…
Whether any of those players redeem themselves enough to play on in the red and white…
The focus and talent and sheer grit of the club has honoured the fans, and the fans still love them for it. And we’re still devastated. Two things, both true.
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