General Electric Charges up Sponsorship Activity
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IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT July 25, 2011 800/834-4850 | www.IEGSR.com ONE-ON-ONE General Electric Charges Up Sponsorship Activity Sponsorship takes on increased importance for GE as a platform to demonstrate technology, build visibility outside the U.S. and ultimately drive new business. While it may have been a relative latecomer to sponsorship, General Electric Co. is quickly making up lost ground. The company—which makes everything from aircraft engines to medical imaging equipment and household appliances— has significantly increased its sponsorship portfolio since partnering with the International Olympic Committee’s TOP program in 2005. Case in point: The company this year has inked new multiyear partnerships with the PGA Tour and the Team Lotus Formula 1 team. In addition, GE last month extended its IOC TOP program through 2020. IEG SR checked in with Chris Katsuleres, director of Olympic marketing and sports programs, about GE’s approach to sponsorship, how it activates ties, its success from the Beijing Olympics and other topics. Below are edited excerpts from the interview. IEG SR: GE has significantly increased its use of sponsorship this year. What kind of role does sponsorship play for the company? Katsuleres: Sponsorship has definitely taken on increased importance for General Electric. When we look at sponsorship, we look for opportunities where we can participate from a technological standpoint. That’s the baseline for every sponsorship. What kind of technology can we infuse into the sponsored team or event? With the Olympics, we help power events and provide healthcare to athletes. We also provide healthcare technology for athletes on the PGA Tour. Technology also plays a major role in Formula 1, which is a relevant and evolving opportunity for us. There’s a ton of potential technology applications, and we’re working with Team Lotus to see where we can infuse our technology. © 2011 IEG, LLC. All rights reserved. 1 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT IEG SR: Do you activate in any other ways? Katsuleres: It varies from property to property. We use relevant technology points to form the basis of our storytelling. We talk about the power generation contribution GE is making to the London Games using our biogas technology. In the healthcare space, we talk about the healthcare technologies that we have made available to athletes. That’s a fundamental part of our storytelling. We also use client hospitality and customer engagement events. We do an extensive program at each Olympic game, and we’re doing customer programs at PGA Tour events. We’re just starting those programs around our Team Lotus sponsorship. IEG SR: GE targets both business and consumer audiences. Do you ever use sponsorship to reach consumer targets? Katsuleres: There is a consumer aspect to our business, primarily through our lighting and appliance businesses. Both of those businesses run activation programs around the Olympics. That includes the use of athletes in advertising campaigns and in-store retail promotions. Apart from those two businesses, everything else we do are traditional business-to-business types of relationships. IEG SR: Tell me about your PGA Tour sponsorship. Katsuleres: We announced the partnership in March. It’s something we’re excited about. It gives us an opportunity to take our Healthymagination platform into local communities on a weekly basis. We’ve been working closely with NBC to be part of the tournament broadcasts. We had a vignette that was tied to a series of body mass index scans of 25 players. We’ll run more vignettes that talk about healthcare and getting the most out of your golf game. We also have an on-site consumer experience where fans get the opportunity to see ultrasound, MRI and other GE technology. IEG SR: What is the gist of your Team Lotus sponsorship? Katsuleres: We’re just starting to work on the program, but it’s definitely a partnership where we’ll integrate technology. That could include battery technology, composite materials and aerodynamic technology that could potentially help the team next season. Team Lotus is a new team—they’re just two years old. We have the opportunity to get in at the ground floor and help them make a lot of progress. They had a strong first season, and we’re hoping that success will continue. IEG SR: Are you using the partnership to build relations with a customer? Team Lotus chief Tony Fernandez is the chief executive of AirAsia, a Malaysian airline that is in the process of finalizing a large order of planes from Airbus S.A.S. Those plans need engines, which is a product GE makes. Katsuleres: We do have a preexisting relationship with Tony Fernandez. We have a very successful relationship with Tony and the growth of AirAsia. He started the airline with two planes, and we have seen him grow the company into a successful organization. © 2011 IEG, LLC. All rights reserved. 2 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT When we looked at the potential of the team, we saw how Tony has been able to grow a business into a successful organization. We saw that potential with Team Lotus. It’s a strong and healthy relationship and we’re looking forward to working with Tony and the team moving forward. IEG SR: Tell me about GE’s Olympic program. Katsuleres: We’re hard at work providing infrastructure opportunities to support the build-out for the London games. We will have GE technology in virtually all competition and non-competition venues. That includes power generation, lighting, healthcare and a number of other things. At each host city, we try to develop a legacy program to leave behind. In London we decided to work with Homerton University Hospital, which is located on the east end of London. The hospital will serve as the main hospital for athletes. We spoke with hospital administrators several years ago about what we could do to help them. We ended up donating several million dollars worth of neonatal care equipment that the hospital needed. It was amazing to see their joy when we told them about the donation. IEG SR: What categories does GE receive exclusivity in? Katsuleres: One of the first things I was told after I started working at GE is that GE stands for generally everything. Our exclusivity includes a number of products and services including aircraft engines, lighting, power generation, water processing technology, locomotives and other things. It’s a diverse set of categories. IEG SR: How does GE measure success? Katsuleres: We measure in a couple of ways. One of our core objectives is the commercial value a sponsorship brings to the company. Take the Beijing Olympics as an example. We participated in approximately 700 infrastructure projects ranging from stadium development to wind farms. Those are big commercial opportunities to drive growth. We also measure from a brand perspective. Does a sponsorship help us grow and enhance overall awareness and equity of the brand outside the U.S.? China is a perfect example of how we use the Olympics as a platform to tell our infrastructure and health care capabilities. In 2005 our brand wasn’t widely known, and people largely knew us for our legacy lines of business, lighting and appliances. By 2008 we were widely known for power generation, water processing technology and what we do in the healthcare space. Editor’s note: IMG helps General Electric develop sponsorship strategy and execute ties. Source General Electric Co., Tel: 203/373-2211 © 2011 IEG, LLC. All rights reserved. 3 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT July 25, 2011 800/834-4850 | www.IEGSR.com SPONSOR PROFILE Ben & Jerry’s Scoops Up New Music Festival Sponsorship Ice cream brand creates partnerships that help generate sales and support philanthropic initiatives. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. is expanding its partnership with event producer Superfly Presents with a new sponsorship of the Aug. 12-14 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco, Calif. The tie builds on the ice cream company’s two-year-old sponsorship of Superfly’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, around which it rolled out a festival-themed ice cream flavor last year. The Unilever plc subsidiary created the flavor—dubbed Bonnaroo Buzz—to update its portfolio of music-themed flavors and build relevancy among young adult consumers. The company has developed a handful of flavors with musicians over the years including Jerry Garcia—it’s first music tie-in—as SIDEBAR well as Phish, Willie Nelson and the Dave Matthews Band. Ben & Jerry’s Inks New Deals To Support Sampling Campaign “We have a heritage of partnering with musicians that come In addition to San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music and Arts out of the jam band scene, and we were trying to think of how Festival, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. this year has signed we could evolve our music partnerships in a way that allowed a handful of new deals to support a five-market sampling us to stay true to our heritage but become more relevant to campaign. today’s audience,” said Jay Curley, Ben & Jerry’s integrated The sponsorships primarily focus on LGBT events and music marketing manager. festivals including the Sizzle circuit party in Miami and The Governors Ball music festival in New York City. The iconic ice cream brand was drawn to Bonnaroo due to the festival’s evolving programming, he said. Ben & Jerry’s is using the ties to create anchor events in each market. The company samples product at the events as well as other locations announced through its Twitter feed. “Bonnaroo has a heritage in the jam band scene, but they have started to book more modern, eclectic American music.