While the history & tradition of combat sport & mixing martial arts can be traced back almost 3,000 years The UFC started in 1993 with a goal to answer the question, “Which martial art is truly the most effective in combat?

In 2001, along came Dana White and his business partners who bought the struggling company for USD $2m.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, and with a network of employees around the world, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually, featuring a massive global roster of talent from almost 80 countries, consistently selling out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe.

UFC programming is broadcast in over 165 countries and territories, via more than 60 global broadcast partners, to more than 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in over 40 different languages. UFC has the highest concentration of millennials (ages 18-34) in its fan base with 54% (compared to other top sports properties).

To take us inside sponsorship at UFC is Nick Smith, Vice President Global Partnerships.

You can connect with Nick on LinkedIn and find out more about UBS at ufc.com.

The global sponsorship portfolio at UBS is rooted in culture and sport including contemporary Art, with Art Basel as the flagship property, and Motorsports, currently Team Partner of Mercedes AMG-Petronas Formula One team, in addition to regional platforms.

Anneliese Mesilati oversees the UBS Arena naming rights agreement and the partnership with UBS Arena’s anchor tenant—the NHL’s New York Islanders.

Additional programs include the Founding Sponsorship of PlayersTV, the first ever athlete-owned media network dedicated to showcasing sports lifestyle and entertainment content, and Global Lead partnership of Art Basel – regionally Art Basel Miami Beach.

Alongside ideation, activation and management of regional sponsorship activities, Anneliese is focused on aligning initiatives with UBS’s leadership in sustainable investing and commitment to “Reimagine the power of investing and connect people for a better world.”

Prior to UBS, Anneliese has acted as a brand, marketing and communications lead for several financial services firms including Citi and RBC, among others.

You can connect with Anneliese on LinkedIn and find out more about UBS at www.ubs.com

The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under FIA regulations. The Supercars Championship holds races right across Australia and has often held one in New Zealand as well.

The vehicles used in the series are loosely based on road-going cars, obviously with modifications though.

Dick Johnson Racing is Australia’s oldest motor racing team and is one of the competing teams in the Supercars Championship, competing as the Shell V-Power Racing Team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team’s drivers have won ten Australian Touring Car Championship titles and the team has taken four victories in Australia’s premier race, the Bathurst 1000.

Nigel Calder is the team’s Head of Commercial and joins us to take us inside the Shell V-Power Racing Team.

You can connect with Nigel on LinkedIn and follow the Shell V-Power Racing Team at djr.com.au

As a client of KORE, we have also produced a case study looking at how the Shell V-Power Racing Team Achieve Real-Time Asset Tracking & Data Transparency Across Their Organisation with KORE Software. You can download it here.

Founded in 1960 and originally based in Oakland, California, the Raiders are a brand recognised right across the world, a brand that has found its way into popular culture.

The Raiders, however, now reside in Las Vegas where there are a little under 3 million residents. Around 43 million people, however, visit Vegas each year, essentially to a four-mile stretch.

It’s an interesting proposition as you would assume brands aren’t really interested in sponsoring the Raiders because of the population of Las Vegas. So, where do the Raiders focus and what is the uniqueness that they can offer brands?

To help answer that question, and others, and take us inside sponsorship at the Raiders, is Christian Howard, Vice President of Corporate Partnerships.

Christian spent 24 years at the LA Clippers initially working his way up from being a ticket sales rep to SVP Marketing Partnerships and Broadcasting. Christian moved to the Raiders in 2016, which was a year before NFL team owners voted, nearly unanimously, to approve the Raiders application to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas.

While success in Las Vegas has initially been strong, the Raiders aren’t a franchise to rest on their laurels. In fact, they’ve set themselves a goal of achieving US$100 million in sponsorship revenue.

Clearly, that’s not a small feat and a driving force toward that goal is Christian.

You can connect with Christian on LinkedIn and follow more at raiders.com

The 49ers entered professional football in 1946 as a member of the All-America Football Conference. They were founded by lumber magnate Tony Morabito, who was one of the first to realize that with the advent of air travel, truly national professional sports leagues were possible. 

Indeed, the 49ers were the very first team in the four major North American sports to originate on the West Coast.

Today, the 49ers brand is instantly recognised.

The conviction, passion, and character birthed, laid the sturdy foundation that has enabled the 49ers to become one of the NFL’s premier football powers.

To take us inside sponsorship at the 49ers is Senior Manager, Partnership Sales at San Francisco 49ers, Cameron O’Toole.

Cameron’s first role in sports was as a ball boy for his beloved Phoenix Suns but, post College, he found himself in a business ops role for the Seattle Reign FC in the Women’s National Soccer League. At the time, the Reign was an expansion club just as women’s sport was really starting to step into the spotlight.

From there, Cameron moved to the 49ers, holding multiple roles over the past 7 years, and now, as Senior Manager, Partnership Sales, he takes us inside sponsorship at San Francisco 49ers.

You can connect with Cameron on LinkedIn and learn more about the 49ers at 49ers.com

Enjoy.

When you think of the UEFA Champions League and sponsors, you think of Heineken. When you think of Formula 1 and sponsors, you probably think of Heineken as well.

Heineken could have reached those synonymous positions simply through longevity of logo slapping and the long association of sport and beer. We have all, however, seen the amazing activations Heineken executes.

Heineken is a huge company, with 25 million Heinekens served each day across 192 countries. Like all great companies though, they evolve and lead. It has been fantastic to see Heineken’s commitment to women’s sport and the integration of their zero-alcohol beer into existing sponsorships.

To take us inside sponsorship at Heineken, Thomas Mulders, Senior Global Sponsorship Manager, joins us on the show. Thomas is closing in on eight years at Heineken, having begun in marketing and social media at the Heineken Experience. These days Thomas manages UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europe Conference League sponsorships at a global level. He also manages partnerships with top-tier museums in Amsterdam.

In the show, there is mention of some amazing activations Heineken has undertaken. Be sure to check out these links.

Heineken – The Jonah Lomu Machine
Heineken – The Dilemma
Heineken – The Negotiation

Enjoy

We are very privileged to be able welcome such amazing guests onto this show and chat to them about their work. And, despite the ongoing challenges faced by the world, 2022 gave us another round of great guests and episodes full of excellent advice, insights, and experiences.

Now, as always, we’ve wrapped up the year and re-visited the 12 episodes of Inside Sponsorship from 2022. You might have seen on social media that, for each show, we pull out a 30-45 second snippet and turn it into a video to help whet your appetite. As such, we’ve gone back and pulled the full question and answer, for that snippet, and created a best of 2022 show for you.

Enjoy.

It feels pretty redundant to note that there has been a lot of change in the world in recent times and, of course, those working in the sponsorship space know this only too well.

Included on that front is the employment market, a popular news topic at the moment. There are fewer people moving between countries, people returning home to their countries, and talk of the great resignation, silent quitting, and employment padding.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that the industry still needs quality professionals to sell, manage, and activate sponsorships. That’s why, in this episode, we’ll take a look at the current employment market and how it relates to sponsorship professionals and sports and entertainment more broadly.

To help us do that, Jonathan Harris, Managing Partner, ANZ, at SRI, joins us.

SRI is an executive search and consulting firm focused on driving individual, team and organisational performance in converging and transforming industries: media, entertainment, gaming & esports, fashion, technology, sport, and sporting goods.

So, whether you are looking to make a move to a new job, or you want to attract and retain the best talent, Jonathan is well-placed to provide us with an update.

You can connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn and find out more about SRI on their website.

Enjoy