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If the tobacco magnates have had their day in the world of professional sport sponsorship, then the pharmaceutical companies are ready to move in. Direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs has become big business. There are more adverts for medicines on primetime TV now than for new cars. And pharmaceutical marketing departments are always on the lookout for new promotional channels. Sport sponsorship seems to be the latest craze.
Of course, like the athletes themselves, only the elite make it to the top. Only the blockbuster products can successfully compete for the finite sponsorship packages up for grabs. The big names in the sporting world at present include Viagra (Major League Baseball), Levitra (National Football League) and Cialis (PGA Tour).
The deal between GSK and Bayer (co-marketers in the US for Levitra) and the NFL is football’s first sponsorship agreement with pharmaceutical companies. It allows GSK and Bayer to run men’s health awareness and education ads to the NFL audience, which totals around 120 million people on an average weekend.
In the past the NFL shied away from sponsorship deals with medical products. “Just after the Superbowl in 2003, we modified our stance regarding advertising from pharmaceutical companies,” says Brian McCarthy, spokesperson at the NFL. “We have watched the category over the last few years. It is heavily regulated and the FDA and FTC have authority over advertising claims, so we were confident that consumers would not be exposed to anything unsubstantiated. We also saw the success of pharmaceutical sponsorship in other sports like baseball and were confident that it would work in football too.”
The NFL permits sponsorship from therapeutic products in eight categories: allergies, cholesterol, dermatology, diabetes, gastrointensinal, hair renewal, prostate and erectile dysfunction.
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Sport sponsorship is especially attractive to drugs in the field of men’s health; the NFL, NBA and major league baseball all have a dedicated, loyal – and largely male – fan base. “There’s no real competition,” says McCarthy. “Men relate to sports and especially the NFL, which has a 60 percent male following. Drugs can reach a very passionate and loyal fan base that continually turns to the sport unlike any activity. Sports galvanise people – especially men – to tune in. They are one of the best repeat customers.”
“ED treatments make a lot of sense, because of their play to ego and masculinity,” says Mike Rea, managing director of IdeaPharma, referring to erectile dysfunction drugs. “They suggest that they provide a positive spin, rather than cancelling a negative, which most drugs are doing – there is something aspirational about them.” Rea also points to NiQuitin's sponsorship of the Williams Formula One team as a good match because Williams openly opposed tobacco sponsorship of the sport.
Rea says that the success of sponsorship really depends on the type of drug in question. “If the associations of the brand (for example, masculinity, speed, power, youth) are aligned with the sport, then it makes sense. If not, the sport is simply being used as a provider of ‘opportunities to see.’ ”
At the very least, then, sport sponsorship raises awareness among consumers. But when the sponsor’s brand values resonate with fans the benefits can go much deeper, argues McCarthy. “What consumers see is an association between a company or product and the sport. The NFL elevates the status of Levitra for fans.” In other words, one brand benefits from the equity of the other – Levitra has tapped into the NFL’s own strong brand.
Of course, the danger is that the drug and the sport become inextricably linked. Could Levitra, for example, become “the NFL drug”? This endorsement might work for football fans, but would possibly turn off other target populations.
Companies must certainly consider the possible dangers of high profile brand associations. Links with sports are great when everything is going well, but what happens when things turn sour? “We’ve all heard of stories of sponsors pulling out because a member of a team, for example, has done something unsavoury,” says Jeff Daniels, Director of Strategic Brand Communications at Grey Healthcare. “Sponsors want to be associated with success and vitality, but it can backfire if a person or team doesn’t behave.”
Such negative associations, however, are highly unlikely, particularly if companies stick to sponsorship at the macro level – events and leagues like the NFL or NBA, rather that individuals or teams. By far the biggest danger is that companies get bedazzled by the prestige of major league deals and fail to check for a return on investment.
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“Sponsorship is notoriously difficult to measure ROI from,” says Rea. “It is practically the bluntest marketing tool there is. One can track brand awareness from people interested in the sport versus those who aren't, but even that is still difficult.”
Perhaps pharmaceutical companies will have to be satisfied that sponsorship simply means increasing their brand visibility. Certainly more pharmaceutical sponsorship deals should be expected in the near future, although only in the US; the rules elsewhere prohibit direct to consumer advertising. “Pharma marketers are getting larger A&P budgets, and still have only a basic clue about what to do with them,” says Rea referring to the advertising and promotion budgets of pharmaceutical companies. “Sports are also losing some of their more traditional sponsors, so they will increasingly go to drug companies.”
Even if the millions of devoted sports fans vehemently resist the influence of sponsors’ marketing, at least these deals should begin the rapprochement between the pharma industry and the general public. A company that supports sport is a company with cred. [26-Jan-2004]
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Edwin Colyer is a science and technology writer based in Manchester, UK.
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Mar 29, 2004
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Celebrity Branding -- Alycia de Mesa
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As a star ascends it can take a product or two with it. Similarly, as a celebrity falls from grace, so goes the appeal of the brand.
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Jan 5, 2004
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Which Bud's for you? -- Mark Jarvis
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As Czech Budweiser prepares to launch its first international marketing campaign, the battle between the two Buds is bound to rise to a head.
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