There’s no denying the fanaticism of sports fans. For the die-hard supporter, no detail of a team’s activity is left unexplored – stats are meticulously poured over, every managerial move and trade rumour is carefully scrutinised, and should someone overly criticise your favourite team or player, well, things can get ugly.

This passion spills out to over all corners of the sports world – including the brands that back the teams and players. It’s impossible to ignore – you see branding everywhere: on uniforms, in stadiums, on the pitch and even in the names of some teams. And getting it right can be a key part of retaining a loyal fan base.

When the UK’s Liverpool F.C. uniforms first donned the Hitachi logo back in 1979 ­– making them the first English professional club to have a sponsor’s logo on their shirts – it was a difficult adjustment for many fans. Initially, there was so much controversy surrounding the decision that there was a short-lived ban on televising footage of the club’s games. Nevertheless, the trend gained momentum and nowadays a professional club without a visible sponsor is virtually unheard of.

These days an English Premier League club can draw in tens of millions in sponsorship alone, begging the question: why are brands so willing to put their money into sports?

Robert Alleyne, Research Manager for Synovate UK, believes that a brand can become more attractive by developing a close association with something a consumer loves. Be it a TV show, a music festival or a sports team, the consumer has chosen to love that thing, and if the brand can associate itself closely enough, it can benefit from this same love and passion.

“If done well, these associations will make the brand more top-of-mind and ultimately drive brand desire because whenever they think of the event or team that they love, they automatically think of the brand.”

Alleyne goes on to say that sponsorship can’t just be seen as a form of advertising – far from it actually. The best kind of sponsorship should actually seek to build a meaningful and lasting relationship between the brand and the sporting entity.

This means that brands cannot be paired up with different sporting entities randomly. Iain Aikman, Research Manager for Synovate UK, expands on this: “A topical recent event is the All England Lawn Tennis Championships, better known as Wimbledon. Evian is the official water supplier of the tournament and is associated with the tradition, heritage, quality and premium image that Wimbledon stands for. Other sponsors of the tournament include premium brands such as Rolex and Ralph Lauren, which helps both the image of the tournament and the other brands sponsoring the event.”

Sponsorship, then, is all about making the right fit and this means that the locality of the sporting entity needs to be taken into consideration. Which brand sponsors and what sporting entity depends on geographical location as well as the media coverage that goes with it. A good example can be seen in the differences between the Scottish Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, as Aikman explains: “In the domestic Scottish competition, smaller brands are more likely to be associated with the teams and the organisation as it has less of an audience. By contrast, the global appeal of the Champions League attracts the bigger brands that are readily available in a number of countries as the exposure demands a higher investment.”

When assessing sponsorship opportunities, one of the most important considerations is the return on investment (ROI) and how it can be measured. Alleyne explains: “Sponsorship is about having a large impact on a small group - those most involved with the sponsor vehicle - versus impacting everyone. ROI should always be measured against the target group.” Alleyne adds that the nature of sponsorship makes brand desire a great measure of success. “Increasing brand desire is a good measure of success because it links directly to market share and also measures the strength of the brand relationship.”

Aikman does offer a word of warning for the sponsorship of sports teams, as it can backfire. Sales of Suga Puffs in the Wearside and Teeside regions of the UK reportedly dropped after an advert was televised that showed Suga Puffs’ Honey Monster playing football in a Newcastle United shirt – apparently fans of rivals Sunderland and Middlesborough were not amused. Although this proved only to be an amusing blip, it is worth bearing in mind for brands.

“This is a real issue in Scotland where the Old Firm Derby between Rangers and Celtic stirs passions so deep that sponsors don’t risk alienating one half of the divide and, as a result, Tennent’s lager sponsors both teams, as did Carling and the broadcaster NTL before that,” says Aikman.

All in all, however, the right sponsorship has the potential to improve desire for a brand and can be a very important medium for doing so, if done correctly. At its most basic level, Aikman says: “Sponsorship can improve brand awareness and open the possibility for a brand to enter a consumer’s consideration set or repertoire.”

Contact Iain Aikman and Robert Alleyne, both Research Managers for Synovate UK, at iain.aikman@synovate.com and robert.alleyne@synovate.com for more information.