The Swiss Army Knife of Measurement?
Since sponsorship often contains many different types of media under a single deal, properties often must measure pieces of the puzzle in isolation and piece them together for the client. Now one company is attempting to aggregate various forms of media valuation under one roof (one application), designed for sponsorship. Meet Turnkey Sports and Entertainment's new online reporting tool, Activator. It is intended to consolidate and facilitate management, measurement & reporting of cross-media marketing partnerships. While Activator is still in Beta, Turnkey says it has partnered with measurement domain experts across several sectors of media including:
“Marketers are migrating toward sponsorships, not only because they engage consumers across multiple media platforms, but also because they immerse brands and consumers into the experience of the event, show or sport,” said Len Perna, President & CEO of Turnkey. “ACTIVATOR gives marketing partners a 24/7 interactive two-way Channel to better communicate, coordinate & activate marketing partnerships, and then these industry leading tools to measure the media and non-media assets,” said Perna.
“In a time where sports marketing investments are scrutinized more than ever, ACTIVATOR is an industry wide game changer,” said Chris Hibbs, Senior Director of Sales & Marketing for the NFL’s Chicago Bears, who made a long-term commitment to Turnkey as ACTIVATOR’S development partner. “This type of tool is sorely needed in the sports business and the Chicago Bears are thrilled to be industry leaders in this space. ACTIVATOR will help us better service and activate our partners, and demonstrate return on investment (ROI) every day,” said Hibbs.
One of the Bears’ marketing partners is MillerCoors, which sponsors more than fifty professional and collegiate sports teams. Samira Zebian, Brand Manager, Sports & Entertainment Sponsorship Marketing at MillerCoors, said: “We applaud the Bears for pioneering this tool. There is a need for a sophisticated platform to organize, track and archive sponsorship activation. The real innovation lies in ACTIVATOR’S partnership with the leading measurement companies, who can help monetize alliance benefits and inform ROI analysis.”
Over the next six months, Turnkey will be working with a number of Beta clients, sponsors and properties across the industry, to help perfect and customize the system.
“We have 8 full time partner activation specialists here at the Suns and treat partner ROI very seriously. ACTIVATOR is spectacular in how it ensures that we stay on top of every detail, driving every ounce of return for key partners,” said Rick Welts, President & CEO of the NBA Phoenix Suns.
“It’s a brave new world - our partners expect more than they did a year ago,” said Tod Leiweke, Chief Executive Officer of Vulcan Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns and operates the MLS Seattle Sounders FC, the NBA Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL Seattle Seahawks. “The two-way openness and accountability fostered by ACTIVATOR is unique and extremely valuable to us and our marketing partners,” said Leiweke.
