The Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Olympic Committee and Kids Help Phone are among the most valuable sponsorships in Canada, according to a new study by Ipsos Reid and TrojanOne.
Canada’s Most Valuable Property (MVP) study, which was first conducted in 2012, draws on qualitative input from industry experts and a nationwide survey of 1,000 Canadians. In the study, the performance of 100 Canadian sponsorship properties was measured across a number of sectors, including sports, arts, causes, festivals/events and entertainment.
“Increasingly, companies are looking for a return on investment from the sponsorship side, not just from other [marketing] investments that they make,” said Jordan Levitin, senior vice-president at Ipsos Reid in Toronto.
So, the research firm set out to understand what would make their evaluations a better return on investment. Metrics typically focus on event attendance, media impressions or sales tracking. But, these don’t capture consumers’ emotional connection to a company’s sponsorship activities, which ultimately influences consumer behaviour, according to Ipsos.
The emotional connection is based on seven drivers, including personal involvement (touching what’s important in their everyday lives), creating memorable experiences, sponsor fit, and impact on the cause (trust in the property to make their community or the world a better place), among others.
The most valuable properties in each category are:
- Health Causes and Overall MVP: Canadian Cancer Society
- Professional Sports: The Grey Cup and each Canadian’s favourite NHL team (tie)
- Amateur Sports: Canadian Olympic Committee
- Arts: Major Museums and Art Galleries
- Entertainment: Nearest Theme Park/Attraction
- Events: Winter Cultural Festivals
- Youth Causes: Kids Help Phone
- Social Causes: World Wildlife Fund
Overall winner Canadian Cancer Society does very well on personal involvement on two levels, said Levitin. “One is, everyone knows somebody that’s been touched by cancer.” At the same time, its community fundraising events, such as Relay for Life, create the sense that Canadians can get involved with the cause. The Canadian Cancer Society and its Relay for Life event were the top-ranked “MVP” in Ipsos’ 2012 study as well.
Kids Help Phone, a confidential 24/hour telephone and online counselling service for children and youth, scored very well on uniqueness. “There’s an organization that does something that nobody else does,” said Levitin.
New this year, Ipsos Reid looked at the value metrics separately for men and women, as well as for different age groups. “Women are a little more cause-oriented,” said Levitin. “Where we see that is the MVPs for amateur sport. Both [men and women] place the Canadian Olympic Committee as number one – that’s where they feel the most connection. But while the men would go straight to Hockey Canada for number two, the women would put the Canadian Paralympic Committee at number two.”
And for teenagers, the most valuable properties are local high school sports organizations, while Kids Help Phone and the Much Music Video Awards made the top three.
