Ace footy-ghana.com columnist, Lexis Koufie-Amartey examines the potential growth of First Capital Plus Bank's sponsorship of the Ghanaian league and assesses the objectives the sponsorship can achieve for their brand in an already cluttered banking marketplace.
When First Capital Plus Bank was announced as the new sponsor of Ghana’s Premier League after signing a 5-year sponsorship deal worth ten million U.S dollars with the Ghana Football Association, many saw it as a timely intervention. And reasonably so.
This is a league that has lots of obstacles against its progress despite the abundance of talent. Bad pitches, below standard stadia, low turnout of fans on match days, hooliganism, insufficient funding and sponsorship of club sides and the league itself, bad officiating, age falsification, lack of comprehensive records, etc have continously plaued the league. The systems and structures that are supposed to be working to enhance the corporate image of the league has been non-existent. Not many sponsors were interested in sponsoring the league. So First Capital Plus Bank's decision to make payments of $2m annually for five years has been spoken of as the league finally getting something of a renaissance.
But what does the bank get in return for this commitment? What sort of mileage is the bank getting that will convince other brands to associate themselves with the league?
The agreement with the Ghana Football Association includes title sponsorship of the league, exclusive marketing rights, and extensive advertising privileges amongst other things. That's the potential benefit the bank seeks to derive from this partnership. First Capital Plus Bank expects to raise brand awareness and develop brand preferences in their marked marketplaces as well as create positive public relations. They are not sponsoring the league as an act of charity – rather as a corporate decision that must provide a positive return on their investment.
The Football Association failed to give Glo this mileage which would have matched the annual $3 million they were investing. Glo felt short-changed and that was why a compromised agreement was later reached between both parties, where the GFA agreed to accept a 30% discount on the payments. That was a new low for a league that was already struggling money-wise and which had weakened and faltered in the direction it was going. What needed to be fixed before this agreement with First Capital Plus Bank to a regrettable extent has not been fixed. The league still hasn't solved its biggest problems, which everyday highlights its downward spiral. The fans are disappearing, the money is vanishing, and the once-sterling reputation may be gone for good.
So make no mistake, there is an element of uncertainty about First Capital Plus Bank putting their assets on the line here. Maybe they have gone through a review process which includes a full risk assessment and are convinced that their reputation could weather certain liabilities, if they eventually befall them. Maybe not.
Now though, it is important to ensure that this new sponsorship is welcomed by the targeted audience and the partnership organizations, especially the FA, should be completely ethical in their activities. First Capital Plus Bank cannot risk becoming involved with a league which is unprofessionally managed and with an even slightly dubious reputation.
First Capital Plus Bank's sponsorship of the league should give them the chance to associate themselves across the world with the excitement of sponsoring a professionally-run top-flight league. And it behooves on the Football Association to make this happen. There were assurances and promised commitments with Glo but the FA failed rather miserably with fulfilling their end of that agreement. First Capital Bank shouldn't fall victim to Glo's misgivings. Their research probably shows that this powerful emotional association with the league can help make customers and football fans feel more positive about their business. Their idea about giving away $10m probably is to prove to their target market that they are actively involved in adding benefit to the sport, rather than just paying to be here. They must reap what they've sown!
The league was in a depressing state of affairs before this partnership, something the those in charge have accepted. First Capital Plus Bank’s decision to come through with $10m tells that they want to get the most out of this sponsorship and the FA must do far more than just slap their logos on players’ shirts or stadium’s hoardings – the sponsorship should not be treated as just another form of outdoor advertising. The bank will want people to know about the goodwill of their investment so it will be sensible for all the stakeholders to promote them through unreserved marketing and advertising processes. The authorities at the helm of affairs must help the bank to improve their banking market share, prestige, help increase their publicity and to help them gain enhanced brand recognition among a rapidly growing portion of the Ghana demographic.
If you spent $10 million on a sponsorship, surely you would want to know whether it is working or not? Measuring returns from sponsorship is difficult, but definitely not impossible. Enter the FA's measurement systems. By systematically defining the objectives of the agreement and putting in place quantitative and qualitative targets and measures, they will help First Capital Plus Bank judge whether or not the sponsorship has worked after every annual review. In the event of a failure to meet certain agreed clauses or provisions, there is always an opportunity for both parties to strive to do better. The entire workload can't be left for First Capital Plus Bank to do because they are the ones throwing their funds into this deal and as suc, must single-handedly be held accountable for the potential outcome of it. The FA must show a willingness to want to help the bank to achieve positive results and facilitate them with an effective way of raising brand awareness. Most skepticism about the value of sponsorship arises because one party lacks clarity around the objectives and adequate systems for measuring results. This is, in turn, one of the biggest deterrents for potential sponsors. The FA must offer a hand in achieving the bank's marketing and advertising objectives for this sponsorship. Without this, another doomsday approaches. This should be a ‘dialogical partnership’ between these two parties, who are trying to maximize the effect of shared knowledge, feedback, invested time and money, human and social capital. A proactive approach and unyielding participation is key to the success of this partnership!
As the once-great league slowly sinks under the weight of long-standing problems, soccer fans will continue walking away until these changes are seen with this new partnership.
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