The history behind Volvo’s sponsorship of golf and how it has benefited both the game and the company is an interesting one...
In 1987 Volvo Event Management was created - a separate division of the company solely for the management of events - with offices in Belgium, Sweden and the United Kingdom. So what exactly is involved in sponsoring a sport, and with so much money at risk, what are the gains? EAT GOLF! investigates.
The Value of Sponsorship
It would be easy to question the motives of such a large corporation, but the importance of Volvo’s role in golf sponsorship cannot be underestimated. Professional golfers will always be grateful for Volvo´s decision to become the first ever corporate sponsor of the Professional Golfers European Tour in 1988. They were pioneers in transforming the tour into what we see today by introducing such facilities as players’ lounges, courtesy cars and most notably larger prize funds. Indeed, the words of Colin Montgomerie speak volumes on the subject:
So what are the reasons for sponsorship? The need for companies to communicate with its customers on a more personal level is becoming increasingly important. With so much choice on offer, we now demand a level of service perhaps lost since the smaller privately owned shops were out gunned by the multinationals - and the better corporations are acknowledging this fact. It can be clearly seen through the recent shift in Volvo’s involvement in golf from professional to amateur (potential cutomers). But that is not to say that they have left professional golf behind - their groundbreaking collaboration with the European Tour is now in its 18th year, whilst in Asia, Volvo’s commitment to the Volvo China Open represents one of the longest-term partnerships in golf going forward.
Brand value is quickly becoming a company’s greatest asset and sponsorship is playing a vital role in building this. In 2000 for example, the Coca-Cola brand was valued at $72 billion - 50% of their total stock market value! Sponsorship gives the brand a personality with which people can associate themselves. Not only that, it crosses language and cultural barriers whilst engaging people’s passions, generating goodwill and community. This is well demonstrated by the creation of the Volvo Maters Amateur Golf Club which Mel Pyatt, President & CEO of Volvo Event Management, describes as “an on line club which offers the possibility of 365 day contact with members, based not on product, but on a shared passion for golf.”
The benefits continue in that sponsorship is integrated with the sport you are watching - the logos on the shirts of players, the signage that guides you to your destination, or the car that can be won by making a hole-in-one. Unlike the magazine you are holding now, where you can voluntarily turn the page, or when watching television and change the channel during a commercial break, the sponsor is integrated with the event and cannot be switched off. Sponsorship is therefore an assured way for the future of companies.
And the advantages of sponsorship to the end customer, namely, you? Funnily enough you benefit through similar reasons to how the sponsor does. Because of such a close association with the event the company is directly on show. You are able to immediately evaluate their brands performance, and if bad - their qualities and values could be threatened. Therefore we see a professionally organised event that runs like clockwork. Players and spectators alike are treated to every service imaginable, from the courtesy bus that picked you up from your car to the leaflets and scoreboards that keep you up to date with what’s happening. The difference with sponsorship is that you are involved with, rather than being confronted by unwanted media - and that can only be of benefit to everyone.
