Aligning rights-holders’ marketing assets with brand marketers’ needs

There is no simple answer to the challenge marketers, rights-holders and agencies face when considering the best approach to align properties or rights-holders’ assets with brand marketers’ needs. The following is intended to serve as both a philosophical and a tactical guide or process to approach this question. If the reader finds themselves nodding in agreement or questioning how new or revolutionary the points are, then perhaps, as counter-intuitive as it may seem, this paper has served its purpose. Is it not true that tackling a new challenge or more complex skill set always requires being grounded in the fundamentals? To use sports as an example, people often revere great performances, accomplishments or championship moments, but overlook the hours, years or even lifetime of practising the basics in the pursuit of that endeavour. This is not to say that the points and information to follow are elementary; rather, if the approach is deliberate and all necessary steps are followed, then Aristotle’s words continue to hold true and can be applied to the process described in this paper: ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ These words are often quoted by coaches all over the world when addressing their teams and seem an appropriate context, as sports is often the default sponsorship landscape many think of when discussing sponsorship and the rights-holder/brand marketer relationship dynamic. Admittedly, this topic may not be as glamorous as making a game-winning play or merit the attention of anyone outside the marketing profession, but at the same time, the author is confident that both cases share a common goal: to find success by becoming the best at what they do. If this sounds a bit too quintessential, the author would again offer that to reach the end game, one must first break down the process into many smaller steps, and as one starts the process (or revisits it, as will be most likely the case for many reading this), it is essential to place the highest value on the preparation for getting there. This paper discusses the process and steps that can be taken to align rights-holders’ assets and brand marketers’ needs.