Globeshift The shifting balances of economic power and its impact on business

Feature

Turkish Airlines: delights in sports connection

When Manchester United and Barcelona took to the pitch to contest European football’s premier competition more than 110 million viewers joined the 88,000 attending.

Barcelona may have triumphed on the pitch but for Turkish Airlines, official airline sponsor for both clubs, the match presented the win-win situation of its dreams. Not only was the airline able to engage audiences and raise awareness of its association with two winning teams, but it could ambush the UEFA Champions League, so fiercely protective of its brand partners.

The day of the final saw Turkish Airlines line carefully selected spots en route to the stadium to promote the company logo and club crests. The activity even began with the journey into England with Barcelona fans travelling in planes branded with their clubs colours and crest.

“It wasn’t part of the plan to see both teams in the final, but it gives us the chance to advertise to a global audience,” says Turkish Airlines advertising manager Serdar Ekrem Sirin. The airline’s hope is that global recognition will follow its backing of two of the most successful football clubs worldwide, which boast a combined fan base of more than 400 million people across the globe.

Turkish Airlines’ first foray into sponsorship in 2009 took an entirely different tact by focusing on celebrity endorsement. It signed up Hollywood actor Kevin Costner as part of its ‘Feel like a Star’ campaign, featuring the movie star in a series of executions, including print and out-of-home.

GROWTH AT A PRICE
However, global expansion is not cheap. The price of new aircraft combined with the soaring cost of oil has seen the company post net losses of $209m for the first quarter of 2011. Sirin admits that although this is not ideal, it is a necessity to help the brand stand out in a competitive sector. It appears investment is still on the cards for Turkish Airlines as it is in talks to take a 49% stake in Spainair.

But what does it mean to be a Turkish brand when competing in a sector as convoluted as the airline industry, where there are several established worldwide identities such as Emirates and British Airways?

“When [Manchester United chief executive] David Gill signed the deal, he said that Turkish Airlines presented the club with reach across a very attractive market and it recognised, like we do, that it is a three- or four-year process for both of us,” explains Sirin. “Being Turkish is vital to our commercial sponsorships. For us it is about far more than just reaching global audiences.”

 

This may be the case, but when you are backing two teams that between them have huge followings in Latin America, Europe and the Far East, global audiences look all but assured

M&M VIEWPOINT
Sport is one of the few industries that creates a genuine emotional connection with consumers.
For a brand this has advantages, although it can bring complications – supporters could resist it like Barcelona’s first ever shirt sponsor Qatar Foundation next season. Sponsorship may provide a fast-track to global audiences, but its value only digs in when augmented with a long-term perspective.

Josh Colley