Sprint “Call to the Post” Triple Crown Sponsorship

Kyle Robinson5/22/15

MKT 650

Sprint Corporation Telecommunications Company Currently 3rd largest wireless and internet provider in US Subsidiaries include Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and

Assurance Mobile Major competitors are Verizon, AT&T

Launching strategic marketing campaign to close the gap in market share between major competitors

Return on investment measured by reducing consumer acquisition cost by increased exposure and activations

Introduction

Objective/Strategy - Sponsor all three Triple Crown races for 3 years between 2015 – 2017

Leverage broadcast, digital, print and social media as well as on-track opportunities for each of these race weekends (3 total weekends)

Gain national exposure due to NBC broadcast rights while focusing on 3 major regional areas on site

Introduction

Objectives

Sustain existing base of consumers Increase conversions from AT&T and Verizon Increase market share in regions of races in

first of three years Increase market share nationally by end of

campaign

Objectives

Why Sponsor The Triple Crown?

Strategies

Broadcast Media 2015 ratings:

KY Derby 10.8 rating/24 share 170K on-track attendance

Preakness 7.6 rating/17 share 130K on-track attendance

Belmont Stakes* 12 rating/27 share 100K on-track attendance

Almost 50 million viewers Over 400K on-track attendance *2014 data, Triple Crown potential year

StrategiesLarge Amount of Exposure

National coverage of the race on “Big 3” stations in addition to sports channels such as ESPN and Fox Sports

Twitter followers: industry wide coverage Each race is a week long event in local communities Friday before is also broadcast by NBCSN Triple Crown potential gives Sprint exposure during

historical event

Strategies

Length of Campaign

Timeline

Length of Season – First Saturday in May through First Saturday in June (6 weeks) Exposure during NBC “Championship Season” Six weeks of continuous coverage and interest with

national interest peaking with Triple Crown potential Issue sponsorship for 2015 – 2017 to give enough

chances to have TC potential Have option to increase sponsorship through the KY

Derby prep season (Jan – Apr) which includes many more regional locations from coast to coast

Timeline

Demographics & Competition

Is this the right event for Sprint?

Challenges

Diverse demographic 18 – 65+ age group

Entrants into the smartphone market – Teenagers and baby boomers will be purchasing units for the first time

Men and Women Recent industry focus on female engagement and fashion

Wide range of income levels “Rail birds” looking for value High income luxury market

Challenges

Industry trends (experience) Wagering trends moving to mobile platforms Photogenic sport – works well with social media

platforms and engagement Industry trends (overall)

Sport in decline – overall viewership and interest declining for non-TC events

Gambling enterprise – could rebound if national legislation into sports gambling is passed in coming years

Challenges

Opportunities & Options How can Sprint leverage this spend?

Assets

• Call to the post is when the horses make way to track for the start of the race

• Centerpiece of campaign• “Let’s go to our track bugler for

the Sprint call to the post”• Each race day offers up to 14

races for slogan to be read over PA and over TV/radio broadcast

• Signage over starting gate for in-person and TV broadcast impressions

“Sprint Call to the Post!”

Assets

“Sprint” Race of the Day Sponsorship of a featured sprint race at each location

on the undercard of the Triple Crown Races Add to NBC roster of televised races Featured ad placement in the on-track program as

well as industry newspaper Daily Racing Form Offers exclusivity in naming rights of this race Sponsorship naming rights also leveraged on internet

wagering sites seen by hundred of thousands of bettors throughout the six week Triple Crown season

Assets

• Charging stations similar to the image that will be located throughout each facility

• On-site pop-up stores that could coincide with launch of new product or service offering

• Offer racing associations opportunity to pre-download their mobile apps on phones for cross promo

• Additional cell towers to boost signal strength – often a major issue at these type of events

On-track Activations

Assets

Affiliation with all three events will leverage social media impressions and other internet related exposure Access to over 1 million followers on Twitter,

Facebook, Instagram and other social media partners related to the Triple Crown locations and NBC Sports

Banner ads and page views for all three Triple Crown websites in addition to Daily Racing Form website

Assets

On-track potential 100K+ square footage for signage Opportunities to sponsor on-track hospitality

areas: Sprint Luxury Suites Sprint In-field Festival Sprint Media Tent Sprint Press Box

Assets

Other promotions: Offer promotion during the six week Triple

Crown season for customers that are converting from Verizon or AT&T Bring in losing ticket from on-track wager of

Triple Crown track from day of the race to get first month of contract free

Merchandise rights: give away T-shirts or hats with Sprint logo

Assets

• Featured Race with sponsorship title

• 3 opportunities per TC season

On-track Programs

Relatively small spend for amount of reach Each event for full program would be $1M or less

Horse racing industry does not require large commitment

Average corporate sponsorship ranges between $500K - $750K before in-kind or trade spend

2013 ad spend for Sprint was $1.5B Max spend for Triple Crown would be $5M

$2M allocated to Churchill Downs Inc. (KY Derby) $1M max allocation for Pimlico (Preakness) $1.5 - $2M allocation for Belmont Stakes

If Triple Crown potential allocate $2M Variable cost based on possible promotions

Budget

Diverse target reach “Cheap” option for amount of potential

exposure Only telecommunications company

executing strategy within the industry Potential for historical relevance if Triple

Crown winner occurs

Conclusion