Skip to main content

Do you think it's a good idea for South African Tourism to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur?

 According to reports, South African Tourism (SA Tourism) intends to spend US$52 million (roughly R900 million) over the course of three years to sponsor the UK football team Tottenham Hotspur. The proposal offers the nation branding on the team uniform, backdrop branding during interviews, match-day advertising, partnership status, local training camps, access to tickets, and stadium hospitality. Football has a huge TV audience and can draw a lot of attention and money. But is it a successful strategy for marketing a nation? And was the money spent wisely? 

Is this a wise plan for nation-branding?

A recognized and effective marketing communication tool is the sponsorship of a sports team, an event, or an individual. Some destinations have embraced sports as a marketing tool as nations, regions, and cities compete more for the attention of potential customers, in this case tourists, in the global marketplace. Destinations frequently market themselves by partnering with a sporting event or group that is located nearby. For instance, Visit Catalunya in Spain supports FC Barcelona. Less frequently does a destination employ a more strategic strategy to connect with a target audience in another location.

Can it promote tourism?

It's important to realize that touristic attractions compete with one another for consumer attention as "brands." In order to draw in international tourists, SA Tourism has a mission and a budget. Many strategies exist for engaging a target audience or promoting a brand. Because it has demonstrated the ability to cut through the clutter of advertising and capture consumers' attention, sport sponsorship has become more popular as a marketing strategy. It connects with them at a time when they are generally chill and open to interaction due to a shared love of sports.

The second main goal is to improve or change the brand's reputation among a target audience by connecting it to a sports team. Brands typically gain from fans' positive perceptions of the team they are sponsoring. For this reason, the global sport sponsorship market was valued at US$77.69 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at an 8% clip in the ensuing years.

What negative effects might there be?

The media and public pushback against the sponsorship deal with SA Tourism shows that the local public does not support this initiative. People hold the opinion that government funds would be better spent on other projects altogether or on the sponsorship of regional sports events instead of seeing this as a good marketing opportunity that could generate tourism revenue. It is not advisable for destinations to prioritize building their "external" brand at the expense of their valuable "internal" brand power.

In particular, the cases of Rwanda and Qatar show that the alleged sportswashing's negative media coverage lessens its anticipated advantages. In the case of South Africa, it might appear to be an effort to counteract the negative global media coverage relating to the power crisis and other high-profile problems faced by the country. Although there is a growing backlash, SA Tourism has given the plan conditional approval, and it is anticipated to move forward in the coming months.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Body Found in Thabo Bester's Cell Finally Identified as Katlego Bereng: Heartbreaking News for Family"

Police have confirmed that the body found  in the cell of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester at Mangaung Correctional Centre has been identified as Katlego Bereng, according to recent developments. Bester was believed to have died in his cell in May of the previous year, but it was revealed by GroundUp last month that the body found in the cell was not his. An autopsy report indicated that the deceased had died from blunt force trauma to the head and was already deceased before the prison caught fire. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the identification of the body and that the family had been notified. This news has shattered the hearts of Katlego's family, who have been searching for him since April of the previous year when he stopped answering calls and texts and ceased posting on social media. Katlego lived with his grandmother in Bloemfontein, where his mother also resided. Bester, also known as the "Facebook rapist," had used s...
1 comment
Read more

Addressing Youth Unemployment in South Africa

South Africa is facing a serious problem with high rates of youth unemployment. It is predicted that by 2029, over 6.3 million young people will be jobless, which is one million more than today. Many young graduates struggle to find work, challenging the belief that higher education guarantees a job. The years, South Africa has witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of graduates . In 2020 alone, there were 2.038 million bachelor's degrees conferred, making it the most sought-after qualification. However, despite this educational achievement, the youth unemployment rate has remained alarmingly high. This disconnect between education and employment calls for a reevaluation of the current system. Compared to other countries, South Africa has high levels of unemployment, especially among young people. This has negative consequences across the nation, as job opportunities are scarce and it leads to feelings of hopelessnes s. In countries with high unemployment rates, the idea tha...
2 comments
Read more

"Big Changes Needed for Eskom in Upcoming Budget - Investor Warns Even R200bn Debt Relief is Not Enough"

 "Futuregrowth, a company that invests in government debt, says that the debt relief for Eskom in the upcoming budget needs to be fair to all creditors and significant enough - more than 50% - to make the company financially stable again." "Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the government will reduce Eskom's debt by one-third to two-thirds. Investors are eagerly waiting to hear the specifics, which will be revealed in Wednesday's budget. Some possible options include swapping a significant portion of Eskom's debt with government debt, or taking over a set amount of debt each year, such as R50 billion annually." Futuregrowth, a large investor in government debt, has cautioned that simply reducing 50% of Eskom's debt will not suffice to restore the company to financial stability in the long term. In order to ensure that Eskom can service its debt costs, the debt relief proposed in the upcoming budget must be significant enough and fa...
Post a Comment
Read more