Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, has increased dramatically as a driving force for corporations looking to fulfill the need for consumers and employees to make a positive impact on society. The ISC will focus on CSR and its role in sponsorship, but there is one sports brand that is worth highlighting as an opportunity for CSR.

I recently spoke with Daniel Schloesser, CMO of FC Barcelona, regarding the team’s unique branding strategy. In sports franchise valuations, European soccer teams rule due to soccer’s global fanbase. FC Barcelona is one of the top sports brands in the world and recently ranked second in The Deloitte Football Money League.

The FC Barcelona brand is supported by its long-standing motto, “More than a club”. This motto is based on a value system and philosophy that is committed to using its success and influence to make a positive impact on society - to give back.

As one example of its commitment, although it is the norm in European soccer to provide jersey sponsorship, in over 100 years of existence, FC Barcelona has never had a sponsor on the front of its jerseys. It recently changed this policy and currently provides the valuable positioning to UNIFCEF in support of Barca’s commitment to its motto, “more than a club”. Barca not only gives up lost revenue (reportedly $100 million over five year term) by doing so, but also commits a percentage of its overall revenue to UNICEF. There are many fine examples of CSR opportunity tie-ins for sponsors within the industry, but it is Barca’s unique brand statement and commitment to its motto that is perhaps the pinnacle for the industry.

Relevance is a word you hear quite often in the sponsorship industry. The ISC has been developing discoveries on branding strategies for our industry. It is interesting to see the differences between the brand management styles of professional sports teams and sponsors. Professional teams often give up control of their brands and allow their brands to be molded and manipulated by media and other external forces. Sponsors have much more control over their brands and even though there are always forces that can influence brand strategies, sponsors control the brand stewardship. The ISC is creating opportunities for impactful industry dialogue to look at how we can utilize the enormous value of sponsor branding knowledge and its offering to industry players for their brand management. This will become increasingly more important to our industry’s growth. Stakeholders and rightsholders need to have a deeper knowledge of sponsor branding needs and create better synergies between the two brands. Otherwise the benefit of sponsorship veers off-course and loses relevance for sponsors.