- Long-term sponsorship beats short-term pressure
- Creativity and consistency delivered £1bn in sales
- Guiness created the “Made of More” brand platform
Big, long and consistent campaigns win.
But short-term pressure keeps pushing marketers to constantly change what brands believe, say and do.
It’s hard to sustain a few, big campaigns over time.
And little ads reduce impact and scale, leaving ads with not enough media.
It’s no coincidence that the most successful sponsorships are those that have played the long-run game.
Like Coca-Cola, Visa, Rolex, Heineken or Nike.
But there’s also one that has been doing a great job in creativity and consistency: Guinness.
The Irish dark beer started supporting rugby back in the 1940s, a culturally relevant sport in some of its key markets: Ireland and Great Britain.
To date, Guinness’ partnerships have included the Six Nations, the PRO14 league, the four Home Unions and European clubs Leinster and Munster.
To activate this territory, Guinness built the “Made of More” brand platform.
The goal?
To reinforce its positioning as a “bold beer for people who make bold choices in life.”
Not a typical sponsorship activation, but a powerful long-term narrative rooted in the brand’s core values.
“Made of More” recognised individuals’ resilience facing adversity, whether it was prejudice because of physical disadvantage or sexual orientation.
The results?
Source: Data2Decisions Econometric Modelling, 2012-2019
The campaign delivered solid ROI for eight years (2012-2019):
✓ £1 billion in incremental sales
✓ £518m in profit
✓ £4.81 in gross profit for every £1 invested
✓ IPA Effectiveness Grand Prix winner (2020)
With enough consistency and strong creativity, sponsorship can deliver great value.
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