It's become so commonplace that we hardly even notice it anymore.
"Company X is the proud sponsor of sports team Y."
Examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sphi409lhumand
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=kansas+city+chiefs+the+university+of+kansas+health+system+youtube&mid=4f1aac99754d5c2904674f1aac99754d5c290467&form=vireSometimes the association is so close that the team even includes the sponsor's name into the name of its home arena.
Examples:
AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys)
Globe Life Field (Texas Rangers)
State Farm Arena (Atlanta Hawks)
A mutually beneficial relationship, it would seem. The team gets money from the company, which can amount to hundreds of millions of dollars over years, so I read, and the company gets quality advertising of its name in front of the team's fans.
Everybody wins in such an arrangement, it would seem. Especially so when the team wins as well.
But what about
this kind of relationship when it involves a
medical organization, such as a healthcare system, hospital, or other medical services organization? Such as in the case of the above examples, like the one of Rose Radiology (in Tampa, Florida) and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team? Or the KC Chiefs players visiting kids in the team sponsor's hospital?
Some facts from various websites about
this kind of symbiotic relationship, healthcare-and-sports-team:
A LITTLE HISTORY
"Healthcare providers have been proud sponsors of sports teams since the mid-1990s when the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars signed one of the first known medical/sports sponsorship deals. In fact, sports-related sponsorships are picking up steam as competition among hospitals increases."HOW HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS APPROACH THIS
"Technically it's called "sports marketing." It can be defined as " ... the promotion of products and services through sporting events, stadiums, teams, athletes, and radio and TV spots. There are many ways a hospital, healthcare organization or group practice can approach this type of relationship."
" ... four main types of opportunities are: Team Partnerships, Stadium Sponsorships and Advertising, Broadcast Sponsorships, Athlete Sponsorships."
"It’s easy to understand why a popular alcoholic drink would be featured at a football game ... But why would a medical practice or hospital advertise at a sporting event? ... The reason to invest is that this type of deal taps into a specific demographic: avid sports fans. These people are often extremely passionate and committed to supporting the brands that are associated with their favorite teams and athletes. It’s like tapping into instant loyalty ... brands get access to a whole community already built by the team."
“We were surprised by how many people were willing to transfer their trust in the Giants to the Health Network,” he says."
“By evaluating a team’s fan population and looking at demographics, psychographics, and sponsor support intensity,” he says, “we can help hospitals proactively identify the partnerships and activation elements that will provide the best ROI (return on investment).”
"The partnerships not only get hospitals’ names in front of thousands of people, but also associate them with strength and endurance rather than illness."
"Many health insurance companies are expanding their sponsorships to reach new audiences, including millennials. “With millions of consumers now required to buy health insurance, we’re seeing more health insurance companies use sponsorships (such as for sports teams) to build preference and encourage healthy lifestyles."
"Kaiser Permanente uses its NBA partnership via NBA Fit clinics to reach millennials. Christine Paige, Kaiser Foundation SVP of marketing and digital services told IEG Sponsorship Report, “More young adults have access to coverage than ever before. The NBA is a very good partner given its tremendous reach, and is particularly effective in reaching young adults.”EXAMPLES
"... the company (Providence Health & Services) began talking with a Major League Soccer franchise, the Portland Timbers, about sponsoring the team, renaming the historic city stadium as Providence Park and integrating a sports care clinic on site ... (company) leadership had a vision of the sponsorship being a true partnership to promote health and wellness in the community. They backed it up by allocating resources – staffing and funding – to deliver on that vision."
" ... as part of the partnership between Barnabas Health, the largest not-for-profit integrated healthcare delivery system in New Jersey, and the New Jersey Devils, the team’s practice facility has been renamed the Barnabas Health Hockey House."
"Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas, and the Dallas Cowboys recently broke ground on a 300,000-square-foot research and wellness campus that will serve athletes at all skill levels."
"Northwell Health in New York, a health network that includes 21 hospitals and three skilled nursing facilities, has partnerships with Major League Baseball’s Mets, the New York Cosmos professional soccer team and the Major League Lacrosse champions, the New York Lizard."
"Stephen Evans, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer at MedStar Health in Columbia, Maryland, told the publication ... (that) the non-profit, community-based health system is heavily involved in youth programs sponsored by the Washington Capitals, Baltimore Ravens and D.C. United. And, he said, the partnership is also a great way to recruit top sports medicine practitioners."
"There has been a slew of additional hospital/sports team sponsorships in the news lately, including the University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) and the Denver Broncos, Houston Methodist and the Houston Texans, and Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Sporting Kansas City, a major league soccer team."And in the case of the NFL, note that the majority of its teams have at least one health-based sponsor (look down the list, and you'll spot them):
https://sportskhabri.com/nfl-commercial-guide-a-complete-list-of-the-2023-24-nfl-team-sponsors/#:~:text=nfl%202023%2F24%20commercial%20guide%3a%20list%20of%20all%20teams%e2%80%99,angeles%20chargers%20%7c%20us%244.15%20billion%20...%20more%20itemsBUT THERE CAN BE PROBLEMS
" ... many organizations have had to embarrassingly back out of deals. These agreements, especially arena/stadium sponsorships, are expensive and typically run for at least a decade. If your organization encounters tough financial times the sports sponsorship is going to be the most obvious target for cost-cutting and your decision will be painfully public."
"... in today’s economic climate, you need a ready, credible explanation on tap for anything that could be characterized as a non-essential promotional expense.”HOW EFFECTIVE?
"Measuring results for sponsorships is difficult, but not impossible. If you’re going for brand awareness and preference, set a baseline before entering any deals. If you’re trying to develop community partnerships or drive health and wellness initiatives, make sure you have solid goals and objectives to measure. If increasing patient volumes for services like sports medicine is the goal, try new patient surveys to see how the partnership affected their choice. Without some type of measurement plan in place, you will have little ability to evaluate the commitment when the contract comes up for renewal."FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE/SPORTS TEAM MARKETING
"Pending health insurance mega-mergers (Anthem/Cigna, Aetna/Humana) and hundreds of hospital consolidations may ultimately affect sponsorships, but it’s unclear in what way. “That’s a tough question,” Chipps said. “It may result in more interest in national sponsorships such as pro-sports leagues that provide national coverage rather than sponsorship of a local team.”AN AMUSING RESULT OF A HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION SPONSORING A SPORTS TEAM
It is no doubt a secondary result of an organization's sponsorship of a sports team, but I found mention in a few sources of organizations "adopting" the newly sponsored team as "their own," to the degree that TV-viewing in staff lounges on company time by employees, cheering on the team, while snacking on refreshments, amid displays of the team's colors, are not only permitted, but even encouraged by management. GO TEAM!
Despite searching, I found no instance of a specifically cancer-oriented health organization sponsoring a high-level sports team, although there may well be some out there doing that.
The American Cancer Society, however, has ties to professional sports:
Examples (may have to search by browser, if links don't work) :
NFL:
https://www.cancer.org/about-us/our-partners/nfl.htmlNBA:
https://www.cancer.org/about-us/our-partners/nba.htmlNHL:
https://www.cancer.org/about-us/our-partners/hockey-fights-cancer.htmlBut, indeed, for healthcare entitles in general, associating with sports teams in a sponsorship role has been a successful endeavor, and will most likely continue to be so.
(BTW, to end with a little humor, here's an amusing account I found while researching this thread, of some stadium naming instances that went terribly wrong!) :
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/20239/brief-history-stadium-naming-rights