In Spain, Telefónica, Movistar, O2 and Telefónica Empresas are perceived by customers and non-customers alike in a way that would be idyllic for most companies in our sector or any other, and this occurs in different brand attributes.
Sponsorships as a tool to connect with society
To have these excellent marks, we count on the legacy of 100 years of history formed by all those who have made it possible for us to continue to be a reference as a company today because, at the end of the day, every decision, every campaign, every service launched, every attention, every employee, builds (or destroys) our brand permanently. And sponsorships are an essential source to achieve this excellent perception.
We must understand them as one more tool that all areas of the company have, a tool that allows us to generate positive associations, build consumer loyalty, improve the brand’s image and generate business opportunities. And we could say that Movistar is the brand that has made the greatest commitment to sponsorship as a promotional tool in the last 30 years.
Our commitment to sponsorship has been in all possible areas, highlighting and, in many cases, being a reference in sports, technological, cultural and musical sponsorships. In all of them we have sought to associate ourselves with people, properties or institutions that inspire us, that we can learn from, that help us to grow and, logically, that help us to be more loved so that, in the end, we can sell more, which is what it is all about. And our objective is to always sponsor the best, but the concept of ‘best’ is not necessarily associated with results and rankings, but rather with wanting to be and fighting for it, with caring for their values, with the quarry, with inclusion, with effort, with development, with imagination… We must learn from all of them. And it goes without saying that 99% of the proposals we receive do so, but resources and strategy limit our scope of action.
Our firm commitment to sport
Focusing on the present, although not the only one, our main commitment as a sponsorship territory is sport and we are extremely fortunate to be associated with exemplary teams and ambassadors. To some of them we give what we are talking about and what is the most valuable thing about the company: our brand. And there we have Movistar Team, Movistar Estudiantes, Movistar Koi and Movistar Inter, carrying our brand on roads, pavilions and screens all over the world. In other cases, although they do not carry our brand, they are sponsorships that allow us to link up with other entities and thus be able to communicate through their media, have their athletes in our campaigns, have exclusive experiences that cannot be bought with money for our customers or tell our technological capabilities as a company through them.
Our sponsors not only rely on our budgets to grow, but also on our technology, experience, supports, etc. We are a great company that brings them much more than a budget. Increasingly, the word ‘ sponsorship’ is being replaced by the word ‘ partnership’, where the relationship is built day by day, understanding that I must help ‘my partner’. And all of this benefits our B2C and B2B clients, employees, shareholders and countless other areas that, through sponsorship, have a way to achieve their objectives.
Measuring sponsorship results
And now the million-dollar question: Can all of the above be measured? Well, yes and no. You can measure and value the unpurchased advertising returns, but the affection or appreciation that we bring by bringing sponsorships to people cannot be measured; the impact on our customers of seeing our technological capabilities through the real-life examples of our sponsors cannot be measured; the impact of our campaigns told by ambassadors they admire cannot be measured.
You can’t directly transfer that image improvement to a contract, but going back to brand attributes, the sponsorship trackings we carry out throughout the year and in recent years do tell us that those who know that Movistar is a sponsor of any activity, give us between 10 and 12 percentage points more brand attributes such as leader, innovator, etc. We have measured this and we like to think that it does translate into new hires through this improved image. And we also have the ‘tracking’ of the sales network that constantly thanks us for the help that having these sponsorships means for them in terms of their clients.
The year 2024, the year of our Centenary, has been a very special year where communication has been exceptional and where countless sponsors, ambassadors and friends of the company have collaborated in spreading our message. All of them make us better, more admired and loved. For the company it is a luxury to have them and, from the sponsorship area, we will continue to maximise these agreements to maintain this excellent health, but without forgetting what we highlighted before: if the sponsors choose us as a partner it is because every decision, every service, every employee, every attention also builds our brand and improves people’s lives.
