Sports sponsorship moves in Spain around 400 million euros per year thanks to the intense activity of an increasingly professional industry. Companies are very active in this market, in which they have experienced different stages. This is the case of El Corte Inglés, which distinguishes three phases in its history as sponsors.
In the first, its roadmap revolved around major events in Spain, such as the Olympics, the Motorcycle World Championship or the Copa del Rey basketball tournament with an exclusive alliance. “In a second stage, we kept a lower profile, we were in many events but not of great dimension, they were rather local”, recalls Javier Mercado, director of sponsorships at El Corte Inglés. And five years ago they changed the strategy to enter the current phase and use sponsorship to sell their wide range of products and services. “When this plan was approved, we began to look for events, not territories,” says Mercado, who spoke this morning at the VI EFE Sport Business Days Forum. “First it was the ACB for 3 years and that’s how we sold trips, merchandising… The second big event was LaLiga, we’re still with them after five years”.
The manager recalls that they are not partners in this property because it is football, but because of its competitive nature, which highlights the unique experiences offered at El Corte Inglés centers to attract customers and generate traffic.
As for the sales derived from these alliances, and at the gates of the World Cup, Mercado advances that “the big events are very noticeable” in its balance. “Sport not only drags sport, but many more things like home, fashion, technology, food… before a World Cup or a major European competition, electronics stand out a lot because people want to be well equipped.