Benefits of sponsorship contracts and precautions

There is a "sponsor contract" as a typical contract type of sports legal affairs.


A sponsorship contract is, roughly speaking, that the sponsor is an official sponsor (supporter) of the team or athlete in various ways, instead of funding the team or athlete. It is a contract that it is allowed to profess.


Then, the purpose of sponsoring on the corporate side is literally "because I want to support" and "because I am a fan of the sport, the team, and the players", and in many cases I become a sponsor, rather than for profit. In some cases, you may be sponsored because of your realization / hobby motives. The most prominent form is something like a “supporters' association”.


It can also have the charitable purpose of contributing to the community by sponsoring the sport or team if it leads to revitalization of the local community.


However, in most cases, sponsors are often sponsored for "commercial purposes" in a broad sense, and if the contents of "commercial purposes" are categorized, (1) increase sales by increasing awareness and recalls. (2) It can be divided into two categories: raising the corporate image and achieving stable profits. Of these, this time we will look at ① a little analytically.


(1) In terms of increasing awareness and the number of recalls, the power of sports can be enormous. Along with entertainers, sports teams and athletes have a great deal of "power to attract people" and "power to be admired by people", so if you get into it well, you can compare it to just advertising on TV. It can be very effective. For example, there was no sponsorship contract, but as soon as Kohei Uchimura, a gymnast, became famous for eating chocolate sweets called Black Thunder at the London Olympics, billions of Black Thunder sales were originally added. There was also news that it had quadrupled. In addition, the product called "Kurosu Donut" released by a company called Fuji Bambi was sold as a sponsor of the women's soccer INAC Kobe uniform, which was successful in the World Cup. There was news that it increased by 26%. This is also a case of generating hundreds of millions of yen in profits.


In this way, active athletes and sports teams may receive more public attention than entertainers, so it will be extremely effective in raising awareness and recalls of companies or products. Become.


When considering the conclusion of such a sponsorship contract as a company, the following items should be considered by the company.


(1) Whether the player or team has the potential to receive attention (currently not receiving attention, but the possibility of receiving attention is a high-risk, high-return project. Sponsoring a player or team is less risky, but more expensive).


(2) Does the area, age group, gender, etc. that the player or team attracts attention match the products and services of the company?


(3) Whether there is a synergy between the image of the player or team and the products and services of the company (a company that sells baseball products should not be a sponsor of a soccer player unless it is aimed at humor).


④ Whether the player or team is at risk of turning the masses into enemies. Whether the contract allows immediate withdrawal + compensation for damages when the danger becomes apparent


(5) As a sponsor, which should be brought to the fore, the company name or the product name?


(6) Is the method of exposing the sponsor's company name or product name in the sponsorship contract an effective method that can appeal to the general public who wants to appeal? This is the central point of a sponsorship contract, and the contract must have a detailed image of how you want to sell the name of the company, product, brand, or service.


(7) As a company, is it time to raise awareness and recall (if the awareness is already high, is it meaningful to increase the number of recalls?), And when awareness rises, production that can respond to it. Is the system / service system in place?


⑧ Whether the contracting party has the right to properly portrait the player or team and the right to expose to uniforms, etc., and if not, the provisions for damages and withdrawal are included in the contract. Whether it is included.


⑨ Whether there is a clause for withdrawal if the contract period or if the contract period is very long and the expected effect is not obtained.


⑩ Whether the team or player is sponsored by a competitor, and whether there is a provision that can eliminate cheating on such competitors.


For companies, sponsorship contracts are a big decision and can be very rewarding and effective contracts, so we recommend that you consult a sports legal attorney.


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