MHS Homes entered the big league last week when it scored a sponsorship deal with Gillingham FC. But is a football club the best publicity team-mate for a housing association, and how else can you tell customers and the public what you do?
Face-painting contests, community days out, charity walks – these are the mainstays of the registered social landlord newsletter, all intended to spread the word about the RSL's good works. But last week, Kent-based MHS Homes shocked the sector with a foray into the big league of corporate marketing: it is spending a reported £250,000 sponsoring Division 1 football team Gillingham (HT 23 April, page 9).

MHS' logo will be seen by thousands on the shirts of the Gillingham players, but will it really coznvince the local community that the association is a valuable asset?

Group chief executive John Sands believes it will. "Sport has been useful when dealing with young people in the past. We had contact with Gillingham for community football events and when the sponsorship was due for renewal, the chairman asked if we were interested. We'd recently reorganised and promoting the brand seemed like a good idea, so that when people are in Medway, they think of us.

"It's timely with Thames Gateway at the starting point," he continues – as well as the 7500-unit landlord, which receives no public money, the £30m-turnover group also includes a charity, a maintenance contractor and a commercial property manager. "Medway's on the brink of a lot of development, and we need to be there."

There are many advantages to sponsorship. Britannia Building Society sponsors the stadium and shirts of another first-division club, Stoke City, and estimates that it made a £250,000 profit from the deal last year. Its logo appears in national and local media and the company is featured prominently on the club's website. But the real bonus is the coverage on the high street – Stoke City FC sells 20,000 shirts a year.

Attaching a business' name to a sports team can inject pizzazz into an organisation that fails to fire the public imagination. Utilities giant Powergen, for example, sponsors Ipswich Town FC in a three-year deal managed by sports marketing agency GEM Group. Senior account manager Emily Watkinson says: "The sponsorship attaches emotion to the brand. It's putting our name to something people are passionate about."

But there could also be risks in tethering your good name to a more volatile partner. Footballers do not have squeaky-clean images. Could a scandal at the club damage the sponsor? Watkinson doesn't think so. "That's a club matter – it's nothing to do with the sponsor. It depends how a PR situation is managed – you'd still get the TV exposure."

Gillingham has climbed out of the bottom three in Division 1 so it's unlikely it will be relegated, but could MHS' image be harmed if the team does go down? And could the smaller crowds and reduced coverage that Division 2 teams draw mean a worse return for the £250,000 investment?

"If the team isn't doing very well, that could be negative but you've still got the local connection and loyal fans will support the team whatever," says Watkinson.

Sands agrees. "Gillingham is an institution in its own right and has a following whatever division it's in: it's almost viewed as a public service. If the charity has a children's event with children and the centre forward turns up to chat to the boys, they're not going to turn their noses up if he's in the second division."

All the same, MHS' deal may be breaking some of the golden rules of marketing, according to Graham Bailey, a course director at the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He says it is vital that organisations consider whether their values mesh with those of their marketing partner and doubts this is the case for Gillingham and MHS. "Are the standards and ethics of a housing association similar and in keeping with things that a football team holds dear?" he asks.

A good example, he says, is mobile phone company Vodafone's sponsorship of Manchester United FC and the Ferrari Formula 1 team. "Both are very successful and have red as their colour. All the things the teams stand for are what Vodafone wants – they're winners, it's a lot of right messages.

"But housing associations have more moral and ethical considerations. What is there out there that has the same standards and target market?"

It's a good question. Professor Simon Knox, an expert in brand marketing at the Cranfield School of Management, says MHS may have scored an own goal. "If organisations really want to be in business for neighbourhoods, some work encouraging entrepreneurship or apprenticeships might be more constructive in terms of value to the community, not sponsoring a football club," he says. "That's a lot of money and you've got to ask yourself, what benefit is going to flow? What's the business case for it?"

Sands explains: "The board of the group looked at it very closely and felt there were lots of good reasons why an increased profile and ability to work in the community meant a great deal to us. It's something that will benefit all parts of the group."

MHS Homes' deal may be a bit too corporate for some and certainly there are many in the housing sector who view it with distaste. But all housing associations can give their activities – traditional or otherwise – maximum impact by sticking to the tenets of canny marketing (see "Expert tips", below).

"The most important thing is that you're reaching the right target market," advises Bailey. "Set some clear measurements. For things like raising awareness, you could do awareness checks before and after the event. Go to your audience and ask 'are you aware of any housing associations?' and see what the response is."

For professor Knox, the watchword is authenticity. "It needs to have a resonance, and not be seen as some kind of PR exercise. People are cynical of spin and PR these days," he warns. Promoting an event in your magazine or newsletter is good, as long as the message is consistent. "It's got to seem like a long-term proposition, and not just some fanciful event," says Knox. "If the organisation is good at building things, what about renewing the local community hall and putting up a plaque?"

The community activities that RSLs typically undertake go down well with the experts, as does the sector's emphasis on community consultation. Though they may be understated in comparison to big-ticket corporate marketing, Knox believes housing associations could be on to a winner here.

"In today's marketplace, it's almost better to be slightly understated. If you're subtle, it's appreciated much more than a brash, big gesture."

Expert tips on PR

Golden goals
  • Make sure your activity is going to reach your target audience.
  • Know how you’re going to measure success.
  • Consider exactly how your chosen promotional activity affects your image. If you’re using a celebrity, for example, consider whether their image matches your organisation’s standards.
  • Stick to activities or events that are related to your strengths.
Red cards
  • Don’t be too flash – it could turn people off.
  • Avoid one-off stunts; instead, demonstrate a prolonged commitment to a cause.
  • Don’t embark on elaborate events without sounding out community representatives to see if your ideas will go down well.
  • Try not to promote your event with a multitude of different logos and blurbs – keep it consistent.

Marketing ploys: How well do they work?

Graham Bailey, a course director at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, assesses RSLs’ favourite profile-raising stunts 1. Holding launches or community events to get into local papers; inviting celebrities or lookalikes is popular. “This is fine if it’s hitting the right market,” says Bailey. “But what it does for your image will depend on the event. Even something as simple as a cake-decorating competition, which seems innocent, can send out the wrong message. If you’re trying to say you’re a modern organisation, you might want to get people designing a web page instead.” 2. A community fund that dispenses grants to local interest groups. “This is good in that it links with the ethos of social landlords. “The challenge is to get coverage while not appearing to exploit the individuals concerned – that’s a fine line to tread.” 3. Events for tenants and other local people; these take many forms, such as days out, fetes, quiz nights or talent shows. “You can use these to get the community working with you, give them a nice time. “It’s down to how you manage the event and brand it. If you’re holding it in a pub, have a sign behind the bar, or have posters out front with your brand on them. Consistency of style, logos and so on is very important. “Quiz questions could be things that relate to housing, like the proportion of homeless people in the town, mixed in with who won the World Cup in whatever year.” 4. A sponsored event: no week in the housing sector would be complete without an abseil or coast-to-coast walk, but fundraising is often on a smaller scale. “This is great because it involves people, it’s a challenge to them while also raising money. “But it’s becoming more and more of a challenge to excite people with these things. For example, the London Marathon has been used many times. You need to spice things up – you see people running across the Himalayas, for instance. “You need to understand your market really well and the kinds of things that stir them up. “If they’re very young and fit, you could run from Land’s End to John O’Groats, but if they’re people with young children, a walk around the park might be more appropriate.”

Source

Housing Today