Passion marketing what we obsess about as an agency. “Huh?” is often the response we get when discussing it. Traditionally known as a sponsorship agency, like the world around us, we’re evolving and adapting to a changing audience landscape.
Sponsorship marketing is not what it used to be. Not all clients have the luxury of large budgets to sponsor major tournaments or teams, and simply branding a sports jersey is no longer cutting it.
Cue passion marketing: it’s ultimately about recognising that our audiences have unique and multi-faceted interests – from Amapiano to cooking, mobile gaming to crocheting – local audiences have many, many interests, all at once.
That’s what a passion marketing agency specialises in. Understanding these nuanced passions and helping brands connect to these audiences authentically and effectively.
Authentically, because that will help drive brand equity, ultimately pitching up for people and their passions in the moments that matter.
Effectively, because any engagement needs to be measured for impact. We’re enthusiastic about driving impact as it means better work for our clients and more engaging experiences for our audiences.
In fact, research is showing just how effective a passion marketing approach can be, with a 74% increase in loyalty when brands connect with customers through their passions. About 52% of customers become more valuable and 58% are more likely to buy products or services when a brand supports their passions.
A good example of these kinds of results is the work our M&C Sports & Entertainment team are bringing to life with the O2 rugby sponsorships in London – along with the many properties we’re leveraging for Nedbank and Telkom.
Engage with their passions
These impactful figures don’t necessarily require large budgets or major sponsorships. What they do require is a deeper understanding of what your audience is passionate about, and how they engage with their passions.
This allows us to craft bespoke end-to-end experiences that will resonate with these customers and add more value to how they engage with their passions, across multiple micro-moments rather than only large-scale interactions.
That’s also why we’re launching Passion Pulse. A first-of-its-kind research project into the nuanced passions of South Africans. This bespoke report will give us unique insight and behaviour into the many South African passions we’re aware of – and those we would probably never even guess.
As well as the potential to engage audiences differently, it’s giving us a deeper understanding of they currently connect to their passions and what they’re looking for in the future.
A driving force
This report, complemented by a team of individuals constantly curious about people’s passions, is what’s driving our evolution. As passionate as we are about the fans and audiences we engage with, we’re equally as devoted to what our team members care about.
Why? Our team members are ultimately the driving force behind these connections that we build and are often a part of the many audiences we address. The diverse group of people who make Levergy also fuel our knowledge, understanding and empathy for the people we’re trying to connect with.
At the core of it, we’re passionate about people. While we strive to create more meaningful connections for our audiences, we will continue to focus on the growth and development of the individuals we work with. Because they are the heart of our business and passions.
This is why I enjoy working with and watching the growth of young people. Their experiences, insights and view on the world often teaches me more than I think I impart to them. As a leader, I have learned that the key to good decision-making is not always knowledge, but rather, understanding. Which I often get from the many young people in our team.
These are ambitious, talented individuals who have so much more than their professional skillset to bring to our environments. I am often in awe of not their views and unique perspectives on how to approach things.
Immersive and empowering
We’re tapping into these perspectives by empowering our team members to become experts on various niche passion points. From the revolution in women in sports to photography and comedy – we have enthusiastic individuals who are deep-diving into these topics and collaborating with multiple partners to immerse themselves.
This is not just about understanding passion points deeper, but rather about upskilling individuals in our team who can ultimately teach the rest of us. Helping these individuals explore their own unique interests while growing in the workplace is not just about training and development. It’s more about building the future leadership of our industry.
Having the ability to explore your passions and be your authentic self can often create better leaders, as it teaches you to look at things with an understanding of diverse perspectives and a deeper knowledge of the people you manage and customers you engage with.
Ultimately, our approach to growing young talent is about encouraging a culture of learning and curiosity. We’re all open to understanding different viewpoints, learning new things and ultimately approaching our challenges in unique ways.
We are hoping that this curiosity, culture and empowerment of our young leaders will help them reimagine our industry and creative product.
Melissa Daniels is the managing director of Levergy, an M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment group company and part of the M&C Saatchi Group South Africa. She describes herself as a serial connector – to people, information and new opportunities. Daniels is passionate about new technologies and the potential they provide businesses, brands and people to grow.
