Background and challenge
In late 2006, ING agreed a global sponsorship deal with the Renault F1 team to run for three seasons from the start of 2007. This was the first time the company had entered into a sponsorship deal on a global scale and because of that, recognised the importance of engaging employees with it and the rationale behind it. To ensure this happened, the sponsorship team approached Ibis Communication to develop a strategy and plan that would underpin engagement activity during the course of the sponsorship.
Approach
Obtaining in-depth and up-to-date insight from employees was the clear starting point. To do this, we organised and ran an online survey which was translated into 12 languages and yielded some important benchmark data. We followed this with qualitative research in 6 markets that allowed us to explore the survey data in more detail. We also assessed the extent to which existing communication channels were appropriate for engaging staff with this kind of message.
To develop the strategy and plan, we first segmented the audience according to their level of interest or concern about the sponsorship. For each segment, we then identified clear engagement objectives before summarising the key messages for each audience, proposed media channels and measurement criteria. Key to the success of the strategy was the sponsorship website that allowed us to use powerful visual communication and online discussion.
Results
The plan has helped to rationalise a wide range of local and centrally-organised engagement activity and ensure effort is being directed in the most productive way possible. It has also helped to raise the profile of the sponsorship internally which ING regards as one of its key success criteria.
