Are Sports Naming Rights Getting Too Costly?

Are Sports Naming Rights Getting Too Costly?: Strategic Name Development Product Naming Blog:

Fans may breathe a sigh of relief when they learn that, for instance, Yankee Stadium will not get a corporate name, but far more fans are holding their breath hoping for a corporate blessing so their teams can survive another year.

It’s easy to joke about the proliferation of corporate stadium names out there but the fact is, companies seek out these naming deals because they are great ways to get a brand name in front of a captive, excited audience.

There’s an interesting question here, one I haven’t seen asked and I don’t have handy data to answer.

Are these naming deals good investments?

I’ve been thinking about ways for someone (other than the company involved, with all their private data they have) to figure this one out. It seems surprisingly tough, because it’s a complex question.

But I think the answer is quite simple: what percentage of naming deals are renewed, extended or repeated? When a naming deal’s contract ends, does the same company take it again, or does it pass to some other company? Since most of the deals are 10 years or longer, the data set’s going to be relatively small, but the best way I can think of to figure out whether a company sees it as a good deal is whether they repeat it…

I don’t have the answer, but I think I’ll go do some research. Seems to me that the lower the percentage of renewals and extensions, the worse the investment in naming rights is.

Personally, I love having naming rights sold — anyone who wants to subsidize my sports addiction, please, be my guest. I will also admit that a company that does so will get the benefit of my largesse in buying things when it makes sense (all other factors being equal). But, as people who know me have heard, I love American beer advertising (to quote a couple of lizards: “how is does this sell beer?”) — but just because I appreciate their ads doesn’t mean you’ll ever catch me drinking a Budweiser…

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