Partnership Activation

Last month, 1440Sports hosted an exclusive networking event at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, exploring B2B sports partnerships through the lens of some of the biggest player in the sports and sponsorship industries, who kindly came to give us their insight.  

Over the course of an afternoon, they heard from 7 expert speakers across 2 panels and then had a presentation from another Director of Sponsorships.

The chief aim of the afternoon was to delve into the question of what’s driving so many B2B companies into sports partnerships and just what are they doing with them? This was structured around 2 panel discussions, hosted by our Founder and Managing Partner, Ricky Paugh, and a presentation given to us by Kevin Farrar, Head of Sports Partnerships at IBM UK.  

To round off a productive and highly engaging day discussing all facets of sports sponsorship, our guests headed down to the Royal Automobile Club’s Long Bar to catch up over a drink with the Friday round of the US Open golf playing in the background.  

Watch the videos from the day below to catch up: 

Ricky: An introduction of the day and an overview of B2B sports partnerships from 1440Sports Founder, Ricky Paugh.

1440 Panel 1: A sponsor’s perspective featuring TCS’ Ashish Babu, ABB’s Theodor Swedjemark and CrowdStrike’s Charles Saunders.  

1440 Panel 2: A rights holder’s perspective, featuring DP World Tour & Ryder Cup’s Max Hamilton, McLaren’s Dan McEwan, Formula E’s Mark Lambert and Chelsea FC’s Zarah Al-Kudcy. 

Kevin: IBM’s Kevin Farrar gives a truly insightful presentation into their renowned partnership with Wimbledon.  

Wolfspeed represents more than 35 years of innovation and pushing the limits of what’s possible with relentless passion and ingenuity. Our wide bandgap Silicon Carbide devices enable faster, more efficient charging and increase the range of electric vehicles.

We’re already known for pushing the limits of what’s possible:  Wolfspeed’s Silicon Carbide semiconductors have been used in Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E team’s in-house developed powertrains since 2017. Earlier this year, Wolfspeed and Jaguar Land Rover announced a strategic partnership to supply Silicon Carbide semiconductors for next generation electric vehicles.

We are now expanding that relationship, as Wolfspeed becomes the Official Power Semiconductor Partner to Jaguar TCS Racing.

This creates an innovation lab on wheels, and in collaboration with Jaguar TCS Racing, we will take insights gained from the racetrack and deliver them to roads and motorways throughout the world. We can’t usher in a new era of energy efficiency without the support of others. Through our strategic partnership with Jaguar TCS Racing, we will continue to pioneer the electric driving experience and support an all-electric transportation future for all.

“Our Silicon Carbide semiconductor technology in the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 creates an ‘Innovation Lab on Wheels’ to engineer improved powertrain efficiency in a high-performance electric vehicle. Our collaboration with Jaguar TCS Racing in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will support our shared goal of translating innovation from the race to the road and enable Wolfspeed to support Jaguar TCS Racing as the ultimate competitor on the track.”– Jay Cameron, SVP and General Manager of Power

Find out more about Wolfspeed here!

Nick Trim (COO of Darktrace) – How to get famous fast

Mehul Kapadia (Global Head of Enterprise Marketing Vodafone) – Building a Purpose Driven Brand through a Sponsorship

Matt Preschern (Global CMO at NTT) – Starting a Partnership with an Authentic Technology Story

Nick Trim (COO of Darktrace) – Turning the Sponsorship Inwards to Staff Engagement

Mehul Kapadia (Global Head of Enterprise Marketing Vodafone) and Matt Preschern (Global CMO at NTT) – Working with Compliance and Leveraging Sport for Customer Engagement

Matt Preschern (Global CMO at NTT) and Nick Trim (COO of Darktrace) – Driving the business story

The DP World Tour today announces that Five9, a leading provider of cloud contact centre solutions, has become the Tour’s Official Customer Contact Centre Software Partner in a multi-year agreement. 

As part of the partnership, the DP World Tour will benefit from industry leading cloud contact centre solutions, focusing initially on developing an AI-powered Five9 Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA) and online chat function to provide a digital concierge service to players, corporate partners and fans. Through greater use of automation, this service will help streamline communication and logistics, whilst providing round-the-clock support. 

Five9 will also leverage the partnership to continue its growth in the European market by working with the DP World Tour on a corporate hospitality programme, unique branding assets and the co-development of digital content for distribution across the season. 

Five9 branding will also be visible on tee boxes and greensides at several key tournaments – the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, Horizon Irish Open, Cazoo Open, Hero Open, Cazoo Classic, ISPS Handa Invitational Presented by Modest! Golf Management and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters. 

Speaking about the partnership Genefa Murphy, Chief Marketing Officer of Five9, said; “The DP World Tour is well known for delivering innovative, engaging experiences for its fans and players, and we are honoured to be a partner as they continue to transform the use of technology in sport. We look forward to working closely with the wider European Tour group to develop a world-class AI driven digital concierge service, as we expand our international footprint and enjoy new opportunities to connect with our customers, partners, and employees through this partnership.”

Michael Cole, Chief Technology Officer of the European Tour group, said; “We have seen a significant transformation of our IT infrastructure in recent years and a willingness to embrace new technologies. For example, we are now 100% cloud based as an organisation and contactless at tournaments. I’m proud to say that we are now seen as a leader in the use of technology in sport, and partners have been key to getting us there. With Five9, we are adding another industry innovator to our partner community.” 

Max Hamilton, Commercial Director of the European Tour group, added; “Five9’s technologies can help further reduce complexities in our operations and improve how we communicate with our players, partners and fans. We will also be using the global reach of the DP World Tour to help drive new business growth for Five9 across its target markets. We can’t wait to get started.”