So why a sport sponsorship deal?

It was not an easy decision spending millions of pounds of a hard earned marketing budget in one go, with the recession still firmly gripping society however I felt it important to take the opportunity and be decisive. Its a 3 year deal and when an opportunity as large as this comes up, in my opinion you grab it with both hands.

It is also important to look beyond the economic downturn. The credit crunch will not last forever and it is important to stand by what you believe in. For those fans who go to all the home games, you will know that UKFast gets a mention every time Charlie Hodgson scores. A few seasons back, he injured himself and although we were offered a replacement player, we stuck with Charlie. He came back, stronger, fitter and in my opinion is one of the greatest fly-halves in today’s tough game.

So when McAfee wavered, I made sure we had a window where we were able to negotiate without interruption.

I have had a few chats with Brian Kennedy, and he is grateful for the support and for the fact that there are others in the Manchester and Northwest business community who understand and believe in what the Sharks are doing.

It is the work the Sharks do team building in schools and with kids which sealed it for us. It is so easy to disengage and get transfixed on your financial goals and loose site of what is really important. Gail and I put as much emphasis on hitting personal goals as we do the financial ones, and this had been born from a discussion a decade ago, when First Software were on the shirts “one day, we’ll be main sponsors.”

10 years on, the Sharks, UKFast partnership is more than a logo on a shirt. It gives us an opportunity to say thank you to Manchester and the surrounding community. It is the fun part of being an entrepreneur which enables us to do something as exiting as this.

Just cant wait for the season to start now!

Whilst the newspapers bemoan plummeting house prices and wail about the soaring cost of living, our spirit becomes downtrodden and people forget what it is to fight.

Think positive. Things aren’t as bad as they seem in the hyped-up media. Businesses can still thrive in the current economic climate. Mass psychology determines the directions of markets in the same way mob mentality determines whether a Big Brother contestant is liked or not.

Because people sell as soon as they think a market is going down, it will decrease in value. Market recession is a self fulfilling prophesy.

The rate of growth in the economy is slowing – there’s no doubt about it. But it couldn’t continue at its previous rate. Meanwhile, the poisonous effects of the banking sector on the economy’s current state is largely self-inflicted by the greed of banks freely lending money. And although changes are visible on the high-street, with shops shutting down, this has been happening for quite some time. It is nothing new.

Despite the credit crunch, the economy of Britain is still on the rise. At the recent 0.3% increase it is weak by usual standards, but we are by no means in negative territory at this time. Sadly we are likely to talk ourselves into one though.

But even whilst the advertising sector as a whole shows a decline of 0.7%, online adspend has increased by 21% in the last year.

So why has online advertising increased this much despite the credit crunch?

It stems from the fact that the medium offers a relatively low-cost approach to brand building. And it works. At UKFast we operated an “online only” advertising policy for many years. Here’s why:

1. You only pay for the people who see your ad. If you pay for 100 click-throughs or that number of leads, that’s what you get. Businesses like this quantifiable approach because it guarantees a healthy ROI.

2. Targeting the right audience online is much more easily done than in other mediums such as broadcast or print because online communities are much more specific.

3. Businesses are recognising the ease in which they can extend the transaction within online advertising. Traditionally, apart from placing freephone numbers on TV and coupons in print publications, there was no way for customers to act on adverts. On the internet though, interested customers can click and buy on the spot.

4. With online platforms free advertising is much more plausible – strategic press releases need only cost for production as they can be posted in many areas free of charge.

It’s not all spam. The internet is a valid and cost-effective platform on which to advertise and grow your business – even within the credit crunch.

If you’ve had any experience of online advertising growing your brand and delivering great results please leave a comment. I’m very interested in hearing your stories.