Robots in disguise: why robot lawnmowers are showing up in sport

This probably looks like a slightly random post. Me + A robot lawnmower = an article on why & how new brands in particular use sport to drive their marketing…

I was prompted by an FT piece this week (link in comments) about brands using sport as they launch and scale. And it reminded me of something I’ve seen play out a few times now…

Sponsorship without the faff...

I saw this first-hand at the ECB. The summer of 2022 and Rylan was the new face of cinch as they were building a new post-covid category of online car buying…and the next minute they were the principal partner of the England Cricket Team.

Their challenge was asking people to change behaviour and make a sizable purchase online without actually seeing the product until it arrived…so why cricket?

I was with Robert Bridge on day 1 of the sponsorship when the Men’s team first played at Lord’s – within the first hour of play the website had record visitors – “who was cinch?” – the curiosity that the visible assets in the partnership were really important but even more powerful was the layered approach to activation which educated, rewarded, incentivised and ultimately drove tangible 1st party activity - resulting in significant car sales. What did cinch really get from this partnership – in a word “Trust.”

And it’s not just new brands.

You see the same dynamic with more established, more functional categories, where the challenge isn’t awareness, but how the brand is actually perceived.

indeed is a good example of this. They recently announced a step-up in their Brentford partnership from training wear and recruitment, and now moving into front-of-shirt across the men’s, women’s and academy teams and activity in the community trust giving them multiple ways to show up where people already have an emotional connection.

That matters because job search is inherently functional. It can feel transactional, stressful and impersonal and through Brentford, Indeed has the opportunity to make the brand feel more human, more local and ultimately more trusted.

Not just more visible.

The “Science” Part… (my A-level psychology paying off at last!)

There’s a reason for that. Humans wired to trust things we feel a connection to. When something feels familiar or shares something with us we’re far more open to it.

But in sport, it goes a step further. Sport isn’t just something people like. It’s something people care about. It’s part of culture.

And if a brand shows up consistently in something that sits inside culture something you follow, talk about, and feel emotionally connected to it starts to feel less like an advertiser… and more like it belongs.

That sense of belonging is powerful.

Because it’s where familiarity, relevance and trust all start to come together.

Now fast forward to… robot lawnmowers.

Not the most obvious sports category beyond the shared need for grass! The dynamics of switching to a robot-lawnmower are exactly the same. It’s a new behaviour for most people. It’s not cheap (although prices are coming down fast) and would you really believe that a robot can cut the grass as well as you…(Garden warriors unite!)

And what are the category leaders doing? They’re moving into sport.

STIGA announced a partnership England Rugby last year and are actively working with the rugby club network to drive adoption (at clubs and those who use them) Husqvarna UK a are very active in Golf (The British Masters / DP World Tour) where the quality of greens gives a brilliant context to drive product performance.

They’re not just doing it for awareness. They’re doing it because sport gives them something most channels can’t:

• A way to prove performance in credible environments
• A way to build trust faster
• A way to make something unfamiliar feel normal
• And it gives them assets to use in content, and secure premium distribution with retailers too

And this is where it’s easy to oversimplify things and a massive misconception is that Sport is just top-of-funnel. We believe (and have supported) how, at its best, it can work right across the funnel; from awareness to consideration to trial, repeat and advocacy…

And none of them do it without a clear strategy, proper activation and reflecting creatively how the brand should be showing up in the sport authentically. Many brands make the assumption that buying the rights does the job. It doesn’t.

Selecting the right sponsorships is part of this too. Many brands treat sport like a media channel. When actually, at its best, it’s a behaviour-change channel.

So if you’re launching or scaling something…Are you using sport to be seen? Or to build belief?

(And for what it’s worth — the lawnmower is very good.)

This is #2 in BAZBALLERS CONSULTING LTD "The Scoop" - if you missed the first one then please find that here: Read on LinkedIn

Russell James

Founder of Bazballers. Formerly Marketing Director at The FA, Sales and Marketing Director at the ECB, and ten years at P&G.

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