Respect is due in sponsorship

Charles McKelvey’s article “Has Octagon found the magic formula” (MW November 25) for sponsorship evaluation shows a dismal lack of understanding of the subject. It is ludicrous to suggest major corporations with marketing expertise spend £30bn a year “on a whim rather than a serious marketing discipline”.

There is no magic formula because sponsorships vary so widely in character, but it needs a proper understanding of the subject – and a proper respect for the intelligence of those experienced in the sponsorship industry.

Stephen Proctor

Managing director

Sports Marketing Surveys

Byfleet

Surrey

The only “dismal lack of understanding” is on the part of Proctor. It was Octagon president Alasdair Ritchie who said clients considered sponsorship a “whim”. The article questions Octagon’s claims and concludes that a joint industry standard “still seems a long way off” – Ed