Money Can’t Buy Me Love – or Like

I got married earlier this summer, so maybe that’s why diamond rings—and The Beatles singing about them—come so easily to mind. Or maybe it’s because at Amway, we’ve found out who really shines when it comes to building relationships both online and off.

Remember the days when “Find the Diamond Ring!” promotions were popular at professional sporting events? The whole concept was so simple: A sponsor would hide a ring somewhere on a football field or in a haystack and fans would frantically dig around, proclaiming a quick and certain victory once they had their hands on that tiny, sparkly object.

I now refer to those as the “dark days,” when all that mattered around sponsorships was the amount of money on the check and the temporary smile on the fan’s face.

Today, we’re enlightened. We understand that true experiences—ones that build lasting, trusting relationships are built on promises made and kept. In other words, money can’t buy us “like.”

Yet keeping those promises in the digital space can be a challenge. Here’s how we’ve tackled—or I should say “slide tackled”—this through the sponsorship that our vitamin and dietary supplement brand Nutrilite has with Italy-based AC Milan, the world’s historically most successful soccer team.

The Pregame
Since 2008, Nutrilite has been the official nutrition supplement provider for AC Milan. Both parties decided—from day one—that this collaboration was far from being a marketing agreement only. It is a partnership based on rigorous science and data-based evidence in the fields of biochemistry, body strength and performance, and nutrition and supplementation applied to athletes.

Many discussions took place to ensure that we shared the same holistic approach to a person’s health and wellbeing, including their lifestyle, diet and genetics.

Lesson learned: Recruit sponsorship partners for the same reason team managers recruit players: To change the trajectory of your success.

The Players
When seeking spokespersons to turn our AC Milan partnership into something real and tangible that we could use to grow sales, we looked to the inside.

This isn’t a revolutionary idea. It’s as easy as asking yourself, “If I had a question or a concern with how mental stress is impacting my tennis game, would I ask a marketer, a social media expert, a celebrity, or a doctor and scientist?”

Clearly, you would choose the latter. At Amway, we’re lucky. We have 500-plus research scientists who work here. Engaging a few with passion and experience in men’s health, sports nutrition, heart health and weight management was easy. Add to the mix AC Milan’s athletic coach and the Milan Lab biochemist, team physician and team nutritionist and an articulate, amazing team —with more to offer than any promotion ever could—was in place.

Lesson learned: When it comes to connecting with online audiences like Facebook fans, or offline ones like game attendees or the players themselves, some of the people stereotyped as quiet are the ones people want to hear from the most.

The Promise
Advancing performance science was our promise and our priority. Creating the strongest nutrition and supplementation plan, customized for each player and based on blood and genetic tests, biodynamic examination, in-depth nutritional and lifestyle analysis, was how we delivered it.

Sound like questionable social media content? In fact, AC Milan’s five million Facebook fans want the inside scoop on their favorite players: what they eat, what questions they ask their own doctors; what kind of fats are OK to consume.

We shared this exclusive information via photos, videos, Tweets, custom Facebook tabs and other creative ideas conceived by our two digital teams. We were just as surprised at its success—but believe it goes back to credibility, science over marketing.

We also embraced AC Milan’s social responsibility platform and this past year, helped fund the building of a new field and community center in Poggioreale, Napoli, an area of Italy identified as high-risk for children.

Lesson learned: Bring value that can’t be bought. Think above and beyond a logo and a check.

The Payoff
In Italy, Nutrilite sales are outpacing previous, pre-sponsorship years. Brand awareness has increased double digits in the same timeframe.

For us, the ultimate lesson that other brands can learn is that digital is only one method—and maybe not the most important one—for leveraging a relationship.

In our case, the program developed by both parties’ experts has improved the athletic performance of players. That science is being shared across the country with coaches of young footballers. It’s making individual players’ lives better. Fans are getting the answers and the respect that they deserve as they seek health-related information. And ultimately, we’re looking to roll out similar programs in two of Amway’s top five markets in the next year.

Lesson learned: Partnerships built on mutual credibility; passion and scientific expertise make every contact with a fan deeper.

Diamonds aren’t always forever. But fan relationships can be.

Mike Edwards is the director of digital and experiential marketing for Amway, a Governing Member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.