What is sponsorship?

Sponsorship Marketing: A Specialized Tool

Despite the billions spent annually sponsoring sports teams, entertainers, exhibitions and events, this remains one of the most misunderstood – and misused – forms of marketing.

So what is sponsorship marketing and how should it be used?

In my book, “Sponsorship’s Holy Grail,” I explain that the term is frequently used to describe two types of marketing that are as different as oil and water.

·      

Media sponsorship can consist of brand and name associations achieved with broadcast, print and Internet advertising. Example: “The Half Time Show brought to you by Big Company.”

Media Sponsorships have little intrinsic emotional connection with the living, breathing person watching the program. They must be supported by additional advertising to deliver a marketing message (or hopefully a call to action).

Think about the massive unaided recall of a company like Coca-Cola. What possible reason would Coke have to associate its famous, iconic brand name with a football half time show?

In actuality, Coke is paying for media broadcast time – not true sponsorship. The relevant questions, then, are how much are they paying for this type of media buy vs. other competitive buys in broadcast or print, and does this medium allow them to deliver a meaningful brand message?

·      

Active Sponsorship. This is where a company (sponsor) can get into the lives of its customers, connecting their passion for a property/person/foundation, etc., with the rational decision of whether to purchase the company’s products and/or services.

This is the equivalent of the marketer getting on the grungy city bus, able to see, hear and feel consumer sentiment, rather than taking a limo with sound insulation and dark glass. You (metaphorically) sit right next to the real customer and have to deliver a message that will make them love your product or service. 

This is where you win their hearts and minds – but only if you know what it is you are trying to achieve.

Sports marketing pro Steve Madincea explained it this way: “Sponsorship can be one of the most effective marketing tools available to an organization. It connects the passion a consumer has for a team, cause, celebrity, or property with a brand in a way that no other media can.”

The corollary is that the best-intentioned sponsorship program will fail miserably if it is not properly designed to be activated against company objectives.