Boost marketing, contacts, image via sponsorship
If you were lucky enough to catch a ballgame or concert this summer, you likely noticed one or more corporate banners splashed across the stadium or arena.
It's quite a common sight these days, as corporations are sponsoring just about everything from stadiums to hot air balloons.
That would explain why sponsorship spending is expected to reach $37.7 billion globally this year, an 11.9 percent increase over 2006, according to the Chicago-based IEG Sponsorship Report.
But before you jump on the sponsorship bandwagon, make sure that your hard-earned dollars will be working for you, experts say. After all, with limited funds, you can't afford to make the wrong sponsorship choice.
“Small businesses have to be very careful and strategic about how they select a sponsorship,” says Bill Glenn, an adjunct professor of sponsorship marketing for the University of Dallas and a vice president at The Marketing Arm in Dallas. “They have to look for opportunities that are very focused and less cluttered so they can stand out more.”
So how do you size up the right sponsorship opportunity?
First, ask yourself what you hope the sponsorship will achieve.
“A company can use sponsorships to accomplish multiple marketing objectives,” says William Chipps, senior editor of the IEG Sponsorship Report, a biweekly newsletter that tracks corporate sponsorships. Objectives include building visibility, demonstrating good corporate citizenship, generating potential business from co-sponsors, and entertaining employees or customers by providing event tickets as part of a sponsorship package, he says.
Having a goal will help you assess which sponsorship opportunities will help you achieve it, be it a sporting event, a trade show or a cause like a charity walk.
If you’re looking to generate new business, you'd definitely want to know who the event's target audience is, says Mindy Dutka, president of The Event Company, a Jericho event marketing company. It also pays to ask the organizers about other sponsors because you may find potential business synergies there, she says.
And make sure the event is in line with the type of image you wish to project, she advises. So talk to past sponsors and see if they were pleased - or displeased - by their involvement.
Find out about the organization producing the event and the success of its previous events, including how many people attended, Dutka says, and ask if it will be held rain or shine and what that means for your sponsorship.
And she encourages finding out specific details about what your sponsorship dollars will get you (i.e., signage, media exposure, display space, etc.) as well as what kind of support you can expect from the event's organizers.
“Usually an organization should come to you with a sponsorship package giving you the opportunities at different levels and outlining what the benefits are,” Dutka says.
If you're not happy with the packages offered, don't be afraid to negotiate, experts say.
For instance, if you'd rather have a table at an event instead of signage, ask the organizer if you can swap, says Glenn, who encourages businesses in sponsorship roles to try to engage their audience in some way.
“Sponsorship is about building relationships with your target audience,” Glenn says. “It's really about engagement marketing.”
This goes beyond just slapping up a banner.
For instance, when Roger Browner of GourMelts Llc in Hicksville sponsors an event, he makes sure the audience gets to taste the company's round sliced cheeses. So at the recent Metro NY Balloon & Music Festival in Brookhaven, he teamed up with the event's Ohio concessionaire and supplied all the cheese used on the burgers sold at the three-day festival. In exchange, he got to put the company's signage on the food concessions.
Remember: Like GourMelts, many companies offer in-kind donations of their products or services and still get the benefit of getting their name plugged as a sponsor.
Donating your time on a sponsorship committee can also help, says Jeff Weiner, president of HKM Associates, a Uniondale insurance provider. “When I first started out, I wasn't giving a lot of money, but I was giving a lot of time,” says Weiner, who sponsors several charity golf outings a year. “Your name is still going on every brochure that goes out as a golf committee member.”
In addition, being on planning committees has helped generate new business through the contacts he meets, says Weiner, who now spends between $5,000 and $10,000 annually on sponsorships.
So he's able to give back and get back at the same time.
Talk about your win-win situations.
Published by Newsday.com
By: Jamie Herzlich, Newsday September 10, 2007
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