Sponsorship

Sponsorship can be a highly effective marketing strategy, carried out in various ways and with various benefits.

You could sponsor an event, a group or a charity, either financially or in kind. With so many options, it can be difficult to choose which is best for your business. 

Finding the right sponsorship opportunity

Deciding who to sponsor can be a big decision for your business, so a marketing expert can help you decide what outcome you’d like to see as a result of your investment and what aspects of your business’ brand the sponsorship reflects. For example, is a local group or a national charity a better fit? Is there a particular issue your ideal customer can empathise with? Is the cause a good match ethically?

And while sponsorship can simply be a nice thing to do, you are still investing your business’ money, so will you get anything in return? Things like your logo being displayed, the opportunity to appear in relevant media content or the right to mention your sponsorship through your own communication channels are all common benefits of sponsorship.

A marketing expert can help you refine your wants and needs, and help to secure a sponsorship deal which benefits both the recipients and your business. With a knowledge of the industry, they can do this in less time and with potentially a better outcome for your business than you would have achieved otherwise.

Making the most of the sponsorship

A sponsorship shouldn’t end once the money or service has been handed over. It should form a part of your wider marketing strategy, and as such, you can use it to create content for your own website and social media channels, as well as wider media opportunities.

After taking the time to choose the right beneficiary to support, make sure your customers know what you’ve done and why, both to provide further awareness for your chosen cause and to strengthen the knowledge of your own brand ethos.

Once you’ve chosen the right form of sponsorship, it should also provide you with access to a potential customer base who are already aligned with your own brand values, so you can find a greater number of leads in a shorter period of time.

Your chosen marketing expert will ensure this is done, making sure the sponsorship fits into the rest of your business marketing, is communicated well across your own channels and that the wider media are aware of why your business has taken this step – which is also a great way of making you stand out against your competitors.

Providing sponsorship also acts as a signal to others that your business is doing well – you can afford to spend money on ‘extras’ – and so people have more faith in your business as stable and trustworthy. People like to be associated with something successful, especially if there is a sense of ‘doing good’ behind it. While sponsorship creates this awareness of success and the values behind your business, it is something that can be built on through other marketing activities in your strategy.