Sponsorship is an increasingly prevalent form of marketing activity that is different from the solo-flight characteristic of advertising but still involves brandishing the name of your product or company.  Many argue as to the benefits or efficacy of sponsorship.  So now the biggest question is, “Is sponsorship right for your company?”

What is Sponsorship?
First, let’s define sponsorship.  Sponsorship is a marketing strategy in which a company/group/individual supports an organization, activity, or event by way of providing financial or other material resources that can be of value to the sponsored entities.  In return, the sponsoring body acquires rights and association which it can use for commercial purposes and other benefits.

How Does Sponsorship Benefit the Sponsoring Company?
Sponsorship does involve money and resources, but is this investment worth your company’s effort and resources?  The answer is yes and no.  It largely depends on how you negotiate with the organizers of an event to make sure you attain visibility, access, promotional rights, extended advertising reach, impressions, incentives, and proprietary platform.

By sponsoring an event, you partly own the activity, organization, or event for a certain period of time while the sponsorship lasts.  All you need to do is ensure your assets in exchange for the resources you invested for the sponsored event, including marks and logos, the audience, publication materials, signage, web site, sites/venues, guaranteed media, VIP opportunities, database, events and programs, as well as merchandise.

Sponsorship is essentially a marketing strategy that is different from advertising and philanthropy.  The fact that you acquire rights and association through sponsorship makes it a powerful marketing tool because you’re not the only one promoting yourself or your company.  The sponsored body has to make sure you are differentiated from competitors so you have an edge over those who didn’t sponsor for the event you’re sponsoring.

It’s important to take note that there are different forms of sponsorship from which to choose.  Therefore, you can select which kind you deem will provide your company or organization with the most exposure to the community/audience.

What Are The Different Kinds of Sponsorship?

Media program sponsorship – sponsorship of television and radio is another means to get media exposure and integration into the audience, even more when you sponsor highly-rated programs.

Sports sponsorship – major sports events typically attract a significant amount of media coverage, this, aside from being well attended by a large audience.  Sponsoring of this kind lets you get the exposure that the event likewise enjoys.

Arts and educational sponsorship – while both of these may not present the kind of large audience of sports and media events, they can still be beneficial to a company that aims to reach a specific audience.

How should you plan a sponsorship endeavor?
Because you’re putting up an investment in sponsorship, this marketing tool should be planned just as you would any major marketing move that elicits favorable results where sales are concerned.  This means planning ahead by analyzing the situation.  Are other businesses trying this strategy already and is it giving them benefits?  Also find out which competitors are sponsoring the same event and plan a distinct marketing style to differentiate you from the rest.

Equally important is to define your objectives on why you want to sponsor an event/organization/individual.  Remember the three reasons why you advertise – it is to maintain/increase sales, introduce and promote a new product/service, build an image, and increase the market’s awareness of your brand.

It’s also a must to define your target audience and device what resources will be useful and effective to make the sponsorship endeavor successful.

You need to consider sponsorship as a form of marketing strategy that requires planning and execution of this strategy to your company’s advantage.  So if you think sponsorship is for your company, start planning now and invest tomorrow.