Marketing Magic of Sponsorship
Requests for sponsorships are escalating to new levels as nonprofits and charitable organizations strive to raise funds for their cause in an already squeezed economy.
Should you add sponsorship to your marketing repitoire?
Before you decide to sponsor a golf tournament, speaker, the wine at an event, VIP room, an awards reception, educational program, banners, badge holders, audio visual equipment, display computers, tote bags, shuttle buses, napkins or drink cups, you need to set clear, measurable goals. Do you want to enhance your image, drive sales, get positive publicity, increase awareness, be a good corporate citizen, enhance consumer/business relations or differentiate yourself from competitors?
Identify primary and secondary goals then consider whether sponsorship is a good fit to achieve them.
If you do sign on the sponsorship dotted line. Make sure to customize your sponsorship to engage people with your brand. If you're a telecom company set-up a recharging station at a trade show so delegates can recharge dead cell / tablet batteries on the spot. If you're a water supplier, provide bottled water to delegates or golfers. Get creative and work with the nonprofit / charity to customize a sponsorship so it gets people to interact with your brand. This will help you connect with specifically targeted niche markets without any waste. It's also an effective complement to other marketing programs and, like magic, can have a dramatic influence on customer relations.
Unlike the immediacy of magic, however, the results of a sponsorship may take time. But the feel good of helping children, disadvantaged, or disabled, or the many other good causes out there does give you an immediate magical thrill. Just ensure it fits with your overall corporate strategy to maximize results.
Christine Dubyts is crazy about marketing and helping businesses stay in business, grow and prosper. As a fempreneur she has a special interest in working with other women business owners with their marketing and business growth efforts.
