Have you contacted your Sponsor Today?

Sports sponsorship is generally either sponsorship of an event, a league, a governing body, a particular team or individual or the broadcast of an event. Therefore, one can define those capable of being sponsored as “properties”, to use the correct marketing language. 


In becoming involved in sponsorship, “brand owners” are buying a right to associate themselves with these events, organisations and people in order to achieve a number of strategic objectives. These can include, increased brand awareness, achieving greater market share, enhancing reputation or perhaps for social reasons.

When seeking a sponsor one should also remember that sponsorship scores very highly in helping brands create and share “an experience” with their target audiences. This marketing philosophy is highly relevant to corporate straregt and should be remembered when approaching a sponsor. More importantly, sponsorship is a commercial transaction and therefore must deliver “value” for all parties concerned.

One key issue to be addressed by both parties is a measurable expectation or objective. If this is not agreed at the outset the relationship will not meet either side’s expectations.

Always in any sponsorship agreement one should be concerned about the fine line between the true costs and likely benefits of sponsorship as well. To ensure that a sponsorship is really effective it is common for the associated expenditure to be twice the agreed sum. In other words, to make a sponsorship valuable there must be additional spend to make it achieve its commercial objectives. 

This type of detail needs to be clarified when formalising any sponsorship agreement.

When you look around at the sponsors that involve themselves with the national loccer  leagues of European countries the one thing that is consistent is the strength of the brand names. 

One does not have to travel much further than the Premiership to see AIG adorning Manchester United shirts; Samsung on Chelsea kit; Carlsberg with Liverpool Football Club. If you look at  La Liga in Spain BWIN.com sponsor Real Madrid and in Serie-A in Italy Pirelli partner with Inter Milan. 

FC Barcelona have no sponsor but have committed the space on their team shirts to the charity UNICEF. 

Utmost with any sponsorship realtionship is that when the contract period expires the commercial partners may consider extending the agreement or continuing an involvement. It is this task that often becomes harder in the everyday battle and can be downside if the smallest issues are overlooked. Or can offer the most value and perhaps reinforce long-term links.

For instance, the proper presentation of a sponsors logo or trademark can be a vital start to setting things off on the right foot with any commercial partner. Too often in the speed and rush to get started things can go wrong and can unsettle any commercial relationship at the early stages. It is important therefore in the rush to collect sponsorship money and that  all promotion items are completed to the specification and quality required by the sponsor.

In other words the corporate standards of the sponsor matter.

Taking the money and running is only a short-term solution and does ntheerfot encourage longer-term partnerships. Therefeore the key issue always being to give back to the sponsor “value” to maximise the exposure beyond the iimmediate value. Such a proactive emphasis is important and reinforces the partnership to the sponsor's target audience.

Undoubtedly sponsors always feel they have overpaid for any event or property. Therefore be quick to give back and this could include addtitional complementary hospitality, priority access to events; preferential choice for tickets for any other major events. This will allow for the commercial relationship to expand beyond the terms of the contract and also broaden the communication between the two sides.

Too often these simple details are forgotten in the rush to balance the books or get money into the coffers.

Failing to give back to the sponsor decreases the mutual benefits accruing to both sides leaving the sponsors feeling under appreciated. It is only human nature and despite some of the most complex sponsorship theories, most deals are down to the human relationships between the relevant parties.

On the corporate side though it is important to be aware that sponsors budgets can change and marketing managers can also move on. So beware agreements do no last forever. 

With any sponsorship agreement always remember there are many other opportunities for sponsors to support and in sport, unfortunately, there are always other ectors that can offer greater appeal that can attract money in lieu of your property. So you need to always ask how well the sponsors are being serviced by your organisation.

Always remember it must make commercial sense for both parties. It is great to get the money but if you are not in regular touch with the sponsors you will not know if they are a happy. If you are the only partner that is happy then only side maybe benefiting and there will be a lesser chance of a long-term partnership.

So have you contacted your sponsors today?