The Conundrum Of Size In Sponsorship
Posted: 7/22/2010 12:38:47 PM by
Jim Andrews | with 3 comments
As with many other things, size both does and doesn’t matter when it comes to sponsorship.
In response to my colleague Carrie Kapraun’s blog post regarding the efficacy of sponsorship programs for various property types, a commenter posed a question from the sponsor perspective, essentially asking whether sponsorship was strictly the domain of large businesses and out of the reach of smaller ones.
I have heard this question plenty of times before, and my answer is always the same: Sponsorship, like most marketing tools, can be effective for any size business if it is employed correctly.
The question usually arises, as it did in this case, from an assumption that sponsorships are limited to the marquee deals that make for good headlines and case studies. If that were true then yes, only deep-pocketed companies could afford things like venue naming rights, bowl game title deals and national concert tours by top-name stars.
But that assumption is the equivalent of saying, advertising opportunities consist only of prime time TV spots, full-color spreads in national magazines, and billboards along major interstate highways.
Just as with advertising, small-business sponsors can choose from a huge variety of opportunities that are appropriately scaled for the size and scope of the company, whether we are talking about local deals, partnerships aimed at a niche target market or a lower-level package of benefits with a large property.
It is perhaps true, as the commenter suggests, that a small or upstart company could benefit better than any other sponsor from the visibility that a marquee sponsorship could offer. But if such a deal is unrealistic due to budget constraints, there are options. Perhaps a local chain of cosmetic dentistry offices cannot afford to name the new NBA arena in town, but chances are the team has opportunities available for less than six figures that will provide a platform to raise the company’s profile, build a prospect database, etc. Obviously, a smart activation plan is necessary in this scenario to turn the package of benefits into something relevant and meaningful.
Over the past 20-plus years, I have seen many lower-level sponsors develop programs that deliver return on investment that far surpasses the relatively inexpensive entry fee, proving that it is indeed not the size of the budget that matters, but what you do with it.
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Filed under: what is sponsorship, activation