Selling
WNBA Team Grows Sponsorship By Being Proactive About Activation
To attract sponsors, properties should prioritize offering relevant promotional ideas.
6/11/07: Working with sponsors to develop tailored activation programs–including hiring a full-time staff member to concentrate on such efforts–has helped the WNBA Sacramento Monarchs increase sponsorship revenue by 50 percent this season.
The team kicked off its 11th season last month by welcoming six new partners, including the U.S. Army; Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Inc.; and XO Holdings, Inc.’s XO Communications.
Danette Leighton, vice president of business operations, attributes the boost in revenue to the Monarchs’ decision to de-emphasize signage, tickets and other standard sponsorship benefits in favor of selling the team as a unique platform for local promotions.
That approach, Leighton said, began 18 months ago when team owner Maloof Sports & Entertainment brought Tom Hunt on board as vice president of strategic alliances for the Monarchs and their NBA sibling Sacramento Kings. Hunt immediately began reaching out to current sponsors to find out why they were involved with the Monarchs and how the team fit into their marketing objectives.
“We have a loyal fan base, good media coverage and are involved in the community, but companies wanted to find more ways to leverage those traits with their own branding and marketing objectives,” Leighton said. “We weren’t doing that as effectively as we could, but now we’re asking potential sponsors the right questions in terms of how can we marry the strengths of our team with their specific business objectives.”
One person who has been critical in building those programs is Kymberley Wayne, whom Hunt hired at the beginning of this year to fill the newly created role of director of creative partner development for both teams.
“Her focus is to create activation programs for our sponsors and prospective partners. We have to offer those types of programs to gain a point of differentiation from other properties,” Leighton said.
Wayne was involved in suggesting promotional extensions for the team’s pitch to the Army, including the idea to create local fitness camps run by Monarchs players. That element is now a key part of the Army’s team sponsorship.
“We want to show that fitness can lead to success, and the Monarchs came to us with ideas of how we could marry that concept with a sponsorship; the community outreach program allows us to do that,” said Chris Putman, chief of advertising and public affairs for the U.S. Army’s Sacramento recruiting battalion.
In addition to the camps, the Army brings recruiters to each home game at ARCO Arena, where its sponsorship is spotlighted by the Army Strong Player of the Game feature. The military branch also will sponsor a game later this month that will include talks by women serving in the military and presentations by women married to servicemen.
MS&E’s focus on activation programs also has helped the organization expand relationships with existing sponsors. For example, Wells Fargo Insurance joined its retail banking sibling Wells Fargo Bank N.A. this year after the team approached both companies about developing a Monarchs-themed reading center at a local school.
Sponsorship of the center is designed to play up parent Wells Fargo & Co.’s support of education and financial literacy. Wells Fargo Bank will tout the program at local branches this summer.
Sources
U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion, Sacramento, Tel: 916/638-0970
Sacramento Monarchs, Tel: 916/928-3650