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More about understanding sponsorship

Gail Bower

If you sell sponsorship, you should hope that your prospects read Seth Godin's influential blog because today's post endorses sponsorship.

Godin cites several reasons why corporate sponsorship is a good medium, particularly for reaching "an elite or allusive demographic," in an era of exploding media options. (I wrote about this very topic earlier in the explosion, which you can read here, making the case for why sponsorship is a highly effective choice among our fragmenting, proliferating media.)
 
He encourages people seeking sponsorship to understand more about why corporations sponsor to begin with and notes five reasons:
  1. Substitute for advertising.
  2. Bragging rights.  
  3. Opportunity to have influence over the organization being sponsored.
  4. Inspire internal staff.
  5. The CEO's ego. 
I agree with Godin that if you understand what a corporation's priorities and business outcomes are, you will be well-positioned to develop a strong recommendation to them about your opportunity. Indeed it is the entire focus of the sponsorship sales process to uncover these priorities. 
 
I would also offer a few suggestions and refinements:

More reasons.
There are way more than five reasons why a company sponsors an event, activity, campaign, initiative, race car driver, tour, exhibition, Little League game, etc.:

  • to increase sales
  • encourage product usage
  • drive online or retail traffic
  • enhance trust
  • tell a story (about diversity or environmental impact) that enhances the brand
  • generate leads
  • gather market data
  • recruit talent, 
  • among many others.

Sometimes the reasons involve many of these drivers. It's all about affecting a change in behavior, perception, or a business result. And, it's the job of your sales process to uncover what they are and how your opportunity can meet them.

Bad reasons.
By the way, please note that Godin is not endorsing the five reasons he put forth. I suggest that several of them are not good reasons for a company to sponsor, though he is accurate in his descriptions.

Cost Per Thousand (CPM).
CPM is the way traditional advertising is purchased. Media buyers compare media rates among broadcast or print outlets via understanding the cost per thousand. CPM, a quantitative approach, is not the way to buy corporate sponsorship, a qualitative medium. 

Corporate sponsorship is the ultimate social media. It incorporates the two-way interaction of social media with the three-dimensional power of face-to-face interaction. Think social media on steroids. So, if you're comparing sponsorship opportunities through a CPM analysis, you're missing major opportunities.

"Screaming Bargain"
Yes, yes, yes! I love this description, and I couldn't agree more. Sponsorship is high value. Sadly it's especially a screaming bargain because so many organizations dramatically undervalue what they have to offer and have no pricing strategy. 

Share Godin's post with your sponsors and prospects. Let them know what a bargain your opportunity is.

 

Welcome to my blog SponsorshipStrategist.com!

My name is Gail Bower. I’m the founder and president of Bower & Co. Consulting LLC, a revenue strategy firm that guides nonprofits and associations to become self-sufficient by developing reliable sources of earned and non-dues revenue, including from corporate sponsorship.

Here I share thoughts, ideas, strategies, and perspective gained from my personal experience over 35 years buying, selling, and advising clients on how to improve their corporate sponsorship results.

If your sponsorship program needs a refresh—especially now in these uncertain times—you’re in the right place. I literally wrote the book. I’m the author of How to Jump-start Your Sponsorship Strategy in Tough Times, a guidebook for readers during the Great Recession crisis.

Dive in, poke around, and reach out if you have questions. I want you to become a Sponsorship Strategist, too.

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