When a company needing support and a larger brand work collaboratively, magic can happen for both of them. Let’s take a quick look at the advantages of brand sponsorship.
What Exactly Is Brand Sponsorship?
If you’ve ever been curious about vintage television shows from the 1950s, you may have noticed that some had titles like “The Bell Telephone Hour,” a musical variety show, “Chevrolet Tele-Theater,” live drama, and “Camel Caravan: The Vaughan Monroe Show,” another musical variety series.
Often an entire show was sponsored by one brand, and the product would be prominently incorporated somehow into the show, including Bell Telephone, Chevrolet, and, back when smoking was totally fine for everyone’s health, Camel Cigarettes.
Modern brand sponsorship is not advertising, but it’s when two brands choose to professionally collaborate together. One gives the other some sort of resource like funding, purchasing a booth at an expo, or some type of service. In return, the non-sponsoring brand will get a reputation boost, and they both end up with valuable exposure, cross-promoting each other. These arrangements could take place at business expos, charity, sporting, performance, or other events.
What Categories of Brand Sponsorship Are There?
There are two general categories: financial and in-kind.
Financial help is the most coveted and common form of sponsorship and involves a sponsor giving money to the other brand and getting promotional or other services in return.
Instead of cash, an in-kind sponsorship involves the exchange of products or services.
4 Types of Brand Sponsorship
These first two are examples of financial sponsors. A Series Sponsor, much like the vintage TV show example, means the sponsor’s name and logo are in the event series title.
A General Sponsor can promote their unique position as a sponsor and will benefit from media coverage.
In-kind sponsorships include a Venue Partner, which hosts events free or at a greatly reduced rate, or a Food Sponsor, which provides an event with free food.
What Are the Benefits?
The number one benefit is a mutual increase in brand visibility, so research the event or venue first to make sure it’s in alignment with the type of customers you want to attract.
A sponsored event will help you create qualified leads and the customers come right to you. An in-person event also helps you create an emotional connection with customers, which you can’t get from a marketing campaign alone.
When you’re affiliated with a prestigious, high-quality event, public perception of your brand shifts in a positive direction, a highly beneficial side effect.
Before, during, and after the event, there are many opportunities for content marketing on social media and cross-pollinating with each other’s customers. If anyone tags your brand on social, engage and thank them.
Should You Use It?
The importance of brand sponsorship shouldn’t be overlooked. When you’re ready to cement your credibility, elevate your public image and potentially attract a whole new customer base, which is what sponsors get in return for their support, it’s time to give the benefits of brand sponsorship real consideration.
Next Steps
Consider a few brand sponsorship examples. TED partnered with Rolex in 2008, and Rolex produced a three-minute film describing the innovation in their design. Innovation is a key point the two brands have in common and they benefit from the partnership.
Nike paired with footballer/influencer Cristiano Ronaldo. They epically cross-promoted and supported each other, with Cristiano writing thousands of social media posts naming or showing Nike products, which generated $474 million in media value.
Feel like exploring what’s possible? Have a look around, and reach out to see how we might help you.
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