In the fast changing times, where one day you’re ahead of your business, and the next you’re struggling to make ends meet, the key to knowing how to stay on top of things is of the utmost importance. You’ve heard of partnerships, mergers, business benefactors and the like, but do you really know what they are, and which will be a good add-on to your business?
Having know-how on things will always be to your advantage. Getting on top will require ample amount of information and use of tools that are essential to product/service circulation. One marketing tool that has been around for a long time, but only recognized just recently over the years is corporate sponsorship.
A Tool for Endorsement
Endorsements are a type of support that is considered to be a very powerful way to get ahead of the business world, and one of the best way to utilize this support is through corporate sponsorship. This form of sponsorship is a two-way relationship between two business institutions where the schema has one who gives money (financial backing), and the other advertises the name.
Whether in a large or small-scale dealing, corporate sponsorship helps business names and their particular product or service to be exposed. Good examples are the advertising of sports labels through endorsing athletes to use the label’s products.
Brands such Nike, Adidas, and Fila partner with either a star athlete or team, giving them products to use which will in turn expose the brand name to the public when commercials are aired or when there are games broadcasted on television and the internet.
The role of corporate sponsorships in events
Typically, most corporate sponsorships are tied to a specific event. These events are diverse and may include trade shows, marathons, basketball games, academic competitions, tournaments, etc.; and all of which offer big opportunities for corporate sponsoring.
Corporate sponsoring does not only include financial or product backing on the sponsee, but entails a few other things that should be considered. One is the relevance of the sponsor and sponsee – whether or not a potential partnership is good for both parties.
A potential sponsor should have a corporate culture that is like that of the event. Mismatching events with sponsors will only confuse the public and often not a good image result between either of the two parties. For example, you can’t have an Animal Welfare organization support an event that promotes the use of fur. To do that would be contradicting, financially wasteful, and overall a ‘suicide’ on both the organization and the event.
Going for corporate sponsorship
Most business organizations consider and apply corporate sponsorship due to sole fact that it exposes their business name and purpose. This exposure is considered to be far reaching compared to other forms of advertising and the percentage of cost is usually smaller to those of other tool use.
When a sponsor and sponsee are the right match and deal under the right circumstances, the overall result will always benefit both parties. Both will be given good exposure, and the name that is advertised will be broadcast far and wide in every aspect.
Having corporate sponsorship also emphasizes that a certain individual or organization is serious in its dealings and is committed to its chosen field. The fact that a business went for sponsorship makes it know that it wants to excel and be known to the public so that it can propagate in the best way possible.
There isn’t a great issue over which fairs better between sponsorship and advertising. Both are marketing tools that strategically apply to different situation. There are however usual times when a business is faced with choosing between both tools. These times usually are a point of exposure as to which tool can give more and help increase a brand’s visibility. This arena is where sponsorship takes over.
What sponsorship accomplishes better than advertising is in the establishment of qualitative attributes. These attributes include brand image towards consumers, generating awareness, and consumer’s choice of such brand. On these attributes, sponsorship has more lead on enhancing them, which advertising falls short of.
Sponsorship’s winning features
With sponsorship, as compared to advertising, the following feature it builds includes the following:
• credibility – refers to the integrity that sponsorship builds
• exclusivity – the form of differentiation that sets clients into high status
• image enhancement
• relevance to lifestyle
• prestige that it offers
There are other points that make sponsorship a winner; and these are also quantitative benefits that are not available through advertising. The first of which is having a live audience for product and brand circulation. Sponsorship provides opportunities for on-site sales and sampling, customer feedback, surveying, sales-force interaction and product testing – all of which involve the participation of an audience. Through live product presentations, the exposure is greater and the promotion of brand and product names is at a rapid pace.
When we compare sponsorship and advertising, one mode to look into is how interaction is done. With advertising, interaction is one-way and generally a monologue. On the other hand, sponsorship is more like a dialogue where the opportunity of a company to have live exchange with its target customers is highly practiced.
As with interaction, product sampling is another plus to sponsorship. Events that are sponsored allow people to have on site trials on products. This way, awareness of a certain brand name or service is heightened. Examples on-site trials include food sampling, test driving, official clothes worn in the event, etc.
With sponsorship, an organization’s name becomes associated into a sponsored event’s actions unlike that of advertising. This means that sponsorship is able to surpass the medium of media and place itself in the environment where everyone can see it, For example, when sponsorship is incorporated in movies; the audience has no escape in seeing the brand or logo being promoted because it is part of the film. They can’t just eliminate a scene like changing a channel on TV; they have to sit through the film and take in everything that comes with it.
Lastly, sponsorship provides entertainment to its client. How? This is done through the events that are sponsored. When the word ‘event’ comes to mind, it is always a happening that does not come everyday. It is a break from the everyday routine that clients have. With advertising, nothing is disrupted from normal life. Everyone is accustomed to see bill boards, ad placements and commercials.
With sponsored events, the setting is different and the aim is to provide an avenue for people to interact with the business through a social activity. Events also make great places to have informal sales and networking; and with the chosen venue, which is most often a hospitable one, the event becomes desirable and unique to lounge in.
When the term ‘sponsorship’ is used, what comes to mind is typically a business relationship and representation between a sponsor and a chosen event or business. This is a common conception associated with business and marketing terms since it’s used as a popular promotional tool.
Sponsorship, however, should be understood as a widespread concept; where the root meaning of ‘support’ and ‘help’ is the core of it. This type of sponsorship is found in discrete and protective programs - one of which includes the support of recovering alcoholics.
Yes, even victims of destructive addictions need sponsors. This form of support is not the same as with marketing where ‘exposure’ is the goal. The aim for sponsoring alcoholics is to provide the necessary means for recovery and a return to normal life.
AA – Alcoholics Anonymous
A widespread organization, where the term sponsor and sponsorship is practiced, is Alcoholics Anonymous or simply AA. AA is a meeting society that is informal in nature, with the goal of helping alcoholics achieve sobriety. A twelve-step program devised early on is used as the guidelines for which recovering alcoholics follow.
Historically, AA began with practicing sponsorship. This sponsorship entailed an alcoholic sharing his experience, hope and strength with a fellow alcoholic. This was overtime formalized and developed as a great tool in achieving permanent sobriety among alcoholics.
Each member of AA is eligible in becoming a sponsor. As a sponsor, they are given an opportunity to help other new members who wish to ‘sober up’. This type of sponsorship is in no way financially-based; rather it is regarded as a type of personal support-system in recovery.
Sponsors are regarded as a teacher, friend, tutor, older brother or sister, and experienced guide to the sponsees. Basically, a sponsor in the AA program is someone who has also gone through the twelve-step recovery guide. This way, a sponsee is able to relate with his/her sponsor by leading them through a mutual sharing of experiences and stories.
What to look for in a sponsor
For a recovering alcoholic, matching up with a sponsor is like choosing a best friend. Sponsees are given free reign on deciding who their sponsor should be, and this is often a good process for them. Looking for the best sponsor, however, is not as easy as it seems. The qualifications may differ from each available sponsor, leaving sponsees sometimes confused.
A solution to choosing sponsors is through temporary sponsors. This member type provides an easier transition for a sponsee before he/she finds the right sponsor – this is done by providing the necessary information every recovering alcoholic should know. Temporary sponsors also serve as a temporary guide in answering any clarifications or questions a sponsee may have regarding his or her situation and progress as an AA member.
As a suggestive guide, the factors to look for when deciding on a sponsor are the following:
• The potential sponsor should be able to relate with the sponsee
• He/she has had more time in recovery than the sponsee
• He/she is available for personal meetings, phone conversations and group discussions
• Lives by the guidelines of the twelve-step program
• Can be a friend and also a firm guide to the sponsee
• Can emphasize the spiritual aspects of the program
• He/she can ‘walk the talk’ in all affairs
Commercialism is everywhere. We see it in the streets we walk on, the malls we shop in, the music we listen to, and even the movies we watch. Companies have taken every opportunity and chance to stick their name everywhere for people to notice.
Sponsorship is no stranger when it comes to sticking brands and company names for the right kind of exposure. As a tool for marketing, this has been most profitable and cost-effective, leading other businesses to follow suit.
It’s only normal for sponsorship to reach the arts industry, particularly the movie industry. With all the hype of technological advancements in movie production such as CGI effects and animation, its no wonder corporations have taken a slice to expose their name.
Over the last decade, movie patrons have been seeing corporate brand names in the films they watch. One very good example is Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson’s futuristic take on ‘The Island’. This movie, although not garnered as a box-office wonder, had numerous corporate logos in every scene – with Microsoft as the leading sponsor.
With all that, the question then raised is whether corporate sponsorship is a blessing or curse for the movie industry.
Positive and negative aspects
Corporate sponsorship helps the funding of big-budgeted movies, and the financial constraints are lessened when producing the film. This gives more time for the production team to focus on the quality of the movie, and in turn decrease the ‘headache’ of budgeting the expenses the production has.
With better focus on developing the movie – its story line, scenery, and character profiles – the outcome of the film has a bigger chance of getting positive critique. It will allow movie goers to evaluate the movie as something the production team really took time to do, and did not compromise in making.
With corporate sponsorship and the amount of funding it gives as support, film productions have a bigger opportunity to create the exact type of ‘feel’ they want their movies to be without having to worry on the amount of money that needs to be considered. Sponsorship takes the mind off on ‘getting money’ and presents realism in the movie by allowing the production to uses brands that people have seen and also used.
More money means better funding and better choices. With sponsorship, production crews can get the best of what money can afford them – from equipment to actors to sets. All these result into a feature that is marketable and the gains are most often profitable.
The downside of all this, however, is the detachment a movie may present to its viewers. A movie’s aim is to present a film that can let others relate to it or understand whatever issues are presented. With corporate sponsorship, viewers may feel that they are just watching a very long commercial. The brand exposure that may be pasted in every scene can be distracting and lose whatever essence the film wants to convey.
The type of movie that uses corporate sponsorship is those with graphic animations. A large amount of money is required to develop such productions. The outcome of the film may turn out to be just a display of animation and graphics, leaving out the real plot of the story, making the film less appealing and fake. It would then feel that instead of supporting a film, sponsorship actually demeans it.
Sponsorship that gears towards the improvement of children’s lives has been one of the forefronts to improve the living of those situated in poverty-stricken, third-world countries. The number of charities that advocate children has been growing year by year, encouraging others to lend a hand in child sponsorship, and in turn save lives.
The ability for sponsors or donors to lend a hand to children who are in need has been considered to be a fountain of good, spurting out health, hope, confidence, and friendship between the two parties. Usually in financial form, this amount however small, creates a huge impact on the life of a child and his/her community.
The dispute over child sponsorship
With all the positive feedback garnered by child sponsorship, there is still an amount of criticism attached to it. The discussion on whether this form of support is the best way to improve children’s lives has been prompted over time. One point that is widely considered as a pinnacle of such dispute is the lack of general policies for charities and organizations that give out such help.
The lack of standardization among these institutions has raised questions about proper dissemination of financial support among the sponsees; and has also come across talks on corruption. The arguments involved in sponsoring children don’t only focus on the ‘money’ but also the welfare and form of impact that is put upon the child.
Below is a peek into some common ‘pro’ and ‘con’ statements raised when dealing with child sponsorship.
The good and the bad
A brief look into the process of child sponsorship usually involves three entities – a willing sponsor, a charity chosen by the sponsor/donor, a sponsee or a candidate in need of sponsorship. The sponsor/donor gives a regular donation, whether financial or otherwise, to help the sponsee. This donation is bridged by the chosen charity and is utilized based on the charity’s vision and mission practice.
As a form of sponsor/sponsee relationship, communication between the two is commonly through reports given by the charity, and the occasional letters and cards that a child may write for the sponsor. This process more or less covers how charity involvement helps in child sponsorship.
Pros
One of the ‘good’ that this form of support gives is that a great way to spend money is on helping others improve their living conditions and create a better quality of life for them.
Next is that the help that is bestowed on the sponsees creates a wonderful impact upon them. This impact is usually in the form of security, opportunity and hope; and that this way of experience for the children is manifested through programs that are educational, hygienic, medical, and/or spiritual in nature.
Depending on the scheme of a charitable institution, there is focus among the chosen sponsees of the charity. The ripple effect that happens when child sponsorship is done also creates a better community where the sponsee lives. Charities have a way of including the environment to create an overall improvement in the lives of the sponsees.
Improvement also spans through cultural sharing, wherein the relationship formed by sponsor-charity, charity-sponsee, and sponsor-sponsee allows an avenue for all parties to be culturally aware resulting in understanding and tolerance between each other.
The observed progress of sponsored children is also a motive for organizations that do such to be given more exposure and in turn help make others aware of the help they can give. This way, more funding is possible and in turn more children are given better lives.
Cons
In correspondence to the pro points given, there is also a concern for it. First, critics believe that sponsoring a child is too costly. By costly, they mean that the a big percentage of donations are not used on children’s programs but rather on the administration’s system of progress tracking such as translation reports, salaries for non-volunteers, etc. In addition, the issue on harbouring money for the charity’s personal use also raises a red flag.
Sponsorship is also deemed as a tool for dependency, where the family and the child will be too reliant on their sponsor. Relying too much may result in lesser efforts on the sponsee’s part on escaping poverty, and leave it instead unto the charity’s hands.
Another concern is that when there is an amount of focus given by an institution towards a child, it may create isolation between the child and his/here community. The reason for such is that other community members may feel left out and unworthy of improvement - and may result in jealous quarrels and bouts.
Throughout the years, marketing strategies have evolved to suit the needs of both companies and targeted consumers. In the advent of technological advancements, so have the tools for promotion followed to adapt such changes.
Sponsorship is no exception when it comes to progressive changes in marketing. From the simplest giving out of financial support to digital and web advertising, the use of sponsorship as a marketing tool has spanned through the changing times.
A history of sponsorship is presented below, based on eras of different applications of marketing and advertising tactics.
Eras of sponsorship styles
Arts Patronage in 1600
The earliest form of sponsorship was seen in the support given to actors in the 1600s wherein the arts, particularly the theatre, were the avenue for sponsorship. During this era, to be sponsored meant that the upper crust of society maintained the funding of the plays.
This is very prominent in the European places, where the aristocratic society, such as the Queen, favoured chosen plays and offered their approval as support. Such support gave a ‘go signal’ for other people to patronize the play and further help theatre groups through funding the writers involved and the needed props that were to be used in the acts.
The beginning of advertising in 1631
Within the same decade, advertising through sponsorship had begun. The main benefit that sponsorship offered was exposure to the public. This benefit helped form the basis of exposing services and/or products in modern-day advertising.
It was through newspaper sponsorship in 1631 that classified advertisements were run by a French company. This company sponsored the ads in their newspaper to disseminate throughout the community the products/services of a particular organization.
The early pioneers of 1910 through 1970
In 1924, the first sponsored radio program – The Eveready Hours – was created. This paved the way for today’s television and radio show sponsorships that overall make use of media to circulate products/services to the public.
Other important points within 1910-1970 that are relevantly important to today’s sponsorship practices are the following: The first industries that foreran sponsorship were sports including golf, motor sports, and tennis. The popular brands Bosch and Firestone started sponsorship Indianapolis 500, a racing event.
Development era 1970-1984
Corporate sponsorship began during this era; and unlike its positive acceptance in modern-day, it was not immediately accepted by the event managers then. Corporations started patronizing the forerunners of sponsorship – golf, tennis, and motor sports.
It was during these years that sponsorship meant exposure of the sponsor in television. These broadcasts were often free and thus fully appealed to sponsors; and aside from that, it was also an opportunity for corporate heads to spend time with famous sports players.
Sponsorship continues to rapidly grow in 1983
The explosion of sponsorship happened during this time where a man named Peter Ueberroth paved the way by selling sponsorship for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles that came up to more than 400 million dollars in worth. This single event, coupled along with difficulty of having the government give out proper funding and support, led to the use of sponsorship marketing.
It was during 1983 that a number of companies had an increase of sales in sponsoring, and further influenced a new acceptance of corporate sponsorship in event managers and handlers.
1990s
Further development of sponsorship strategies were continuously focused on by companies during the 90’s. With its popularity among businesses, the need for sophistication in sponsor/sponsee relationships was given importance.
Things like measured sales, business to business opportunities, incentive activation and distributions, became part of sponsorship. These, added with sponsor-sponsee relevance, were vital points of consideration.
2000 to present
It is in these years in sponsorship timeline and still continuing that the technological age’s impact on society has been great. This includes marketing strategies and the form of sponsorship individuals and organizations offer in this digital age. Through the Internet, companies can market for proper sponsees and in turn the sponsees can look for the exact kind of sponsorship they need.
The company you work for is planning to have a major event, and you’re in the marketing group, assigned with the specific tasks of finding suitable sponsors for your event. It seems like a cinch – find potential sponsors; call them up; give a sales pitch; and you’re done. Problem is… each company you called asked you for a sponsorship proposal. You sit there, brainstorming on a plan but have no idea how it should look like.
The good thing about this is that you’re not alone. A number of people and organizations may have heard of sponsorship but never thought of the process involved in acquiring a sponsor. The reason for such is that sponsorship – although now being adapted by numerous companies – has no specific document specification.
The good thing is that like every other proposal plan, a similar format can be used in proposing sponsorships. There is no perfect proposal layout, but the format below targets the two main targets that every sponsorship proposal should aim at – avoiding rejection and securing a meeting with potential sponsors.
What your sponsorship proposal should have
Before writing your proposal plan, key points such as the type and number of sponsors should be established. These points are important considerations since they will be part of your ‘physical pitch’ in order to lure your potential sponsors
Executive Summary
The executive summary should be located at the beginning of the sponsorship proposal. This will provide your target sponsor a brief but informative description about the event your organization will be holding. The opportunities, benefits and gains should be included as well as the deadline for the sponsor’s decision and their investment. Keep this summary simple and easy to understand.
Introduction
Like every introduction, provide the necessary information your sponsor/s would want to know. This includes details about your organization and the upcoming event. Basically provide a background that will let the sponsor know the nature of the organization; the reason for holding a major event; any relevant and important that help in garnering a positive response from sponsor prospects.
Event/Affair Description
In the introduction, though the event is mentioned, it is not broken down detail by detail. It is rather in this section of your sponsorship proposal that you give a comprehensive insight to every detail the upcoming event has. Such points may include the day, date and time; the venue of the event; target market or patrons; what should be achieved in the event and the reason behind each.
Any information about similar and/or past events that the organization has had can be included. This provides the sponsor prospects to see the pattern of how the events went and if it would be ideal for them to support it.
Sponsorship Investment
Simply put, this area of the proposal is a break down of what you want your sponsor to support. This is your organization’s request for the sponsor’s resources which may be their service, cash, prizes, product/s, promotions/advertising, or expertise. It is vital to include a price in this part.
Taking account of the actual and realistic costs will give the sponsor the idea that your organization is ready to make such a commitment. Also make sure that the benefits you propose to offer the sponsor prospect/s corresponds to the amount or level of support your organization is asking from them.
Sponsor Gains/Benefits
This part of the sponsorship plan should be an outline of all benefits and opportunities that the sponsor/s will gain from supporting the event. Benefits specified should involve tangible and intangible gains.
Quantifying the benefits is also encouraged to give the sponsor/s a bracket of measurement that they can refer to when considering their decision.
Sponsor Decision Deadline
Usually, a proposal for sponsorship should not exceed two weeks. A deadline with a mean amount of ten days lets the sponsor prospect/s see that your organization is willing to wait a span of time that is reasonable for sponsor consideration. At the same time, it is also a message that sends out a time constraint so that the prospects can give it the proper attention.
This area should be clearly stated so that a timeline can be established. Also so that other scheduled activities, such as setting up a meeting and further presentation, can be followed through on time.
Appendice/Reference
As with every proposal, this part should be a page of reference or sources that were used in stating facts and statistics that support the proposal. This area also includes relevant tables, charts, budget lists, background sources and the like that should help in the enhancement of the sponsorship proposal.