Creating a robust pipeline – whether for new customers or new employees – means not just identifying and converting buyers who have awareness and consideration, but also putting your business/product in proximity of potential buyers before they’re aware they have a need.
Sponsorships are not just a tactic for large corporations with Superbowl-sized marketing budgets. Savvy companies are recognizing sponsorships as a powerful way to create communities, establish relationships with your brand, and increase the greater pipeline.
What Is Marketing Sponsorship?
“A marketing sponsorship is a strategy where one business promotes an event or organization led by another.” Sponsorship often involves financial contributions to promote or associate your brand with an event or not-for-profit organization that’s typically associated with the business’ key target audience.
Is It the Same As Corporate Sponsorship?
Yes, the organizations you’re looking to align with may also refer to them as corporate sponsorships, as they’ve identified businesses as their target partners.
Why Sponsorship?
Two words—leverage communities. Today, buying committees can be quite large, 10 people or more according to this Forbes contributor. It requires marketers to use different tactics to influence and move this wide and varied cast of buyers.
HubSpot’s 2023 Marketing Strategy & Trends Report notes that two of the significant recent changes in marketing have been:
- Building online communities around your brand is becoming critical to engagement; and
- More brands aim to create content that reflects their values.
Sponsorships can help brands leverage an event or non-profit’s existing communities, gain more exposure and reach audiences they may not yet have access to, and improve brand perception by supporting events and organizations that illustrate their corporate values. These sponsorships can also give employees a chance to get engaged as well, helping to increase job satisfaction and create more evangelists on staff.
Key Benefits of Sponsorship
Below are some additional advantages to marketing sponsorships:
- Promote brand awareness: When businesses sponsor organizations' causes or events in exchange for advertising, this can promote brand awareness in their local community
- Cultivate public image: Sponsoring charitable causes can help companies improve their public image or maintain a positive public image
- Increase sales: Companies can connect with buyers / product users in a non-sales environment to have authentic conversations that often drive future sales
Type of Sponsorships: More than Money
Sponsorship types are just as varied as the organizations and events you can choose to sponsor. Even better, some sponsorships don’t require an outlay of cash! Here are some of the primary sponsorship types you’ll see. Note: it’s also common for organizers to combine different sponsorship types in a custom package that best suits both the business’ and the organizer’s objectives.
- Financial: donate money to an event or organization
- In-kind: donate things other than money. They may provide swag items or prizes, staff and volunteer t-shirts or uniforms, printed items, raffle gifts, etc.
- Technology or digital: similar to in-kind sponsorship, provides assistance in the execution of tech-related activities for your event. This can be providing the hosting platform, an app, or hardware and devices, or providing technical experts to plan, manage or operate required technology for the event/organization.
- Media: provide or financially support advertising and/or media coverage for the event
Ready to Increase Exposure to Your Target Audience in a New Way?
Do you have marketing goals that you haven’t been able to hit through traditional tactics? Or are you ready to expand your thinking and reach new audiences? Let’s discuss sponsorship options, from existing events and programs to new custom sponsorships. PlayCyber has a robust portfolio of events and programs that we can offer or we can help you create a custom sponsorship program best matched to your marketing goals. Let’s chat and see which sponsorships align to your goals.
