5 Effective Ways To Combine Marketing and Sponsorship To Boost Sales

According to Nielsen research, sponsorship spending will increase in 2022. It now takes up 21.3% of marketing budgets in 2022 as compared to 19% in 2021. This clearly indicates the positive trend and also shows the confidence stakeholders have in marketing sponsorships. Neilson’s Sponsorship Outlook also highlights the importance of brand impact and positive ROI as the most important factors. 

In this article, you will learn about five effective ways to combine marketing and sponsorships to boost sales.

Table of Contents

What is Sponsorship Marketing?

What are the Types of Sponsorships?

What are the Examples of Sponsorship Marketing?

1. Emirates Airlines

2. Coca-Cola

3. Rolex

What are the Advantages of Using Sponsorship In Marketing?

5 Effective Ways To Combine Marketing and Sponsorship

1. Business Value Alignment

2. Identify the Pain Points

3. Leverage The Benefit Triangle

4. Recommend Sponsor Solution Where Appropriate

5. Speak The Same Language

What is Sponsorship Marketing?

Sponsorship marketing is a marketing strategy in which one brand promotes an event or organziation organized by or led by another brand. It could be in the form of sporting events, charity, community events, trade shows or virtual events.

What are the Types of Sponsorships?

Marketing Sponsorships can be categorized into four different types:

• Financial Sponsorships
• Media Sponsorships
• In Kind Sponsorships
• Promotional Partners

What are the Examples of Sponsorship Marketing?

Here are some of the sponsorship marketing examples that you can use as inspiration.

1. Emirates Airlines

Emirates signed the sponsorship deal with Arsenal way back in 2004. The deal has been extended many times and the recent extension has pushed the end date to 2024. In addition to this, it is also the sponsor of Arsenal shirts since 2006. This gave Emirates the rights to develop marketing campaigns centered around Arsenal. 

This allowed them to target not only football fans who love Arsenal but also the team itself. This also meant that the Arsenal team will fly with Emirates. This not only boosted their revenue drastically but also helped them get immense publicity. The sheer amount of money involved might be huge but it is well worth the price.

2. Coca-Cola

Coca Cola has been an Olympic sponsor for almost a century now but sponsoring the Rio 2016 Olympics was something special. It allowed them to run a #ThatsGold campaign. The campaign did not end with the Olympic games and went on for a year on social media platforms. 

Since the campaign is targeted towards teenagers, it managed to accurately target them 88% of the time. Moreover, the campaign reached 77% of teens in Brazil. What’s even more interesting is that the campaign got more than 30 million video views.

3. Rolex

Rolex has been sponsoring TED since 2008, helping the non-profit organization to deliver powerful messages to masses through its platform for free. This gave Rolex a great platform to use and they did just that. They started creating 3 minute long videos highlighting the history of design and innovation. Additionally, they also run advertisements on TED talks revolving around these topics.

What are the Advantages of Using Sponsorship In Marketing?

There are many advantages of using sponsorship in marketing. Some of them are as follows:

• Increase brand awareness
• Improve customer perception about your brand
• Lead generation
• Boost sales
• Higher ROI
• Gain a competitive advantage
• Attract more backlinks and social media mentions

5 Effective Ways To Combine Marketing and Sponsorship

Here are five effective ways you can integrate marketing and sponsorships to increase your sales.

1. Business Value Alignment

The first thing you need to do to successfully combine marketing and sponsorship is to identify your business value proposition. Next, look at the value proposition of the brand you want to sponsor. The business value of your brand should coincide with the values of the other business. If there is a disconnect, you are better off looking at other brands for brand sponsorships. Business value alignment is critical for success.

2. Identify the Pain Points

Once you create alignment between the business goals of your business and the other business you are planning to sponsor or getting sponsored from, it is time to understand the challenges of their customers just as a mobile app development company does. What are some of their biggest pain points and how your products or services can help to solve those problems. It is not just about challenges and problems, you should also dig a little deeper to identify the unfulfilled desires of the customers. 

3. Leverage The Benefit Triangle

Brand sponsorship must benefit both parties instead of just one. If both parties are not achieving their goals with the sponsorships then it is more likely that it will fail. Make sure that there is something in there for all parties involved whether it is the brand getting sponsorship or brand that is being sponsored or customers. This way, you can forge a long term relationship based on mutual benefit of all parties involved. Such relationships are stronger and last for a long time.

4. Recommend Sponsor Solution Where Appropriate

If you don’t believe in the products and services offered by the brand you are sponsoring, there is no point in sponsoring such a brand in the first place. If you have faith in their products and services, you should also be open to recommend it to your customers whenever appropriate.

Sometimes, the brand you are sponsoring might have a better solution for a problem your customers have than your own brand. If you don’t like the idea of sending your customers to other brands then, brand sponsorships might not be for you. They are a great choice for brands who want to collaborate with other brands and help both brands grow together. .

5. Speak The Same Language

Whenever you are communicating with your brand sponsors, make sure you talk in their language. Spend time understanding what problems they are experiencing just like a web design company and what messaging they use to deliver the right message to them at the right time. The more you understand your sponsor the better. 

For instance, if they care about cutting costs, you should provide them a pocket friendly solution instead of recommending an expensive solution. If they care about value, you can tell them how they can maximize the value they deliver to their customers. When you speak in the language they speak, they are more likely to hear what you say, understand it and take action based on your recommendations.

How do you merge marketing with sponsorships to boost your sales? Share it with us in the comments section below.