Looking to attract sponsors to your event? Interestingly sponsorship seekers are still sending out sponsorship proposals that are generic in nature and hoping to attract sponsors. Here's the upshot, that approach doesn't work for anyone – unless box ticking is all you are wanting to do.
At the same time, bespoke sponsorship agreements uniquely engineered to fit the exact mould of the sponsor – while attractive, are time consuming and without sufficient resourcing, are difficult to implement. What is the middle ground between creating sponsorship opportunities that set most sponsors on the same level and bespoke sponsorships that are not realistic to implement unless you and the sponsor have lashings of time to properly execute?
The answer I believe lies in articulating clearly the sponsorship strategy and objectives then with laser-like focus, delivering on those.
For those that need a refresh, strategy is all about the 'how':
?How to attract and please customers.
?How to compete against rivals.
?How to position the brand.
?How best to respond to changing economic and market conditions.
?How to capitalise on opportunities to grow the business.
?How to achieve your performance targets.
Managers and company directors have a responsibility to deliver shareholder profit. Having a strategy and knowing the 'how' turns sponsorships into sales and community engagement into commitment.
Partnering with the right sporting, community group, event or organisation helps move these brand managers forward in their quest to deliver on their strategy. It's therefore important to understand not only strategy, but strategic alliances and why partnering with another organisation can help you move closer to your goal.
Successful strategic partnerships are alliances where the efforts of both organisations combine to produce a stronger result than going it alone. Here's why strategic partnerships are incredibly valuable and should be nurtured throughout the term of sponsorship. They can:
- Facilitate achievement of an important business objective.
- Help build, sustain, or enhance a core competence or competitive advantage.
- Help block a competitive threat (many companies use sponsorship as a blocking tactic).
- Open up important new market opportunities.
Getting the groundwork right on why you're sponsoring another organisation and what you're looking for in terms of the outcomes of the partnership are critically important. Do the work now before you enter a new partnership agreement. You'll be glad you did and chances are, you'll partner for many years to come if you have a clear strategy and partnership objectives.
