If you're asked frequently whether or not your business will do a sponsorship for a school or community event, the question may make you groan. You may turn down a lot of these opportunities which come from charities and organizations, but in doing so, you may be missing out on a valuable opportunity.
The following are some reasons you might want to think about saying yes to the next sponsorship opportunity that comes your way and a few things to know.
Brand Visibility
Brand visibility, particularly for local and brick-and-mortar businesses is often a huge challenge. If you sponsor an event, you have the opportunity to put your brand front and center potentially in front of a completely new audience, through the use of custom flags, banners, signs and whatever else the event coordinators will let you use.
You can wear T-shirts to the event that represent your brand, and you can pass items out that people can take with them to keep your brand in their mind.
What's unique is that it's not only the in-person opportunities for brand visibility that you can take advantage of.
You can also have your brand publicized through press releases that either you write yourself or the event creators write, and through mentions and photos on social media.
Sponsorship can actually provide more brand visibility and awareness than you might get doing something, such as buying airtime for television commercials or spending on social media ads.
You can do something fairly small and still make it engaging and attention-grabbing for your audience.
Reaching Niche Markets
Depending on the type of sponsorship you do, it may give you an opportunity to reach a unique niche market.
For example, you can choose events that will include a targeted, tailored audience that you might otherwise have difficulty reaching.
Some people do trade show promotions as a form of sponsorship. You might sponsor a certain educational program or even something simple, like providing tote bags for everyone who attends.
This is a bit different than sponsoring a community event but no less valuable.
Again, if you choose the right opportunities, you're putting yourself directly in front of your targeted audience, even if that's not a huge audience.
You have to also think when you're doing these events that you're not just reaching the people attending the event. You're reaching people who are participating in the event and other sponsors.
Show Your Values
Today's consumers want transparency in the brands they buy from. They also want to buy from companies they feel share their values.
If you choose specific sponsorship opportunities with schools, community organizations, or nonprofits, it gives you an opportunity to transmit what your corporate values are to a large audience.
As well as highlighting what your company values are, sponsorships let you put yourself in an inherently positive light. If you're participating in a charity or community event, there's already going to be a sense of positivity surrounding it, so your brand will be aligned with the general atmosphere and feel-good elements of the event.
You can show yourself as a good neighbor too. You're going to be a business, if you're doing a local event, that seems like it's invested in the community and interested in helping the community thrive.
You're really able to craft your brand image into what you want it to be in such a unique way when you take advantage of sponsorship opportunities.
Lead Capture
If you're sponsoring an event, you can get qualified leads in creative, not-so-obvious ways.
Just one example is having a contest or raffle as a sponsor. Give away prizes in exchange for contact information.
When you're sponsoring an event, it gives you the platform to be face-to-face with your audience and build leads in more personal and meaningful ways.
Finally, when you take advantage of sponsorships, it can be a good practice in team-building with your employees, and it can strengthen your employer brand. Your employees can come together in a unique and creative way outside of typical work, and that's a good way to build a foundation of collaboration.
Also, if potential employees see you positively participating in the community and employees enjoying their time at events, it can make you seem like a desirable employer. That's important in a time when so many companies are facing a shortage of qualified talent. Sponsorships let you build both your consumer and employer brand simultaneously.
