Sponsorship was once a marketing tactic reserved for big brands with big budgets, however, now there are countless opportunities to sponsor events, clubs, venues and other people.
Many professional service firms are taking advantage of the numerous benefits that sponsorship brings. One sector that has embraced sponsorship for its visibility benefits is estate agents. How often do you see estate agent boards advertising school fairs or football tournaments? They are cleverly using something they already have as a cost-effective way to get their brand noticed by one of their key audiences – young families.
In this blog, we outline the benefits and how it can help boost business for Accountants, Solicitors and other firms working in the professional services sector.
Types of Sponsorship
Before delving into the benefits and tactics you can use to maximise sponsorships for your firm. There are many different types of opportunities available, including:
- Event Sponsorship – e.g. School Fair, Charity Run, Networking Event, Exhibition, Festival
- Sponsorship of Award Categories – e.g. local business awards or industry awards
- Sports Sponsorship – e.g. local football team, kit sponsorship, boards around pitches
- Venue Sponsorship – e.g. village halls, roundabouts, bowls club
Sponsorship can take various forms and range in costs from very low one-off costs to longer commitments and sophisticated packages. It is important to be selective about what you firm sponsors:
- it should align with your brand values
- it should reach your ideal audience, and
- it should meet your marketing objectives
Benefits of Sponsorship
The list of benefits will depend on the type of sponsorship that you agree to. As with anything, you get out what you put in, so it is important to carefully consider how you can make the most out of your sponsorship agreement to reap the rewards.
- Brand Awareness / Visibility. Sponsorship offers a great opportunity to have your logo and company name in front of potential clients. Usually, sponsorship deals will include banners, posters, printed logos and your business name being mentioned throughout the event or campaign. Use this opportunity to make sure your adverts or banners really stand out and are in prime position.
- Target Your Ideal Audience. Another brilliant bonus of sponsorship is that you can target your ideal client or market by selecting key events or locations where your prospective clients will see you. You will know the demographic that the event, sports club or venue will attract.
- Networking Opportunities. Usually sponsoring events will give you the ability to network with other local businesses – this can lead to valuable partnerships, collaborations and referrals.
- Engage with your Local Community. It is more important than ever for brands to be focusing on their corporate social responsibility and giving back to their local community. Sponsoring charity or community events will align your brand with causes and clubs that matter to your audience and they will see you as a caring firm that supports its community.
- Employee Engagement. Involving employees in sponsorship activities can boost morale and foster a sense of pride in the firms values. It can also provide opportunities to upskill or reward your team members.
- Competitive Advantage. In a crowded marketplace, sponsorship can help you to stand out from competitors. Aligning yourself with key events or unique causes can help to differentiate in the market.
- Measurable ROI. If planned and executed correctly, you can gather useful information on the success of the sponsorship. Using special offers, QR codes and monitoring your enquiries, website traffic and social media numbers you can produce data to help you identify successful sponsorships.
Making the Most of Sponsorship
There are some ways that firms can squeeze the most out of sponsorships.
- Ensure that you understand and are aware of all the perks
- Don’t be afraid to ask for more or negotiate
- Plan ahead – device a strategic plan so you can make the most of it
- Set clear and measurable objectives
- Share on your socials
- Add to your website
- Put out press releases
- Follow up on leads
In conclusion, sponsorship helps to create a positive public image, reach your target audience, raise brand awareness and it can assist with driving sales and building new relationships. The opportunity to stand out from the crowd is attractive and with many different options and events to sponsor, it can be affordable for firms of various sizes.
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Editors Note: This article was originally posted in 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.