READ - Brand Marketers: Should You Buy Sports?
Buying sports is not for every brand. There, I said it.
My job as a sports sponsorship strategist representing major brands like Firstrust Bank, Wawa and Stroehmann is to help you answer the question:
Is buying sports right for my brand?
Here are the questions every brand should ask before they take the leap into sponsor status.
Does sports make sense for my brand?
I get it. You like sports, you have a healthy marketing budget and it feels right to elevate your brand position in the community. But hold up for a second. Before you even consider signing on the dotted line with your local team’s sponsorship rep, you have to ask yourself an important question:
Are my sports team’s fans my customers?
Be honest with yourself. Is my desire to buy sports based on emotion or data? Before you even consider buying a sponsorship, you need a strategy with strong data analysis, category insights, clear objectives and a plan of attack. It’s not just about making sure that enough of the fans of your team are your customers. It’s about targeting the right sport to build your brand and deliver results. If you have a clear strategy, you will make decisions based on fact – not emotion.
Next question.
How will I use sports to achieve my goals?
If you’ve answered yes to the first question, then you’re likely a candidate for a sponsorship in sports. But we’re not done yet. You’ve got to ask yourself another tough question before taking steps toward an investment in sports:
What are my business goals and how will I use sports to achieve them? Do you want to increase your sales by 20%? Do you want to expand your brand footprint in a new DMA? How will you use this sponsorship to chip away at those goals and build brand? And how will you measure your progress?
Buying a sponsorship to support your professional sports team is so much more than slapping your logo on a bobble head or creating outfield signage for the ballpark. It is a living and breathing partnership that requires a lot of TLC to be done right. Signing the agreement is just the beginning. There is some serious activation strategy that must go on in order for a sponsorship deal to generate any real ROI, and that leads us to the third question brands should answer before they sign.
Am I prepared to invest and activate in sports?
A sponsorship is not a set it and forget it type deal, and I’ve seen deals go south for one main reason: sponsors do not activate on the assets they purchase. In some cases, they bought the wrong assets! As soon as the ink dries on the sponsorship agreement, some brands think they’re done. They’ve paid the bill, placed the napkin on their plate and they’re pulling their jacket on to leave. This approach could not be more wrong.
A healthy sponsorship is a combination of the right assets and year-round activation.
Even though your brand is a great fit for that team and their fans, you’ve got to get super clear on your activation strategy before you hit the start button. Before you sign the deal. If you give your entire budget to the team, you will have nothing left to activate. That is a problem. A big problem.
Here are a few more questions to get your head in the right place.
How will you leverage the use of team marks to maximize brand impact and drive sales?
Who will run point on your hospitality elements?
How do I create a social media campaign around the partnership that complements my other brand initiatives?
Do I have the bandwidth internally to manage this deal, meet team deadlines or identify added value opportunities?
How will you approach community events with the team?
How am I tracking results and collecting data for my annual recap?
If you want to see real ROI on your investment, you have to put your sponsorship to work… and that means activating. Extending the value of the assets with regular touches, measurement and adjustment.
In my world as a sponsorship strategist, activation planning happens up front -- before the deal is signed. I want to ensure that my clients are buckled up and ready for the journey that they are about to take with their team, and so, final question... (promise.)
Are you ready to sign and activate with a sports team?
It’s ok if your answer is no, because well, at least now you know that… and that’s what I’m here for.
Just like a head coach relies on the offensive coordinator to create an effective game plan -- many brands hire agencies to execute sponsorships on their behalf. And trust me, the ROI brands can achieve by bringing an agency onboard to ensure success is a real thing, not to mention the savings and industry intelligence.
Think of it this way, you wouldn’t go to court without a lawyer, right? Just like a lawyer, hiring an agency can protect your interests in a negotiation. And when the deal is signed, we can be your offensive coordinator to get your sponsorship playbook in order.
Molly Arbogast is president and CEO of POV Sports Marketing. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.