Sponsorship – It Works!

The 16th annual ISBA sponsorship conference took place yesterday in London. The brief this year was to analyse the pound for pound value of sponsorship and speakers included representatives from Burger King, Cornhill Insurance, Association of Advertisers in Ireland, Canon and Lucozade Sport.

The Head of Marketing for Burger King, Samantha Smith, kicked off the conference by saying that many sponsorships relied, and some still do, on the specific interest of those who controlled the budget. The most tenuous of links were made to ensure that the sponsorship project went ahead and that a good time was ensured for all the company personnel.

“We believe the main benefits of sponsorship are contributing to the brand building process by drawing customers into a relationships with the brand, to build a set of values, tangible and intangible, in consumers’ minds that are more than just functional and to enable the company to payback to society and its consumers in a meaningful way.”

The criteria for sponsorship has to be that either it is acceptable or at least inoffensive to both the sponsor and sponsee. Good sponsorship should be about matching the profile of the activity with the brand personality.

The conclusions were that sponsorship can lead into areas where traditional communications would be inappropriate or would be misunderstood. It lends character and integrity. It is a tool which all the elements of the marketing mix can work with and the longevity which helps to build the business.