What is Sponsorship?< Sponsorship is a partnership involving a cash or value-in-kind contribution paid by the sponsor in return for association with the commercial potential of a property (most often sports, arts, entertainment or a good cause).

When considering sponsorship opportunities, brands should look for a property which is relevant to their target audience and which offers appropriate rights to help achieve their objectives. It's helpful if the property is of interest to employees of the sponsor brand as well as consumers.
The type of rights brands should buy depend on objectives. Rights may include:

• Branding marks & logos
• Product distribution, placement or endorsement
• Athlete/celebrity appearances
• Media/promotion rights 
• Licensing and merchandising 
• Category exclusivity
• Hospitality rights and venue usage
• Naming rights to sites and venues
• Database access
• Tickets

Tip: Buy what you really need, not what the property owner wants to sell you.

Activation by the brand to promote a sponsorship will also be tailored to the business objectives. Public relations and advertising activity can raise awareness of the association and communicate a specific message. Promotions may offer something related to the sponsorship to the brand's customers (special content, prizes, opportunities to participate/contribute etc.).

Tip: The most successful campaigns integrate sponsorship properties throughout their marketing and communications activity. A recent example was adidas with #takethestage for London 2012


One of the current trends is the migration of major sports events to developing markets (Brazil, Russia, Qatar) opening up new opportunities. Brands are also looking to create and control their own properties rather than buying rights from someone else. Social media tools facilitate more of a dialogue between a sponsor brand and their audiences than was possible before. 

Sponsors need to be prepared for increased scrutiny of sponsorship deals and ready to justify investment to stakeholders.

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Sporting event sponsorship ideas:


Title sponsorship of the British Rally Championship  
Achieve brand exposure, cut-through and reinforce brand awareness by sponsoring the widely televised, vibrant and dynamic British Rally Championship featuring on Sky Sports BRC TV programme.
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Cricket 2013 Sponsorship opportunity on Yahoo!
Sponsor an unprecedented year of cricket action on Eurosport, the UK's biggest sports site including the ICC Champions Trophy and the Ashes tests. This is an ideal opportunity for a sponsor to share that success and fully engage with a high-end male audience.
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Title Sponsor of the Football Conference 2013-14
Become title sponsor of the Football Conference and raise awareness on a local and national scale. Taking you straight into 68 communities via the clubs across England and Wales this is a great opportunity that delivers a considerable ROI and well as massive brand awareness.
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