Marketing Communications

SUMMARY 365

Sponsorship is probably one of the marketing communications tools that requires most support from other tools to

be effective and, at the same time, offers ample opportunities for marketing communications spin-off activities.

Sponsorship of events, teams and organisations can be referred to in TV advertising during the event or in the ads

of sponsored partners, by means of cross-reference to teams, celebrities, events, etc. TV coverage of events can be

used as an opportunity for programme sponsorship or product placement. Events can be an opportunity for couponing

or sampling, but also for corporate hospitality. Cause-related sponsorship can be part of a PR campaign aimed at

building a good reputation for the company and its brands. It can enhance corporate identity building by means of

the opportunities it offers to motivate and reward employees. During the sponsored event, a microsite can be set

up on which games, promotions and other customer contact opportunities are offered, which can subsequently be

used for customer relationship marketing and direct communications. In-store merchandising can hook up to the

sponsorship campaign by drawing attention to the sponsored event and by offering special promotions connected

with the sponsorship campaign.

IMC INSIGHT

Integrating sponsorship in IMC

Finally, sponsorship eff ectiveness can also be measured on the basis of feedback from

participating groups. Given the nature of some types of sponsorship, its eff ectiveness primarily

lies in the reaction of participants to corporate hospitality sponsorship projects or the opinion

of employees about sponsorship programmes. Th is will particularly – but not exclusively – be

the case in cultural or cause-related sponsorship.

Summary

Sponsorship is an increasingly important instrument of the marketing communications

mix. Th is becomes clear not only from the increasing budgets spent on sponsoring, but also

from the fact that the key roles in sponsorship decisions are oft en played by members of

top management. Sponsors oft en try to escape the advertising clutter by linking their name

to an event, and hope for benefi cial carry-over eff ects from the event on company and brand

awareness and image. Target groups for sponsorship not only are those that visit or par-

ticipate in the event, but can also be any of the other marketing and corporate audiences of

a company. Four basic types of sponsorship can be distinguished. Event-related (culture and

sports) sponsorship is best known. Cause-related sponsorship, or sponsoring good causes, is

the oldest form. Broadcast sponsorship is a more recent phenomenon, but is growing fast.

Th e youngest type is ambush marketing, whereby a company tries to benefi t from an event it

does not sponsor. To integrate sponsorship eff ectively into the marketing communications

mix, it is crucial to select the right sponsorship projects and to manage them at close range.

Criteria that can be used to select projects can be event-related (type of event, quality level,

target groups, uniqueness of sponsorship, fi t with strategic objectives, etc.), spin-off -related

(indirect communications eff ects, media coverage, interest with employees, advertising and

PR spin-off , etc.) and budget-related (cost in cash or in kind, time implications for staff , etc.).

Sponsorship eff ectiveness can be measured on the basis of exposure, communications results,

commercial results or on the basis of feedback from participating groups.

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