Sponsorship

What is Sponsorship? 

"Sponsorship is a business relationship between a provider of funds, resources or services and an individual, event or organization which offers in return some rights and association that may be used for commercial advantage." (Sleight,1989, p. 4)

Seekers of sponsorship

To sell your project and to find a potential sponsor are difficult marketing jobs.  Amount of organizations and individuals trying to do the same, is huge. Seekers of sponsorship come in many different forms like the professional agencies, agents and managers. They make regular presentations to numerous companies, are acquainted to the types of projects different companies are interested in, and are known to the people to whom they are selling. Still, some organizations have their own divisions devoted to sponsorship marketing. Final form is the persons or small groups of enthusiasts attempting to raise money for some particular project or event they wish to embark on.

The recipient of the sponsorship wishes to use the relationship to fund an individual, event or project, balance the sponsor’s requirements compared with his contribution with other sources of funding available and utilize the communications and management expertise many sponsors provide to add value to the event (Sleight,1989)

Reasons for sponsoring events

§  Heightening visibility (sponsors of events enjoy the wide exposure that is provided particularly by television, radio, print media, website, blog, and video)

§  Shaping consumer attitudes means that sponsorship can create or change a brand image.

§  Narrowcasting, sponsorship gives companies an opportunity to reach a niche market.

§  Incenting retailers, dealers, and distributors. Some companies use sponsorship to ensure good shelf presence.

§  Client entertainment. The opportunity to host clients at an event.

§  Recruiting/retaining employees

§  Merchandising opportunities .Sponsors provide something an event has to offer in exchange for purchases of their products.

§  Showcasing product attributes.

§  Differentiating products from competitors.

§  Driving sales  (Skinner and Rukavina, 2003)

Types of trade fairs and exhibitions

Trade fairs can be divided into several different types.

These include:

General fairs or specialised industry fairs; national and regional or international fairs; fairs open either to the trade or general public only; special event fairs or permanent exhibitions.

For example, World Travel Market at ExCel, London,the UK  is a global event for the travel industry to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business.

 References:

1. Sleight,S.(1989),Sponsorship What it is and how to use it,McGraw-Hill Book Company(UK)   Limited,Berksire

2. Skinner,B.E.and Rukavina,V.(2003),Event Sponsorship,JohnWiley & Sons,Inc.,Hoboken

Posted by Nada Vrabec