Sports & Entertainment Marketing II 1.11 Manage promotional activities to maximize return on promotional investments

Types of Sponsorship Objectives Direct sponsorship objectives – have a short term impact on consumer behavior and are focused on increasing sales Indirect sponsorship objectives – lead to the long-term growth of the sponsor by generating product awareness and image before people buy the product

Corporation Sponsorships Establish or improve their image Promote their products (and increase sales) Display goodwill Obtain access and exposure to the events’ target markets Outpace competition (become a sponsor before your competitor “blocks” your competitor out)

How do Sponsorships help the sports marketer? Sponsorships gives the sports marketer the resources to: Package their product Promote their product Deliver their product

Methods to Evaluate Effectiveness of Sponsorship Media exposure Evaluating the number of stories and mentions in the media Sales figures pre- and post-event Surveys and in-depth interviews Gauging the image, attitudes, and awareness of events, sponsors, and products

Potential Sponsors Must Ask… How can a particular sport/event achieve my marketing and organizational goals? What is the financial cost of the sponsorship? What is the length of the contract? What are the sponsorship benefits? What type of media coverage will there be? What is the fan attendance at the event, and what are the fans’ demographics? Is it my target market?

A “Buying Center” Consists of employees responsible for evaluating and selecting sponsorship options Four roles in this “buying center” consist of: Gatekeepers – Control the flow of information to others and act as a filtering device Influencers – Have input into the decision, usually based on their connections with the sports entity Decision-makers – Ultimately responsible for accepting/rejecting proposals Purchasers – Responsible for negotiating contracts and carrying out the terms of the sponsorship once the decision is made