Sports Sponsorship Activation – What you need to know
Entering a sports sponsorship is only the beginning to a multi-faceted and complex initiative. Brand exposure on its own won’t suffice, which means you must explore every avenue possible to amplify the sponsorship to its fullest: This is what’s called Sports Sponsorship Activation, writes Kelvin Adams.
Think of the analogy of a remote-controlled car. Without batteries, it’s no use to anyone. It’s an object that stands still. The batteries are what give that agency life, traction, and movement to be able to connect with your target audience in an effective way that will be remembered – especially in a positive and healthy environment like sport.
You may have signed a big team sponsorship or bought the exclusive rights to a major sport event, yet if you do not communicate your message correctly and bring that brand to life, it won’t get the exposure and recognition it duly deserves.
Social media has exploded and it’s a saturated marketplace with groups, pages, and private accounts flooding news feeds. You cannot only expect to be noticed in the maze of information that is social media. That’s why it’s important to energise your sponsorship through other channels of communication.
Sports Sponsorship Activations include all the means one can use to maximize the exposure of the sponsorship programme, which includes promotions, event activities, hospitalities, special events, licensing, PR activities in mass print and digital media and clever usage of social media marketing techniques. All of them can be clearly used both for B2C and B2B channels.
What are the key aspects when it comes to sports sponsorship activation?
Identify and define your primary objectives. It must be clear from the outset – whether it’s direct sales, more clicks and brand awareness. This is critical before you activate any campaign in whatever capacity it might be.
Once that has been established, a high-level detailed and effective plan will ensure your sponsorship gets the maximum impact in terms of marketing and commercial objectives.
To avoid any unfortunate outcomes or infringement of other rights holders, make sure all rights and permissions from the party you’re investing are in correctly place and legally aboard before embarking on a campaign or promotional activities.
- Do you have the owner’s approval to use the team/athlete images for any promotional activities?
- Will your agencies be allowed to run activities or organise an event that involve the team/athlete?
- Are relevant permits in place when activating at a live event.
- Will the team or location be available at the time you’d like to have them, and will they be willing to participate?
- Can you use their merchandise?
- Will you be able to have special guests at the event, location, or tournament, and if so, how many people can you host?
Once you’ve answered these and several other questions, it’s important to consider how many platforms and tools you can use to boost your sports sponsorship campaign, and how each of them might play an important role in the whole activation process. This is why it’s always advisable to speak to the experts.
If you want to talk more about Sports Sponsorship Activation, the Treble Team can assist your needs. With over 21 years of industry knowledge, together with key relationships with stakeholders and influencers within the sporting environment, we can shape, tackle, and strike a world-class commercial offering specific to your needs, with a team that will ensure your brand is brought alive.
