Have you ever asked yourself what motivates companies to spend large amounts of money on different forms of sponsorship?
One of the benefits attributed to sponsorship is that it can be more efficient than other forms of marketing communication because it generates both audience appeal and also links the values of the sponsored entity to the sponsor. A typical instance will be the English Premier League which has millions of passionate followers in Nigeria. In a country with a strong football culture like Nigeria, companies who sponsor football related events are likely to appeal to and have favorable response from these audiences.
Other benefits of sponsorship may include:
Marketing tool
Sponsorship of events in particular can be an effective marketing tool because it can be a means of accessing a wide range of audiences such as decision makers in business, government entities, and of course customers. It can be particularly beneficial for companies that take part in international trade because sponsorship transcends cultural and language barriers. Also, events allow business owners or executives relate directly with their customers, while they give customers the opportunity to try out the products of a company firsthand.
Shaping consumer attitudes
Companies often explore new means to improve on how they are perceived by their target audience. Sponsoring events that appeal to their market are likely to shape buying attitudes and help generate a positive reaction. Etisalat, for example, is always looking to generate a positive influence of their products in the minds of their consumers and as such regularly support events they feel can influence consumer opinions.
Creating positive publicity
Every sponsor is seeking wide exposure in both electronic and print media. Positive publicity helps create heightened visibility of products/services. In addition, the kind of media coverage a sponsor may get is often expensive if the company were to think of purchasing it and if it were available. To maximize this objective, it is important for the sponsoring company to have a comprehensive media campaign to augment the regular media coverage promoted by the organizers. In essence, sponsorship can often generate media coverage that otherwise might not have been available.
Marketing leverage
Sponsorship also appeals to corporations as a marketing communication medium because it can be tied to other marketing activities that are designed to influence both customers and strategic partners. It moves a customer from the interest stage of the product adoption process to the desire stage, the stage which involves a serious evaluation about whether or not to purchase a product.
1 comment
Latifah Baba-Ahmed Latifah says:
Dec 3, 2013
Sponsorship entails funding; taking responsibility for a project or an event which has been organised by another person or groups of persons. It could be a sporting activity as mentioned before or occasions by personal individuals. However it may be, sponsorship is mostly not a charitable act done by these sponsors as nothing goes for nothing. It is done so as to gain recognition by the publics, also a form of advertising. when a company sponsors any project, they portray image of capability to the publics and makes their products known to the consumers, for example Guiness beweries who supported the African Nations Cup in 2013 have gone viral in business and more popular than other beers. sponsorship is a form of PR that helps sustain the image existence of a business. In conclusion, business enterprises who engage in sponsorship most times have an edge in business over their counterparts as they give and also recieve.
Baba-Ahmed Latifah
100 level
Mass Communication
Caleb University Imota Lagos.