Activating Your Sponsorships

“Activating Your Sponsorships” by Thomas Nardacci

Businesses and private not-for-profits spend an extraordinary amount of money each year on sponsorships. Sponsorships are a good way to give back and an excellent way to cast your organization in a positive light. They are also a good way to advertise to specific audiences.

There should be more behind your sponsorship effort than handing over the check and seeing your banner at an event or logo on a program. That should only be the start of your plan, and should be followed with an effort to activate the sponsorship. “Activation” is a buzz word that has been making headway in the past few years.

Your sponsorship needs to be planned and negotiated in advance so that you and the cause you are donating to can leverage other opportunities. Depending on the type of donation and cause, there may be opportunities for news stories. For events, you may have a product samples you want to distribute. Or, if it is a ticketed event, you may negotiate a certain number of tickets to be held for an internal effort to boost employee productivity or morale.

America’s largest companies have dramatically changed their approach to sponsorships, and smaller sponsors are now following suit. Proper planning and execution can make your sponsorship more strategic and more effective.