University of Leicester Careers Service

Student Engagement Team PR session

Sponsorship for Amateur Community Sports Clubs Louise Holland Holland Alexander

What you will get out of the next thirty minutes

1. Sponsorship sector2. What do you have to offer - assets > benefits3. Presenting your offer and approach4. Managing relationships and innovative ideas

Holland Alexander communications services:

events management

technical production

marketing

PR

film production

sponsorship

1. Sponsorship sector in 2012

Here is the bigger picture to support your awareness of the sponsorship sector in 2012

IFM 2011 Sports Marketing Survey completed a sponsorship evaluation with 200 key

sponsorship players internationally and found:

2. 44% brands would be increasing their sponsorship investment in 2012

3. 72% believed that community projects are becoming increasingly important to a brand’s corporate value

4. 63% acknowledgement that sponsorship should sit centrally within a company’s marketing strategy

5. Top sponsorship sectors in 2011 include the automotive industry

6. 78% sponsorship managers agree social media is a must for campaigns

1. Sponsorship definitions

• Sponsorship is a process by which a company, organisation or individual provides anorganisation or individual with funds, products or services for commercial advantage

• Sponsorship is a business relationship that can bring mutual benefits to both parties e.g. The sponsored organisation or individual and the sponsoring company

• This sponsorship should provide essential funding to the sports club or local group, and allow the organisations or business to give back to the community and promote their community work, name or products

1. Sponsorship definitions

• The majority of companies look for a return on their support or investment, ranging from goodwill within the community to other benefits such as media exposure, increased sales and brand awareness

• Sponsorship enables long-term relationships to be built

• The longer the relationship the greater the value that can be gained from it for both parties

• The type of sponsorship available will depend both on your organisation and the sponsor

• Sponsorship does not just mean money it can also be products or services in kind

1. Sponsorship sector

Examples of UK brands supporting local sport

2. What do you have to offer? Assets > benefits for sponsors

1. Media hits are no longer the best return on investment for sponsors, the sponsorship needs to achieve more and wider objectives

2. Big companies need to be showing they are doing the “right thing”

3. “Legacy” is a huge buzz term for 2012; what legacy and community impact does your club provide? Can you discuss or evidence that?

4. Review your club assets (and statistics) for sponsors to see benefits from

These range from:

* Success of club/teams within the club * Membership size and gender range – your club is a community within a community* Frequency of playing and competitions * Connections of the club members/administration/volunteers* Social media presence – website, twitter, YouTube – how do you promote your club* Connections with media and advocacy * Heritage and lifespan of the club * What are the long term plans of the club and how can a sponsor add to that vision

Income source

Packages Sponsor Level Package Benefits - suggestions Price Per Annum

Tier 1 Club Sponsor • Plan promotional campaign including branding and awareness raising

• Shirt branding • Home club venue branding • Access to players/competitions and reporting

£2,000+

Tier 2 Community Sponsor

• Events and promotional days • Club members to support Sponsor CSR strategy such as delivering programmes in the community

£1,000

Tier 3 Supporter • Agree mutual benefits such as website branding and sharing digital links

£500

2. What do you have to offer? Assets > benefits for sponsors

Create a value matrix Offset the club assets against perceived valuePresenting a range of price points can provide wider opportunity for prospect

sponsors toplace their budget plans within

2. What do you have to offer? Assets > benefits for sponsors

Awareness and your club brand

What can you do now to build your club brand?

• Be aware of your strengths, success and shout about them

• Connect with people in sponsor’s sector you want to work with/approach

• Get socially networked with LinkedIn, Twitter

• Ask peers what they see your club brand as- be brave

3. Presenting your offer and approach

• Research the marketplace by scanning the web, network, knowledge, media;

Which national brands sponsor similar clubs / sports to yours in other parts of

the country?

• Seek meetings to present packages to prospect sponsors – send in an outline of

your offer and benefits to a sponsor to engage at the earliest contact

• Follow up with contact and discussion with the prospect sponsor and sign off

from

• Meet with prospect and agree/ sign off package elements and price

• Issue Sponsorship contract

• Maintain dialogue and regular contact with the sponsor throughout

• Provide follow up contact and thank you formal correspondence for the

sponsorship

3. Presenting your offer and approach

Pitching and presenting key successful attributes to support your sponsorship approach:

• Personable

• Believable

• Knowledgeable on your club, it’s vision for the future and your impact in the community

• Supportive and empathetic

• Trustworthy

• Appearance brings confidence of credibility

• Show understanding of how your club can add value to their brand

4. Managing the relationships and innovative ideas

• Maintain open and regular dialogue

• Meet to discuss ideas and promotional plans – this can change over a season

• Think beyond the obvious too, sometimes sponsors will see value in something you may not

• Discuss ideas with all club members from the younger players or volunteers; sharing ideas and possible opportunities always creates a bigger end idea

• Invite the sponsor to fixtures, presentation events and anything you do in the community

• Keep sponsors engaged and updated at least monthly, even more frequently if possible

University of Leicester Careers Service

Student Engagement Team PR session

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