The Compete-At Blog

Today, more than ever, sponsors of sporting events face a barrage of “suitors” clamoring for their sponsorship dollars. To be the lucky one who wins the “date,” you must not only stand out in this crowded field, but prove to the sponsor that the event you’re organizing is the best solution to meet his or her needs and objectives. To do this, it is crucial that you understand the criteria by which your proposal will be judged. What is your sponsor looking for in a sporting event?

Learn these six Critical Criteria inside out and backwards and you will turbo-charge your chances of winning an enthusiastic “Yes! When can we sign?”

Communications Objectives are usually a prime motivation for sponsors. Businesses are almost always trying to say something to an audience through their sponsorship. This can be as simple as getting their name and image out into the community or something as complex as trying to change public perception (e.g., a beer company sponsoring a fitness event). Whatever their general business desire may be, there is usually a specific message your event can communicate. Your job is to tease it out. What do they want to say and how will your event help them say it? Answer those questions and you are well on your way to a positive response.

The next consideration is the Target Market the sponsor is trying to reach. How does its desired customer base match your audience? Face it, the AARP is not likely to sponsor a snowboarding event! So know your demographics. Ask yourself: Why does Rolex sponsor yacht races? Why does Mercedes Benz sponsor golf tournaments? Why does Red Bull sponsor extreme sports? And why does Nike sponsor everything? All of these companies want access to the demographics that attend and compete in specific events. Find out what audience your sponsor is trying to reach and then demonstrate how your event will attract that very same demographic.

Risk to the sponsor is a third criterion and one that too few event organizers consider. Think about it. There can be a great deal of risk for sophisticated sponsors who associate themselves with the wrong event or with an event in which many unknowns are in play. What if a contestant or spectator were badly injured? How would the bad publicity affect their organization? What if the event competitors or hosts were to speak or behave in a way that opposed their brand values? How happy, for instance, do you suppose Michael Phelps’ sponsors were when that photo of him on the business end of a pot pipe hit the papers? Letting sponsors know that you have thought about the risks and have safeguards in place to minimize them can go a long way to putting a sponsor at ease and making your proposal jump out of the pile.

Sometimes a sponsor will sign for your event purely for the Promotional Opportunities it offers. The sponsor wants to promote its products or services directly. Does your event offer ample opportunities for this? Think creatively about ways to sell directly to your audience. This might be as simple as setting up at table at registration or providing a vendor area at the venue. Or it might be more imaginative - letting sponsors host a happy hour or a kids’ event where they can show off their products. Think outside the proverbial box. Are there places at your venue to hang signs and banners? Sponsors often count the number of times their logo appears in print and television. What can you do to increase this count? Where will the cameras and your audience’s eyes be focused most of the time? Some creative thinking in this area will elevate your proposal high above the competition’s.

Past Record, of course, is another way that a potential sponsor will evaluate your offering. You’ve probably heard those commercials where the stockbroker says, “Past performance does not guarantee future results.” Well, that may be true in stocks, but it’s not the way sponsors think. Put yourself in their place. You are asking them to provide you with something of tangible value. In exchange, you are telling them to trust that you will provide the results you promised. Your reputation and past record are all they have to go on. Your past record is critically important. You must leverage it wisely. Statements such as, “95% of our sponsors are returning next season,” can be very powerful. Provided they’re true. Also, remember that fulfilling your promises and keeping existing sponsors happy is much easer than generating new ones. The most important past record is the past record you have with this particular sponsor.

Finally, at some point in the decision process, all potential sponsors are going to evaluate the Cost vs. Return for your event. This can occur in the form of a formal Return On Investment (ROI) calculation or an informal gut feeling. In either case, you need to be crystal clear on how you provide value and benefits. You need to know your market and event. And you need to offer concrete data to back up your claims. You also need to create sponsorship packages that are financially appropriate. Don’t ask for a $20,000 title sponsorship for a horseshoe-throwing contest behind Al’s Hardware Store.

Your job, when you’re pitching sponsors, is to know what is important to each sponsor and then adapt your offerings to their needs. This need not be complicated. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking. You just meet with the prospect and ask her, “What are your objectives?” She will usually be happy to tell you. But if, for any reason, you can’t get the answer directly, do a little research, turn over a few rocks.

If you can satisfy these six Critical Criteria, you will be head and shoulders above all the other “suitors” who are eager to walk down the aisle with this sponsor.