Effective B2B Sponsorship

How can you determine how your customers view your B2B sponsorships?

Relationship drivers or jollies away from the office?

From New Edge Magazine May 2003 - by Adrian New

There are two questions that I've been consistently asked since I've been in Singapore; firstly, do I play basketball? Answer, no I just happen to be quite tall; secondly, how should a company evaluate business-to-business (B2B) sponsorships? Actually, to be accurate, the second question is usually "what is all this entertaining I do really worth" but the answer is easier to reach if the question is phrased in terms of a business investment decision rather than the relative size of the entertainment budget.

As always, the more accurately you can define your reasons for doing something the more accurately you will be able to measure its worth. The most famous phrase in marketing is, "I know half of my marketing is working, I just don't know which half" and this stems from the, hopefully, "old" approach of carrying out activity against the so-called mass-market, rather than directly targeting smaller customer segments. In today's world customers are proving more and more elusive and therefore any marketing activity has to be more and more targeted to the customers' specific interests and passions or they will just ignore you.

This applies at every level of your customer segmentation model so whether you're marketing to teenagers fresh out of school or CEO's with 40 years' experience the same principles should be adopted in your marketing strategies. As I've argued in previous columns, sponsorship is the most effective marketing segment when it comes to interacting with your customers, to building a relationship with them and to thereby utilise their passions to deliver business revenue and a return on your investment.

Let us therefore think of B2B sponsorship as a sub-category of sponsorship with the same specific objective; to generate revenue. This may be primary or secondary revenue. Primary revenue B2B sponsorship provides some sort of guaranteed business from the sponsorship undertaken. In other words, revenue guarantees are built into the sponsorship agreement, an example might be a film developer that provides free roles of film in return for being given the developing business. Secondary revenue B2B sponsorship provides no such guarantees. Such sponsorship is meant to target the sponsor's customers, particularly business decision makers, and is often described as "entertaining". Arts sponsorships are often undertaken for this reason, to provide an opportunity for an exclusive invite that your top customers will find it hard to refuse. You hope!

The challenges associated with primary revenue B2B sponsorships are many. These sponsorships are essentially business deals in which brand fit and customer experiences can sometimes take a back seat. However, the litmus test for primary revenue B2B sponsorship should be the same as for any sponsorship. If the property's image is poor, its fan profile is not desirable or the brand fit does not exist, then pass on the opportunity. If you have confidence in your field sales people, allow them to close an attractive sales deal with the property, without having to purchase a sponsorship. Of course, there are B2B sponsorships that are effective, but those tend to focus on the brand and the customer first and the revenue opportunity with the property second.

Secondary revenue B2B sponsorships are referred to as B2B sponsorships because the sponsor's customers are largely business entities. There are no direct revenue sources built into these sponsorships but there is an expectation that the relationship building opportunities that are presented will yield business returns further down the line. Secondary revenue B2B sponsorships should specifically target your existing customer base and prospects, utilising what you know about them in terms of their interests and passions. A good database and research are key. We all go through life assuming that everyone else is just like us and it usually comes as a shock when we find out they're not

People have different interests, attitudes, passions and motivational drive and any B2B sponsorship that you undertake should reflect the interests, attitudes, passions and motivational drive of the people you are hoping to attract. For example, you may find that the best way to attract your customers to an event is to sponsor something that allows them to bring their partner or offers them something of educational value to their children. When choosing such a sponsorship you should be mindful of the following:

Look for sponsorship opportunities that are personal to your customer and highly participative in nature. For example, these opportunities can be designed in virtually every sport, including baseball fantasy camps, motorsport driving experiences, backcountry ski experiences with Olympic skiers, and pro-am golf outings. The possibilities are limitless, however you may be required to purchase assets separate from the sponsorship so plan carefully; just because you sponsor a golf event it won't guarantee you any access to the players you want to work with so you may need to do a side-deal with them as well
Develop unique, unrivalled hospitality experiences. Relationship building is critical to maintaining existing customers and generating new business. Unfortunately, key customers are constantly invited to sports, arts and entertainment events. Aside from special transportation, accommodations and premium seating, hospitality experiences should include access to restricted areas and interaction with athletes or celebrities. You may be required to purchase assets separate from the sponsorship, such as appearance fees for retired athletes or signed jerseys/guitars etc.
Ensure that there is a compelling, legitimate story involving your products or services. Exciting participative experiences and memorable hospitality make an impact, but you need to tie your brand to the property and the customer experience. This means seamlessly integrating your product or service into the property, in other words, using the property as a live case study. Showing how your company positively impacts the operations or success of a property can genuinely influence the purchase behaviour of a customer or prospect. For example, providing instant race results through mobile hand-sets.

Integration of the sponsorship into other marketing activities. Just as B2C sponsorship has to be supported by public relations, promotions and advertising in order to be effective, B2B sponsorship should also receive the same support, perhaps weighted differently. Promotions may not be as critical to the mix, but direct marketing may be more important. Because B2B sponsorships tend to target business decision makers, it is imperative to tell your story through influential channels. That may mean giving tours of your live case study to the business press or entertaining industry analysts at events.

As with all marketing, the effectiveness of B2B sponsorship comes through integration of your activities, not fragmentation. Most companies I meet have not yet grasped this simple principle. I'm forever meeting PR execs who complain that their latest event would have been a great success if only the direct mailing had taken place in time, or sponsorship execs that are frustrated by the so-called sponsorship budget being divided into 20 different departments' entertainment budget. Success only comes through team-work, a unifying vision supported by inter-related, mutually-supporting marketing activities that deliver a unique and compelling marketing platform which inspires your customers and gives them a reason to purchase your services or products. If whatever you are doing doesn't pass this test then don't do it!

Adrian New