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Implementation Planning

• Identifying Appropriate Athlete Endorsers
• Expecting Proper Levels of Sponsorship Service
• Implementing Effective Hospitality Strategies
• Integrating Community Relations into Sponsorship
• Planning And Scheduling Around A Sponsorship
• Rethinking The Effectiveness Of Promotional Giveaways
• Using Intangible Assets
• Using Sponsorship to Market Luxury Brands
• Activating Sponsorship through the Web
• Falling For Price Escalators
• Generating Direct Revenue From Sponsorships
• Activating Golf Sponsorship Successfully

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Integrating Community Relations into Sponsorship

Many sponsors have recently expanded their sponsorship portfolios beyond sports, entertainment and arts relationships to include cause-related properties. Cause marketing provides the sponsor with marketing assets in return for its investment. But what about the scenario in which you make a sponsorship investment but would like to incorporate community relations programs, for which you receive no marketing assets in return, into that sponsorship. In that case, you face the challenge of fining programs, charities, or community groups that are sensible fits with the sponsored property. You also need to get assurances from the property that it will actually support and participate in the community relations aspect of your sponsorship.

In some cases, your company and the property might support your own preferred community groups. If yours is a global entity such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the property has ties to the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs, then you may face some very significant challenges in getting support from the property. Those entities serve different groups and have different objectives, which may mean that few opportunities will exist to tie the sponsorship to your community relations programming.

But what if there are common community groups, concerns or charities between you and the property? Then you may want to consider adding the following pieces to your sponsorship:

Negotiate a "matching funds program" of sorts into the sponsorship. In other words, if your company provides a certain amount of money - either as part of the rights fee or in addition to it - to support a particular cause tied to the property and your sponsorship, tell the property that you expect it to make the same financial commitment.

Create a community relations activation plan just as you would have an activation plan in place to support your sponsorship with marketing activities. But instead of including your colleagues from advertising or promotions in writing the plan, your primary support and expertise will come from your community relations or corporate philanthropy departments, public relations, and the property's community relations personnel.

Make sure that senior executives from your company are committed to participate in the community relations activities associated with the sponsorship. Without their support and active involvement, the perception exists that the company is not really dedicated to the chosen cause.

Bring the cause, the property and your company together, which means engaging the cause offsite. Have athletes and your employees build houses together for the homeless or bring your senior executives and athletes to a children's center to work with kids on the computers your company donated. But it also means bringing the cause to the property, using some of the assets you received as part of the sponsorship to allow community groups to participate in or watch the event.