Sponsorships should deliver much more than brand exposure.

Sponsorships have a very respected place amongst the various advertising formats available to brands across media. As a tool, Sponsorships are excellent but ultimaltely it is the manner of application that determines its success. Many brands have used sponsorships very effectively to strengthen their relationship with consumers. However, not all instances of sponosrships that we see around us are as effective. Let us delve a little deeper into what one should expect from a sponsorship. But, first we must understand the state of regular advertising today.

 

The most common format is what we all know as an 'advertisement'. This is the spot in a commercial break either in Television, Cinema, Radio or a ad-space in Newspapers, Magazines, Website, etc. These ads are a very rude interjection by a brand into the media consumption experience of the consumer. However, as these are a means of funding for the content - the consumers express their gratitude to them by way of their attention.

 

These ads are content-agnostic. At its best, this advertising format only delivers the encoded brand message independent of the message or leave-behind of the content that they are riding. As long as the content does not grossly violate any serious brand directive and is acceptable to their consumer segments - ads can be placed along with such content. Brands use the content either to reach specific target groups or as as a context and brands that are related to this context are expected to have a better return on their investments than those that are not related to the content in any way.

 

This advertising format is over-used, abused and as a virus has started eating into content itself. Often TV programs loose their viewers during the commercial breaks; Newspaper pages with a high clutter are often skipped. Of Course! only those ads which are very high in either their information quotient or entertainment quotient get some attention while the others are punished with Ad-Avoidance. Getting noticed in such clutter is quite a challenge for brands today.

 

In this scenario, generally speaking - Sponsorships are used more as a means of standing-out in this extreme advertising clutter. Using such a wonderful tool as a sponsorship only to be "seen" is gross under-utilization of its capabilities. Given the premium at which sponsorships are available these days, one must really think hard before taking on sponsorships only for driving premium exposure.

 

Brands serve a purpose in the life of their target consumers and add value to their experiences. We often term this as the brand-benefit. The sponsorship too, must add value to the experince of the consumer and this "value" ideally should be in tandem with the benefit that the consumer expects from the brand itsef.

 

A sponsorhip as a visible entity is only a "brand logo" and hence does not have a tangible brand message attached to it. The brand message is a take-out by the consumer of the experience that the consumer gets interacting with the property. The message that a Sponsorships expresses is a function of the choice of the property being sponsored and the manner of association of the brand with the sponsored property.

 

One should consider multiple factors in deciding on a sponsorship but, the strength of association of the brand with the property is the most critical to ensure success. At the minimum, the brand provides the funding for the property and gets a sponsorship tag or logo presence. The extent of branding depends on the amount of funding. Whether a brand is a title sponsor, associate sponsor it really does not matter to the consumer. Whether the program is :"brought to you by" or "powered by" really does not interest the consumer. These are only jargons that allow media sellers to excite brand managers and enhance their own revenue. What matters is if the brand is just present as a logo or is the brand involved in delivering the experience. The higher the involvment of the brand in delivering this experience, the stronger the association and hence better the chances of the sponosrship being a valuable asset for the brand.

 

What should be this experience that the sponsorship delivers to the consumer is a million dollar question. I have seen many sponsorship executions where the connection between the experience delivered and the desired brand objective is so remote and convoluted that only the brand manager understands the connection while the execution does not deliver any brand-benefit to the consumer. The brand custodians involved in the decision need to clearly understand the communicatoin task for the brand and hence select, design and execute the property to then deliver the desired experience which can easily be associated by the consumer  - with the brand.

 

Do not use sponsorship only for brand exposure. If you only need brand exposure - regular advertising with a well crafted message and a well-designed media plan is the optimal way forward. But, if you want to go beyond brand-exposure and brand-talk and let the consumer himself taste the brand benefit in some form, then Sponsorships is the way ahead. Self-realization of the brand benefit by the consumer is far more powerful than a score of ads trying to tell him what the brand stands for.

 

Sponsorships must provide a tangible value to the desired consumer segment so that the brand gains their solidarity in return.