Sponsorship Measurement on Customer Behaviour is Key 13th November, 2010

For the majority of all sponsorship pitches, measurement is typically the last thing the sponsorship agency talks about when discussing sponsorship activation and rights purchase.  It is of course within the pitch, but it is normally the last slide of the presentation and tends to include some very basic charts and graphs about how measurement will take place.  Although sponsorship pitches used to work to perfection with beautiful images of the sponsors logo ‘zoomed’ in with great PowerPoint accuracy, this tends to only work when money and client spending is in excess, which no longer applies in our current economic climate.  Results and ROI are now priority and many sponsorship agencies are struggling.

This is not to say that sponsorship does not bring fantastic results and ROI; however, is more a comment on the fact that sponsorship historically is built around building brand awareness, which can be difficult to measure.  Results have also not always been the key reasons brands have sponsored in the past, typically looking for an affinity between the product and audience.  This no longer is the case.  In an era of increased accountability, rights owners and sponsorship agencies need to work together to create a consistent approach to measurement and ROI.

With the sponsorship industry priding itself on understanding audience and fans, it seems ironic that it is slow to recognise and respond to their sponsors’ needs for return on investment. 

A measure on customer behaviour is key.  For example, will the sponsorship bring in new customers and/or retain existing customers?  If you can demonstrate a positive result for this, then you have achieved success.

 – Mike Thompson, former Global Head of Sponsorship for E.ON

Some key tips for sponsorship measurement include:

  • Understand the brand objectives at the outset
  • Measure a baseline at the beginning
  • Identify focus groups that fit your sponsorship campaign profile
  • Measure sponsorship campaign and cost against a similar sole brand marketing campaign to prove the benefits synergy and engagement

Sponsorship is and can be hugely successful as a marketing platform, especially when it is attributed to return on investment.  However, the sponsorship industry needs to work together in order to overcome the prejudice of corporate excess and prove results.

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