Tag: Value

How Much Revenue Could My Project Earn Through Sponsorship? 9th March, 2018

One of the most common questions people looking for sponsorship ask us is, ‘what could my property be worth?’

It’s an obvious question to ask, but without knowing exactly what’s being offered to a sponsor it’s almost impossible to answer. Therefore, before you approach a brand or agency about sponsorship, it’s worth taking a bit of time to consider exactly what you have to offer.

When creating a sponsorship package and working out sponsorship value here are three key things to take into account.

How is a sponsorship package valued?

To be able to value a platform correctly, all the sponsorship assets – such as inclusion in newsletters, social media posts, logo integration and hospitality tickets – need to have been considered and packages created detailing the frequency an asset can be used. These details are measured against the reach your project will have – how many people are going to see it and, more importantly, how valuable is that audience to a brand. The value of each asset can then be calculated to provide an overall price.

Nail down the details

We often find that people coming to us with a new venture have a good grasp on the fundamentals of their projects, such as where and when it’s going to be, but they may not have the specifics nailed down – and the specifics are everything when it comes to the value.

For example, claiming an event will be shown on TV is not enough to be able to value an opportunity and, likewise, probably won’t be enough for a brand to sponsor. Instead, make sure you know the specifics, including what channel it will be shown on and how often the sponsor can be featured – the latter is where the real value lies. The same goes for any media partner whether it be TV, radio, magazines or blogs. You need to be sure that agreements have been finalised before approaching sponsors.

Don’t approach sponsors too early

Sponsorship deals can take many months to get across the line so it can be tempting to approach potential sponsors before you have the complete sponsorship toolkit confirmed. It may seem like a good idea to get the ball rolling as soon as possible but it can lead to you coming unstuck in the boardroom as the brand can’t justify the value of the deal without knowing exactly what they’re going to get. This can lead to delays or even end the hope of any potential agreement.

Therefore, to understand the sponsorship revenue your project could receive you need to turn your ideas into serious realities by confirming the specifics of your offering. You may be pleasantly surprised by the value at your fingertips.

Don’t Fast-Forward Through Your TV Budgets 8th December, 2016

Speaking as someone who has transitioned from the sale of television advertising into the sale of sponsorships I believe that traditional television advertising is utterly overrated. I have spent years booking ad campaigns for well-known global brands who are desperately focused on ensuring that their thirty second ad is run at the precise time they booked it into. Even though that is virtually impossible to guarantee, given the ever-changing nature of live television, brands never fail to be shocked that an ad booked in at one time may move.

When I sit down to watch a television programme one thing I’m not paying attention to are the ads. According to data from Alphonso I’m not alone, with a little under half the population skipping ads. What does catch my eye however are the brands who are clever enough to integrate within a programme. Taking the time to asses an opportunity to integrate a product or brand into a television show is proven to be more successful when done correctly. Viewers appreciate brands who choose to support their favourite shows and will remember these brands each time they watch.

Many brands become put off by big scary price tags associated with sponsoring a television programme, however when you consider the engagement levels with integrated brands over the ones who are simply ignored or fast forwarded through during ad breaks, there really is no argument. I can’t tell you who’s ad ran 4^th in break 3, but I can tell you the brand that took the time to relate to their audience by integrating within the programme. Brands who are still nit picking over which ad break their 15 second TVC falls into, must realise it’s time to wake up and understand the reason they want it to run first, in the back of their minds they surely realise no one is watching it anyway.

The limits with television sponsorship really do not exist. A successful television sponsorship becomes synonymous with your favourite show. They can also be used to drive a response from the viewers. Creating brand engagement is easy when you can influence the content of a programme as a sponsor. Sponsors provide a programme with the ability to be bigger, whether it be through sponsored segments outside of regular programme budgets, provision of prizes or even just product placement. This reflects positively on the sponsor, suddenly the prize provided to contestants of a reality show becomes something viewers at home want for themselves. This not only makes the brand desirable in viewer’s eyes but also memorable.

Brands who take the time to invest in a sponsorship at the end of the day see their efforts reflected in sales. Even though it may be a risk at the outset it is proven that sponsorships work and are effective when executed properly. Avoid being skipped, sponsor a programme, and secure your engagement among viewers.

Treat Them Mean, Keep Them Keen – Not In Sponsorship 6th May, 2016

Now more than ever the sponsorship market is packed full of opportunities for brands, making the task of securing brand sponsors an ever harder job for rights holders. The need now for rights holders is to not only understand the value of their propositions, but also find a way to differentiate from the competition to bring in that much craved sponsorship revenue.

To do this, many rights holders are now investing heavily to upskill their sales teams. In doing this, rights holders are realising that there is a great deal of prior effort and expertise needed to secure sponsors, and therefore retaining sponsors is perhaps now even more important than it once was.

As sponsors become ever more precious to a rights holder you would assume that it would be fundamental for a rights holder to make sure they go above and beyond on delivery, however, all too often there still seems to be a disconnect, as many brands are miss-sold on promises that are never delivered.

This disconnect will of course hurt a brand when it comes to successfully activating their sponsorship, but for rights holders, besides the obvious initial financial void and short term pressures that come with that, this could have a far more adverse effect in the long run:

Bad Reputation – people talk. It doesn’t matter whether the brand has paid £5k or £5m, it’s a small world and word travels fast, especially in this digital era with a bad reference only a click away. Much like how happy sponsors are generally very willing to shout about you in a positive light, the same goes for a disgruntled sponsor who will have no remorse when shouting about you in a derogative fashion. Having a bad reputation as a rights holder when it comes to delivering sponsorship will undoubtedly plant seeds of doubt into any brand when they receive a proposal about investing in your platform.

Weakened Platform – in many cases sponsors provide a lot more than just cash, they can add significant value to a property though a variety of means such as increased promotion, engagement and consumer experience. Having successful case studies and previous positive relationships are great tools when selling to prospective brands, so not having these case studies will make a sale all the more difficult. In some cases, the sale of sponsorship could also depend heavily on who is already associated with the platform (especially in B2B sponsorship), so losing one sponsor could potentially result in losing a number of prospective ones too.

Regret – rights holders with multiple sponsors generally have a harder job to ensure a flawless delivery, and will often find it becomes a fine balancing act to decide which brand should be given the most attention at any given time. In these circumstances, it is often most likely to result in the lower tiered sponsor being neglected, and therefore walking away from future involvement (although there are cases of this occurring with high profile sponsors also). Either way, it is criminal for a rights holder to fail to deliver on their promises no matter who the brand is or what they have invested, especially in today’s climate when it is possible for brands to become world famous overnight. Imagine if that lower tiered sponsor turned out to be the next Uber or Spotify.

Selling sponsorship is never easy, in fact it is probably one of the most underrated skills in business full stop. Due to the nature of sponsorship and the regular changes in strategies for both rights holders and brands, it is natural that some sponsorships will have a short shelf life and often nothing can be done to stop the relationship coming to an end, but to lose a sponsor due to a poor relationship or miss selling is something that needs to be avoided at all costs!

To learn more about the ins and outs of selling and maintaining sponsorship effectively – attend our Sessions event on Thursday May 26^th or call our London office on 0207 226 5052 for more information.

Sponsorship: It’s not all about the money 21st August, 2013

Recently I came across a short article posted by Richard Branson on Twitter where he stated that ‘people who focus on finance generally fail’.

Now although a little brash, Branson’s comment struck me as rather relevant when it comes to considering sponsorship. The value of a sponsorship opportunity should not be based solely on costing but on the value that sponsorship can bring to the brand.

Finding value in a sponsor proposition is a tenuous topic – brands enter into sponsorship for varying reasons and the true value of each sponsorship is dependent upon what the brand themselves want to gain from it. For some, the value of a sponsorship opportunity might come from the reinforcement it could provide during a re-brand campaign while others may see value in reaching new audiences. In this respect, a big budget sponsorship opportunity may not always fulfil the sponsor’s objectives in the same way a lower budget opportunity may see a sponsor reaping huge rewards.

There are of course big businesses with big budgets that can afford the high cost sponsorship opportunities and benefit greatly from them. Companies such as PepsiCo and Coca Cola spent upwards of $280 million on sponsorship in 2012. With budgets like this, these companies can consider the higher ticket sponsorship opportunities like the Olympics and the Super Bowl. But as the marketing director for Nokia said recently, if you can’t outspend, out smart.

In 2012, Inov8, a leading off-trail running brand, sponsored Mark Bayliss in his Arch to Arc (Marble Arch, London to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris) triathlon. This sponsorship was, in the grand scheme of things, a relatively low cost sponsorship but provided Invo8 with priceless opportunities. The success of this example lies in the synergy between the inov8 brand and Mark Bayliss. In completing the event, Mark Bayliss became the first person to complete the channel swim without a wetsuit, setting a new world record and raising money for SportsAid.

Mark’s achievement perfectly complimented Inov8’s brand values – celebrating the grit and glory of the committed athlete. The reach of the sponsorship might not have been particularly broad, but it provided Inov8 with a direct channel to their target audience and allowed the brand to present their values in the form of a successful athlete.

In the current financial climate, it is important to consider all aspects of a sponsorship opportunity, understanding what your brand needs to gain from the sponsorship and the value that particular proposition can bring.