Sports Sponsorship has become a popular feature in almost all games the world over. Every team today plays with different brands on their shirts. Sponsorship involves not only teams but also games played by individuals like tennis.
Valued at $48b in 2020, sports sponsoring in football has grown such that different brands can sponsor a single team. For example, while one company is the main shirt sponsor, others could be the sleeve sponsors while yet another might sponsor the seats in the stadium.
Sports Sponsorship comes with several benefits to the sponsors, including.
Targeted Marketing
Sports sponsorship allows the sponsors to offer a specific message to an already predetermined audience. Most clubs already know what their fans like; thus, they provide messages that would resonate with them. The messages depend on geographical location, age, and other demographics. Targeting messages come with higher returns on investments. Sports provide the ideal audience for Forex brokerages, who aim to associate their brands with the passionate support generated by fans. Current examples include easyMarkets sponsoring Real Betis in Spain, and Sheffield United in England’s Premier League being sponsored by USG.
Publicity
The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most used words in the business world. It is all about brands’ social responsibility to society. For CSR, most companies offer conscious social services like donating essentials to the less privileged and providing free services. Sports sponsorship is one of the most favorable publicity strategies betting companies can opt for.
For some time, most people have been of the thought that betting firms are doing less to support the sports that bring them in so much income. Supporting the teams is, therefore, a show of support and helps building public relations.
Influencer Marketing
Brands understand the power influencers wield among the consumers, and sports teams are no exceptions. With millions of people investing in the teams emotionally, they are likely to associate with any brand that is part of their team.
The sports teams and personalities already have a massive following that can quickly turn to customers following their team.
The reach of the sponsorship is quite wide, given brands from a similar sector can sponsor several teams in the same league. For example, multiple betting firms sponsor more than half of the teams in the English premier league.
Ease of Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the most effective marketing strategies. Most consumer love stories due to the entertainment and that they can easily resonate. The right story moves the audience emotionally, making the chances to buy your products higher.
Sports teams have several avenues to display sponsors ads like on the boards around the field and social media pages. For example, a brand telling a story about winning with the club after being crowned champions moves several supporters.
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is the easiest way to making more sales. The more you are recognizable, the more you attract buyers. Sports sponsorship thrusts your brand to unlimited media access, top influential personalities, and other visibility strategies to attract the target audience.
Bottom Line
The benefits that come with sports sponsorship in marketing have made it quite an expensive affair. Most of the top brands already know how important a marketing tool it is. If you have the money, then consider fighting it out with the more prominent brands on top leagues. Otherwise, you can as well start with the lower leagues with considerably lesser investments. Either way, investing in sports sponsorship is worth it, every bit.