A community “walk” to stamp out heart disease or breast cancer, for instance, illustrates cause-marketing sponsorship at its best. Cause marketing, in fact, is now the fastest-growing segment of sponsorship today. Cause marketing spending is expected to rise by more than 20 percent in 2006 to $1.34 billion, according to IEG, Inc., a sponsorship consulting firm.

Much of the appeal of sponsorships actually stems from consumer demand, as customers grow more savvy and educated about the choices available to them. Looking for a “connective vs. interruptive” approach, consumers have become participants, controlling their interactions with brands and marketing messages, rather than having their lives “interrupted” with messages that don’t complement their lifestyles. Today, consumers look for brands that fit their needs and their perspective on society as a whole, creating an emotional tie to the product or service.

Because the relationship between brands and society is becoming a key marketing emphasis, companies are under a lot of pressure to create those relationships by capturing consumer attention. That’s where sponsorships can help.

When looking to include sponsorships in the marketing communications mix, companies need to align themselves with an event or cause that supports their brand promise. The natural path for a healthcare provider, for example, might be the community “walk,” whereas an automotive company could look to related motor sports events. So it’s more important than ever to clearly identify target audience(s) to determine if a sponsorship creates the desired exposure of the brand in achieving marketing objectives.

In some cases, making the choice of sponsorship over traditional advertising can be more cost efficient. This is especially true in market areas where businesses have limited advertising funds, yet cannot afford to go ’silent’ either.

Once an alignment with an event or cause is secured, the next step is activation - or execution. Here, the sponsor and sponsee work together to promote the sponsorship to both internal and external audiences. Many times, this includes a mix of traditional media and public relations efforts leading up to the actual event. This might include an on-site booth or display table, in which case it’s often helpful to host a kick-off meeting at least one month prior to the event to motivate and educate the sponsorship team, while continuing to review and manage logistics.

Additionally, for budget purposes, it’s important to factor in all the costs associated with sponsorships when utilizing this marketing strategy. As a rule of thumb, the cost of a sponsorship is, on average, 2.5 times the cost of an event entry fee. This estimate covers such expenses as staffing, marketing materials such as brochures, event giveaways, travel, etc.

On-site representation at an event can give your company the opportunity to interact with attendees on a face-to-face basis; bringing your business to life and helping to create an emotional connection to your brand. Remember, you get out of an experience what you put into it!

The companies who do choose sponsorship over more easily-measurable traditional advertising methods typically want to know exactly what benefit it provides. Over the years, sponsorship experts have analyzed that impact. In the last two decades, the value of sponsorship has soared by many billions of dollars. Much of that recognized value is due to industry standards adopted to measure the return on investment of sponsorships, whereby dollar values are assigned to impressions on everything from pole banners to a logo in an event brochure and the many intangibles in between. For many companies, however, the sponsorship experience itself is simply “priceless.”

Pam Crawford is Vice President of Client Services at Corporate Communications Group. Contact her at 913.451.2990.

Article Source: http://www.flourishmagazine.com