When working with clients to create sports sponsorships, it is crucial to demonstrate measurable success. In recent times, nothing is more important to sponsors than the return on investment (ROI). Over the years, the methods to evaluate and maximize the ROI have changed substantially. Sports marketing itself has evolved and now is treated like any other marketing tool, with a clear expectation of ROI.
“While the brand play is super important, and the association is super important, we get challenged more now around: show us how this works year over year from an ROI standpoint and if it does, then you’ve carved out a niche certainly within certain companies where you are a cornerstone of what they do on an annual basis”, said Brandon Parks, Associate General Manager at the Vol Network.
Goals and Objectives:
The ability to show proof of ROI to clients in sports has become easier than ever by following a couple of different guidelines when beginning a relationship with a company. It is important to discuss at length the goals and objectives that the company is looking to achieve, and consequently how it affects the bottom line. Once these goals and objectives are understood, construct the partnership completely around these. In the past, the process may have involved more guesswork, but today it is about listening to the client, educating the partner or team about what success looks like to the client, and setting everyone involved up to be able to achieve these goals. Start with the goals, and then integrate the marketing assets available to reach them. The client will invest a certain amount of money, and they want to see a return on that investment, so it is crucial to show them proof of success.
Real-Time Examples:
Concession-Centered Clients: Traditionally, it was believed that concessions will not pay for themselves. While this may hold true to an extent, it does not have to be if it is looked at as more than a concessions deal. It can be looked at in two pieces, the first being the sales at the concessions and how that impacts your bottom line. Additionally then outside of that, how many more products need to be sold to break even or to make money and make a difference for the client in the marketplace.
Lead Generation: This is increasingly defined and sought after by traditional categories like financial services, insurance services, and retail services as well. An extremely common way of doing this is by running a “register to win” social media promotion. Using the intellectual property of a sports team, people who sign up for these contests do so because they love the team and want to win the prize. This creates a warm lead for the company, as they can leverage the prospective customer’s passion for the team when talking to them.
When creating these deals for clients to generate leads, an option is also to create a term within the contract that specifies a minimum number of opt-ins required. This ensures that the company will run as many promotions as needed to reach that number, guaranteeing the client receives a certain amount of leads and value from the deal. This builds trust based on the proof provided even before the deal begins.
Measuring ROI:
Measuring ROI can be done through brand-centric efforts. Sports does branding better than anybody else. The use and leveraging of intellectual properties of sports teams is incredibly effective based on the incredible fandom associated with sports. Traditional methods, like surveys conducted at the beginning, middle, and end of a campaign, can track progress and measure the brand-centric ROI.
The Future of ROI:
ROI will continue to be significantly important to sponsors, and consistency and long-term relationships with sponsors are essential for sustained success.
“ The worst agreement we can do is the deal that is here one year and gone the next, because we are ultimately replacing it”, Brandon Parks said.
The future is in first-party data and lead-generation campaigns that can target specific demographics. By focusing on long-term relationships, and constant engagement, success will be achieved for clients through their sponsorships and will maximize ROI.
Want to learn more about ROI in sports sponsorship deals? Listen, here!