Non-digitalised sponsorship can be defined as a fee paid to a property for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property (Cornwell, et al., 2005). When we apply that to digital marketing the property becomes a website or page collection.
This blog will explore the benefits of online sponsorship and how to operate it successfully.
Digital sponsorship is becoming popular due to it’s attractive medium and interactive and dynamic nature. It allows rich media such as video streaming and personalisation technologies. (Drennan & Cornwell, 2004) discuss how these attributes make it possible for sponsors to target their market more effectively, heighten involvement of their target audience, and measure the effectiveness of their sponsorship activities.
The benefits of online sponsorship when done right are many and the return on investment can be great. Similar to offline sponsorship, brand awareness is improved within a select target audience and the relationship with consumers can become more dynamic. (Arts & Business Northern Ireland, 2010) state that there is also a benefit in building long term relationships and that these relationships often last longer than the initial project. In a more digital marketing approach sponsorship is really good way of building inbound links which will ultimately help search engine page ranks.
Now let’s look at some successful online sponsorship partnerships.
a) Made in Chelsea and Rimmel
Technically Rimmel sponsor this TV programme but the sponsorship deal continues on to their online space as you can see by the logo. When the logo is clicked it takes you to Rimmels home page providing a high quality and reputable inbound link. Made in Chelsea and Rimmel are both focused towards the young, female audience and therefore are highly relevant to each other. The only improvement I could suggest is the adding more value to the banner rather than just their logo.
b) Vue cinema and First Choice
This sponsorship adds value for the consumer as it is a unique all inclusive package. It also works well by drawing on brand association of First Choice whose tag line is ‘The home of all inclusive’. It is relevant as they both target families and provide a leisure experience. However this example does not link back to the First Choice home page anywhere and so does not provide inbound links therefore not helping SEO.
c) Chelsea and Rotary Watches
This is an offline and online partnership. Chelsea sponsor a select collection of Rotary watches and in return they get exploitable commercial space on their website and access to their consumers. The sponsorship adds value for the customer as both brands have positive emotional responses and it extends the watch range. When the sponsor logo is clicked it takes you to a Chelsea FC landing page providing them with reputable inbound links.
Based on the analysis above, here are some points in order to ensure your online sponsorship works as a digital marketing tool.
- Measure the emotional responses to the brand you are sponsoring. A positive emotional response will transfer to your brand and improve your brand equity (Smart Insights, 2015).
- Ensure relevance between the two brands. Search engines put more emphasis on inbound links that are relevant, so one way to make sure of this is to choose a company with the same target audience.
- (Sports Revolution, 2013) discuss one way to maximise the impact of your sponsorship is to interact with your sponsorship consumers on social media with engaging content for example giveaways and experiences.
- It is also important that the online partnership providing links is a reputable and recognised site as this will attract a greater weighting from search engine (Green, 2003)
- Online sponsorship requires more than just plonking the logo on a platform. It requires building a dynamic relationship with the company and consumer and adding value for both parties. (Arts & Business Northern Ireland, 2010)
- Digital sponsorship should be measured to ensure success. (Drennan & Cornwell, 2004) case study of 6 companies identified several ways to measure the success of an online sponsorship strategy. These were: n.o. of visitors registering for more information, n.o. of click throughs and whether the target audience were indeed the audience reached.
References
Arts & Business Northern Ireland, 2010. Successful partnerships: Collaboration and Innovation, Belfast: Arts & Business Northern Ireland.
Cornwell, T. B., Weeks, C. S. & Roy, D. P., 2005. Sponsorship-Linked Marketing: Opening the Black Box. Journal of Advertising, Vol. 34(No.2), pp. Pg. 21-42.
Green, D., 2003. Search Engine Marketing: Why it benefits us all. Business Information Review, Vol. 20(No. 4), p. Pg. 195–202.
Smart Insights, 2015. An example of the power of sponsorship. [Online]
Available at: http://www.smartinsights.com/internet-advertising/online-sponsorship/example-sponsorship/
[Accessed 16th April 2015].
Sports Revolution, 2013. HOW DIGITAL MARKETING IS REVOLUTIONISING SPORT SPONSORSHIP. [Online]
Available at: http://www.sportsrevolution.co.uk/how-digital-marketing-is-revolutionising-sport-sponsorship/
[Accessed 16th April 2015].