So, you’ve decided that you want to sponsor a sports team – congratulations! You’re about to embark on a journey that will put your brand at the forefront of the sport, engaging with a highly passionate, dedicated fanbase, and lead to greater brand awareness and ROI for a long time to come.
It’s likely that you’re still unsure, though, actually how to sponsor a sports team – what are the first steps? How should you choose a team, and how should you approach them? What activation should you concentrate on first?
Luckily, RTR Sports Marketing is here to help you with the first steps of how to sponsor a sports team…
How to sponsor a sports team: choosing the right team
All sports teams are different, with individual personalities, budgets, challenges, successes, and circumstances – so knowing the circumstances of each team you’re considering is essential. Here are some questions you should ask of your potential teams…
- Who is their audience, and does it match that of your brand?
- Are they likely to feature prominently in competitions, or crash out early?
- Will they be able to provide the assets and operational support necessary?
- Will they stand out on the pitch, track or court?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’re well on your way to establishing which team will work best for your sponsorship campaign.
What steps do I need to consider?
They might not all be relevant, but in general, these are the steps that you’ll need to take as you begin your sports sponsorship campaign:
- Contact a sports sponsorship company (such as RTR Sports Marketing) to discuss the options open to you
- Create, discuss and tweak a proposal, taking the current market into consideration
- Finalize proposal
- Signing of proposal by both parties
- Creation of media and communications plans
- PR campaign to publicize the sponsorship beginning
- Aspects of the campaign begin to go live
What are the main things that need to be agreed on?
Once your team is identified and is on board, you’ll need to get a lot of things organized. Here are just a few of the things you’ll need confirmation on to start with:
- What level of access will you get to the team, riders or athletes?
- What space will you be given? billboards, banners, jerseys or vehicles?
- How will you be included in digital assets, for example, newsletters or websites?
- What formats do you they need your assets in, and when do they need them?
- What are the key dates for the competitions?
When should your sports sponsorship campaign begin?
If you’re sponsoring a sports team during a tournament or beginning in a specific season, you’ll want to make sure all the aspects of your campaign are ready at least a few weeks before it begins – which means planning should begin months ahead of this. This will give you the time to iron out any issues or make any changes that might be needed before the launch begins – you don’t want to be rushing in the days before the competition begins! You’ll also need time to ensure any media coverage is in place ahead of the tournament, competition or season.
Of course, different sports sponsorship campaigns will need to be ready at different times – MotoGP and F1 in March, for example; football in August, and skiing in the autumn.
If you want to learn more about how to sponsor a sports team get in contact with RTR Sports Marketing today.
