Being in business and creating a strong brand is all about building relationships. From speaking with people on LinkedIn. To chat with prospective customers at networking meetings. It’s essential to make those connections. Partnerships and Sponsorships in Branding can be a great way to aid your brand, learn more in this article.
Table of Contents
Partnerships and Sponsorships in Branding: Everything you Need to Know
In fact, 35% of people say that a casual conversation has led to a new business opportunity.
One of the ways you can grow your business and make people aware of your brand is through partnership and sponsorship opportunities with other businesses.
Let’s take a look at the differences and similarities between the two terms, as well as the benefits partnerships and sponsorships in Branding can bring to your brand.
What is a Partnership?
A partnership is an arrangement where two or more businesses agree to work together to increase sales and boost brand awareness. The businesses may be of different sizes or be indifferent industries – it doesn’t matter as long as they share the same ultimate goal.
For an example of an effective partnership, take Uber and Spotify. The two companies partnered together in 2014. Uber created unique playlists on Spotify and even let Spotify users play their own music in the car when they took an Uber.
Both companies saw massive branding benefits from the partnership. Spotify boosted brand awareness. While Uber was able to advertise the partnership as a unique selling point over its competitors.
What is a Sponsorship?
A sponsor is a business that supports another business or organization in exchange for promotion. Typically they provide products, services, or money in exchange for publicity.
Let’s say that you want to promote your brand to your key demographic – young men under the age of thirty. You may decide to pay your local football ground to advertise there and showcase your business to people attending the game.
The amount and level of sponsorship can vary depending on the business, the industry, and the reach. For example, a business may spend a couple of hundred dollars to sponsor a seat in a local theatre. Or several thousand dollars to provide branded tops to a school’s football team.
Other businesses may spend a significant amount of money to reach a bigger audience. For example, international brands like Rolex and Cadillac pay millions of dollars to sponsor the Academy Awards.
While the initial outlay is large, these brands are promoted to tens of millions of people around the world during the ceremony. Another advantage of sponsorship is that their competitors are not allowed to advertise during the event.
What are the Differences Between the two?
There are three critical differences between partnerships and sponsorships.
The second is speed. Partnerships typically take longer to implement changes. This is due to all businesses involved needing to work together and reach a consensus. With sponsorships, one business gives another organization money or resources, and the organization works on promotion straight away.
The final difference is the relationship between the parties involved. In sponsorships, the business offering the money typically has the advantage. They can advise what they want in exchange for payment. They also may be able to cancel the sponsorship opportunity if their demands are not met.
There is a more equal balance of power in a partnership, as it is in both companies’ best interests to work together and cooperate.
How do Partnerships and Sponsorships Apply to Branding?
Both partnerships and sponsorships can be an essential part of the marketing mix. According to Nielsen, businesses spend nearly $50 billion on sponsorship a year. Just over 8% of the total global advertising spend.
Partnerships and sponsorships can help promote your brand to new target audiences that otherwise may have never heard of your business. For example, make-up brand Covergirl joined forces with Lucasfilm to create a line of Star Wars-themed cosmetics. As these two brands generally do not have a lot in common, it meant they could both promote their products to fresh demographics.
How you can use Partnerships and Sponsorships to Boost your Brand Image
So you’ve read this article, and you would like to investigate partnerships and sponsorships in more detail. That’s great news!
The next steps are to think about what you want to achieve. Some of the key questions to ask include:
- Would a partnership or sponsorship be of more benefit to your brand?
- What is your budget?
- Who is your key demographic?
- What is your goal? For example, do you want to make more people aware of your brand, or improve your brand’s reputation?
- Do you want to work with a business in the same industry as you? Or in a different industry? The latter option can be more of a challenge but can open your brand up to new audiences
- How will you know if your partnership or sponsorship campaign has been effective? What metrics will you put in place to measure success?
Once you have answered these questions, it’s time to start networking and finding businesses to work with.
In Summary
Sponsorship and partnerships in branding have been used as branding tools for longer than you may think. For example, Romans would sponsor gladiator fights to increase their social and political standing!
Regardless of whether you choose to sponsor or work in partnership with another business. Both options can create a range of new opportunities for your brand.
Now that you know what Partnerships and Sponsorships in Branding are, you may be interested in learning more about branding. We have a great article here that covers the topic in great detail.
