Me: So, what are you trying to achieve out of this sponsorship? What are your objectives?
Sponsor: We want to engage with our target markets.
Me: How are you planning to use this sponsorship to engage with those markets?
Sponsor: Heavy branding at the event, of course. Plus, venue announcements, advertising in the program, website cross-links… you know, the usual.
At that point I control the urge to take the sponsor by the shoulder and yell, “are you kidding me?!” Instead, I mentally smack myself on the forehead and, in the kindest words I can find, explain to them that they are delusional.
Putting a logo in front of people is not engaging them. Neither is an announcement plugging your product, having your strapline pulled across the bottom of a broadcast, program advertising, weblinks, press releases, or any of that one-way, outbound communication that is so typical of an old-school sponsorship. Even those oh-so-typical drawing-style promotions don’t qualify. How is getting someone to part with details about themselves in exchange for a long shot at a prize “engaging” them? It may be a transaction, but it’s hardly engagement.
Engagement is about creating and nurturing a two-way relationship with a target market. It’s about actively connecting with a target market, engendering belief and alignment that make your brand their natural choice. That’s the mission, and you don’t get that by simply being in front of people – no matter how big, loud, slick, or brash you may be.
Honestly, if all you’re trying to do is communicate a message to a market, you may as well skip sponsorship altogether and put your money in advertising or direct marketing or some other one-way marketing vehicle, because you are totally misusing this amazing, multi-faceted marketing opportunity.