Why You Should Consider a Sponsorship
Sponsorships offer you the ability to achieve several goals at once through integrated, custom marketing opportunities. If your company has avoided exploring sponsorship options for fear of the unknown, you are missing valuable opportunities to:
- Creative positive experiences for your products or services
- Build relationships with buyers
- Interact with potential customers
- Goodwill is not just a thrift store The goodwill that comes with sponsoring an industry event is more than any marketing budget can buy. It allows your company to directly connect with the communities that are drawn together by a common cause, passion or purpose. Therefore, when you align your business with these same values, you engage with potential customers in a deeper way than by using other traditional marketing mediums.
- Enhance your image and shape customer opinions If you’re looking to improve how your company is perceived by the automotive aftermarket industry, a sponsorship will help shape buying attitudes and generate a positive reaction. This kind of positive impact on the industry will automatically paint your brand in a good light.
- Heighten your brand’s visibility with positive publicity Media outlets love to cover industry happenings and as an event sponsor, they may include your company’s name and/or logo in their broadcast. This kind of media coverage is often unattainable, making it an extremely lucrative benefit. To maximize this exposure, it is important for sponsoring companies to have a comprehensive media campaign to augment the regular media coverage provided by the event organizers.
- Take your sponsorship to the next level Most industry events offer à la carte promotional opportunities such as sponsorship of the press room, a speaker or VIP room, an awards reception, education programs, banners, badge holders, audio visual equipment, display computers, tote bags, shuttle buses, napkins, drink cups and more. These additional opportunities allow you to expand your reach even further and directly connect with show attendees where they are most engaged.
- Increase your brand’s loyalty It’s simple. Loyal customers are your company’s most valuable asset. Show them you care about their chosen industry and they will be proud to be your customer.
- Stand out in the crowd When you’re dealt a small budget, category exclusivity is your best friend. The cost-effectiveness of a sponsorship, compared to traditional media advertising, allows smaller companies to compete with the giants in the automotive repair industry. This is especially valuable when your marketing budget is a fraction of the size of your competitors. So, when a category exclusive sponsorship is presented to you, snatch it up before your competitors have the chance to take it away.
- Turn knowledge into profit We’ve gone over how sponsorships allow companies to hone in on a niche market without any waste. But the other element to sponsorship is taking advantage of who you are reaching. As a sponsor, most event companies will work with you to market directly to attendees. Take advantage of this. Send email communication about what attendees can expect from you at the show, utilize on-site displays to cement your presence at show, conduct special mailings to offer a post-show special. Sponsoring companies are essentially a partner of the event and should take advantage of the opportunity to increase their return on investment. So there you have it; ten reasons why you should consider a sponsorship as part of your integrated marketing plan. Research proves that companies are spending more in this segment of the market than ever before and there’s a reason for it. There is just no better way to get your product or brand in front of more future and prospective customers than by way of a sponsorship.
