Being in Marketing and Branding for some time managing sponsorship has always been in my portfolio. This gave me a chance to be part of big properties; the likes of Tanzania Premier League and Taifa Stars Sponsorship. I have also been involved in Music platform sponsorships like FIESTA, EATV Music Award, Wasafi Festival, Dance 100, Mtaa kwa Mtaa etc.
There is always a bitter sweet relationship between brands and properties. As Brand owner I always used to find myself in a very tough situation because it requires big budgets. Sponsorship amounts go to many things in the arrangement; from venue, entertainment to prizes. Remember any investment you put requires amount allocation for what we call leverage. Leverage is how best one uses the platform to maximize the benefits. The biggest challenge comes in when you are to justify the return of investment. To be honest it is very difficult to calculate and more so it takes time to see the value therefore here consistency remains the key. Something we are not always prepared for.
The fact of the matter is that Sponsorship helps brands engage with their target audience as long as your brand aligns with the property that you want to sponsor. This is in terms of product/service values. Sponsorship gives you an avenue directly with your audience and gives brand awareness, brand recall and it improves brand association and if done overtime increases brand loyalty.
There are many ideas that need support and companies enjoy the benefit of being part of these events big or small depending on business priorities and nature of the business. Most of the proposals don’t pass through. I received many and equally declined many for reasons ranging from late submission even for calendared events, proposals not having clear benefits and Budget availability.
These are my top tips for anyone planning to share a sponsorships and event proposal.
- Understand the company you want to share the proposal with.
- Research the organization to understand priorities. Not every company can sponsor every event. And not every event is for every company.
- Be clear on what kind of support you require from the sponsor.
- Think about the benefit that the sponsor will get and not awareness please, unless you are sure there is that requirement at least not a core benefit. Big companies mostly have established the awareness of their business with exception of new product if any.
- Understand organization financial calendars – they differ! It will assist you to know when to share your proposal. I can tell you it is very difficult to get approval in a short period of time.
- Make sure you get business name correctly, I have seen cases that one receives competitor’s proposal – copy and paste situation J.
Happy Reading !
Nandi Mwiyombella
