In today’s competitive market, brand owners look for more than just visibility; they want meaningful sponsorships that drive tangible results. The relationship between brand owners and their property partners has evolved, with a stronger focus on strategic collaboration and mutual benefit. Here, we explore ten key aspects that brand owners should be prioritizing in their partnerships, highlighting how property partners can meet these expectations effectively.
1. Outcomes, Not Just Outputs
Brand owners are increasingly interested in outcomes rather than just outputs. While metrics such as impressions and reach are still relevant, they are no longer enough on their own. Brand owners want to see clear, measurable results from their sponsorships that demonstrate a measurable impact on their brand and business objectives. This can include increased sales, enhanced brand opinion, and stronger customer/consumer loyalty. Property partners need to focus on delivering outcomes that align with the sponsor’s goals, providing data-driven evidence of their success.
2. A Partner, Not a Property
Brand owners are looking for true partners, not just properties to attach their brands to. They value collaboration and want property partners who are invested in their success. This means property partners should understand their sponsor’s intent, engage in open communication, be flexible, and work together with brand owners to co-create value. By understanding a sponsor’s business and aligning their efforts, property partners can foster a deeper, more productive relationship.
3. Addressing the Sales and Marketing Funnel
Not all partnerships are expected to address the entire sales and marketing funnel, but brand owners most often expect their partnerships to support multiple levels of the funnel, and depending on the brand and the category, potentially all the way from awareness to conversion, and advocacy. This requires a strategic approach to portfolio building and activation design by brand owners that can address multiple stages of the funnel. Property partners should offer solutions that address the areas of the sales and marketing funnel that their brand owner partners are prioritizing for that property. Tailored activations and integrated marketing campaigns can help brand owners move prospects/consumers through the funnel effectively. Property partners need to be ready to help facilitate those initiatives and provide assets and support that help them to be successful.
4. Consumer Target Efficiency
Efficiently reaching the sponsoring brand’s target audience is fundamental. Brand owners want property partners who can provide access to specific consumer segments with precision. This involves understanding the demographics, interests, and behaviors of the property audience. Property partners should leverage data analytics and audience/fan/patron insights to help ensure that the sponsor’s message reaches the right people, optimizing for target efficiency and return on investment.
5. Lack of Relationship Friction
Smooth, frictionless relationships are essential for successful partnerships. Brand owners appreciate property partners who are easy to work with, responsive, and proactive in addressing issues. Clear communication, streamlined processes, and a thoughtful approach can help minimize friction and enhance the overall partnership experience for both parties. Property partners should aim to be reliable and accommodating, ensuring that brand owners feel supported throughout the collaboration.
6. Emotional Context
Sponsorship, as a form of marketing pressure for a brand owner, creates opportunities for emotional connection between the sponsoring brand and its target audience in ways that other forms of marketing can’t. It’s the emotional context around the sponsorship, and its activation, that drives brand health impact, consideration, intent, and advocacy. Property partners need to be aware of the emotional context around what they offer brand owners and think beyond signage units and impressions when building asset packages.
7. A Favorite Property Partner
Being one of a brand owner’s favorite property partners and one that they can hold up internally and externally as a best practice means consistently exceeding expectations and over delivering with exceptional value. Property partners should strive to build a reputation for excellence by being innovative, reliable, and results driven. This involves being intentional in understanding the sponsor’s needs, offering creative solutions, and demonstrating a commitment to mutual success. By becoming a trusted and preferred partner, property partners can secure long-term, productive relationships.
8. 360-Degree Activation Opportunities
Comprehensive activation opportunities are highly valued by brand owners. Property partners should offer 360-degree activation access points that can be leveraged across various brand owners’ touchpoints and channels. This includes on-site activations, digital and social media engagement, content creation, and experiential marketing. Property partners need to be thinking omni-channel when considering how their sponsors activate.
9. High Index of Avid Fans
Different properties have differing degrees of fan avidity, across a stack that includes non-fans, casual fans, engaged fans and avid fans. Avid fans are more likely to recognize a sponsoring brand and to reward the sponsor for being there. This makes properties with a higher index of avid fans more valuable to sponsors. Property partners should highlight their strong fan communities and demonstrate how brand owners can tap into these valuable groups.
10. A Content Studio
Content is still king and the ecosystem and the community around a property is a content studio for a sponsoring brand. Brand owners seek property partners who can provide their brands with storytelling and story-making opportunities. Property owners should think about their sponsorship assets in terms of those story opportunities for sponsors, and bring forward ideas for how they can be brought to life through content.
The evolving landscape of sponsorship for brand owners demands a dynamic and strategic approach from property partners. Brand owners seek more than visibility; they need partnerships that deliver measurable outcomes, foster collaboration, and enhance their overall marketing strategies through omnichannel activation. By focusing on data-driven results and aligning efforts with sponsors’ brand and business objectives, property partners can elevate their value proposition. Ensuring efficient audience targeting, minimizing relationship friction, and offering activatable assets are key to building successful, long-term partnerships. By delivering innovative solutions, maintaining reliability, and demonstrating tangible results, property partners can secure their property as an indispensable component of a brand’s marketing and business strategy.
By: Ian Malcolm
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