HOW TO SUCCEED
IN SPONSORSHIP
by Chris Moler, USIndoor Sponsorship Director
"Sponsorship Success for Indoor Sports Facilities" was a
specialty workshop at this year's Conference in Las Vegas.
Those who attended experienced a day filled with big ideas,
lots of options and plenty of reality checks.
S
ponsorships are an often misunderstood revenue source. Facility
owners and operators are told to include
sponsorship as part of their revenue
stream and that hundreds of thousands
of dollars can be earned through
sponsorship. What operators are not
told, however, is how difficult it can be
to obtain sponsorship.
Creating, selling and managing a
sponsorship campaign requires constant
attention, including trend analysis and an
in-depth understanding of how sponsorship
works.
Before I was involved with SoccerCity
Tulsa, the facility had sold about $5,000 in
sponsorships, mostly in wall banners.
In just over a year, we have over $165,000
in sponsorships with a goal to top
$400,000 between the Tulsa facility and
the newer Oklahoma City facility.
Below are ten tips that came from our
workshop, presented by myself, Perry
Logan, former General Manager of Subway
Soccer Centre, and Todd Boehm, former
Marketing Manager of Subway restaurants
and current Subway franchisee—both from
Alberta.
1
#
TIP
: Invest in a campaign that
works well for your facility and community
and will compete in the marketplace. It is
often necessary to hire a dedicated staff
member or sponsorship agency
to create the campaign, which needs
to be professional, attractive, relevant
and sellable.
2
#
: Managing a sponsorship
TIP
campaign is a full-time job, not something
to add to the list of tasks of the owner or
general manager. This position can include
marketing, group sales and special events,
but the primary responsibility of whoever
holds this job should be sponsorship sales
and management.
3
#
TIP
: Take a look at yourself.
Understand what your facility and its
programs, including customers and staff,
can offer. A facility assessment is critical
for developing campaign inventory for your
sales kit.
4
#
TIP
: Build a brand. This theme
should resonate in the look and feel of your
building, programming and staff. For the
Subway Centre, it was, "Safe Family Fun."
Essentially, sponsors recognize and buy
into your profile, or brand.
5
#
TIP
: Signage should be clean, neat
and professionally designed. There should
be a variety of signage that works within
the facility. Avoid clutter. When signage
becomes worn, replace it.
6
#
TIP
: Augment static signage,
such as wall banners and dasher boards,
with digital signs. Static signs are great
because they are constant, but digital
signage can be changed with the flip of
a button. Use digital signage for team
schedules, announcements, recognitions,
birthday greetings and more.
7
#
: Understand the resources
TIP
that are available in your community.
Business journals produce lists of
companies by sales volume and number
