FACT: High-profile brands and companies receive the lion’s share of sponsorship requests. Think of the many major telecommunications, financial services and car makers whose logos appear on projects from community 10K runs to the Olympic Games.
Think Beyond the Traditional
Reaching for those kinds of sponsorship stars is one route to go, but you must remember that the sponsorship universe is vast, with a wealth of other business categories to explore, maybe even some brands that will boldly go where no brand has gone before.
It’s all about strategic fit with your asset.
Perhaps, this advice seems as fresh and exciting as low-def TV, but there really is no replacement for genuine effort and determination to persuade an available sponsor, or a group of them, to listen to – and seriously consider – your pitch.
In my own career, the most successful sponsorships I developed were often with companies and brands that are not top-of-mind for most people. Let me explain –
A number of years ago, I spearheaded the sponsorship department in support of Canada’s Paralympics Team as they prepared to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics Games.
One of the companies I met with was Worksafe BC (WSBC). WSBC is the corporate agency responsible for work-related inspection, prevention, information, training, compensation and rehabilitation activities in the province.
What does this type of business category have to do with Paralympic sport?
IT’S all a matter of CONNECTING THE STRATEGIC DOTS BETWEEN YOUR ASSET AND A PROSPECTS STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
In my research, I discovered that many Paralympics athletes were initially disabled as a result of workplace injuries. One of WSBC’s strategic priorities is to prevent workplace injury among the high-risk sector of teens and young adults, so both parties had interests in common.
As ambassadors for their country, sport – and a sponsor’s brand – Paralympic athletes who excel on the world stage are often young, vital males and females with immense media and audience appeal. Paralympic athletes whose source of disability is from a workplace accident have an authentic, relatable story to tell. For those reasons and more, this group was a great fit for WSBC’s injury prevention messaging.
As momentum around Vancouver 2010 grew, Paralympians proved to be very effective in their contribution to a campaign to increase workplace safety.
The Worksafe BC Paralympic Team was a regional speakers’ outreach program featuring high-profile Paralympic athletes with a workplace safety message to tell. Through this program, BC Paralympics athletes spoke to students, community groups and work groups across the province. By sharing their stories, the athletes promoted greater awareness of disability – and ability – and helped change attitudes among BC employers and workers about the significance of workplace safety. Talk about social impact…
“Whenever one of these athletes got up to speak, the audience became so quiet, you could hear a pin drop,” says Scott McCloy, WSBC’s Director of Communications, who co-ordinated the sponsor’s side of the project.
(INSET IMAGE: 2010 Downhill Gold Medallist Josh Dueck was one of the key members of the WoksafeBC Paralympic Team)
Best of all, the four-year program created a tangible decrease in workplace injuries for the Province of British Columbia and at the same time generated a high-five-figure sponsorship for Canada’s Paralympic Team.
The Worksafe BC Paralympic Team program also provided an economic benefit because it supported a reduction in the number of workplace injuries and the human and financial costs associated with them.
In addition to valuable CSR results, the initiative was awarded the Vancouver Organizing Committee’s (VANOC) Sustainability Star for the social and economic benefits the program provided. The Sustainability Star was created to draw attention to sustainability innovations related to Vancouver 2010. The program highlighted Canada’s social, economic and environmental efforts as our country welcome the world to Whistler and Vancouver in 2010.
So, friends, be creative and look into the abstract for unique sponsorship opportunities, ones that your competition never thought of but will soon wish they had!
