Cutting through the Noise: The Benefits of Sponsorship

Everyday, top corporations are vying for one thing: consumer attention. In a saturated market filled with innovative marketing campaigns, the ability to get your brand in front of your target audience is imperative.

Time and again, sponsorship is proving to be an effective vehicle for driving purchase consideration and conversion. In our 2021 survey, SponsorPulse found that globally, 47% of consumers have or intend to purchase a product as a result of sponsorship. In North America alone, that number increases to 55%. 

Even further, Sponsorship drives a greater impact on fan behavior than traditional mass media. Among engaged audiences, 64% said their purchasing behavior was impacted by activated sponsorship, while only 22% were swayed by traditional advertising. 

It’s clear that Sponsorship offers a unique opportunity to increase your marketing ROI while winning the hearts and minds of consumers.

Here’s 2 of the top advantages of sponsorship marketing

‍Positive Positioning

In traditional advertising, brands seek to compel audiences to purchase a product or service.

Sponsorship, on the other hand, flips the script by funnelling financial support to a carefully chosen property, increasing the goodwill of your brand. The very nature of sponsorship allows brands to promote corporate citizenship while aligning with properties that give them that extra boost in the eyes of their target market.

Bell achieved this when the telecom company created Bell Let’s Talk, an influential campaign aimed at breaking the silence around mental illness. The innovative initiative raised a record $8M+ in 2022 alone. In our research, SponsorPulse found that more than 9M individuals engaged with the program in the last 12 months, with the most engaged audience being Females aged 19-24. Furthermore, the program is having a tangible impact on driving purchase consideration and brand favorability, particularly among the Female 50+ demographic, who are 46% more favorable towards Bell as a result of the program.

Corporate responsibility, however, is just one part of the positive positioning equation. Sponsorships can also enable a brand to increase its goodwill by additional means. For instance, when a brand sponsors a property in sport, like a football team, the fans of the entity then associate the brand with their good feelings about the team. On a smaller scale, sponsoring local sports clubs indicates that a brand is supporting its local community, providing fertile ground for a great relationship with the demographic it’s looking to reach. 

Enhanced Brand Awareness

With so many powerful brands shelling out capital on top tier marketing campaigns, it's imperative that companies are able to stand out and generate brand awareness. Through sponsorship, brands get right to the source, positioning themselves alongside a separate entity that already has their audience's trust.

Biosteel, a Canadian sugar-free sports drink brand, knew that sponsorship was the key that would allow them to enter locker rooms across the nation when they partnered with the NHL’s living-legend, Connor McDavid. SponsorPulse data showcases that 70% of Canadians are aware of the McDavid, with 24% being actively interested in what he does and 13% supporting the brands that he partners with. The move positioned Biosteel as the preferred beverage of top athletes, effectively persuading young players that drinking their product was just what they needed to cultivate McDavid’s edge. 

In a competitive market, it’s imperative to show consumers why your brand deserves their support. Getting that seal of approval from a property allows you to build brand awareness and piggy back off the loyalty your audience has to the property, directly influencing purchase behavior.