If You Start With Awareness, Dig Deeper With Engagement
SponsorPulse™ Global Lead Adam Mitchell discusses the difference between awareness and engagement, and the importance of understanding the difference between the two.
Awareness vs. Engagement
Awareness is the entry point into the attitudinal ladder. There’s no doubt that this is a useful metric for new brands, properties, and businesses. Do people know we exist? Do they understand who we are? It makes sense: they can’t move people up the ladder without building awareness.
But when you are evaluating a sponsorship opportunity, awareness does not indicate that people have spent meaningful time, effort, or energy with a property. It just means that they’ve heard of it.
Here’s a scenario to consider: say that a major sports property boasts 99% awareness. Great! But how many people actually engage with them? Hint: it’s highly unlikely that it’s going to be 99%. We look at the data and see that the property engages about 30% of the population. Put another way, almost 70% of those who know the property don’t actively engage with that property.
Engagement metrics give brands a much better idea of the size of a sponsorship opportunity. Further, by tracking nine key engagement drivers (watching live TV, watching online, following on event news, following on social media, playing fantasy bets, buying/wearing merchandise, recommending, donating money, volunteering time), they gain more insight into intercepting and adding value to those who do engage.
Challenge the Numbers
When a property demonstrates strong awareness, don’t stop there. Challenge it. Go further into the funnel to gain a more complete context of the opportunity by looking at who engages with a property — and how. That’s when brands start to understand the real value a property can provide to them.
Get started with a free SponsorPulse trial today.
