A global crisis can either paralyse your marketing activities or galvanise a plan to help them thrive. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s exactly what we’re seeing: some companies are cutting back on marketing and sponsorship activities, unfortunately job losses are a reality for many across the globe, while others are taking this time to reflect on their marketing plan. For many business, this pause has created an opportunity to evaluate “business as usual or status quo”. What are your brands’ strengths and weaknesses, what is working or not. The pause is creating time to look for new opportunities.
By engaging in a SWOT analysis during this time, you can redevelop a strategy for success that is effective in a post-pandemic environment. It is more important than ever to ensure messaging is right for your brand, that your tone for communications match the current landscape and your investment into brand awareness and reputation is placed into the right partnerships in order for you to achieve the desired perception and brand image. With so much of the world in pain around us, it is hard to think of the silver lining this pause may have created. However, the renovation to your sponsorship portfolio may be one of them.
1. Re-value your commitments. Is your sponsorship investment still able to be leveraged? For sport and event sponsorship the leverage activations may look a little different, but there is no reason that you can’t get imaginative and proactive to still actively back your event and sport sponsorship partners. They need your support over this time, so don’t wait it out.
2. Gather new insights from your consumers & the consumers of your sponsorship partners so that you can best understand how your efficiency to communicate has changed over the past three months. We know that social media and television audiences have grown rapidly so this is the time to use digital!
3. Brainstorm. Sit down with your sponsorship partners and come up with some new ideas. Switch your hospitality package for access to players for digital content. It is more than likely that they want to provide added value to you over this time. So meet with them with a plan.
4. Tell relevant, authentic stories. Nike created the campaign “Play inside, play for the world” which really resonated with everyone being stuck at home over the lock down period. Accompany a campaign like this with your sponsored sports stars or TV personalities and watch it go viral.
5. Go Digital. I’ve mentioned it already a number of times. With people spending much more time on social media platforms and watching television than ever before, brands need to shift focus to their digital operations and look for effective ways to connect, interact and transact with their audience. Does your current sponsorships offer engaging digital content and exposure on social media platforms?
6. Engage with your community. Companies that throw themselves into helping their communities and genuinely aiding people will reap the benefits.
7. Be compassionate: Now is the time when we must do all we can to help each other. For brands, it is a unique opportunity to think outside the box and create innovative ideas that enable them to come forward and make a difference. Use your current sponsorship partnership to help leverage your support of a cause or charity.
Making your sponsorships really work for your brand is not an easy feat. Gone are the days of slapping your logo on a jersey or in a stadium and walking away, waiting for your expected return. You will get out of your sponsorship what you put in. So be active, invest in resource to leverage and manage your Sponsorship portfolio so that you can reap the rewards. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you create a sponsorship plan that will drive success.
