What do Sponsors Want? Actually, Sponsors Don’t Exist!

I know what you’re thinking “another post about how we should stop using the term ‘sponsor’ in favor of something like ‘partner.’”

Nope.

In fact, there is no word for “sponsors” because sponsors simply don’t exist.

Wait…what?

Let’s start with the working definition of sponsor from our friends at Google Translate:

Sponsor:

noun

• an individual or organization that pays some or all of the costs involved in staging a sporting or artistic event in return for advertising.
• a business or organization that pays for or contributes to the costs of a radio or television program in return for advertising.

What’s wrong with that? Surely sponsors do exist, right? I mean, we all have relationships that match this definition.

My Story as a “Sponsor”

Long before I launched my own consulting business, before I became a sponsorship consultant with IFC Canada and before I ever worked for a rights holder, selling sponsorship (boy, this is making me feel old) I was a sponsor.

Except my job was corporate sales, not sponsorship. I was in charge of bringing in new corporate clients for my company. My only job, and that of my team, was bringing on new accounts (and big ones) to buy our B2B products. What does this have to do with sponsorship?

A lot, actually.

I had a business development budget and with that budget I sponsored industry conferences related to my target audience. If you had my target audience, I had budget for you. Simple as that.

In other words, I was a sponsor…but nobody called me that.

I wasn’t measured on my sponsorship dollars spent, how good the cause was or how many people saw my logo. I didn’t care about “Gold, Silver or Bronze” or e-blasts. The only thing I cared about was the thing that I was measured on by my boss every single month, the only thing I measured my team on every single month: number of leads, sales meetings and, ultimately, sales.

If I got a bunch of logo placements and speaking opportunities but no leads, it was a bad investment. If I got no logo placements but met the right people, it was a good investment and I could justify even more money from my boss to invest in that sponsorship opportunity.

How many leads did I need? How many sales meetings did I expect for each dollar spent? Only I knew that…and those properties who asked me what my goal outcomes were vs assuming certain outputs (like logos and eblasts) was what I was after. The properties that asked me about my goals were the ones I worked with every year and who successfully moved my investment up through their sales funnel.

 

I didn’t stop being in corporate sales and become something called a “sponsor” just because I engaged in sponsorship. Sponsorship was one of the many tools that my team and I used to achieve our only goal: exceeding quarterly sales goals.

Sponsor is a Verb

Sponsorship is an activity. A tool. Asking what “sponsors” want is like asking “what does running want?” It doesn’t want anything! It’s an activity used to achieve a particular goal. The real question is “Why do companies sponsor and why should they sponsor you over the hundreds of thousands of other opportunities out there?”

The answer of course is: audience, activation and measuring ROI!

A director of marketing or sales does not stop being a director of marketing or sales just because they use sponsorship to get more sales.

Do “sponsors” want logo placement? Exhibit space? Sampling rights? No, they want sales (or whatever their goal is) and you as the property have to find the best tools to help them achieve their specific goals. Your goal is not to sell them a sponsorship level but to help them achieve their goals.

The next time you find yourself or your team asking “what do our sponsors want?” stop yourself and remember that there’s no such thing as sponsors. The question itself is flawed and should be avoided at all costs.

The real question is “what do those who want to reach our audience want and what tools can we use to help them achieve those goals and measure their marketing investment?”

And there is only one source of this information…your prospect!

Sponsorship is a collection of marketing disciplines designed to help companies achieve their goals, that’s it. Call it anything you want…just don’t forget to ask your prospects what they want to achieve.

Okay, So What Do Sponsors Want, Anyway?

Now that you know how to reframe your thinking of sponsors and sponsorship, it’s time to answer that all-important question. Just what in the world do sponsors want?

That’s easy. They want marketing outcomes. Okay, that’s a bit of a loaded answer, so allow me to explain which marketing outcomes sponsors are most interested in.

Website Traffic

At the very least, a sponsor will want more web traffic. Narrow down among your services how you can get your audience to visit the sponsor’s website. Perhaps you announce an exclusive collaborative product between you and the sponsor, and the announcement drops on the sponsor’s site.

You could do a gradual campaign, introducing product specs slowly, posting a countdown on the sponsor’s site, and finally, posting the product launch live.

I do want to note that if a sponsor wants website traffic, they’re not interested in flash-in-the-pan visitors who scope out the site for two minutes and then bounce. They want people to stay on the site for a while and ideally subscribe to their emails, so make sure you achieve those goals.

 

SEO

Search engine optimization or SEO determines how well a website ranks in search engine results pages or SERPs. It’s a bit complex for the average company (or person!), but if your brand specializes in SEO, you might find sponsors eager for your services.

You have plenty of ways to elevate a sponsor’s rank, whether that’s through revising and publishing new content, building quality backlinks, optimizing the site content (including images), or building a site hierarchy for search engine crawlers.

And if you’re unsure what I’m talking about with any of this? Then it’s not a service you offer, so don’t worry about it.

Social Media Followers

With more than five billion global users in 2024, social media continues its world domination tour. Unsurprisingly, many companies want to get a piece of the pie but aren’t always sure how. If your organization or company has a strong social media presence, you can teach a sponsor a thing or two.

Now, let me be clear here. Offering them a standard package of 35 tweets and 10 LinkedIn posts is not going to cut it. You need a more comprehensive, flexible social media service that attests to your expertise and solves the sponsor’s challenges.

Email Subscribers 

Your sponsor might also ask for more email subscribers. You have many ways to go about getting this for them, including the ol’ classic: contests and giveaways. You can give away the sponsor’s product at your event, requiring attendees to sign up to win by sharing their email addresses.

If the sponsor also hands out free samples, this will increase consumer interest, leading to more conversions. Contests and giveaways are popular assets for a reason; they’re effective and fun.

Leads

Sponsors are always interested in new leads. I’ve explained this on the blog before, but even major household names like Nike, Apple, or Coca-Cola always strive for new leads. Believe it or not, there are still people out there in the world who haven’t tried products from those brands.

How can you get more leads for sponsors? You need a target audience interested in the sponsor’s products and services. That’s the easiest way. That’s why I always recommend using audience data when prospecting, because your customers or attendees already have a vested interest in the sponsor’s brand.

Building a high-quality activation will ensure people visit the sponsor’s booth all day. Giveaways, free samples or other freebies, and/or interactive elements will keep them there, engaging with the sponsor.

Conversions

Leads are one thing, while conversions are an entirely different ball of wax. They’re the ultimate goal for sponsors because leads that become customers usually stick around.

How do you help the sponsor with their lead conversions? The contest and giveaway ideas are once again applicable here, as they will get your audience on the sponsor’s website and signed up to their emails, which should push conversions.

Showcasing the sponsor’s flagship product also helps. You can have a live demonstration at your event or let people try the product themselves. You might host a live podcast explaining the product’s usages and specs.

There are plenty of smart, inspiring ways to get people to buy right then and there or shortly thereafter. You just have to be creative.

Sales

Of course, sponsors want sales. I mean, can you blame them? Fortunately, many of the measures I’ve discussed to this point will drive sales for the sponsor, especially when it comes to showing off their product in real time on a live stage at your event or opportunity.

A Fresh Image 

Here’s one that might surprise you, but some sponsors crave an image change. They may want to rebrand or expand into a different market, and partnering up with another company or organization (i.e., you) can help them do that.

And Honorable Mention Goes To…?

Did you notice what wasn’t on this list? That’s right, brand awareness. Why? Because sponsors genuinely don’t want it. More importantly, they don’t need it.

Most sponsors you work with will not be starting from scratch. Therefore, they already have a decently-sized audience who’s aware of their brand and product/services. Offering logos is absolutely the bottom of the barrel because all they do is drive brand awareness.

You have to be willing to go deeper, a lot deeper.

 

FAQs

How do I know what a sponsor wants?

The only way to be sure of a sponsor’s true desires is to have a discovery session. Use this opportunity to discuss their challenges and plans so you can gauge which of the above goals they’re most interested in achieving.

Should I create assets and activations before the discovery session?

No, you shouldn’t. You should always customize your activations and assets, and the only way to do that is by having the discovery session first. Using the same assets you always do might be easier for you, but the lack of customization is not going to appeal to your sponsor.

Wrapping Up 

To say sponsors don’t exist might leave you with your jaw on the floor but hear me out. What I really mean is that sponsors don’t exist in the way most sponsorship seekers think of them. And that’s okay. You just have to retool your thinking.

That will help you understand what sponsors want so you can knock your next opportunity out of the park.