Avoid The Sleazy Sponsorship Cold Callers And Trust Proven Partnership-Marketing Pro
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Generally, partnership collabs take the form of one of two different types of program.
The first is co-branded opportunities, where a couple of companies partner up, perhaps an automotive manufacturer and gent’s timepiece designer who then choose one launch event to launch their new car and new watch respectively. This has the advantage of reducing production cost for the event because those costs are shared, as well as making it easier to achieve good media participation, a result of them (journalists, editors) only having to go to one event while engaging with two different brands at the same time.
The second type is straight-up sponsorship, which works exactly how you would imagine. The business who wishes to grow their brand awareness pays a sports program, race day, outdoor event or fashion show to have their branding feature prominently at the venue and on associated marketing materials such as the event brochure or resulting video recording.
Either type of partnership marketing endeavour can be extremely effective at getting your name out there and/or getting your key messages across. In the case of sponsorships, it would be very powerful for a hotel to sponsor a golf championship taking place on the course nearby, because when that event is televised, the hotel would hope to become synonymous with that course, that city, and that championship, so it wins every which way. Partnership marketing is great for up-and-coming brands as they are able to piggy-back on the reputation of a trusted and well-established brand (perhaps in exchange for paying a slightly higher contribution in terms of event costs during the collaboration).
For sponsorship programs, they are relatively light-touch for the sponsoring organization in the sense that the event organiser will handle many aspects of presenting the sponsor (because they are being paid to do exactly that). You would normally only have to supply images of your logo, biographies of anyone speaking at the event, licensed photography you wish to be displayed on the signage, etc.
In the case of collaborations, it may be the case that your partner brand is organizing everything, so this is also simple in terms of getting some great name recognition for very little work on your part.
Sponsors are able to use any high-quality content generated by participation in the sponsored program or activity, and this includes (but is not limited to); photography, press releases, printed marketing material, brand associations, celebrity associations (product endorsements to be negotiated separately) as well as the media magnetism of the event itself. This offers sponsors a unique, ROI-rich way to be featured in high-profile media publications, in addition to the right to use material generated as part of its own ongoing marketing and press communication.
There is nothing to stop companies from directly contacting other organizations to discuss sponsorships or co-hosting. It helps to have a strategy before commencing though, so you can ensure you are getting maximum ROI on your investment and not chasing after dead-ends.
It can also be helpful to seek the advice of a PR agency operating in your target city, as they have their finger on the pulse in terms of what is going on in that territory, and also because they very well may have clients already on their roster who are seeking to partner up on an imminent program.
This can depend on two things; the commitment that is being demonstrated by your partner organization, and the quality of the relationship you have with your key contact. Sometimes, language barriers can make local communication difficult if your primary business is headquartered overseas and you are trying to manage everything remotely. In examples such as this, it can pay great dividends to have a trusted PR partner on the ground and working for you behind the scenes to make sure all of your marketing programs including sponsorships and co-branded events go to plan and achieve the success you deserve.
Please note Gemini offers a completely free consulting service for co-branding opportunities. This is because we are always working hard for our clients to connect them to fantastic opportunities – and great companies like your own.
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