Equestrian sponsorship expert Katie Lawrence of Riviera PR brings us the second in our series of PR tips for athletes.
So now you have your brand, you will likely have an idea of the companies you would like to work with. But how do you determine what you can offer them and what makes you a good investment for said company? I’ve come up with a 6-stage process to determine what you can offer a brand – check it out below!
- Why
Firstly, it’s important to remember that sponsorship is, in essence, a form of marketing for a company – a means to grow awareness of said company and ultimately drive sales. So, you need to consider what will make you a better return on investment than say a magazine article or advert. Can you reach more people, influence a different audience? Sponsorship must work both ways and is a relationship, it is not about getting a free product.
- Where
OK, let’s now consider where you are seen – where you’re a walking sandwich board – if you had to walk around with one of those on, where would you be seen? Consider the following:
- Offline
- Competitions
- Training
- Clinics
- Online
- Social Media
- Website
- Apps
- When
Once you work out where you are, it’s time to consider when. So if we take the above list, think about when you are at shows, is it once or twice a month or more? When are you online, and how many people does that reach? Statistics are so important and show you know your stuff.
- How
Now to think about the how – when you are in the places above, how can you represent a brand? Is it branded kit, is it social media takeovers, is it banners in arenas or handing out leaflets? For every ‘where’, you must be able to list a ‘how’ – otherwise it likely does not give any value!
- Who
Now it’s time to consider for each of the above who is at these places; what age are they, what discipline do they do, what are the demographics of your followers, what level are they at? You need to show you can reach a market that a) is full of the brand’s ideal client or b) The brand wants to break into, but hasn’t yet. Show them you can help them become a bigger, more desirable purchase with your help.
- So what?
Finally, after you have listed each of the above against the list in step 2, you need to ask yourself ‘so what’. For example, if you have said:
‘I regularly compete (step 2) twice a month (step 3), so can where branded kit (step 4) at shows which are streamed on TV to showjumpers across the world (step 5)’
You need to add a’so what’ description onto the end – in this case it would be ‘so I can market your brand to a global audience of engaged show jumping fans’.
Once you’ve put all this together, you will have a good set of reasons why you would be a better option over a magazine!
Let us know what you think of these steps?
