Five Ways To… make a sponsorship decision

Sergio Garcia is an experienced racing driver and coach, now working as a Sponsorship and Event Manager in Continental Tyres Spain. He gives the Paddock magazine five tips on how to make an important sponsorship decision.

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1. Set the goals

Sponsoring decision-making is determined by a company’s goals, targets and communication aims. In order to consider a sponsorship, any firm should set goals in terms of brand awareness, brand image or sales. Most companies want to improve their image and receive feedback on how they are perceived by a particular target.

Sponsoring a racing driver, a team or a racing event still is an excellent way to generate brand awareness and positive reaction towards the company.

2. Explore new ways of communication

A company or a brand also needs to consider the communication factor of any sponsorship event and a possibility to create other opportunities for promotion with clients and employees. We cannot depend only on a sticker on the car as we know that motorsport provides exposure on various platforms – print, online media and advertising, TV and so on.

3. Use the team

This kind of media coverage, of course, gives great visibility to the firm’s name and logo. And that would actually be much more expensive if purchased in a normal, regular way. Any company needs additional tools, a synergy between the team and the sponsor that can be used throughout the entire duration of the contract. Racing teams are willing to collaborate, so why not use this?

4. Enjoy the hospitality

Sponsorship deals often have hospitality that allows companies to invite consumers, potential clients, partners, reward salespeople and employees. It is also crucially important that the image of a sponsored racing driver, for example, would become a platform to promote certain products, so hospitality should not only be enjoyable, but useful. This can get complicated at times, especially in some categories, where the promoters ask for an extra budget.

5. Be exclusive

Sponsoring motorsport is a brilliant and very exclusive way to differentiate from competitors. It is also a cost-effective marketing tool, it has international media impact, reaches various targets and allows companies to reward clients and establish better business relationships towards sales or intermediaries. But making your sponsorship deal unique will definitely result in more people noticing what you want them to notice.