Sponsorship
Sponsor is a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property (typically in sports, arts, entertainment or causes) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property. For example, a corporate entity may provide equipment for a famous athlete or sports team in exchange for brand recognition.
The sponsor earns popularity this way while the sponsored can earn a lot of money. A particular form of specialized brand Sponsor where a brand sponsors an unusual event or pastime that then becomes synonymous with that brand (to the point where future brands may be excluded from participation) is known as 'about Sponsor'.
This provides a strong walled-garden Sponsor relationship between particular events and the brand. Other reasons for Sponsor include signage at sporting events, local or national media coverage, promotional opportunities before and after the event, and the opportunity to entertain clients and prospective customers by inviting them as VIPs to sponsored events.
Other benefits of Sponsor can include access to on-site hospitality tents or skyboxes; the opportunity to meet athletes or teams in person, and possibly even the opportunity for sponsors and their VIP guests to participate in a pro-am type event. Another benefit is the ability to reach a specific demographic or target market. Cause-related marketing generally includes an offer by the sponsor to make a donation to the cause with purchase of its product or service.
Unlike philanthropy, money spent on cause marketing is a business expense, not a donation, and is expected to show a return on investment. The International Sponsor Council (ISC) was formed as the world's first trade organization representing corporate sponsors. The mission of the ISC is to promote sponsor value and protect their collective interests.
Members include some of the world's leading sponsors including Anheuser-Busch InBev, AT&T, Bridgestone Firestone, The Coca-Cola Company, Coca-cola Enterprises, FirstRand Group (South Africa), Honda Motor Co., MasterCard, Panasonic, Ping, Porsche Cars N.A., Visa, among others. When commercial radio stations began broadcasting in the early 1920s, the programs were aired without advertising. Many radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers and programming was provided to sell radio transmitters and receivers.
This led to a system where radio and television programs were financed by selling Sponsor rights to businesses. Eventually, the broadcasters began selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses. Sponsor is also becoming increasingly important in education.
Many companies want their logo on sponsored equipment in return. Formula One teams for many years relied heavily on the income from tobacco advertising, reflected in the Sponsor liveries of the teams. Other types of Sponsors revolve around companies paying for parts of television broadcasts and sporting events which bear their name.
For example college bowl games now contain the name of their sponsor. When events are named after their sponsor, like this Annual Students Rowing Contest ('Roeivierkamp') on the Amstel river in Amsterdam, the sponsor is a Title Sponsor. Many times a company's motives for Sponsor are altruistic in order to create goodwill in the community which increases their good reputation.
However, Sponsor is more commonly used to derive benefit from the associations created for a company's brand(s) or image as a result of the Sponsor. People may sponsor an individual or group of people to undertake a fundraising task, usually for a charity or other cause requiring funding. Sponsor belongs to the promotional tool of Marketing.
With respect to neuroscience conferences, the term sponsor designates the person financially supporting the research presented at the conference. Sponsor in the traditional sense became less common is US television over the years -- individual advertisements in many different programs being the norm for commercial television these days, with product placement becoming more popular -- with the exception of Public Television, where Sponsor of an entire series is still commonplace, usually with a subdued announcement at the end, and optionally the beginning, of each program. This is often referred to as 'underwriting'.
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