For many companies, sponsorships are an important component of their Marketing programs, primarily used to increase brand exposure and preference. In fact, sponsorship is the fastest-growing form of marketing in the U.S., but it’s still very much in its infancy. Companies around the world are set to spend $65.8 billion on sponsorship deals in 2018, but few businesses know whether it actually works. Any company making this level of investment needs a way to evaluate the value of this investment and determine sponsorship effectiveness.

Because many companies believe the value of sponsorships is brand exposure, metrics such as recall and impressions are often two of the most common metrics for measuring sponsorships. These may not be the best options. Metrics that tie sponsorships more closely to Sales and Brand Equity might be better alternatives. The key to measuring sponsorships is understanding how you want to affect customer behavior.

Tie Measuring Sponsorship to Customer Behavior Metrics

The interactive nature of sponsorships offers some insight into how to measure sponsorship effectiveness. By honing in on the interactive aspect, it is possible to use the level of engagement/involvement and fit as Metrics to assess how well the sponsorship is working. In this way, you can connect customer behavior to how you measure the value of your sponsorships.

The premise behind this concept is that the level of engagement and involvement will be affected by the degree of fit between the sponsor and the property or event. That is, the greater the engagement/involvement and the stronger the fit, the more likely the sponsorship will drive the desired behavior.

Engagement and Fit Offer Better Ways to Measure Sponsorship Effectiveness

Using engagement and fit as alternative metrics to recall and impressions for measuring sponsorship effectiveness has implications for your sponsorship decisions. For example, who you target and how you message. Why? Because research suggests that the emotional bond of the customer toward the property impacts the emotional bond these customers have toward your organization. This bond potentially serves as a determinant of preference. This idea is based on Heider’s Balance Theory. Heider established that most individuals strive to maintain a sense of balance in relationships and attitudes to avoid inconsistency in behavior.

Measure your sponosorship investments. — Consider changing how you measure the value of your sponsorship investment.

This theory can be applied to sponsorships. If a sponsor enhances a person’s enjoyment of an event or supports a property to which they feel a strong emotional bond, the person’s attitudes toward the sponsoring organization is positively affected. The studies concluded that affecting the emotional bond and sponsor-liking produces better results than simply trying to increase awareness.

The implication. It is a more effective and better investment to communicate a sponsorship of a particular event, property, etc., to people who already have an emotional connection to that event/property, rather than taking a more broadcast general approach or restricting the sponsorship solely to a logo-viewing experience. This means that you select sponsorships and ensure that your sponsorship elements enable you to enhance the experience in order to affect a person’s behavior and advocacy toward your brand.

What does this change in your choice of measures mean? If you decide to take this approach to how you measure your sponsorship investments, then you are transforming sponsorship from being less about Brand Awareness to serving more as a vehicle for Customer Engagement. This will change how you connect sponsorships to your overall Marketing plan and strategy.

FAQ:

(written by Penn of Sintra.ai)

Q1: Why do sponsorships matter in Marketing—and how much are companies spending?
A: Sponsorship is the fastest-growing marketing form in the U.S. Companies globally are set to spend $65.8 billion on sponsorship deals, yet few know whether it actually works.

Q2: What metrics do most companies use to measure sponsorship effectiveness?
A: Recall and impressions—metrics tied to brand exposure. However, these may not be the best options for understanding true sponsorship value.

Q3: Why are recall and impressions insufficient as sponsorship metrics?
A: They don’t connect sponsorship to customer behavior or business outcomes like sales, brand preference, or advocacy—which is what ultimately matters.

Q4: What are better metrics for measuring sponsorship effectiveness?
A: Engagement/involvement and fit—measuring how well the sponsorship aligns with the audience’s emotional connection to the property/event and drives desired behavior.

Q5: How does “fit” between sponsor and property affect sponsorship value?
A: The stronger the fit between sponsor and property, and the higher the audience’s engagement/involvement, the more likely the sponsorship will drive desired customer behavior.

Q6: What is Heider’s Balance Theory—and why does it apply to sponsorships?
A: It states that people strive to maintain consistency in their attitudes and relationships. If a sponsor enhances enjoyment of an event someone loves, their attitude toward the sponsor improves—creating an emotional bond.

Q7: What is the strategic implication of this approach?
A: Target sponsorships to people who already have an emotional connection to the property/event, not a broad broadcast approach. Enhance the experience to strengthen the emotional bond with your brand.

Q8: How does this change sponsorship’s role in Marketing?
A: Sponsorship shifts from primarily building brand awareness to driving customer engagement and advocacy—measured by behavior change and preference, not just impressions.