The measurement question.......again!

At this time of year I like to look back on the past 12 months and try to figure out what is the single most frequently asked sponsorship question that has come out of our many discussions with clients, prospects and industry colleagues. And the winner is.............. “Does our sponsorship deliver a good return on investment and how can we measure that?”

Interestingly enough it has probably been the same question for as long as I have been in the sponsorship business. As 2011 marked my 20th year in this erstwhile sector, that is quite a long time to keep hearing the same question, even if the form of the question has changed a bit. When I first started out it came more in the quantitative form of “How much media value am I getting for my sponsorship spend?” Fortunately, the myth of trying to compare sponsorship value to advertising value has moved on over the last 20 years, and sponsors are now asking more qualitative questions such as “What impact is sponsorship having on my Brand Equity?”

Having said all that, the question is basically the same. So here, in celebration of the New Year, is our Top 5 guide to what we think is measurable about sponsorship:

• The Business Promise. Sponsorship of “that” project will directly get you “this” business deal. Not brand sponsorship in any way shape or form but sponsorship all the same. Measurable, tangible and widely practiced!
• On site sales to the fans/attendees or even B2B sales to VIP clients( although sponsorship is used to close a deal, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the sponsorship created the deal or take into account the hours of preparation of that deal)
• Best brand positioning/recognition on screen and in stadia
• Impact on employee motivation or pride
• Measuring brand perception, brand favouritism or buying propensity amongst fans or on site

Where sponsorship still falls short is that brands cannot reliably measure the contribution that sponsorship makes to Brand equity or perception, and we know how important the role of Brand equity plays in the ultimate Holy Grail of shareholder value. Whilst you can certainly measure brand favouritism amongst the public at say a football match or music festival, it is impossible to know what contribution that makes to a brand as a whole, particularly when sponsorship spend is rarely higher that 15% or 20% of total marketing spend. I guess the only way to know is for companies to allocate 100% of their marketing spend on sponsorship! Wouldn’t that be nice!

Wishing you all a very Happy and Measurable New Year!