In the sports and entertainment world, there is a multitude of relationships that exist for the purpose of strengthening the industry and making it more profitable in the long run. You would not be hard-pressed to identify many of these connections which can include contractual agreements between professional athletes, their agents, and interested teams, as well as media rights between leagues and broadcasting companies.

Despite the importance of these examples, there is no relationship type more crucial to the sports and entertainment industry than sponsorships. According to ESP Properties, total North American sponsorship spending in 2017 exceeded $23.1 billion and 2018 spending is projected to surpass $24.2 billion. Here are 3 ways brands belonging to any industry can capitalize on sponsorships to help maximize revenues.

1. Client and Prospect Entertainment

From the perspective of a business, no matter its size or budget, sponsoring a sports league, team or event can open many doors leading to growth. ESP reinforces this sentiment in its report; sports dominate the North American sponsorship market with a 70% share. Using an example, an industry leader in American automobile manufacturing may find it wise to sponsor a professional sports league to receive several tickets to various events associated with that league. These tickets are then commonly utilized by a combination of employees, clients, and prospects for either business or personal use.

Using our previous example, the same automobile manufacturer may be seeking a partnership with a widely known tire distributor. To conduct business in an efficient yet relaxed manner, the auto manufacturer may pursue the option to bring prospects along to events with tickets earned from its sponsorship agreement with the sports league. Such a scenario is replicated every day worldwide because client and prospect entertainment has long been viewed as a necessary step during the process of closing new business or re-negotiating current business.

Fortunately, Concierge Live and our innovative ticket management software exists to help manage businesses’ tickets as efficiently as possible with the bottom line in mind. Whether an organization needs to keep track of and assign 20 tickets or 20,000 tickets, Concierge Live is designed to meet the needs of any business looking to enhance its ticket management and utilization processes while promoting new revenue opportunities.

2. Brand Awareness

Though entertaining and catering to clients and prospects is considered an essential part of business across many industries, organizations must also work to enhance their brand awareness and reputation. It is also true that the world of sports and entertainment enjoys widespread visibility across a variety of audiences that consume every imaginable product and service. Therefore, it is no surprise that hundreds of millions of dollars are pumped into sponsorship agreements every year. Glance over the website of any professional sports league, team, or even well-known music venue, and it would take seconds to discover the major sponsors of each of these organizations.

Marketing professionals today have been forced to adapt to the ever-changing behaviors of consumers especially those belonging to the youngest age groups. Whether we want to admit it or not, every one of us maintains a shorter attention span in our everyday lives than we did a few decades ago. That is why it is so crucial for brands to present themselves as supporters of major sports and entertainment avenues because the industry is so prosperous from a financial and reputation standpoint.

Though sponsorships continue to become costlier as the years go by, especially surrounding the major American professional leagues and European soccer, many brands still see the vast benefits associated with such partnerships. Though businesses pursue different strategies around the topic of sponsorship, what remains clear is that the right deals can boost a brand’s consumer awareness and reputation. In our digitized world, even one brand activation at a publicized event can be the difference between revenue growth and falling behind competitors.

3. Embrace Technological Engagement

Few if any individuals can argue against the sentiment that technology has greatly impacted both our lives and businesses across all industries. In marketing, digital communications are now more prevalent than ever before almost to the extent that certain strategies must be followed just to keep up with today’s consumers. From a brand’s perspective, how it markets itself through sponsorship has close ties to this dominant trend. When it comes to sports and entertainment, fans now rely on technology either in stadiums or in their hands via their mobile phones to not only engage teams but also sponsors that are activating before, during, and after events. ESP reports that a staggering 98% of sponsors utilize social media, most prominently Facebook and Twitter, to leverage their branding and relationships.

Although ticketing is less thought of in the realm of sports and entertainment sponsorships, brands can and must embrace the technological elements of tickets just as much as they do on the activation side. Here at Concierge Live, our unique Engagement Marketing Feature provides brands with the opportunity to embrace this technology surrounding tickets. When brands are given tickets to events as part of sponsorship agreements, an issue may arise in figuring out how to distribute and who shall receive them to maximize business opportunities.

Concierge Live allows brands to create customizable landing pages to engage employees, clients, and prospects to take advantage of opportunities to attend ticketed events under the umbrella of sponsors. This process enhances client and prospect entertainment, increases ticket utilization, and minimizes ticket waste which provides a positive impact on any brand’s bottom line.

Technology is here to stay and so the best method to follow is to embrace it into our business strategies. At the end of the day, sponsorships are meant to engage consumers and increase positive brand recognition often through technological and digital means. It is up to today’s brands, however, to utilize their sponsorship dollars as efficiently as possible to encourage financial growth.

Our experts at Concierge Live would love to speak with you about your ticketing needs surrounding your brand’s sponsorships. We are confident that our corporate ticket management software can lead you down a path towards better utilization of your sponsorship assets. Schedule your free demo of our platform!

Data Source: “What Sponsors Want and Where Dollars Will Go in 2018”, ESP Properties, 2018.