Should You Sponsor A Sports Team?

I never thought I would sponsor a sports team, but when one of my clients in New Jersey asked me to, I thought, "Why not?" As long as I can go to the game.

I have no idea who will be in the stands watching the game, which parents of these kids have their own business. But seeing the company name on the back of the jersey spreads the word about "Marketing Mentor," expands the brand and who knows, maybe one day we'll have a whole line of Marketing Mentor gear.

Have you ever sponsored a team?

Comments

[Judy Dunn]

Great question, Ilise. At first glance, B2B businesses like ours would not seem to be a good match for sponsorships that put us in front of the mass of consumers.

And with our online business, our customers are scattered all over the country, so why would we single out one community?

But, actually, it's been a very good experience. We haven't sponsored a softball team but we have provided things like the small plastic footballs passed out in the stands of a high school football game.

I think there is value to being a good business citizen in the community in which you reside. And, though many of the people who see are logo are not out target customer, some are. And they just might be curious enough to go to our website and check us out.

Beyond that, it just feels great to give back to the community.

And aren't those red "Marketing Mentor" jerseys cute? !!!

[Cynthia]

I sponsored a rally car driver & her team, (yes "her"- that's why I did it!)and donated their logo design and various other design-related items like designs for garments, vehicle graphics, etc.
Her team won her class in her first big rally! It's great seeing my work whiz by on the tv and in shots on the rally websites, you never know who will be watching or looking and they in turn look much more pro and it helps them gain better sponsors. :))

[Jim Brown]

I too sponsored a baseball team a few years ago. It was a great experience. If nothing more it was an ego/confidence booster - as I felt like they were 'my team.'

The one negative of the experience was that my team was HORRIBLE. They didn't win any games, and barely scored any runs. So, I would pose the question - if your team stinks, does that hurt your brand?

[Jasmine Holmes]

I attended a seminar where the president our our metro-area chamber of commerce spoke and she mentioned sponsoring a sports team as being a great way to network your business. I completely agree with her and the other comments here. Though I do business-to-business work, you never know when a parent will have a business in need of your services. At worst, you get to attend a few games and have a good time. My business is very new so I am still building to the point where I can sponsor a team but I do definitely plan to do it in the future!

[David Veal]

The only way this would be good for me is if I treated the team like a the pros. I mean, I'd have some shots of our three foot high slugger smacking the ball to center field and interview him about his big hit in the seventh that turned the game around. I'd look for those shots of the other teams parents storming the field, upset that their coach took out their left fielder.

Community minded? Well, nope, just a lot of online fun. Maybe it would be cool to give them faux contracts with major ice cream insentives.