Unlocking the power of 1P data and integrated digital strategies is crucial for rights holders to secure multi-million pound sponsorship deals in today's market.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that traditional sponsorship sales approaches are no longer always sufficient to secure multi-million pound deals. With brands becoming more discerning and data-driven in their decision-making, it’s important that rights holders adapt their strategies to meet the needs of brands in 2024 and beyond. At the heart of this shift lies the power of first-party (1P) data and integrated digital solutions.
At Partnerbrite, we are seeing this shift first hand, and below are some thoughts on what we have learnt!
Personalisation > Size
The size of your audience is no longer the primary selling point for sponsorships. Today, brands are more interested in how effectively you can help them reach and engage their specific target audience, rather than how big it is..!
This means that rights holders must be able to demonstrate their ability to segment their audience and create personalised experiences that resonate with each partner's unique goals.
Awareness still matters but...:
We know sponsorship excels in driving top of the funnel awareness. This remains important but brands are no longer satisfied with simply only raising awareness; they want and expect to engage with their target audience in meaningful ways.
By leveraging 1P data, rights holders can gain a deeper understanding of their audience's preferences, behaviours, and passion points. This knowledge allows for the creation of bespoke audience segments that can be targeted through various digital channels at the most opportune times.
Integrating Digital Strategies for Maximum Impact
To make sponsorships more appealing and effective, rights holders must integrate digital strategies within their offering. By combining traditional sponsorship elements with targeted digital campaigns, rights holders can significantly amplify the impact of their partnerships.
For example, re-targeting individuals who have engaged with sponsored content with a brand-specific message has been shown to increase engagement by up to 400%. Similarly, serving a paid social ad to someone within 24 hours of their exposure to a DOOH ad can boost the effectiveness of the DOOH ad by 48%. These statistics demonstrate the power of an integrated approach that leverages multiple touchpoints to drive the most meaningful engagement.
Sport’s Magic Dust
Sport is unique - it has the ability to engage all kinds of CEOs or CIOs with their passion points. Rights holders and their sponsors can influence these incredibly hard to reach audiences through good content and clever targeting - after all they all have some form of social media account and a mobile phone! Showing brands how we can not only reach but engage the hardest to find, and often most valuable audience, can help give a multi-million pound partnership the "magic" dust it needs to help it be sold.
Optimisation: The Key to Success
In the world of digital marketing, real-time optimisation is the key to success. Brands are accustomed to receiving live results, making data-driven decisions, and adjusting their strategies on the fly. Rights holders must embrace this mindset! Gone are the days of "blackbox" campaigns - it is time to put optimisation at the heart of their digital strategies, embracing the brand's (+ their agencies) input.
By continuously monitoring and optimising campaigns, rights holders can ensure that they are delivering the best possible results for their partners. This not only helps to build trust and credibility but also positions rights holders as valuable strategic partners who are invested in their clients' success.
Tailoring Solutions to Brands’ Ecosystems
Every brand has a unique sales ecosystem, and rights holders must be prepared to tailor their solutions accordingly. For some brands, a partnership may offer the opportunity to funnel a primed audience into their own remarketing efforts. For others, the nature of an event, such as a football match, may present a timely purchase opportunity, like ordering a takeaway delivery.
By working closely with brands to understand their specific KPIs and existing digital strategies, rights holders can develop customised solutions that leverage their engaged, segmented audience to drive meaningful results. This level of personalisation and collaboration is essential for building long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.
Summary: The Future of Sponsorship Sales
It is clear the future of sponsorship sales lies in the seamless integration of traditional partnerships and digital opportunities. By harnessing the power of 1P data, creating tailored audience experiences, and embracing real-time optimisation, rights holders can position themselves as invaluable partners to brands. Talking this kind of language to brands will be music to their ears!
