Sport Buoy

Formula 1 has seen just seen it’s sponsors club together to form a new sponsorship lobby known as the Formula 100 (BBC news story here). The group aims to have a stronger voice with the governing body of the sport and influence key strategic decisions such as where to host races and how much testing is allowed (companies use testing days as hospitality opportunities), so they can protect and maximise their investment in the sport (with the average deals worth over $4m).

Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone isn’t happy about it, worrying about meddling from parties who knew what they were signing up for in advance. Whilst an organisation as professionally run as Formula 1 may have less need of the strategic demands and insights from some of the world’s most rich and important companies, is the same true for your sports club?

Your sponsors may have answers to the problems you face. Individually, they may have gone through similar issues, know someone else who has or be able to solve it themselves. They might have a really bright idea about how to market your club, they might be able to retrofit your clubhouse or they might be able to give financial or legal advice.

But collectively they can help troubleshoot problems that you didn’t even know existed. If they get together and feel that the value of one of your hospitality packages isn’t up to scratch and give you advise on changing it, then you’ve got happier customers and a more marketable package.

The best bit of all is that it’s in the sponsor’s interest to do so. By lending their expertise they can generate a bit more PR both through you and the local press, and by making the club more successful they can raise the return of their own sponsorship.

Sports clubs are beginning to realise the value in seeking the opinions and engagement of their fans through social media and other activities, but is your club pursuing a parallel strategy with your sponsors?

Start with surveys and email newsletters. Continue with sponsors’ meetings. Don’t just rely on the ‘Sponsor’s Club’ special bar which was set up to generate yet more income from the same dedicated businesses – make it a no-strings attached engagement.

Make sure the comments from the sponsorship lobby reach the right ears: not just your sponsorship team, but the executive board. These are voices that you really want to listen too.

Don’t pursue this if you’re not listening to your fans, though. The last thing you want to do is give the normal fanbase the impression that your sports club is being run just for the benefit of the sponsors. Give everyone a stake in your team, and reap the rewards of that engagement.

Image by FirstStop @ Flickr