Under sponcer: LOL
My friend the terminology for sponcer:
Corporate sponsorship is a form of advertising in which companies pay to be associated with certain events. When the sponsorship of a nonprofit or charitable event is involved, the sponsorship activity is often referred to as event marketing or cause marketing. Corporate sponsorship has been growing rapidly in recent years, faster, in fact, than the growth in overall corporate advertising in the late 1990s. According to Trevor Hartland, writing in the International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, "global sponsorship reached an all-time high of $26.2 billion in 2003."
Most of the sponsors of large events are, of course, large companies. However, part of the increase in corporate sponsorship worldwide is attributable to the number of small- and medium-sized firms that are becoming involved. Not long ago, only large entities could afford to sponsor large events as a way of building goodwill and boosting revenue. But in today's business environment, small companies have embraced sponsorship of everything from local softball and volleyball teams to festivals, fairs, and park cleanups as an effective means of increasing their visibility in their home community. Many of these kinds of sponsorships enable small companies to increase their public profile in a relatively cost-effective manner.
A company can benefit in many ways from sponsorship. Nation's Business contributor Harvey Meyer touts a wide range of potential benefits: "[Sponsorships] can enhance a company's image and visibility; differentiate the company from competitors; help develop closer relationships with current and prospective customers; showcase products and services; unload obsolete inventory; and allow the company to compete more effectively against bigger firms that have much larger advertising budgets. In addition, tickets to sponsored events can be used as incentives for employees, vendors, and customers and to promote worker loyalty. And proponents say that if sponsorships are well-conceived and strategic, they can boost sales—both long-term and short-term—as they improve the community through the events they support."
In an article that discusses recent trends in corporate sponsorship entitled "Why Sponsors Sponsor," author Jim Karrh lists the four criteria that not-for-profit fundraisers expect to be used by most companies in assessing the request to become involved as a sponsor. The four criteria are as follows:
•Relevance—the cause must be relevant to the company's products or service.
•Branding Fit—there must be a good fit with the overall company brand.
•Mission Alignment—the partnership must align with a company's mission.
•Business Result—the company must believe it can achieve some measurable business result through the partnership.
In addition to the advertising and promotional aspects of corporate sponsorship, it also provides benefits in the realm of community relations. A comprehensive, ongoing community relations program—including event sponsorship—can help virtually any organization achieve visibility as a good community citizen. Organizations are recognized as good community citizens when they support programs that improve the quality of life in their community, including crime prevention, employment, environmental programs, clean-up and beautification, recycling, and restoration. Some other examples of ongoing programs might include scholarship programs, urban renewal projects, performing arts programs, social and educational programs, children's activities, community organizations, and construction projects. These kinds of sponsorships—also sometimes referred to as "causerelated marketing"—may also be linked to national or even international social causes. For example, a kayak manufacturer who donates a percentage of its boat sales directly to a national river conservation organization not only supports a worthwhile cause, but also creates an effective marketing tool for itself.
Good community relations programs give employees a reason to be proud of the company, which increases loyalty and may help to reduce labor and production costs. Furthermore, a company with happy employees and a good reputation in the community is likely to attract highly qualified new employees. A small company may also generate new business through the contacts and leads it generates in its community relations activities. Such contacts might also make it easier for the company to obtain financing for expansion, find promising new locations, or gain favorable treatment in terms of taxes, ordinances, or utilities. Good community relations can also be beneficial in times of crisis, such as a fire or a plant closing, by rallying the community around the affected business.
Event sponsorship, in particular, is an attractive option because it provides a business with access to various audiences, including employees, business decision makers, and government regulators as well as consumers. It can be an especially good marketing tool for companies that participate in international trade, because sponsorship transcends language and cultural barriers. Many marketers feel that corporate sponsorship is superior to other methods because it allows for an immediate customer response to new product offerings. Events provide business managers with an opportunity to come face-to-face with their customers. They also provide customers with an opportunity to try a company's products out firsthand. By comparison, marketing research tools like focus groups can be expensive and may not target the right people, while market questionnaires or surveys generally do not give potential customers a chance to try the product.
