Finding sponsors: 5 tips for the path to partnership

Sponsorship is much more than financial support - it is a symbiotic relationship in which both parties benefit from each other. Sponsorship is not a charitable gift, but a quid pro quo. If you want to find and win over sponsors, you need to know their motives and the goals of the potential sponsor. At the heart of the matter is the question of which target group the company wants to reach. Is it existing customers, potential customers or new employees?

Many sponsorship requests fail because they are unprofessional or not well thought out. Begging letters have no place in sponsoring - they won't find sponsors. A solid concept is required that clearly demonstrates the benefits for the sponsor. The offer should be tailored precisely to the potential sponsor and take their specific needs into account. The concept can, for example, be based on awareness and perception, image improvement, sales promotion, increased turnover, employee retention or recruitment.

Sponsorship is a chameleon. The sponsor seeker generally adapts the sponsorship offer to the needs of the respective company. There are synergies insofar as companies in the same sector also have similar needs. It therefore makes sense to systematically offer a sponsorship package that is geared towards one industry to various companies in the same industry until a partnership is established. If you identify companies that pursue the same values and goals, a sponsoring relationship is established. Whether this happened in the following example is questionable:

Employer branding is a new and strong trend in sponsoring. One example of this: Companies such as Rheinmetall use sports sponsorship to present themselves as attractive employers. In times of skills shortages, companies are desperately looking for employees, and a strong sponsorship presence can help to attract potential applicants and motivate existing employees.

The technical possibilities in sponsorship are developing rapidly. The general drivers are digitalization and, of course, artificial intelligence in particular. Sponsorship advertising will soon be tailored not only to individual countries, but even to individual users. Digital channels offer countless new opportunities to place sponsors and play out messages individually. This means that more and more sponsors can be found that are specifically tailored to your own needs.