A Clarion Call to Local African Entrepreneurs and Companies to look beyond Football for Sports Sponsorship

A sponsor is an advertiser that supports a business or individual in return for promoting its services or products through the entity being sponsored. Sponsorships can help support virtually every type of business, from an amateur blog to a professional athlete. Sometimes, sponsorship can be in the form of direct advertisements, such as when an athlete does a commercial for a shoe company and wears that company's shoes when he plays. But sponsorship can also be more subtle, like a clothing brand providing clothing with just their logo on it to a local charity. In any case, sponsorship is mutually beneficial for both the sponsors and the entity being supported.

Sports sponsorship in particular is seen as an effective vehicle for mass marketing. It is a significant marketing tool because of the popularity of sports as well as audience reach, which can provide continuous and consistent exposure to a brand than single advertising campaigns. In Africa, generally football tournaments and footballers get constant sponsorship from companies or organizations. Ignoring other sports in Africa, has actually done great disservice because there are many youngsters who are interested in other sports. In Nigeria, the sports community has almost totally ignored the influence of other sports such as basketball, table tennis, short distance sprints and long distance races.

This should not have been so. The owners and CEOs of local African companies are very well aware that there are many good African athletes in other sports who have done Africa proud globally. In actual fact, these sports require much lesser funding for sponsorship than football! Sponsoring an athlete like Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor for example, a Nigerian track and field athlete who specializes in long jump and short sprints is a great avenue to capture the supporters of long jump and sprints. It will improve the brand awareness of the product or service of the sponsor among the fans of these sports and send out a message to the young sports people of Nigeria that it is a valid dream and he or she can also become a world champion.

It is of utmost importance for African companies to support the locals now. Now consumers are more educated than ever before, and it has changed their decision-making process. Consumers are thinking about more than just finding the right products or services, they are thinking about finding the right company to support. The growing trend among young consumers looking to support local companies is a reality not just in West Europe and North America but here too in Africa. It is most likely that a Kenyan youth will choose a company that also invests in his or her community. Seeing a local company making effort to cover costs for the less privileged kids to be involved in a local team definitely brings a high chance that your local business will be supported over the foreign competitor.

Sponsorship can generate substantial publicity for a relatively small investment. It is like using the strength, funds and audiences of two organizations to develop your product and build your brand awareness.

1. Build brand awareness

A brand can leverage marketing benefits from a sports team, athlete or event. These sponsorship opportunities are highly visible, offering exposure to millions of local African consumers. Brands can drive marketing by getting the brand name, logo and mission across to their fans when they are most likely to be engaged. Obviously when that fan is watching his favourite sports. Suppose a  Nigerian owned brand was to sponsor an East African athlete like Eliud Kipchoge who is a Kenyan long-distance runner and the current marathon world record holder, it would definitely capture the interest of East Africans who did not know about that brand earlier.

2. Drive excitement around the brand, its products and services

Sports excites consumers! So pile onto the excitement by partnering with the athlete, team or event to put the brand and mission in the heart of the exciting conversation. E.g. The Swahili Daima Milk could decide to provide breakfast for a children’s sports academy to improve the excitement associated with its already known brand.

3. Increase product or service sales

Sport teams, stadiums, sports events and athletes can all directly drive sales, by giving the local company the benefit of having a branded stand in the stadium, a booth at an event, or using athletes to kick start a “healthy eating campaign”. For example the Kenya owned Melvins Green Tea is a particular favourite for most people looking to lose weight and stay healthy. It can become Nigeria’s fitfam drink of choice among other food brands by using a local cycling team or Under 20 athlete to campaign on the dangers associated with obesity. Similarly, Fruity Life (a Nigerian fruit detox brand) can upscale its market by using an athlete to kick start a campaign on the importance of detoxification.

4. Market and expansion to a new geography

When expanding into a new geography, what better way to announce a brand’s arrival and generate a marketing buzz, than through a partnership with a minor or major league team, a local sports event or a local athlete. Ayoola Foods, an energy giving food brand of Nigeria could get their share of East African market by promoting an athlete such as Ruth Jebet (a Kenyan-born long-distance runner, steeplechase specialist, and currently the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 3000 metres steeplechase) to advertise the effectiveness of its brand.

5. Build goodwill 

Companies that sponsor sports programs for local youth make a positive contribution to their community. Since their financial support has a direct impact on the local community by helping to defer the costs associated with youth development. It gives more kids the opportunity to participate regardless of their parent’s financial situation. Overall this can evoke a community wide feeling that a company understands the impact and importance of sports for their youth. This feeling can instill loyalty among a business' current and future patrons.

Sponsorship do not only benefit the company, it also benefits the athletes and the brand’s employees. Having sponsorship funding, allows athletes to focus more on their training, reduces stress when it comes to finding money to train thus giving them a higher chance of doing the nation proud in a competition. At this moment in Africa across all sports apart from football, the athletes are having to run from pillar to post to service their loans. Sport sponsorship is also beneficial for the brand’s employees as it connects very strongly with health and wellbeing. Having happy employees ensures the essence of the brand is protected as they are more content with supporting a brand that demonstrates this sort of value.

This is therefore a clarion call to the Dangotes, Azams, METLs, all local African giants in FMCG to sponsor local basketball teams, local volleyball teams, lesser known sportspersons in cycling, boxing, wrestling etc..A partnership where both brand and team benefit because it costs much lesser money than sponsoring football. It can be a very big win-win scenario with added exposure to social media and trendy digital marketing.

So everyone involved in these partnerships can go home happy! The sporting community benefits from a direct financial input, as well as from the endorsement provided through the sponsoring brand. In return, it is not just the brand equity that gets improved, but also the corporate equity of the sponsor.