Defining Partnerships

Today, I am in Toronto attending the Partnership Conference. I have been to this event before and am back again. I often ponder the term “partnership”. Lol… it is in our company name! Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists? . Often it is interchanged with sponsorships. Sometimes, it refers to a legal entity or format. And in some cases, it is about a way of doing business.

At this Partnership Conference the focus is on non-profits and charities, and their “partnership” opportunities. From my past experience, it does not look so much like partnerships from a B2B type of engagement where a brand pays money for exposure and marketing value, but rather it pays money or provides support to a cause. It is about assisting in furtherance of the mission of the charity or non-profit, whereas sponsorship-style partnerships are a quid pro quo agreement where the brand pays money, which in turn, enables the charity, non-profit, member association, pro or amateur sport team, tournament, bonspiel, or municipality to further enhance its focused mission through the moneys received in such an agreement.

I like this conference because there are so many brands and properties and the ideation, and discussions are great. I learn a lot and take away a great deal of insight. As the sponsorship world transitions in some cases to being more about partnerships than just quid pro quo, I am excited to be here to learn and engage.

What is your takeaway from this week’s TMC? It is not new. I have written about it before. What we have begun to see in the sponsorship sector over the last 10 or 12 years has been a transition. This transition has been turbo fueled by the COVID experience. What was once referred to just as “sponsorship” or “sponsorship marketing” has interchangeable words to describe the same general marketing concept. They are words like partnership, experiential marketing, funding/backing, donation, corporate investment, corporate social responsibility, cause marketing, advertising, and social purpose, to name a few. From a 60,000 foot level overview, I want to share my thoughts on what sponsorship is, and is not!

Let’s start with the easy stuff. Sponsorship is not a donation. It is not a gift. Those are when a company gives altruistically. That means they give money and get NOTHING in return. Not many companies are doing that anymore!

I also see sponsorship shifting from a transactional marketing investment to a deeper engaged investment. The key is that the sponsor or partner needs to gain value from the agreement. That might be more marketing focused such as brand building, lead generation, or traffic driving to bricks and mortar or the web. Or it could be about enhancing a GR or PR situation, or employee engagement. The brand’s investment has to yield a quantifiable and measurable return on investment. It is not just “because we love that charity’s mission.” It is more than that. Sponsorship marketing has to have an authentic tie and bring value to the property, while also meeting KPIs of the sponsor. This is where we see, in my mind, a sponsorship transition to a partnership.

A sponsorship is a deal that both organizations benefit from. And typically, with the brand crossover, the authenticity between the organizations and the ROI delivered for both, creates an equation where 1+1=3. That has always been the formula that positions sponsorship marketing above advertising that is a literal quid pro quo—1+1=2. Sponsorship is advertising with emotion and engagement of the audience.

Now though, moving a sponsorship to a partnership goes one step further. This is where 1+1+1=6. It delivers more value and outcome for both parties, but it also enhances a third group—the audience. This is where the trifecta of sponsorship comes into play. The brand/sponsor wins. The property wins and the audience (be it the donor, user of charitable services, athlete, sports fan, theatre goer, festival activist) wins. That is when it is truly a partnership. It has to have measurable KPIs that deliver a profitable ROI for each of the three partners. In this partnership, it is no longer two partners, but three. And a partnership still includes advertising marketing, but it also engages and encompasses PR, mission, authenticity, GR, IR, employee engagement, funding, CSR, cause marketing, experiential marketing, and social purpose. When we have all of these or the majority of them in a deal, and in a deal that delivers positive and measurable ROI for the organizations or groups—then we have a partnership!

To learn more about partnerships and corporate sponsorship development, be sure to register for and attend the Western Sponsorship Congress? Alberta Forum .

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