Sponsorship 101

Alright,

so excited to dive in.

Let's talk about a major aspect of sports marketing

and start by defining sponsorship.

Sponsorship

is a type of marketing

between a brand

and a property.

A property

is what we would call a team, league, or even an event

where each benefits from the relationship in different ways.

Typically,

brands pay properties for the rights to sponsor them,

and in return,

the brands gain access to the major audiences which follow a team or league.

Think about your favorite team.

They have huge presences on social media

and sold out stadiums on game day.

Sponsors pay to secure the exclusive rights to market to those fans.

The thought is

that if a brand is associated with a team or property that a fan cares about,

the passion transfers to the brand,

creating a stronger affinity and positive perception.

What do I mean by exclusive rights?

Well,

sponsorship is unique within advertising

because it's about an affiliation that brands pay to have

that no one else can have.

What does exclusivity look like in practice?

Well, the next time you're watching sports on TV,

take note of how many brands are advertising

and how few are able to use the logos of a team or league

or have a player in uniform appear in an ad.

The brands that can

have exclusive rights.

(upbeat music)

There are a lot of brands that are new to sponsorship

and learning the space just like you.

Here are a few of the most important or foundational aspects of a sponsorship for everyone to keep in mind.

Target audience.

These are the fans the brand is trying to reach

that are most likely to buy their product or use their service.

A brand will often look closely

at who the fans are of a given team or league before deciding to sponsor.

What do they look at?

Well, anything from age,

where they live,

the size of their family,

whether they own a home or rent,

the kind of websites they look at.

The list is endless if you really wanna dig into the data.

But for our purposes,

the kind of sports they're interested in is really the most important.

Sponsors of soccer are often interested in soccer

because it has a global and multicultural appeal,

and especially in the US where the sport is still growing,

a young and diverse fan base.

Contractual assets.

That law education came in handy in a big way here.

Contractual assets are what sponsors get in return for their investment,

broken out into the small details and specifics.

The number of ads that will play on the jumbotron,

integration into a halftime show,

signage, special email newsletters, events, and more.

A common contractual asset these days is posts on social media.

The kinds of assets and the number of them

can vary greatly depending on the type of sponsorship and the level of investment,

as well as the brand goals.

If a brand is particularly focused on social media,

they'd be less interested in assets like ticket packages.

Rights and intellectual property.

If you're a fan of superhero movies,

maybe you've heard the word IP used here and there,

but what does it mean?

IP or intellectual property

refers to the brand marks, messages, or name, images, and likeness

that leagues, teams, or players legally own.

Sponsors pay for their right to use them

even in their own special promos,

and importantly,

their competitors can't.

MLS

or a club like

Inter Miami CF

is itself IP

and no one other than an official sponsor can use their logos

or even the words like Major League Soccer

in any marketing materials.

This is one of the most important aspects of sponsorship

because it ensures that everyone's investment is protected.

Key Performance Indicators.

Another acronym.

Key Performance Indicator,

often said simply as KPI,

is basically a target defined to make sure your sponsorship is doing well.

It's connecting data to what the brand is trying to accomplish with their sponsorship.

Some brands want awareness,

some want a deeper connection with fans,

and others want direct sales of their product.

For example,

when Bodyarmor signed on to be on the sidelines as the official hydration partner of MLS,

it was about building awareness and driving credibility as a new brand in their category with fans and retailers.

Agreeing to that goal with the team or league helps everyone track whether or not the sponsorship is successful.

(upbeat music)

Once a contract is signed,

the next big aspect is activation, my favorite part,

which is how a brand uses its contractual assets to connect with fans.

At Major League Soccer,

We have 25 different sponsors

and each has their own unique activation.

Understanding your audience.

Brands that have more success in sponsorship

often take the time to understand the audience and what fans will want.

This could range from choosing the right platform

to focus on for social media,

the right musical artist for a halftime show,

or even just the right word or phrase,

like choosing between football

or soccer in writing.

Brands often work with agencies for this

and will create entire campaigns

focused just around that one sponsorship.

This is why an ad for Coca‑Cola

that you see during the FIFA World Cup '26™

might be different

from one you see anywhere else.

It's important to be relevant

so that fans wanna hear what you have to say.

Using contractual assets.

Choosing the right assets helps success as well.

If your goals are focused on social media engagement,

then signage in the stadium

might not do as much for you as a collab post on Instagram with one of the team's stars.

Sponsors think through how to use all of their assets effectively

to maximize their investment.

Driving results.

Remember those key performance indicators?

A good understanding of your audience

and thoughtful approach to contractual assets

helps hit those goals.

If a social media post isn't performing well

and fans aren't responding to the sponsorship well,

tracking it in real time allows for making adjustments

and ensuring better success.

We've covered a lot already,

from defining sponsorships and intellectual property

to aligning with target audiences and activation.

Here are three things to remember.

Sponsorships are a unique kind of marketing

built on passion.

Sponsorships connect brands to their target audience,

like young fans of the sport.

Activation is where contractual assets come to life,

from social media to premium giveaways.

Now we've got the basics around sponsorship.

Next,

we'll see how brands take these sponsorships to the biggest event in sports,

the FIFA World Cup™.