How can sponsorship increase participation in sport

Sports marketing is not only about using your advertising sponsors during sports events. Sponsors can also run promotional campaigns to popularise the event before the day. Typical sponsors are actually very good at creating a buzz around events and promoting their own brand. Most sponsors will create their own independent marketing strategy. You can, however, work together with the sponsors on your promotional activities.

Give them access to social media pages, influencers, ticketing agencies, and other parties involved in the marketing process. Depending on the arrangement, the sponsors may promote the event as a whole or specific activities and athletes.

Tip: To achieve the most out of this parallel marketing, ensure you and your sponsors are sending a common message. Buying tickets at a specified physical location is a bit of an inconvenience. You therefore stand to get a higher event attendance if you provide an online platform for potential attendees to buy tickets. Moreover, it can take a lot of your time and resources to sell tickets physically.

Take note that you will also have to audit the ticket sales records physically after the event. You can make the process easier by selling tickets through a reliable online ticketing site.

Such sites will also expose your event to their existing audiences. Make sure to provide the information about the ticketing site or app in all your promotional material.

Knowing these strategies is just the first step to a successful marketing campaign. You need to be creative while applying them. Make the most of any promotional opportunity that presents itself. For instance, should a famous athlete or team register, see if you can use their name in marketing the event with permission, of course.

If you apply the right combination of promotional strategies, you will attract quality sportspeople to participate and enough fans to keep the atmosphere charged. Your email address will not be published. Here are a few simple tips youth sports program leaders can use to increase their participation numbers as soon as registration opens and avoid those late and last minute sign-ups.

Maximize your website's potential. All year long, utilize your league website to post all upcoming program dates as well as program registration dates, times and locations. Parents should never have to wonder when the next season is starting. Set up a pre-registration option on your website or through your online registration provider. Just create a simple form to gather the contact information of interested parents so you can notify them when registration is available. Send an email to the parents of last year's participants to encourage registration.

This tip may seem like a no-brainer but we know that league administrators get busy and forget to do things when the time comes. Consider adding reminders to your calendar to send these emails one month, one week and one day before registration begins. Also, send a separate email to the parents of players who missed a year. In your message, include highlights and pictures from the past year. Consider offering a discount or incentive for returning to the program.

Set up a referral program. Most parents will be glad to refer a friend but adding a small reward is a nice thank you to recognize them. Hold an open house meeting prior to registration to educate interested parents about your program and the opportunities for their children. Beyond program dates, age groups and locations, be sure to include details of what parents can expect from each program. Is the program focus on learning skills with one practice and one game per week or is it a highly competitive program with multiple practices and weekend tournaments?

Sponsorship by cigarette companies is no longer legal. Sports governing bodies have to decide if proposed sponsorship, say junior sport by an alcohol brand, is acceptable. It is always easier to get sponsorship if a sport or event receives media attention. High profile events gain greater amounts of sponsorship than those with no coverage. There are pros and cons of sponsorship:. Sponsorship and sport Sponsorship is a major feature of sport in the 21st century.