Sporting Strategy: 4 Tips For Using Local Sporting Events To Gain Exposure For Your Brand

Nothing unites like-minded people from different walks of life than rallying behind their favorite sports team. Sports sponsorship has blown up in the last few years, as brands start to realize the power and impact of sporting events.

Sporting Strategy: 4 Tips For Using Local Sporting Events To Gain Exposure For Your Brand

If you’re looking to take advantage of the benefits offered by sports sponsorship on a local level, read on as we give you four simple tips that you can add to your marketing strategy today:

1. Have a concession stand or booth at the event 

Partner with a local sports organizer or sports league to have a booth or concession stand at league events for the season.

This is a great opportunity to give away promotional products like caps, t-shirts and drinking bottles to event-goers. It’s even better if you sell a relevant product such as fast-food. You can set up a branded food cart at every event.

Plus, as a league partner, your company name and logo will appear on the event organizer’s social media and email marketing campaigns leading up to each event.

2. Build brand awareness through direct sponsorship 

One way to maximize visibility at a local sporting event is to sponsor a local team with a playing kit. In exchange, you can print your company logo on the uniforms, making sure it’s visible enough for fans to see at all the minor league games.

This strategy works well with high school and elementary school teams. It can elevate your company profile and serve as a corporate social responsibility initiative.

Companies like Nivea and Budweiser do it all the time with football and basketball teams, except on a bigger scale.

  

3. Market new products in neighboring towns 

Growth and expansion are inevitable for any successful business. This could happen in the form of launching a new product or opening a location in the next town. This allows you to leverage the popularity of local sporting events, and help you reach more people than traditional marketing methods.

Partner with a local athlete or a sports event as a way to announce your brand’s arrival at a new location. For instance, a sports sponsorship deal with the local track and field star means they'll promote the store opening on their social media and attend the opening to interact with fans.

4. Drive traffic to your website 

Maximize your brand’s participation in a local event or league by getting backlinks from the event organizer and/or team’s website. Find out if you can negotiate logo placement on their social media feed and website.

If partnering with a local college athlete with great prospects, you could have them contribute to your company’s blog. They could write a relevant and interesting topic such as “A basketball player’s tips on how to keep fit when you’re on the go.”

This gives them an opportunity to share the content on their own social media pages to give you maximum exposure.

Bonus tip! Buy a few event tickets and use them to create a ticket giveaway contest leading up to the event. People can enter by sharing your online content and tagging others.

It’s the perfect way to piggyback on the excitement generated by a local sporting event. It'll also earn you brownie points from the fans who score free tickets.

The key to modern marketing is to provide people with an experience instead of going in with a hard sell. Save yourself the logistical headache of hosting events and partner with a local sporting event organizer or team. You'll gain exposure from the buzz generated by an existing sports franchise while reaching a wider demographic.