Sponsors want to develop a connection with a medium's audience for long-term success.
The primary role of an advertising sponsor is to help pay for programming or content produced by a medium in exchange for advertising messages delivered during the sponsored program or content. This is a mutually beneficial relationship that is commonplace in various types of media, as sponsors advertise on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, billboards and several other niche media.
Paying for Sponsorship
To the media, a main role of a sponsor is to pay for the time or space used for ad placement. Television programs, for example, only survive if they have a strong-enough viewership to derive interest from sponsors willing to pay a reasonable price for sponsorship. Based on the amount of the sponsorship, the advertiser typically gets a certain amount of time or number of placements.
Creating Ads
Sponsors essentially pay for the programming or content in exchange for the ability to deliver a message through an ad placement. It is the responsibility of the sponsor, or advertiser, to develop the ad that will appear on TV or radio, or in print in the newspaper magazine or website. Many advertisers go to advertising agencies to help develop their advertisements to get the most original and effective advertising messages.
Provide Appropriate Content
Professional business consultant and speaker Chris Brogan explains in his June 2006 article "What Sponsors Want" that the relationship between media and advertisers only lasts if mutually beneficial. Media must manage two important relationships - with audiences and sponsors. Each medium has an obligation to protect the interests of its audience with regard to content value and appropriateness. When sponsors agree to a sponsorship, they must adhere to any specific guidelines from the medium regarding appropriateness of message content.
Follow-Up
An effective ad sponsorship needs good follow up by the advertiser. A sponsorship relationship between an advertiser and medium typically means a longer-term partnership, as opposed to a standard advertiser-medium transaction. Sponsors need to follow up to find out what type of impact their advertising had. This means getting information on television or radio ratings, newspaper and magazine circulation and Internet traffic statistics.
Tags: advertising messages, mutually beneficial, newspaper magazine, programming content, relationship between, television radio