One of the ways brands are able to connect with people are through sponsorships of events and alliances with celebrities, social, cultural and sporting groups. In Trinidad and Tobago we are very familiar with TSTT’s use of the soca stars, the Carib Great Race, WITCO Desperadoes, the Digicel Cup and a whole lot more. Sponsorship is a staple for the big brands.
The easy part of sponsorship is writing the cheque. It’s harder to ensure that the sponsorship opportunity fits your brand. Heineken is more golf than wind-ball cricket. Stag is more rugby than hockey. If you get the fit wrong, you do your brand no favors and you’ve not only wasted your money, but you’ve also injured your brand. So make sure to filter opportunities to suit your brand.
The next biggie is that sponsorship comes with a responsibility to “live the sponsorship”, and not just write a cheque and disappear. So when I saw WITCO’s Danielle Chow in Despers Pan-yard the other night, it reminded me of the many nights I spent in the Carib Tokyo Pan-yard, when I was the Marketing Manager at Carib. When you get genuinely involved, you deepen your brand’s relationship with people. And that’s what drives brand loyalty; deep relationships.
