Creating an Annual Marketing Partnership Budget
- Nov 11, 2017
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 12
Lately, with increasingly limited budgets, it becomes a major challenge to support as many events as we would like to. However, having a clear objective for the corporation helps to establish the type of properties we should be investing in.
For example, if the company's objective is to project itself as ecologically friendly, then a significant part of the budget should be allocated to events and properties related to this. We must also consider other initiatives that are related to the company, which would also be convenient to support with a smaller amount of money, such as sports, among other causes.
In order to organize the distribution of money, it is convenient to establish a sponsorship budget distribution structure that contains the following items:
Overall budget
Main causes with which the corporation wishes to identify itself and a budget item for measuring results.
Pre-selected events/properties or to choose from
Determine a budget for each sponsorship (event/property) that includes the sponsorship in cash, in-kind, and the investment in the projection of the brand (activation).
Having the total investment estimated for each of the sponsored properties helps you justify the amount of annual sponsorship and donation budget required to attain the corporation's and marketing goals. It is recommended to segment the sponsorships and donations budget into each of the pre-selected causes. For example: 50% for ecologically friendly properties, 25% for sports, and 25% for others. However, the sponsorship budget entails an investment greater than the cash granted to the owners of the property (events, campaigns…).
In some cases, it is convenient to combine or substitute sponsorships with in-kind negotiations, such as providing services in exchange for benefits, instead of paying the sponsorship in cash. Activation expenses are also contemplated, which is the activity or management that the sponsor does to project the brand in the property. Activation can be as simple as logo placement in advertisements or as interactive as offering the product at the event.
Once the main causes are chosen, it is essential to have a clear picture of the corporation’s marketing efforts. Among the factors to consider when distributing a sponsorships and donations budget are the following:
Product launch, perhaps it will need support engaging their market.
Brand projection gaps
Other divisions or departments with income sources that can supplement the sponsorship funds.
Possibility of justifying a budget increase.
The activation of an event can be designed to be used in more than one event.
Allies to complement the activation of the event.
These factors help make decisions regarding the top amount of money that could be designated to each cause and its related properties. However, each sponsor’s corporate culture will influence the sponsorship budget distribution, and it will be a great opportunity to use a structured tool to project potential return on investment (ROI).
Overall, establishing a Sponsorship Budget Structure is a tailored process in which keeping yourself aware of corporate initiatives and industry trends your corporation belongs to. Greatly, much of the success in managing properties falls on the intuition and agility of tying communication efforts to the different properties of the professional who is managing this budget, together with his work team. Establishing a budget is an interesting process that involves adjustments, revisions, and team decision-making.
About the author: Cristina Martínez is a well-rounded Public Relations Professional, specialized in corporate social responsibility, lecturing, and special events. Focused on strategies for brand identity through experiential marketing. For proposal requests, write to theprvenue@gmail.com and follow us on https://www.facebook.com/theprvenue/
