Withers & Co. Apply Activations to Leverage Sponsorships

Using merchandise and apparel to leverage sponosorships at activations is becoming a bigger part of their business at Withers & Co. Globally for every $10 spent on sponsorship $6 is spent on activating that sponsorship, in New Zealand the ratio is $10 to $1…corporate's spend all this money on sponsorship and don’t activate!!

Withers & Co. have a few suggestions when putting your activation together, firstly asking the partner why is the activation important to them. Are they trying to have a physical presence at an event? Are they trying to leverage other partnerships in the one big opportunity? Try and tease out of the partner what their objectives are in this piece e.g. brand awareness, community engagement etc. All of this will help you determine what the activation should or could be. Most importantly, it will help determine what success looks like in the eyes of the partner.

Secondly, you need to understand the resources the partner has available. The answers will shape what you can achieve (which is much better than making assumptions and then not executing the activation well), and be sure to identify any possible barriers from the outset.

Also, someone needs to come up with the ideas, which is why it is important to ask the partner, at the start, “Do you have any creative ideas you would like to consider?” It’s OK to use external advice where possible, or you can involve others from both businesses to get some creative input. You never know where the spark will come from. It doesn’t always have to come from you just because you are the commercial manager.

Finally, how would you like the outcomes reported on this? This is a special component of the partnership. Don’t assume that it can just be rolled into a mid or post-season review. You should ask the question, at the start, “How and when do you want to be informed of the outcome of this activation?” By identifying what is attempting to be achieved you will know what success looks like. Then, you can put this into the agreed format which may be a formal report or it may just be a brief slide for talking through during a coffee. Whatever it is, ensure you report on this activation specifically, note the positives and the negatives, and learn from those for the future.

For more information on promotional merchandise NZ, promotional products and promotional products NZ please go to http://www.withersanco.nz .