What would you say is the biggest challenge for sports marketers today? I would say the biggest challenge for them is sponsorships and partnerships. Many sports teams might be wondering how they can prove to their sponsors that they are worth investing their time and resources. Data is key to proving to sponsors and partners that your team is worth collaborating with. Location intelligence provides sports marketers with data to prove the value of sponsorships and partnerships. By enhancing fan insights with location intelligence, sports marketers can not only reassure current sponsors, but they can also attract new ones.

In this month’s column, I explain to a sports marketer how to use location intelligence to reassure team sponsors.

Dear Gwen, I work for a sports team. We’re looking for ways to prove sponsorship value to our partners. I’ve heard that I can use location intelligence for this. How can I use location intelligence to reassure our team’s sponsors?

Looking forward to hearing from you,
Alex

A: Dear Alex,

While fans aren’t in attendance at sporting events, it’s even more important now than ever to prove the value of sponsorship with data.

Here are a few different things sponsors want out of a partnership:

1. Expand their customer base.
2. Convert brand awareness into revenue.
3. Increase sales of their product or service.

It sounds like you already have a loyal fan base that is engaged and raring to go. Of course, there is value in exposure when your fans are in the stands, but there is so much more to learn about what they do when they’re not there. So, how can location intelligence help? Expanding on the data you already have, like ticket purchases, web traffic, mobile app users, fan club or newsletter subscribers – is essential to show sponsors that you mean business.

More than 95% of the time, your fans are out in the rest of the world. When you understand where your fans go when they aren’t at the big game, you can use location data to demonstrate to sponsors that fans have visited their businesses. This reassures them that their advertisements are bringing in foot traffic. In addition, these fan insights provide sponsors with an understanding of fan affinities and interests which allows them to tailor their messaging and  reach the right audience who might convert into a sale. With this data, you can create comprehensive value reports, and provide your current sponsors (and new partners) with a one nice sponsorship package to entice them to invest in a sponsorship with your team.

Gwen

Have a question for me about location intelligence? Email your questions to gwen@gravyanalytics.com with the subject line “Ask Gwen.” I’m looking forward to hearing from you.