Types of Sponsorship in Sport

Are you a company, brand, or organisation that wants to get involved in the wonderful world of sports sponsorship? If so, you probably have a lot of questions; you might even be wondering about the best type of sponsorship for your business, or how many types of sports sponsorships even exist.

Sports and team sponsorship can provide lots of benefits, but it’s important to understand there are lots of things to consider. What are the advantages and disadvantages of sports sponsorship? Should you sponsor a specific team or sport? But before you can answer these questions, you need to first understand the different types of sport sponsorships.

Different types of sport sponsorships

There are a few different categories of sponsorship when it comes to sponsoring a sports team, including: 

• Title sponsor: When you provide sponsorship in exchange for the exclusive rights to have your brand/business prominently displayed across the event.
• Official sponsor/partner: This is typically when a company will contribute a significant amount of the team’s required funds through the season or year, and are therefore the official sponsor for that team.
• Technical partner: The key targets of a technical partner is to acquire marketing and communications rights with the purpose of winning an economic benefit, a ranking advantage, visibility, and so on and so forth.

The type of sponsorship you need will depend on your objectives and the budget you have to work with. If you’re trying to get the most reach for your brand, main or title sponsorships will likely provide the best results for this. But if you’re looking to target a dedicated location, or a specific community, you don’t need to worry about being able to hit a far-reaching audience. Your target reach will need to be smaller and more specific, so Official or Technical partnerships will be a better option for these goals.

But you can also break down sponsorships into the below categories:

• Individual sponsorship
• Team sponsorship
• Association sponsorship
• Event sponsorship (global and local)

Individual sponsorship

Firstly, individual sponsorship means sponsoring an individual within a specific team, instead of the whole team, however this does tend to draw attention to the team too. Sponsoring an individual can be beneficial, as they can draw attention to your brand or business, especially if they are notable, memorable, or align with your business needs or views.

If you look at individual sponsorships such as Mo Farah for Quorn, you can see that the sponsorship does not take attention away from the fact that he is an Olympic gold medalist, as these make up his attributes as a sponsee. Sponsoring a recognisable and notable sports individual will help your brand’s reputation, as well as create a link between your business and the team they are part of. Additionally, you can sponsor an individual who is not in a team, and it is beneficial to do this for a notable, local sports individual, such as a boxer or fighter.

Team sponsorship

Team sponsorship is the most common type of sports sponsorship, and this is the one we talk about the most. Team sponsorship portrays an image to customers and employees within your business, displaying active involvement and interest in sports teams, and said fans and players of this team. Team sponsorship is a great way to draw general attention to your brand or business, especially if this is a national team such as a premier-league football team. Individuals within the team can also act as representatives for the entire team and image, especially team members who may be more notable and in the spotlight. 

Association sponsorship

Association sponsorship often comes under kit supplier sponsorship, because as a sponsor of the kit-supplier, you are linked with this sports team through their kit and association. Association sponsorship simply means that a business may sponsor associated brands, kit suppliers, or sport governing bodies in relation to your chosen sports team.

Event sponsorship

Event sponsorship simply refers to sponsoring an event, such as a local sports event such as a rugby match or a boxing match, or even the Olympics at an international scale. Event sponsorship on an international level also includes the world cup, as well other global events such as the Euro’s. Event sponsorship displays an opportunity for business sponsors to assert their brand and business through a large-scale, enjoyable event. The sponsorship provides the sponsored event with resources, whether this is equipment or a team kit, in exchange for visibility during the event. 

Different sponsorship packages deliver different results; there are no good or bad sponsorship packages, just ones that work best for your specific needs and others that are a mismatch and won’t help you achieve your goals.

Gift of Kit makes it easy for your business or brand to harness the power of grassroots sport. Through our sponsorship model, we’ve identified opportunities in sport which align with your brand values, and have designed a sponsorship campaign to guarantee you long lasting results.