Sponsorship remains critical to a large part of the economic ecosystem. It fuels production, especially in key strategic sectors like entertainment, sports, philanthropy, technology, and others.
When you consider that the above-mentioned sub-sectors form a crucial part of the new economy—today generating more employment, contributing significantly to GDP, and impacting infrastructure, tourism, hospitality, and media—you begin to understand the powerful nature of sponsorship and CSR as we strive to rebuild our economy.
Anywhere in the world, sponsorships provide the last mile push for massive events and, in some cases, also provide the trigger momentum for these events which significantly impact economies and people.
The mathematics of these events never tally because if you factor in the cost of production and ticket sales, which are usually the primary source of revenue, you will see a huge gap. This gap is sometimes filled by advertising and other innovative revenue-generating platforms, but sponsorship mostly provides that much-needed ‘gap-filler’ and outlier gains for promoters.
For the brand providing the sponsorship, the returns are both quantitative and qualitative. Most brands, especially local ones, focus on the qualitative aspects because their brand custodians typically come from media, PR, advertising, and similar fields.
What drives their sponsorship push is the pursuit of eyeballs, brand awareness, image, and positioning.
However, recently, quantitative benefits have begun to take a more serious position in decision-making, led by banks and other financial brands.
For FMCGs, marketing has always been the beacon in their sponsorships. They have tried to create a nexus between marketing and sales, which is why marketing personnel are the main drivers in FMCGs. Even so, marketing initiatives must impact sales volumes.
CSR has come into play over the last twenty years as brands begin to view it as a below-the-line marketing strategy. An effective CSR policy can position your brand much more favorably in a powerful marketing position.
This brings us to the general internal structure of brands, marketing, CSR, PR in most of our local brands a masterclass I will give one day based on my practical experience.
In most brands, except perhaps the FMCGs, brand custodians do not have approving authority. They defer to higher authorities who are mostly not marketing professionals but rely on them in making final decisions, which are usually based more on emotional, political, and other considerations.
This is so because the whole ecosystem, even the professionals, do not really see sponsorship and CSR as strong marketing tools but rather as instruments for dispensing favors and rewards.
This is evident in the laissez-faire approach to building relationships within the space.
The brand custodian assumes a position of authority, while the seeker of sponsorship enters into strict servitude. His calls are not taken; he is summoned like a servant, spoken down to, and generally maltreated by people who usually do not even have the authority to sign off on N5,000.
The person seeking sponsorship, not knowing the impact his project could have on the target brand, also willingly enters into servitude because he too sees himself as being favored in the ecosystem.
Both sides fail to see their role in the bottom line, hence the dysfunctional relationship that breeds corruption, nepotism, and favoritism, among other issues.
I once approached the MD of a top-tier bank after I hadn’t heard from his team and told him very clearly that N160 million had passed through my accounts within the last three months, so what was the N10 million that I was asking for that I am being humiliated like this.
I further told him that I had opened over 200 accounts in one day, something that would cost him much more than N10 million in human capital cost, fuel, and other logistics costs to achieve.
As a banker to banker, he could see it, but his people could not, since I wasn’t pulling in the eyeballs a football match would, without the expected impact on revenues.
The MD did his math very quickly and saw that I was more profitable than a Super Eagles match at N10 million against the N200 million minus cost of activation they would spend on that one, but with usually no direct impact on account opening or the distribution of other ancillary products and services.
A bank that once sponsored me gave a huge Afrobeat star N20 million for an endorsement, and when I inquired how many accounts were opened as a result, they were somewhat disappointed.
It is the lack of cognitive understanding of the role of sponsorship and CSR that would make a brand pick up a proposal and respond a year later to say, “Sorry, we can’t deal at this moment.” The ignorance of the arrogant can be quite annoying.
A decision that could be taken within 24 hours now takes one year to arrive at with a terse email trying to strengthen the landlord-tenant relationship.
Granted, the traffic from the demand side far outweighs the supply side, thereby putting much pressure on the supply side. The need for effective planning, strong communications on policy direction vis-à-vis sponsorship and CSR, among others, would largely reduce the gray areas which allow for such humiliating relationships between both parties.
Brands must come to the realization that they must begin to empower their custodians with robust budgetary and decision-making authorities but with necessary risk management and controls with a performance management structure in place.
This would engender professionalism, maximizing it within relationships in the space, and also further impact the push towards profitability.
And those on the demand side must also start pitching professionally and leave all this “na my guy” strategy because that is what leads to all the insults and humiliation.
In pitching, you must align your objectives with the brand’s objectives. Work your network to be given a platform to pitch and professionally engage instead of the usual.
Personally, I have blacklisted some brands due to their unprofessional approach towards the relationship. You can’t keep treating me like an Ethiopian eunuch and expect me not to fight for my dignity because “if he no give you today, he goes give you tomorrow.” It’s not begging for alms, please.
Go with your sponsorship. I will only deal with custodians who respect what I’m bringing to the table and deal with me with the full dignity I deserve; anything short of that, I move.