Examples of Success

Triathlon Zimbabwe

Triathlon in a minority sport in terms of followership numbers and niche sport in terms of participation, yet it is currently receiving some of the most committed financial support from four corporates who have remained with them for a number of years with others waiting in the wings to lend their support, should the opportunity. We believe there are more potential sponsors keen to support Triathlon Zimbabwe but the current sponsors have committed to cover all needs and avoid sponsor crowding.

Triathlon has focused on being a fund-puller rather than being a crowd-puller by fulfilling certain fundamentals.

Corporates realise that Triathlon Zimbabwe gives them global rather than just local reach. Triathlon Zimbabwe has deliberately and diligently focused on making itself a global brand, and the sponsors have followed them.

What needs to be done

• Introspect

  Each discipline/team must undertake a sponsorship-related SWOT

  • What are our strengths that will attract sponsor partners?
  • What weaknesses do we have that will chase away potential sponsor partners?
  • What opportunities are there for us to attract potential sponsor partners?
  • What threats are there to our potential to secure sponsor partners?

  This process has to be brutally honest as it is the anchor of every other process that follows. It is undertaken as a business exercise, designed to appreciate where money is being lost and growth being compromised.

• Seek Appropriate Expert Advice

  Solicit the advice and guidance of expertise that understands the territory your discipline/sport you are involved in. Experience is key

• Be Ready to Learn and Change

  Change is often uncomfortable and painful but it’s the only thing that will enable an organisation, a sporting discipline or a team achieve what it has never achieved before.

• Strategise

  Be deliberate in all the goals that you want to achieve. Have a written plan, detailing all the key elements and key players.

• Take Decided Action

  Half-action is worse than no action. When, as an organisation, you decide to take action, take it whole-hearted. Half-measures are detrimental to your image and you lose sponsorship equity. Do or don’t. There are no in-betweens.

Sponsorship Options

There are different sponsorship options and each sporting discipline/team must consider an option that best suits their needs and the interests of their potential sponsor partners. They must select an option that results in a win-win situation for the parties involved as that will ensure a long-term relationship. The following are some sponsorship options.

• Sponsorship Packages

  This is when a discipline or team has a structured packages based on its financial requires in order to operate viably. There will be a Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors, each sponsoring according to their level and reaping commensurate benefits.

• Event Sponsorship

  This is sponsorship for a particular event or series of events. An example of this is the sponsorship of a league or a tournament. This usually comes with naming rights for that event.

• Incentives

  This is a “barter-trade” kind of sponsorship where the sponsor partner commits to give a reward in exchange for a certain level of performance or a certain commitment. If that performance is not attained, the sponsorship is forfeited. This is not desirable because it generally has a one-sided reward. The sponsor gets mileage for the promised, but the reward is lost for the discipline or team if the performance level is not achieved.

• Adoption

  This is when a sponsor-partner absorbs all the basic financial requirement of the discipline/team for it to run effectively, making it possible for them to focus on the technical execution of their discipline. The sponsor therefore absorbs the financial weight of the discipline as a long-term investment and expects a return. Player development on and off the field and professional administration are the back-bone of such a relationship.

Liberty Sports Inc. leverages its in-house expertise in sport and business to ensure that clients are positioned for success.