Franchise Businesses and Sponsorship

by Don Mahoney

This article is sponsored by Franchise Direct

Franchising is one of the most successful routes to business ownership worldwide. Franchising works because it takes a proven business plan and adapts it to specific local markets. But success is not won overnight. While the bedrock of franchising is clearly an instantly-recognizable brand image, research shows that the franchises that are most active in their local community are most likely to succeed, which is why so many franchises turn to sponsorship.

Franchises have reaped the rewards of sponsorship time and again. Many franchises have a long history of successful sponsorships that include major international events as well as local events. For the business, it is not simply about having a logo plastered on a sports jersey or on the side of a banner. A sponsorship is the beginning of a relationship. It allows a franchisee to interact with the community at large outside the business world and form alliances and networks that will guide the franchise to greater local visibility and success.

In general, the benefits of sponsorship include a successful impressions strategy (including media), hospitality and measureable promotions. By working with a sponsorship specialist like New Century Marketing Concepts (www.sponsorship123.com/), franchises can develop programs that far exceed the benefits and revenues of traditional advertising mediums.

Here at Franchise Direct, one of the world’s biggest franchise portals, we’re constantly seeing franchisees exploring new sponsorships. Take Jim Flynn and MJ Benavente, who own a Snap Fitness franchise in west Seattle. They were looking to raise the visibility of their franchise and so they entered into an online sponsorship partnership with the West Seattle Blog, a popular and socially relevant blog about life on the western part of the Emerald City. The site not only directs traffic to their fitness franchise website, but it gives Jim and MJ a stake in the virtual community that surrounds this website.

We have also seen sports franchises like Golf USA sponsoring fantasy golf leagues and The Athlete’s Foot sponsoring underage baseball leagues. Sports, because they offer visibility, media coverage and community involvement, generally offer the most reliable sponsorship opportunities. In addition to these benefits, sports sponsorships typically beat traditional advertising because of the excitement of sports competition and the popularity of sports teams and athletes. In fact, sponsorship is virtually recession-proof because people seek the diversion of sports during both up and down economies. But enterprising franchisees are discovering all sorts of ways outside of the sporting world to get involved with community events through sponsorship.

Each new franchisee must endeavor to make their business not seem anonymous. If you are looking to gain a stronger foothold in your community, franchises have found that sports sponsorships have time and again rewarded them with the media presence and public respect they desire. These two values are elemental for any franchise’s success. And these lessons can be put into play for any business, big or small.

To learn more about how to create a successful sports sponsorship program contact your specialists at Franchise Direct or NCMC.

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