Unplugged: A New Way to Envision Sponsorships in the Digital Age

I normally focus this blog on what's happening now in the digital and social media world and break down how the best could be even better.

But not today.

Today I'm going to go into a topic that is near and dear to my heart: Mentoring, and how it should redefine the idea of a Sponsorship. But before we start, let's look at a lovely picture on mentoring, courtesy of Google.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Some of the toughest things about marketing inside the world of college (or non-NFL/NBA) programs is that you don't have the resources or time to make sure your people are the best in the world at what they do. By that I mean to really understand the bleeding edge of marketing requires that you experience it. And most teams don't have the marketing budgets or opportunities to get after it, consistently.

Is all for naught?

I'd argue no.

What are the naming rights/title rights to your conference tournament worth? Most leagues would quote a dollar amount -- ala to become our lead sponsor would cost you $x. But what is the lasting impact of that money?

What if we could see the world differently?

Let's look at a few Mid-Major leagues. The Missouri Valley Conference is sponsored by State Farm and Nestle-Purina. The West Coast Conference is sponsored by Zappos and Dick's Sporting Goods. Or the Mountain West Conference adds ties to CBS Sports. All of these are big marketing budget companies who do fantastic work.

Now, what if the MVC said to State Farm... "We want you to be the title sponsor to this year's Arch Madness, and we don't want any money from you. Instead, we want you to immerse our marketing staff in your world. Let them sit in agency briefings. Train them. Provide feedback to their plans."

Can you imagine this place?

Is that crazy?

I don't think so, because it's a win-win. The sponsor gets exposure for their brand without impacting their budget. And the impact on the league? You just found a way, without spending money, of training your entire team to do better work.

Amazing.

Oh and it gets better. If the "sponsor" no longer spends money, they likely spend money promoting what you are doing together and in building their brand further... both of which benefit you!

Love the future...

Come back on Monday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy