How to Become a Beer Sponsor

Beer and sports fans: the secret to great sponsorships.

Whether your microbrewery is looking to gain PR from sponsoring a sports team or you're wondering what it takes to join the ranks of name brands known to have built reputations by hitching their beer wagons to media events and teams, you'll have your work cut out for you in this fiercely competitive arena. That stated, if you believe in your brand and the magic that results when the right sponsor-team relationship tickles the fancy of the beer-drinking public, be prepared to hoist a cold one to toast the success of your efforts.

Things You'll Need

• Target audience
• Funding
• Team or organization lists
• Sponsorship pitch
• Contract
• Press release

Instructions

1. Research your demographic to pinpoint the ideal professional partner for your brand of beer--be it female wrestling, ice dance, team sports or an organization like the Olympics, World Cup or Super Bowl. Use popular sponsorship activities---fan clubs, field signage, tailgate parties, contests and other events known to spark the imagination of beer drinkers---to draw up a creative sponsorship plan.

2. Set a sponsorship budget in advance of pitching teams. Be prepared to pull funds from a general marketing/advertising budget or add a new budgetary line item to your business plan to handle the expenses and profits resulting from a successful collaboration. Select one or more point people to manage the sponsorship relationship.

3. Design a dynamic visual presentation to show the teams you're courting that you know beer drinkers inside out. Employ top-notch marketers, designers and copywriters to put together your pitch, particularly if you're seeking to sponsor a high- profile team. Contact the team's public relations office. Make appointments with team decision makers to sell your sponsorship program ideas.

4. Arrive at the pitch meeting on time and make every moment of the meeting count. Load your presentation with benefits so decision makers see your beer as the ideal sponsor. Discuss being the team or game's exclusive sponsor. Answer questions confidently. Leave behind materials, but before you do, consider asking attendees to sign a nondisclosure agreement so the unique ideas you came up with are protected.

5. Reach an agreement with a team. Draft and negotiate a contract stipulating the details and conditions of the sponsorship. Set a mutually agreeable calendar of events and promotions. Establish a tracking system to monitor the progress of the campaign. Anticipate glitches by conceiving a crisis plan just in case, for example, a tailgating promotion results in a brawl or other bad publicity hits the media.

6. Send out press releases outlining the ways your beer sponsorship will be played out (see Dos Equis link) and be prepared to take advantage of fortuitous occurrences along the way. For example, act fast if a celebrity is photographed drinking your beer during a ballgame so you can turn the moment into a PR windfall that's sure to be noted when the sponsorship contract comes up for renegotiation or renewal.

References

• Partnership Activation: Beer Sponsor
• International Beer Day: Become A Sponsor for International Beer Day
• Breeders' Cup: Dos Equis Becomes Official Sponsor