What Even is Sponsorship Activation?

Sponsorship activation is what you do with what you own. Simple as that.

This can take many forms. Activation is all about bringing your brand to life from things as simple as booth spaces at an event to more sophisticated programs like employee engagement initiatives, virtual engagements, sales contests, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and customer celebrations.

The what you have portion is defined by the rights you acquired when you became the "official brand" of the event, team or driver you are sponsoring. When your brand sponsors something, what you really buy is access to assets that exist on a particular platform, but that's it.

This part is also critical because what you buy into will dictate what you are able to do through the year. We recommend crafting the right mix of assets from the very beginning, well before any sponsorship deals are signed. This mix will help direct your activation budget and have you on your way to building sustainable marketing campaigns.

Whoever sold you the sponsorship in the first place more than likely isn't going to continue knocking on your door making sure you use what you bought. It will be up to you to maximize the value of the platform you gained access to and to make sure the assets are continually developed over time.

Also - did you notice how we didn't mention logos or billboards once in an article about sponsorship?