Helping Others Can Truly Help Your Company

Early August is almost here and the anticipation of the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing is steadily increasing.  As hopeful spectator’s eyes turn expectantly toward China, their eyes will also be taking in the ads of the Olympic corporate sponsors.  Coca-Cola, GE, Kodak, McDonalds and a host of other big companies have all invested millions of dollars in the hopes of bolstering their brand images and spurring sales of their products.  Just to give you an idea of the kind of money involved, the Herald Tribune reported unofficial figures of eight hundred and fifty million dollars have been contributed by the games’ eleven global sponsors.  That sort of big investment would not be happening if there were not equally big results.Granted, that sort of investment is probably out of the range of your small business, but that does not mean that you should rule out sponsorship as a method of promoting your company.  There are likely a number of regular events such as charity bike races, marathons, plays, festivals or cookouts that are all looking for corporate sponsors.  Sure, you will not reach as wide an audience as sponsoring the Olympics, but you will be reaching the people that matter, the people in your community that will be your regular customer base.Just forking over the cash to sponsor an event is not enough, though.  You should draw up some color printing to help promote the event and your involvement with it.  What good is sponsoring an event if nobody knows about your good deed, right?  When consumers are watching the race or biting into that barbeque sandwich, you want them to associate those good times with your company.Not only is this a good time to spread awareness of your brand, it’s also the perfect time to run ads tied to the event or to promote exclusive, event related products, like shirts printed with the logo for the event and your own company name or logo.  These sorts of tie-ins, whether sold or given away as promo items will further push brand recognition long after the event is over and act as a reminder of your companies good deed.It is easy to see how event sponsorship can lead to expansive gains in brand recognition and community standing for your business.  This, coupled with your own promotions and tie-ins, is certain to give you a big boost in profits.  Who knows, it could be the first step to growing large enough that you can afford to sponsor the Olympics.  The 2012 Olympics in London are just around the corner, after all.