ABSTRACT
The term “sponsorship” is handy to distinguish sponsoring from other types of partnerships. That said, contracts become partnerships as mutual respect and commitment develop. Here, the main sponsorship categories, including (1) venues, equipment and things; (2) activities, events and programming; (3) groups and individuals; and (4) organizations, leagues and associations, are described with examples. A new sponsoring process model is introduced that takes an ecosystems perspective. The model considers both the sponsor and the property, or the property rights holder. It takes a step-by-step look at the sponsoring process, including initial decision, target audiences, objectives, engagement, measurement and evaluation, and subsequent decisions. Also discussed are events that could change the sponsoring process.
