Everyone talks about what brand sponsorships could do for youth sports, but the details of how they make a tangible impact can be hazy.
The blueprint may be down the road from the industry in education.
Schools are increasingly embracing sponsorships in everything from high school football games to proms to elementary school field days — partnerships that provide added resources for schools and help brands make authentic connections with communities.
“It’s evolution. People are now so used to advertising on everything. And then it’s the added need — budgets getting cuts in schools, school districts, other community entities and rising costs,” Campus Multimedia founder and CEO Karl Mawhinney told Buying Sandlot.
Campus Multimedia connects regional and national brands to schools to subsidize costs or create value through marketing programs, focusing on the core goals of recognition, resources and revenue.
Over 84K schools are in its network; CM is also beginning to work with youth sports organizations, Mawhinney said.
CM recently conducted a survey of K-12 parents and teens ages 12-17 with YouGov that found:
97% of school leaders said their school is open to community sponsor/brand support
73% of parents, 70% of students wish a brand would “adopt” their school
72% of parents support brand sponsorships in school
71% of parents think brands that support schools are more deserving of business
69% of parents are more likely to buy from brand that supports their kid’s school
“The data shows there is strong support for school-brand partnerships driving trust and purchase intent,” Mawhinney said. “That’s what it’s about. The brands that are now starting to spend in schools or youth sports are the ones that are really going to built trust with a community that is made up of students, parents, staff, teachers.”
Youth sports orgs are beginning to arrive on SponsorPlace, CM’s platform that facilitates connections with brands. CM also works with brands on repeatable activations — often enacted by the schools themselves — and some custom programs. About 50% of CM’s business involves sports.
“We imagine ways that brand like a DoorDash, a Kleenex, a Costco, Jersey Mike’s can embed themselves organically in the school,” Mawhinney said. “It’s not adding stuff, it’s how you can come alongside the school. They’re actually providing something of value that [schools] need anyway.”
The value propositions appear to be the same with youth sports.
“We built our company on brands and K-12 schools,” Mawhinney said. “But the brands that are working with us and want to engage with their communities through schools are really the same brands that want to engage in their communities through youth sports. … Let’s make it easier for them to support them financially and with resources, and make it so the brands that are doing the right things can build trust.”
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