By Beau Clements
Struggling to find sponsorships for your local football club? Look no further! This article will give some tips and ideas as to how you can promote your club as an enticing business opportunity and bring in some much-needed financial stimulus.
- Canteen & BBQ partnerships
Speaking to local butchers about BBQ meats could be a fantastic way to lower canteen costs and create a solid long-term deal between a club and a local business. Say for instance, discounted bulk purchasing of meat in exchange for shirt sponsorships. Whilst this may not increase revenue, it could instead decrease expenses, and so could be a benefit to your club.
We have often found that patrons on game day who enjoy the food tend to ask where the club buys their supplies from. This could potentially boost sales for the butcher. Even having signage at the canteen with details for your supplier can further strengthen this relationship.
- Knowing your audience
Depending on your area, understanding the cultural background of your local club is imperative in what sponsorships are going to be most beneficial to a sponsor, and thus you can determine which ones are the most likely to work out.
What sort of businesses are going to be most beneficial to a family with children? That is the question you need to be considering when trying to determine which sort of sponsorship to try and attract. You also want to make sure the business is a good reflection of the club, as this may put off other sponsors in future.
Take for instance a restaurant – having done your research, the club can be confident that they are a good image for the club to be associated with, and the restaurant from a business perspective, will appreciate the research and understanding you have come into the partnership with.
- Signage
A great initiative which was noted by NSW NPL club Blacktown City FC, who signed a sponsorship deal with Signarama – a sign designer and manufacturing company. Signarama was then given the job of creating and installing the other Blacktown sponsorship signs around Blacktown City’s stadium, as well as their own. This not only generated a buzz for a local business, but it also showcased a professional advertisement for other local sponsors.
This approach is brilliant if you are a club with outer fencing, in which signage can be put up, as well as clubhouses, carparks and other high traffic areas. The ability for potential sponsors to see their own advertising potential through the graphic designs from sign designers, would be a real selling point to many.
- Social Media
Some clubs throughout Australia have gained notoriety thanks to both their club and player’s social media pages, showcasing the beauty of local sports. A player Blaxland Football Club in NSW posts weekly ‘Sunday league’ matches (click here), in which hundreds of thousands of TikTok users see the beauty of the game in a local setting.
Whilst you don’t have to copy what this page does, the ability to reach out to so many people means sponsors would love that opportunity to be amongst that. Having an active social media presence on as many platforms as possible is a terrific way to increase the likelihood that a sponsor can know that their product will be seen and partner up with your club. In the case of Blaxland, sponsors would be more likely to get involved with the club over the next closest club – their logo could be on a shirt or on a fence line, and it will be seen.
- Go Big!
There is no harm in getting in contact with larger corporations in Australia in search of potential sponsorship deals. Woolworths, Bunnings or Aami to name a few. Whilst this idea largely stems from American report, it is worth a try. Whilst they will not have the same proximity and interaction as a local business, at the end of the day, sponsorship money is imperative in keeping a local football club running in a healthy state. Head over to their websites and get in touch with an outreach email. Click here to find out more.
Whilst it can be a difficult task to find sponsorships for your local football club, the five aforementioned ideas can go a long way to ensuring financial stimulus for next season.
