EVENT BRANDING WITHOUT BIG LEAGUE BUDGETS

5 reasons why second and third tier sports leagues shouldn't skimp on event branding.

The kind of dollars that are dedicated to branding national championship events such as the Super Bowl, World Series, Finals, Stanley Cup as well as All-Star Games and NHL's outdoor games are part of comprehensive branding and marketing efforts that enhance the fan experience in a way that is also very desirable to all of the various business partners and sponsors. So, while investment goes out, the returns are also substantial on many levels.

With several decades of developing special event branding programs for some of the big leagues, we often see smaller sports leagues and sports organizations leave a lot of money on the table due to a lack of strategic investment in branding. The reality is that event branding programs are scaleable to much smaller events–but the trick is not to cut corners that also cut off the revenue opportunities.

There are plenty of ways that a special event branding program-often in the form of a style guide–can provide short and long term returns that more then pay for the fees needed to develop them.

Sponsorship Sales

With broadcast rights put aside for a moment, nearly every special event needs sponsorship dollars in order to fund operations. While there are always a few endemic sponsors, there is always plenty of horse-trading in other sponsorship categories, and the event brand-owner needs to maximize those lucrative commitments. This is where an event brand style guide begins to provide returns because even the style guide itself becomes a very powerful sales tool when speaking to a potential sponsor. It helps paint a picture and vision for the future event–one that is well planned and well branded. And, don't forget, any well-heeled sponsor speaks the language of "style guide". They have them for their organization and consider them an essential part of any well run enterprise.

Fan Pride 

Good branding generates good licensing. And great licensing creates lots of exposure both during–and long after–the event is over. When the branding is good, even the more casual fan enthusiastically wears event product like a walking billboard and goes out into the world promoting your event. 

Poor branding and product design that is left up to a tee shirt vendor, or other "trinkets & trash" licensees, almost always results in a mishmash of awful product that struggles for sell-through–or gets worn or displayed once and never sees the light of day again. It's a missed opportunity.

Fan Experience 

Whether street banners, in-arena decor, covered scaffolding, building banners, way finding, painted fields or ice, etc.–these all flow from a style guide for the big events. Colors, typography, graphics, logos are made flexible for various messaging. The resulting cohesive branded look elevates the event brand which drives sponsorship, fuels that free advertising and provides momentum going into next year's event. What happens with smaller events is that there is spotty coordination of environmental branding other then handing out an official logo to several disparate fabricators who design in their own bubbles–or, there is no environmental design and the event can look a bit haphazard.

Partner Retention 

For every special event we help brand, the bar has been set and it keeps being raised year over year. Fans and the media can be harsh critics so we must work hard not to disappoint. But those efforts pay off when media, sponsors, partners, athletes, and competitors all reach the end of an event that presented great performances with a nice big branding bow wrapped around it. It's the full package that gets that event on everyone's calendar for next year–including sponsors and partners.

Guiding Social Media

All events are now covered by an army of mobile devices. They take pics of whatever they want and the event brand owner has little control over them. But they can be influenced with good branding and a plan. For example, when the event branding effort includes fabricating freestanding dimensional piece(s) in a human scale (in the 6' - 10' tall range) and place them in a location that is accessible to fans, they will line up all day to crowd around it and take selfies and pics to share on-line. Thats a lot of free social media promoting next year's event.

Even without a major broadcast partner and the well-oiled event and licensing departments of the "big four", there are countless opportunities to execute branding on a higher level if a strategic event brand style guide is developed. If a logo is being printed on a mesh barrier–then event branding can be printed on that same barrier. Branding contributes to the overall fan experience, and that component is not lost on business partners, media, sponsors, athletes, and competitors–they know the difference.

Bottom Line: Special event branding programs don’t have to break the bank of smaller sports leagues and organizations if they are strategically scaled to provide the essential framework that is at the core of national and international event branding programs. It’s not an expense–it’s an investment that generates short and long-term revenue.

Let the games begin!!!