This past weekend, I was at a fundraiser for youth cycling. In previous years, this event was a smashing success at raising money, pitting bidder against bidder in a contest of wills and egos. While an amazing amount of money was still raised this year, without even counting it, you could sense that the total take was down. The economy certainly played a major role, but not in the way you might think.

Psyching themselves out

There were slightly fewer people in attendance this year, and a good chunk of them are likely earning less than before, but the core group of people who bid on and win the big-ticket items are not hurting for money. Still, they did not bid aggressively for signed jerseys, posters, and other memorabilia that has little practical – but high sentimental – value. Yet the items – bikes, wearable clothing, etc. – that had higher utilitarian value still sold for reasonably high amounts. The difference to these bidders was not a financial one, but a psychological one. Even though they are not concerned with losing their house or where their next meal is coming from, they still bid and spent more conservatively than they would have in a growing economy.

This post is not meant to excoriate these people, but to identify a psychological trait of recessions that affects us all – fundraisers, athletes, teams, and events. If a charity has to deliver items of utilitarian value, what does this mean for sponsored properties? It means you have to “move the needle”.

The Nike model

Nike has long been a master of this, sponsoring only those athletes, teams, and events that will result in increased sales of their products. Properties like Ohio State, LeBron James, and the Tour de France are sponsorships that return more through product sales than they cost Nike, and the measurement of this is easy.

Lately it seems that the talk has been about sponsorships that look past the “move the needle” metrics to larger branding and consumer engagement metrics. I’d be willing to wager that, given the current state of the economy, more sponsors are concerned with the effect on next quarter’s sales than are prepared to admit it. Accepting that as true, the challenge for you is now two-fold; how do you increase sales, and how do you do so in a way that is measurable by you and your sponsor?

There are no quick answers to those questions, but the first step is to ask them. Your pitch should focus mainly on the audience you can deliver anyway, while figuring out exactly how to connect to that audience is part of the discussion/negotiation. Soliciting feedback from the sponsor on how they want to best utilize their dollars sets you apart from the majority of pre-packaged pitches that focus on signage and impressions. If you additionally invest time and a bit of money into tracking metrics, it will return dividends for both your current sponsor and for you as you go out looking for renewals or new deals. While sponsors can be excused for focusing on the short-term, you must think long-term to ultimately be successful.