The good news? Sponsorship can be one of the most effective ways of getting your message across directly to your existing and potential customers.

The even better news? Sponsorships aren’t restricted to big corporations with even bigger marketing budgets. By actively seeking opportunities to get involved with smaller, targeted, more affordable sponsorships, your business can enjoy the benefits too. Being involved in the wider community is especially important if your business relies heavily on referrals or foot traffic, as it’s an opportunity to get ‘up close and personal’ with your target market.

Sponsorship benefits:

• Brand awareness – Affordable and unique way to get your brand in front of a targeted audience who you might not otherwise have reached
• Loyalty – Nurtures an emotional connection between your brand and your target market. Forging such a relationship can result in brand loyalty
• Image – Some of the magic and/or goodwill of the sponsorship vehicle is transferred to your brand
• Networking – an opportunity to make connections with other sponsors which could lead to future partnerships/business opportunities
• Media exposure – sponsored events often inherently create newsworthy stories. All you need then is Connecting Images to come up with and pitch the relevant angles to the media.

Because sponsorship primarily addresses brand health and involves relating on an emotional level, it’s unlikely to cause an immediate spike in sales. But, if entered into with a committed, long-term approach, sponsorship is fruitful and its benefits tangible. Look for partnerships and events, which are aligned with your company’s message and commitment.

Your sponsorship tells a story about what your business stands for. An innovative sponsorship project managed by the CI team recently: PROFITABLE HOSPITALITY – major sponsor of Restaurant & Catering Australia’s Best Hospitality Website Award. This category is part of the National Awards for Excellence program through the peak industry body, Restaurant & Catering Australia.

The audience is a key segment of Profitable Hospitality’s target market. Profitable Hospitality leverages its sponsorship of the Award through proactive promotion of the category in online educational articles and media contributions. In return, Profitable Hospitality has achieved widespread media exposure, has increased recognition for its online marketing expertise and its own website, its services and products as well as receiving solid and sustained support from the R&CA. The 2006 winning website is Nathania Springs.

An elated pair! JF(Jean-Francois) Celerier and Jason Deacon of Nathania Springs Receptions.

If the idea of working with ethical companies appeals, so that your money does good, as well as paying the bills, Melbourne courier company Green Light Couriers makes a great business partner choice.

Green Light Couriers, recognising that its industry inherently harms the environment, is Melbourne’s first and only courier service company to make a public commitment to ‘going green’. By doing this it becomes part of the solution, rather than staying part of the problem. The company is proud to have recently put Melbourne’s very first hybrid courier vehicle on the road (combining electricity and petrol). Among other green initiatives, all the fleet’s carbon emissions are offset through Greenfleet – and Green Light Couriers plants trees on behalf of each new client when they open an account.

Green Light Couriers’ new hybrid with signage designed by Connecting Images

By choosing Green Light Couriers for your courier services today, you too can help to deliver a better tomorrow.

We have enjoyed working with Green Light Couriers to create the corporate branding and building www.greenlightcouriers.com.au.

On August 30, our long-term client ASSA ABLOY Australia, the company behind leading lock brand Lockwood®, held the public launch of its multi-million dollar site redevelopment in Oakleigh, Victoria. Designed by respected Victorian architects Baldasso Cortese, the new site includes a ‘Centre of Design Excellence’ for the research and development of innovative technologies, and an expanded manufacturing facility. ASSA ABLOY’s investment ensures that its icon lock brands will remain on Australian shores, signifying a commitment to both its people and the Australian economy. The facility will play an integral part in ASSA ABLOY’s global manufacturing process.

Connecting Images worked alongside ASSA ABLOY to manage the event launch. We developed the event theme ‘Local Skill – Global Strength’, designed and produced the stylish invitations (complete with individual ‘swipe cards’ signifying the technological advances in locks since the Lockwood® brand was established more than 60 years ago), implemented the invitation mail out, managed the RSVP database, assisted with the welcoming and registration on the day, handled the speech writing, and conducted a successful media campaign.

We attracted a range of targeted media contacts to the site launch with a variety of story angles to appeal to business media, architectural and trade publications, online media and local, state and national major daily newspapers. We prepared releases for human interest media about the extraordinary long-term work and personal relationships forged at ASSA ABLOY (more than 60% of ASSA ABLOY Australia’s employees have been with the company for more than 10 years), and for business media about ASSA ABLOY finding it cheaper to manufacture some products here in Australia, than in China or India!

This successful media campaign generated more than 20 confirmed articles.