Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

If you sponsor a good cause, charity or event that benefits a soceity at large -- a manifestation of good coverage may occur by the media. The media favors companies and sponsorship of events that helps benefit a cause beyond the scope of an ordinary profit run by a company. This begins a larger discussion on Corporate Citizenship and how a larger society begins to view a company's efforts which may sometimes go beyond just the satisfaction of the shareholders of a company.

In traditional marketing, a "sponsor" is generally a company that helps to underwrite an event or program in exchange for name recognition, special visibility and PR. NASCAR is probably the most over-the-top example. Companies pay thousands of dollars to sponsor a driver in exchange for having their logo all over his firesuit and car--so that every time the driver is on camera, so is their logo. There's a main sponsor (think Lowe's with Jimmie Johnson) and then all the minor sponsors that have stickers all over the car. They all get name recognition, and the theory goes that racing fans will be more likely to buy from them because they have shown support for something the fans love.

"Patron" isn't a term often used in US marketing. Gauging from Levon's answer, you may be referring to linkage between a company and a charity--such as GAP's (Red) campaign, or Aveda's environmental projects. Such a linkage is intended to demonstrate community leadership, and the cause/charity is chosen because it is meaningful to the product's target audience.

In the case of sponsorship, the companies get free PR and visibility, as well as strengthening a relationship by association with a target audience. In the case of nonprofit community ties, the organization also gets positive PR, shows that it cares about people, and builds relationships.

As for how they're covered, it could be a mention in ads ("sponsored in part by Company X"), mention as a sponsor in newspaper articles, signage that shows up in photos (like the logos on a NASCAR car), and having exclusive access to the fans or members of an organization because of being an event sponsor (signage, a table, literature display, etc.)