When you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve got your eyes set on good publicity and building a good brand image. When you possess these two assets, you’re more likely to create and maintain a loyal clientele base, which means you’ll register higher levels of constant revenue. And yet, through all the strategies proposed to help your brand improve in this regard, there’s one that remains largely overlooked despite its potential to help your brand flourish truly: sports sponsorship.

According to a recent study on sports streaming trends, people are more interested in streaming their favourite sports than ever before. They’re actively engaged in their teams’ success, which can be an excellent opportunity for your business to reach a wider audience.

The figures don’t lie; according to recent research, global sponsorship spending has exceeded $60 billion globally. But what are some of the concrete ways in which sports sponsorship can help your business thrive? Let’s examine some of them.

Exposure and awareness

Significant sporting events are massively popular and register high viewership scores. The aspect that drives people towards becoming sports fans is the competitiveness they can see at the matches, and, of course, few things can compare to the thrill of seeing the team you support win and take home the trophy. When you account for cumulative TV audience levels, billions of people watch Premier League matches, for example. That’s an incredible number of pairs of eyes that will also see references to your brand this way.

To maximise your chances of success, you should be sure to pick a popular sport. The most obvious choice is football, but rugby, cricket, golf, tennis and F1 have significant numbers of fans as well. One of the best ways to ascertain the popularity of a particular sport and therefore determine how likely their association is to boost your business awareness levels is to closely look at streaming trends. Nowadays, most people keep up with their favourite teams from in front of a screen while lounging on their couches. If streaming trends indicate that a substantial portion of the public follows a particular sport, that’s your best bet.

Athletes and employees

In business, when you make good decisions, they’re typically going to branch out and extend to different areas. In this case, the sponsorship is also very likely to benefit the brand and sales, your employees, and the athletes you sponsor. The players benefit since the funding allows them more time to focus on their training and physical fitness. It reduces the stress of finding the money necessary to support events and training sessions.

As for the employees, seeing the company you work for represented through a logo featured at a high-profile competition imparts the feeling of working for a place of status and prestige. Feeling proud about your workplace can significantly impact productivity and general self-esteem levels. It creates happier, more engaged and more creative employees. Sports sponsorship can also improve teamwork in the workplace since your team is more likely to feel like this success was a result of a group effort. Lastly, it ensures that your company will thrive in the long run. Happy employees are, after all, the backbone of a healthy company, and if you see that business is thriving, there’s a higher chance they’ll stick around and help the brand progress further.

Guaranteed engagement

Sports fans have a reputation for being some of the most passionate and intense. Some might even say they’re a little crazy, but one thing’s for sure, they’re fully dedicated to the team they love. This is also good news for your company, as it might mean that all that enthusiasm can become a part of your clientele. Naturally, this works best if there’s a direct alignment between your brand and the sport you’re sponsoring. If the legions of diehard fans see that you genuinely care about the team and you’re not in it just for the profits, you might build a new niche in your target audience.

Make sure to have the people’s overall experience in mind when designing your sponsorship campaign. There’s also the possibility to reach out to them directly via the medium of a forum or platform. This vibrant and energetic community responds well to the joyous times and fond memories associated with the games, and you should deliver them just that.

Help the community

There are few things as beneficial for health and physical well-being as sports. Unfortunately, many adults and an ever-increasing number of children and teenagers do not get enough physical activity. Promoting sports is one of the best ways to change this, especially among the younger generations. Becoming involved in a sport when young means you’re more likely to continue practicing it later.

When you support a team, you ensure they can play more matches. In turn, it also helps a more significant number of children gain exposure to the sport and find a role model among them. This could boost their confidence and help them decide to pursue a sport if they were recently on the fence about it. When you choose to invest in sports, you might set a few young fans on the path to a brighter future.

Expand your network

When you’re in business, you know well the importance of building connections and how they can help you grow. While expanding within your market niche is essential, branching out outside your designated industry can also be beneficial. By sponsoring a sports team, you increase your chances of doing this. It can be one of the best ways to create relations and build prospective business opportunities. You will also meet people from all walks of life from whom you can learn a lot. In business, there are always new insights and creative ideas that you can incorporate into your business model.

By interacting with your community, you can also get a better idea of what people truly want and expect to see from brands, where their interests lie, and what aspects make them want to give brands a chance. In this sense, you’ll also get a better idea of how you can attract future talent to your business when the time comes.

Although it can seem like a straightforward decision, the truth is that the benefits of sponsoring a team are incredibly multifaceted and help not only yourself but your community as well.