Sponsorship Simplicity is Hard... But Worth It.

Sometimes dumb and happy feels nice.  As they say, ignorance is bliss.  Classic executions of ‘logo-slapping’ sponsorship once felt this way… for those of us old enough to remember.

But we all know that nothing worthwhile comes easy.  Meaningful endeavours require effort.  Most important issues are complex and multi-faceted.  We’d like the answer to be clear and simple, but it rarely starts out that way.  The beginning of the journey is messy and we have to grind away until we reach that clear view from atop the metaphorical summit.

Simplicity Origins

This concept is prevalent in all walks of life.  The late M. Scott Peck famously and effectively wrote about ‘simplicity on the far side of complexity’ in his 1978 bestseller ‘The Road Less Travelled’.  Peck’s theory and application to mental and spiritual growth tells us that the clarity we reach after having worked through life’s messy challenges is much more worthwhile and satisfying than the ignorant clarity we pretend to have when we bury our heads in the sand.

The inspiration for Peck’s writings comes from a quote by American physician and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr (1809-1894) who said: “For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn’t give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.” 

Holmes wasn’t talking about sponsorship, or even marketing, but he might as well have been.  The most effective marketing is simple… brutally.  The long-standing mantra that has stood the Saatchi marketing empire so well for decades is Lord Maurice Saatchi’s ‘brutal simplicity of thought’.  He published a (short and simple) book on this principal and the M&C Saatchi Group still stands by it today.

Holmes, Saatchi, book

Sponsorship Simplicity

Simple is better in marketing, and that goes for sponsorship too.  The best branding and messaging is easy to read and understand.  The best engagement opportunities have minimal barriers and are easy for fans to step into.

And the same goes for measurement and evaluation.  Just give us a handful of meaningful numbers that tell us if this ‘mega-millions’ investment is working.  Keep it simple.

But these days there are literally thousands of data points to choose from.  There are so many numbers, we often don’t know what to do with them.  In our aim for simplicity, we often just stick with the metrics we are familiar with.  Huge social media reach?  Great.  Massive media value?  Fantastic.  A bit of brand awareness?  Even better.

The problem is, we are hearing more and more about a disconnect between sponsorship measurement metrics and brand objectives.  The measurement we are using isn’t fit for purpose.  It is ‘simple’ in the blissfully ignorant way while what we actually need is the ‘informed and evolved’ simplicity that comes from putting in the hard work.

The Evolution

So what does this ‘evolved simplicity’ look like, and how do we get there?  On the surface, it can look a lot like your original ‘ignorant simplicity’.  In fact, if you’ve done the hard work and fought through the complexity really well, many stakeholders won’t be able to tell the difference at first glance.  It will have a finite set of metrics that signal the success or failure of your sponsorship.

The difference is that you know from the beginning of the campaign precisely which metrics you are looking to move.  This means you actually need less research.  You are no longer collecting a barn-load of data only to then spend piles of valuable resources (people, time, money) to sift through stacks of reports trying to discern the signal from the noise – noise which is often much louder and costly than the desired signal.

When your simplicity is sufficiently ‘evolved’, each and every metric is now a true KPI.  A key performance indicator – a number that matters.  More specifically, each KPI links directly back to one of your clear and agreed sponsorship objectives. These objectives are, of course, tied directly to your broader brand or organisational goals or objectives.

With all of these links properly in place, you can now draw a direct line from sponsorship outputs back to the mission of the brand.  You know not only WHAT you are measuring, but everyone also knows WHY.  This is the basis of your ‘performance framework’.  Not an arbitrary collection of ‘feel good’ numbers, but a purposeful system that guides you to the activation activity that benefits the brand.

For decades, sponsorship leaders and sceptics have been rightfully looking at exposure and AVE numbers only to ask “So what?  What is it doing for the brand?” A quality evolved framework with clear and simple metrics provides the instant answer.

The Hard Work

Knowing where you want to end up, the challenge is in getting there.  We’ve said from the beginning that getting through the complexity is not easy.  It’s not supposed to be… and it will rarely come quickly.

To arrive at your ‘evolved simplicity’, you will have to first engage with internal stakeholders to debate and clarify what you are trying to accomplish.  There will be differing opinions and critical nuance in the chosen wording. 

Prioritisation will also require debate.  A group of smart people who agree on a set of objectives will rarely prioritise them exactly the same.  Differences of opinion in this area can quickly lead to differing views on activation components and resource allocation.  Executives and agencies will need to voice their expertise and opinion toward the goal of clarity and simplicity… which may at times seem very elusive.

With agreement achieved, you can pat yourself on the back and be proud of steps in the right direction, but the work is not over.  As you develop the strategy and actions to achieve your objectives, you must now define what success looks like.  What are the specific numbers (KPIs) that will tell us we’ve achieved our objectives?  More debate and revision.

Worth it?

Most sponsorship professionals we talk to are already doing some of this hard work and employing some elements of a framework as described above.  Maybe you are too. Many think this ‘partial’ framework is good enough because they more or less know what they’re trying to do and they have KPIs (or OKRs) that they track across the organisation.

That’s a great start, but it’s not good enough.  Certainly not as good as you could be.  Without doing all of the hard work and completing all of the steps and links through the entire process, you can’t quite emerge to that blissful state of crystal-clear evolved simplicity.  You end up with the same old post-campaign conversations between brands and rights-holders about whether it worked or not – whether the ‘big’ number is big enough. You’re part way there but you’re still stuck in that big ugly ball of string called ‘complexity’.

You’ve come so far.  You’ve taken some great steps in the process.  Why not finish the job, do the work, and get the reward of that truly evolved simplicity.  For the benefit of the sponsorship and the peace of mind, let’s put in the work required and make it crystal-clear.

It's not easy, but it’s worth it.  Let’s go get simple.

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