Yesterday I was pointed in the direction of an article on social media that suggested brands should choose a targeted Facebook ad campaign to promote their product(s) to fans of a sport or sports team, rather than through any official partnership with the sport or team in question.

The article’s main argument was that by advertising to fans of a club on Facebook, the brand could save itself 99% the cost of a sponsorship and have more measureable results than a ‘traditional sponsorship’.

The writer signed off by saying: “If I ran a business that made its dollars (the article originates from Australia) raising sponsorship funds, or was highly dependent on sponsorship for revenue, I would be very concerned about now”.

I’m undecided as to which irritated me more, the writer’s lack of understanding of marketing, social media or sponsorship.

There is no doubt that social media is changing the way we communicate globally. As an industry, sponsorship has embraced social media with brands, teams, sports stars and the media are all creating reams of content that is giving fans multiple additional ways to consume their sport.

Granted, a brand that marketed itself in this way may see a return, but I would argue that this return will mirror their investment – minimal. As part of a wider sponsorship activation strategy, Facebook advertising could drive significant traffic to your website or product, but only if the brand has established a level of credibility with its target audience. Shoe-horning a traditional communication tool like advertising into the growing medium of social media and expecting it to be an instant success is just a little bit ludicrous.

Brands that sponsor a sports team build an affinity with the fans who appreciate the investment that the brand is putting into their club to help them progress. Fans are unlikely to show loyalty to a brand that hangs on the coat tails of a team without giving anything back.

I for one cannot recall a single ad that has appeared on my Facebook page – if I’ve not signed up for it, I’m not interested. Sponsorship is proven to benefit brand recall and in many cases leads to a positive shift in brand preference.

Facebook is aiming to have a billion users by December 2010, but when you drill down into the specific audience that you want to speak too, the numbers may not be so impressive.

The thing with Facebook is that not everyone lists their hobbies and interests. Take me for example, I haven’t listed Formula One as a hobby on Facebook but my friends and colleagues know that I post updates or tweet about F1 every day, so you would not be targeting as many people as you could through sponsoring a team.

Associating officially with a club will not only give your brand visibility in-stadia, but also online via the club’s website, access to supporters clubs, advertising in event programmes and, depending on the sport or team, possible television exposure – and that’s before you throw in access to tangible assets such as players, club representatives, tickets or replica kit.

Any good sponsorship agency will find a deal that offers opportunities to meet the brand’s objectives and which doesn’t involve ‘paying a premium to the club’.

Facebook may appeal to those marketeers who don’t really understand social media but for those that do, social media offers so much more than just advertising. Engage with your target audience through competitions or promotions, give them access to exclusive content, ask their opinions and create a dialogue that enhances their experience rather than interrupts it.

Whilst writing, a saying sprang to mind which really sums this up for me, ‘if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys’. Concerned? I’m not.

By Synergy on March 26th, 2010

Tags: Default, Facebook, Social Media

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