I read an article about how Congress was questioning marketing expenditures for an array of the big banks, especially when it came to sports marketing. Bank of America was taking a “hit” from a collection of public servants about spending money on Super Bowl hospitality and sponsorship. (break) The fact that there were questions was not so disturbing, especially when the public is capitalizing banks with tarp money. That being said, the assumption that the bank was wrong in doing so is the part that is completely unjust. The comments that were made should not have been, “We gave them this money, so they shouldn’t spend it on sports”. The question should have been, “What is the return on spending these dollars in sports?” The fact of the matter is, if the bank is spending $1 million on hospitality and that turns in to $10 million of revenue - why would anyone complain? That is a sound marketing expenditure.

The problem with sports marketing is that there are so many companies doing it for the wrong reasons that the conclusions and assumptions are that sports marketing is wrong or bad. There are so many egos when it comes to purchasing naming rights and sports properties that it often appears that the expenditure is at the whim of a CEO who is a fan of a particular team. And guess what, a lot of the time this is true. That does not mean sports marketing is wrong or bad, it just means its not executed properly in order to recognize a return on investment. CEOs assume that because their marketing folks understand how to market their company and brand, they generally can do the same when it comes to sports marketing and partnership with teams. Unfortunately, this is not true the majority of the time. Most corporations have neither the experience in the realm of sports nor a sufficient size staff to execute on initiatives. Yet, many companies spend tens of millions of dollars in the sports marketing arena. It would be like giving any person off the street a NASCAR racecar to drive. Sure, the person will basically know how to drive it, but he/she will never harness the true power behind it as a NASCAR driver would.

There are a few companies that have the proper sports marketing staffing and know what elements to buy and how to use them to the fullest. Take Anheuser-Busch for example, you think they know how to sports market? I believe they clearly know what they are doing. What about Visa? They get it too. So much so that even though their head of sponsorship marketing, Michael Lynch, knows sports, has the experience in negotiating and creating great initiatives, and has a solid staff behind him, he still hires agencies that specialize in certain areas to help bring everything to the highest level. That’s just smart.

Many times egos get in the way and corporate marketers think they can do it on their own with the staff they have – even if no one on the staff has the sports marketing experience. Put the ego aside and do what is best for your sponsorship investment! Get the experience needed to really make that sports sponsorship soar.

The companies that are in partnerships with teams, leagues or federations that hire the individuals, staffing, or agencies with experience in sports with teams, negotiations, promotions, logo rights, and the like are the companies that are going to see the best results. There are too many companies that spend a great deal of their budget in sports and do not know how to bring the sponsorship to life. There’s a company that I have done business with in the past (I will refrain from giving the name, though they are not the only one) that spends tens of millions of dollars in sports and has one person managing their budget and initiatives. I do not care how hard working, intelligent, or creative this person is; he/she will never fully maximize the dollars spent and the waste will be viewed as sports being a mistake.

Sports marketing is smart and relevant – it is not a mistake when approached properly. CEO’s have the right idea but they should not do sports marketing unless they have the appropriate resources behind them, whether in house or outsourced. Sports marketing can be one of the best ways to separate a company from their competition and build a brand. Sports marketing is a cost effective way of achieving marketing goals-if it is done right. Bank of America should show Congress what sports marketing means to them, because they are one of the companies getting it right.