Purpose that performs — and the mistake sponsors keep making

Purpose has become an increasingly important part of sponsorship strategy. But identifying an issue that matters is only half the challenge. The question brands need to ask is whether they have a credible role in doing something about it.

For Oliver Meade, Senior Director of Commercial Partnerships at Think Beyond, the strongest purpose-led partnerships begin not with a cause, but with the organisation itself: what does the business do, what can it genuinely contribute and where does that intersect with something its audience or community actually needs?

“The strongest work starts with a real issue or opportunity, something the audience or community genuinely cares about or needs, and then asks what role the brand is actually equipped to play,” says Meade.

Where brands can come unstuck is when that process happens in reverse. A worthy cause or CSR message is identified and subsequently attached to a sponsorship, despite having little connection to either the business or the partnership.

“That is usually when it starts to feel forced. Fans are too smart for this, and will inevitably see right through it.”

Finding your contribution

One of the most useful lessons Meade took from his previous role at Three came through the brand’s involvement in women’s football.

The team spent considerable time looking at some of the challenges facing the women’s game, including pay, broadcast exposure and equipment. All were important issues, but there was a problem.

“We were a connectivity business. We were not naturally part of the solution to those problems. That forced us to think harder about the role we could genuinely play.”

For Meade, the experience illustrates an important distinction. An issue can matter deeply to an audience without necessarily being right for a particular brand. Instead, organisations should consider what they can genuinely bring through their product, service, expertise, people, technology, platform or relationships.

“That is why I like the idea that you do not need a cause, you need a contribution.”

It also changes the question of whether a brand has permission to become involved.

“I would actually start with permission to contribute rather than permission to lead,” says Meade. “I always come back to the same questions: why this brand, why this rights holder and why this sponsorship? If any brand could do it with any property, it is probably too generic.”

Not every brand needs to own an issue. In some cases, the most credible role may be to support, enable, fund, connect or amplify organisations already doing the work.

Earning the right to speak

That credibility is particularly important in sponsorship because brands are entering environments where audiences already have strong emotional connections.

Fans care about their teams, athletes and sports long before the sponsor arrives. Buying the rights provides access to that audience, but it does not automatically transfer any of that affection to the brand.

“You have to earn your right to speak,” says Meade. “You need to show that you understand the audience, show you know what is important to them – ultimately show them that you are one of them.”

Purpose can help brands earn that position when it is built into the sponsorship from the outset. But credibility develops through what a brand actually does over time.

“Sponsorship is a long-term play, and while purpose can be a direct route to brand affection, credibility is earned through consistent action, not by announcing that you want to own an issue from day one.”

Purpose still has to perform

A credible purpose, however, does not guarantee an effective sponsorship.

Audiences experience a partnership through what they can see, use, participate in or benefit from. This is where Meade believes activation becomes critical.

“Activation is where the strategy becomes tangible, and allows fans to truly feel the sponsor’s work.”

Purpose-led sponsorship therefore still requires the same quality of insight, creativity, talent, rights and execution as any other campaign.

“Purpose does not make average activation interesting. It still has to earn attention like everything else.”

Nor should brands be embarrassed about expecting that investment to create commercial value. The return may be purchase consideration, brand affection, loyalty or employee pride rather than immediate sales, but Meade argues the objective should be clear from the beginning.

The same applies to measuring the impact being created.

“When we are setting up our client’s strategy, the question is not just ‘what did we deliver?’ It is ‘what changed because of it?’”

The bit that never makes the case study

These are some of the questions Meade will discuss with senior brand leaders at Amplifying Your Impact. And for Meade, the roundtable format offers something the polished case study rarely does.

Awards entries and campaign videos do not tend to reveal the stakeholders who needed convincing, the budget conversations, the ideas that were killed, the compromises made or the measurement problems nobody quite solved.

“That is often where the real learning sits.”

Brands across different sectors are dealing with many of the same questions: how to secure internal buy-in, how far to go on an issue, how to prove value and how to justify long-term investment.

“The value is not necessarily in everybody agreeing. It is in somebody challenging your thinking, showing you a different way of approaching the problem or sharing the mistake they would not make again.”

Join the debate

Meade will explore this challenge further at The Sponsor’s upcoming Amplifying Your Impact roundtable in London, where senior brand leaders will discuss how purpose can be connected more closely to the core business and used to create meaningful impact through sponsorship. Register your place here.