Guide: Increase Revenue with Event Streaming Sponsorships

Execute a Successful Sponsorship Program with the NFHS Network

Did you know that your school can make thousands of fundraising dollars for programs by streaming events with the NFHS Network?

Yes! Schools can earn significant financial support from the local business community by offering advertising placement on broadcasts. By establishing partnerships with local businesses, you can earn revenue that’s sustainable year over year.

We’ve created a comprehensive advertising guide to help schools start and expand sponsorship sales programs. We’ll also be rolling out a special article series over the next several weeks with more resources to help you succeed with advertising.

Earning Potential

Event streaming gives you a unique opportunity to drive more revenue for your programs. Schools that stream with the NFHS Network keep 100% of advertising sales.

Your school events are valuable to local businesses. Companies want to get involved with your events so the community can learn more about their products and services.

With streaming, you can provide simple and effective ways for sponsors to get seen before, during, and after events, creating a multitude of impressions for your business partners.

You have a truly valuable asset that businesses want to support, along with your school. All you have to do is set pricing, tell local businesses about it, and publish their messages online.

Part 1: Why Streaming Sponsorships Work

Sponsorship is a Win-Win for Schools and Local Businesses

School events bring out members of the community and keep fans engaged online afterward. Each event provides valuable sponsorship assets that you can sell to business partners, including logo placement during livestreams and on your school broadcast page.

It’s a perfect opportunity for businesses to create excitement for their brands. Here are a few popular options:

• Meal discounts at a local restaurant after the game
• Performance-based deals like free tacos for a touchdown
• Hospitality perks like special lodging at a local hotel for traveling teams and fans.
  
  

Key Elements of Successful Sponsorships

A streamed event uniquely creates sponsorship inventory to showcase a local business. Think bobblehead night at a professional sporting event. The bobblehead is sponsored inventory.

Businesses want to be seen by people. Your school events draw many people that are passionate about supporting students. In other words, your community tunes in when you broadcast the events that matter most to them.

How Does Sponsorship Work?

With a streaming sponsorship, a local business pays your school in exchange for brand presence on the broadcast. To sell sponsorships, schools need to plan sponsorship inventory, establish pricing, and offer the inventory to businesses.

For streaming events online, a simple way to offer sponsorships is to develop a rate card that outlines what a business can buy.

Part 2: Define Your Product

What is a sponsorship product?

The sponsorship product for streamed events is ad placement on your live and on-demand broadcasts.

When it comes to sponsorship, the events are the products that consumers are experiencing. High school events are truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences that bring communities together for unforgettable moments, like a first touchdown or a comeback victory.

Displaying sponsor ads during events gives businesses a great way to market their products and services where people are engaged and likely interested in using them.

Rate Card Example: NFHS Network Streaming Events

Consider these options to integrate sponsor sales for digital ticketing. Remember - you keep 100% of the revenue! The rates below are suggested starting points that you can modify as needed to build your own rate card.

*currently available for manual production broadcasts

School events are unique and valuable advertising opportunities. You can provide your sponsors with a captive audience of fans from the local community. Remember this when setting your rates and approaching potential sponsors.

Part 3: Engage Your Target Market

Build a Target List and Rate Card

Follow these steps to launch your sponsorship sales campaign. Share the rate card that you developed above with members of the target market. Make sure that you include a link to order the ad.

Define Your Target Market and Create a Contact List

Local businesses are your target customers for sponsorship sales. That’s who you need to convey value to and convert for an order. Start your sponsorship sales campaign by building a list of target businesses to contact.

Offer Your Sponsor Rate Card to the Target Contact List with a Street Team

The most successful schools assemble a small street team of parent volunteers to deliver the sponsorship request and rate card to the businesses on the target list. This process is all about numbers. The more businesses that see your offer, the more likely you are to sell sponsorships.

Top Ways to Engage Businesses

• Walk In: Walk into the business and ask to speak with the owner or manager.
• Email: Email the contact list with your information.
• Phone: Call and offer the sponsorship package and follow up with an email.
• DM: Send a direct message to the business on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and link the sponsorship opportunity.

Tip: Do all of the above 2-3 times for every contact on the list. 

Part 4: Sponsorship Fulfillment

Picture this: your street team connected with all the members on your contact list, and several businesses are interested in ordering ads. What’s next?

Sponsorship Ad Delivery Process

Process Orders Online

Make it easy for businesses to order sponsorship and upload their artwork by processing orders online. There are many services that allow schools to process an order and submit artwork with an online form. Sponsors could also submit ad materials to you via email.

Artwork Design & Approval

Define the artwork options and include that on the rate card and online order page. For digital ads, schools typically include pixel dimensions. Try to encourage sponsors to submit artwork based on the specific dimensions you need, so that you do not need to edit it. Whether you need to edit or not, send the sponsor a proof of the ad and get them to approve by email.

Run the Ad and Let Your Sponsor Know

Once the ad is approved, you’re ready to integrate it into your streaming program. Work with your account reps at the NFHS Network to get the ad up and running. Keep in mind that many sponsors love seeing the end product. Consider taking a screenshot of the ad and sending it to your sponsors by email or text. Dazzling your sponsor customers will create a great and long-lasting relationship, which is a win-win for your school and your business community!

Next Steps

To learn more about how you can drive more revenue for your programs with streaming and advertising, check out the blog post linked below or contact us for more information.