Steal These Ideas!: Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star, 2nd Edition

Do Sponsorships Make Sense Anymore—Did They Ever?

No and yes.

You may not like this answer, but, by and large, sponsorships now and in the future are a waste of time and money—especially money. There are two reasons. First, sponsorship opportunities have become outrageously expensive and defy rational allocation of resources. For example, even if Citibank hadn't suffered a near death experience during the Great Recession financial meltdown, agreeing to the naming rights for the New York Mets' new stadium several years ago at $20 million a year for 20 years is just plain absurd. For $1 million or even $2 or $3 million, maybe. And even at that price, it would be a close call.

The second reason for forgoing a sponsorship opportunity is that sponsorships ...