I've come across companies who were partnered up with or sponsoring some organization or some local event, where I hadn't realized they were doing anything with it for the longest time. I had been receiving marketing material from them in the mail for a while without a single word about this venture.

Yes, they did have material mentioning the sponsorship that I later saw. What they clearly did was create a separate line of marketing dedicated to the sponsorship and giving details about what the event was and what role they were playing in it. Their other marketing, however, was left untouched.

I couldn't say for certain but I suspect the reason why this happens is because the companies plan out their normal marketing rather far in advance. They already know what they're going to do and so they design their material as well. This gives them the ability to stay ahead of things, but it also limits them if they want to change any of that material.

I think that the best kind of marketing you can do for sponsorships is the type that brings up the sponsorship in everything that you're doing. Do your business cards mention the sponsorship at all? If not you should get more business card printing done to add that little detail to your card. You could easily make a line on the back of your card mentioning the event, or create a logo for the sponsorship to have on the front of your card.

But what about marketing that costs a little more than your average business card printing? For these what you'll probably want to do is design them in advance, but don't actually get the printing done until you're closer to needing them.

You can easily alter your existing designs by just adding that same type of logo for the sponsorship onto the front of them. A change like this is simple and can be done quickly. You don't have to change your marketing schedule at all, and just need to add that simple design onto the front of everything that you send out.

Sure, the ads won't give people a lot of details on what you're doing, but they don't really need to. All they have to do is strike up some interest, and your other marketing specifically dedicated to the sponsorship can do the rest.

Sponsorships are a great way to generate business and market your company, but to get the most from them you have to know how to properly market yourself. Planning ahead for marketing is great, but always be sure you leave yourself a little room to work with, so you're always able to make changes if needed.