2023 June Sponsorship Seminar: SB&D and Toyota

Stanley Black & Decker aims for a three-to-one return on sponsorship investments. They measure this through quarterly dashboards that track multiple metrics: exposure/impressions, social engagement, storytelling and content creation, B2B sales (like selling fasteners to automotive manufacturers), and direct product sales at events. The focus has shifted from pure awareness/visibility to tracking consideration and actual purchases. They track how customer sales change after attending sponsored events - for example, monitoring if a customer's purchases increase after being hosted at a race.

Twenty years ago, sponsorship was all about visibility and media impressions. Today, sponsors have moved away from just awareness metrics to focusing on consideration and actual purchasing behavior. As Tony from Stanley Black & Decker explained, 'Now it's more less about awareness. But hey, how do we consider these end users to consider buying our brand and how do we get them to purchase our brand?' The key question sponsors ask now is: 'How are we going to sell more product by partnering with you?' This shift means athletes need to demonstrate tangible business value, not just eyeballs.