Getting Fast Food sponsors onboard with your sponsorship packages.

Fast Food organizations love sports sponsorship.

A big reason why is we have great influence and access to a key demographic for this industry…and that is families.

When families are deciding on that pre-game, during a game while watching at home, or just the everyday “let’s pick something up”…fast food companies want to be top of mind.

This week on The Inches podcast Rich Franklin, VP of Partnerships at the Portland Winterhawks, and I take a dive into what assets work best for closing these sponsors for your team.

You can give the episode a listen HERE…But I dive into the key points below.

Couponing is King

We obviously want to build a brand within your arena…so signage will be important to a point. But the main goal of these fast food partners is to drive your fans to their locations to buy food.

Nothing does this better than coupons. Buy one get one free, percent off, whatever it may be.

We need to think of coupons not as just a one time purchase. The reason couponing is effective is it builds familiarity and habit to that restaurant when they are hungry.

In the short term, it will definitely drive sales for the location. But it is important to recognize that the long term goal of a coupon is to groom the consumer to keep coming back.

When you build your packages for fast food partners, couponing should be your cornerstone in the agreement. But be sure to amplify the couponing is to build a habit in location visits, not just a percentage off.

Tie That Coupon With An Event Or Milestone In Your Game

There is something about tying a coupon to a team milestone that really amplifies the promotion.

It brings meaning to the promotion. Instead of just handing out the coupon you are increasing your game experience with the promotion.

It also brings scarcity into the mix. You aren’t just handing them out. Your team has to earn them for you as a fan.

Rich at the Winterhawks has 2 promotions tied to gameplay with Jimmy John’s and Jack In The Box.

For Jumbo Jack when the Winterhawks score four or more goals in a home game the fans win a free Jumbo Jack.

The fans really anticipate this as the Winterhawks rack up the goals. It really adds to the gameday experience.

One of the games the Jumbo Jack goal came on the game-winning OT goal against a huge rival. Jack In The Box was able to be linked with that great game experience. Nothing builds brand better.

For Jimmy John’s they were able to sync up so well with their slogan “Freaky Fast” and digitize the experience.

On the Winterhawks mobile app fans check in to gain loyalty points at home and road games.

If a Winterhawks player scores within the first two minutes of the game every fan checked in before the goal gets a free side coupon emailed to them.

Tying the coupon to the game milestone drives redemption rates up as the fan feels like they’ve earned the reward for being there and seeing this moment.

By adding this into your gameday you are syncing the brand into the excitement of the game, building that connection with fans.

Digitize Your Coupons

Today it is so vital to digitize your coupons.

The first reason is attention is on the phone, but there are two more concrete reasons why when building your coupons you should be looking to digitize.

It brings the cost down

Many times it is cheaper to do coupons digitally rather than printing and storing them. If you can bring down that cost, you can make the partnership more valuable for the sponsor.

It also saves a bunch of time for your gameday staff. Instead of pulling out the boxes each game and handing to your fans the fan is emailed the coupon directly. The time it saves and ease it creates for your staff is top-notch.

When you look at adding couponing to your activation, really consider digital couponing. It will save a ton of stress for you.

It makes it easier for your fans to redeem

At SQWAD with our digital contests we hear this feedback a lot from fans:

‘With the old paper coupon, I would drive by the location and remember I left the coupon at home. With it in my email, I can just pull it up and show it on my phone. I use it more when it is in my email’

If we can make it as easy possible to redeem for our fans, they will redeem more. We’ve seen a significant increase in redemption rates when you digitize your coupons.

Overall, your goal is to make the brand a part of your gameday and drive the purchase habit for fans.

When you look at creating assets for your fast food partners really understand that with these two goals you can build great assets to drive connection with your fans and tie their brand into your gameday experience.

Looking for more ways to connect fans to sponsors digitally? Check our how SQWAD can help your team drive sponsorship revenue this season with our mobile contests.