Text A SPONSORING

Sponsorship is about providing financial support for events or people. It originates from the patronage given to artists and musicians by royalty and rich aristocracy. Beethoven and Mozart would not have survived without such patronage. Later, rich busi­nessmen such as Carnegie, Ford and Rockefeller sponsored many institutions.

Today we have three kinds of sponsorship which may be con­nected with advertising, marketing or PR.

First, there is the form of advertising when a company sponsors a radio or TV show. It began with the soap operas on American radio in the 1920s and 1930s. In Europe, programmes were also sponsored on Radio Luxembourg. This is a typical way of mak­ing money for radio and TV companies.

Second, there is a kind of sponsorship when a whole programme ii sponsored by one company.

Third is the kind of sponsorship which is the modern commer­cial counterpart of patronage by rich patrons. Here, a sport, art exhibition, theatrical show, literary prize, expedition. Financial support may be given to an individual. The reward for this is usu­ally media coverage.

There are many reasons for sponsoring, but usually there is a PR element which helps understanding and goodwill.

The principal reasons for spending money on sponsorship are as follows:

• The widening of advertising campaigns through the publiciz­ing of company and product names. Football, golf, swimming and tennis, horse, motor-cycle and yacht racing — they all have their supporters.

• To help the marketing policy because a company or product is associated with youth, health or beauty.

• To show a sense of social responsibility. The example can be when companies sponsor university awards, medical research, libraries, theatres, festivals and orchestras.

• The principal PR values of sponsorship are in creating aware­ness of a company and its products.

Vocabulary

financial support — финансовая поддержка

events — события

originates from — происходить от

patronage — шефство

royalty— королевская семья

aristocracy — аристократы

would not have survived — не выжили бы

institutions — зд. учреждения

soap operas — мыльные оперы

a typical way of making money — типичный способ зарабатывания денег

commercial counterpart — коммерческий аналог

patrons — покровители

art exhibition — художественная выставка

literary prize — литературные награды

individual — частное лицо

reward — награда

media coverage — освещение в прессе

publicizing of company and product names — прославляя компанию

и названия товаров yacht racing — парусные гонки supporters — поклонники marketing policy — маркетинговая политика

sense of social responsibility— чувство социальной ответственности creating awareness of a company — создавая узнаваемость компании