How Do You Measure the Value-Add of a Media Sponsorship?

Our attendee Chas Edwards of Federated Media posted today about running an online media business in which he concludes:

And what about sponsorships? That free money with no strings attached, no accountability and no sponsor expectation that their message will reach a pre-set number of prospective customers? It doesn’t exist. Sponsors have expectations just like advertisers. Even if the insertion order doesn’t price the deal in dollars per thousand impressions or cost per click, sponsors are doing the math just like everyone else; if the math doesn’t add up — appropriate value for their sponsorship buck — the sponsorship dollars will dry up fast.

Crunching numbers may not be the fun part of the media business, but it’s an important skill to learn. There’s no free lunch — even on the internet.

I couldn’t agree more with that assessment, but I think Chas overlooks the number of ways that sponsoring a site can add value beyond the basic pay-per-click/impression model that many sites use to drive revenue.

When we talk with our clients about sponsored blogs, we go over all the ways they add quantifiable value. Yes, conversions and click-through matter.  But our sponsors are usually more concerned with search engine optimization. They want to make sure that their site, or our blog is the first thing that pops up when their prospects are searching for something relevant to what they offer.

Chas is absolutely right. There are too many media providers out there who simply want to get their content sponsored without thinking about what the sponsor will expect in return. Successful commercial media, old and new, provides advertisers and sponsors with a clear and quantifiable value-add. They won’t stay in the game long if they don’t.