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Part 2  Strategy and applications

(b)   Online sponsorship

Online sponsorship is not straightforward. It’s not just a case of mirroring existing ‘ real- 

 world’ sponsorship arrangements in the ‘virtual world’ although this is a valid option. There 

are many additional opportunities for sponsorship online which can be sought out, even if 

you don’t have a big budget at your disposal.

Ryan and Whiteman (2000) define online sponsorship as:

the linking of a brand with related content or context for the purpose of creating brand 

awareness and strengthening brand appeal in a form that is clearly distinguishable from a 

banner, button, or other standardized ad unit.

For the advertiser, online sponsorship has the benefit that their name is associated with an 

online brand that the site visitor is already familiar with. Sponsorship builds on this existing 

relationship and trust. Closely related is online ‘co-branding’ where there is an association 

between two brands.