The Sponsorship Mistake Even Experts Make (And What It Cost Me)
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
By Alex Durant
Durant Consulting, Inc.
I'm a sponsorship consultant. Last spring, I made the most amateur mistake in the business.
My best friend asked me to sponsor the beer cups for a local kiteboarding race. I didn't think — I just said yes. I ordered 200 plastic cups printed with my Durant Consulting logo, showed up to volunteer at the registration table, and watched my marketing budget dissolve in real time.
Racers picked up their numbers, glanced at the cups, and asked: "What is Durant Consulting?" Athletes dialed in on wind conditions and tide reads have zero interest in B2B consulting strategy. I knew that. I sponsored anyway.
Then at least ten racers came to the table asking if we had sunscreen. That's when the real lesson landed — not about what I should have put my logo on, but about what I should have done instead.
I should have helped my friend find a sunscreen sponsor.
When the Smartest Move Is to Walk Away from the Logo
Not every event is the right stage for your brand. Kiteboarding enthusiasts were not my demographic. The correct answer to my friend's request wasn't "how do I show up here?" — it was "I don't belong here, but someone else does."
A sunscreen brand, a sports nutrition company, a sunglasses retailer — any of them would have paid for exactly what this event offered: athletes and hundreds of outdoor spectators, fully present, spending a full day in the sun. That's a precise, captive, contextually perfect audience.
Instead of ordering cups, I should have picked up the phone and sold that opportunity to a brand that actually fit. My friend gets a real sponsor. The sponsor gets genuine ROI. I demonstrate my value as a strategist — without putting my logo on a single thing.
That's the job.
The Three Pillars Still Apply — Starting with Fit
After 20 years managing activations for large-scale events, I've built my practice around three questions: Is this the right stage? Is this the right audience? Is the execution built to convert?
Most brands stumble on the third. I stumbled on the first.
The right stage isn't just an event with good attendance —
it's one whose identity and audience reinforce what your brand stands for. When the fit is wrong, no execution saves you. You're generating awareness in a room full of people who will never buy from you.
The right audience means psychographics, not just demographics. What does this audience need, value, and reach for? A sunscreen brand asking those questions about a coastal kiteboarding race gets an immediate yes. I should have been the one connecting them.
And the right execution starts before anyone signs a contract — with honest assessment: does my brand belong here, or does someone else's?
The Bigger Lesson
The best thing a sponsorship strategist can do isn't always to activate. Sometimes it's to recognize the opportunity in a room you have no business being in — and hand it to someone who does.
Live events offer something no digital channel can replicate: real human presence, full sensory engagement, a moment of connection no algorithm can manufacture.
That's exactly why fit has to be right. When it isn't, you're not just wasting your budget — you're wasting the event.
The racers filled their cups from a keg that was actually sponsored — then threw my cups away.
The sunscreen would have gone home with them.
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