How do you sell sponsorship on your club app?
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
You sell it in tiles, and you have 25 of them. Each one sits inside your club's own branded mobile app, and a member can tap a sponsor's tile and land straight on that business's website. You are not selling a logo. You are selling a direct connection.
Sponsorship is still one of the most important sources of revenue an amateur club has. It pays for equipment, travel, facilities, coaching, player development and the day to day running of the place. Traditionally that has meant pitch side signage, jersey sponsorship and branding around the grounds. Those still matter. The app gives you something to sell on top of them.
What is a sponsor tile?
It is a dedicated space for a local business inside your club's own app. The business sits in the club's digital space, in front of the members and supporters who open the app to stay connected with the club.
That is the part worth saying out loud when you are sitting across from a business owner. The app is not a club website that people visit twice a season. It is where the members already are.
How many sponsors can a club have in the app?
Twenty five. That is 25 separate local businesses the club can carry, which is a very different proposition to a jersey with one name on it.
It also changes who you can say yes to. A club with one main sponsor has to turn people away or push them down the pecking order. A club with 25 tiles can take the big local employer and the barber and the physio and the coffee place, and every one of them gets the same tap through to their own website.
What does a sponsor actually get out of it?
A click. Members can tap the sponsor's tile and go straight to the sponsor's website, whether that is to make a purchase, book a service or just find out more about the business.
That is the difference between the app and everything else the club sells. Traditional sponsorship creates visibility. Sponsorship in the club app can turn that visibility into action.
How does it compare to pitch side signage?
They do different jobs, which is exactly why you sell both.
PITCH SIDE SIGNAGE & JERSEY BRANDING | SPONSOR TILE IN THE CLUB APP | |
WHERE IT APPEARS | At the grounds and on club gear | Inside the club's own branded app |
WHEN IT IS SEEN | Matchdays and training | Whenever a member opens the app |
WHAT A MEMBER CAN DO WITH IT | See the business name | Tap it and land on the business website |
WHAT THE BUSINESS IS BUYING | Visibility | Visibility that turns into action |
Should app sponsorship replace what the club already sells?
No. Add it to the package. Pitch side signage, jersey and club gear branding, social media, club communications and sponsorship within the app can all play a part in one offer.
That is where most clubs get the value. A business weighing up a single sign is a harder conversation than a business being shown the full range of ways it can be part of the club. Digital sponsorship does not have to replace what your club already offers. It gives local businesses more ways to connect with the club community, and it gives the club more to bring to the table.
Who should the club approach first?
The businesses that already know you. The ones the club buys from, the ones run by members and parents, and the ones that already take signage and might add a tile to what they have.
Local businesses take sponsorship because it builds awareness, connects them to the community and puts their brand in front of an engaged audience. Every one of those reasons applies to the app, so the conversation is not a new pitch. It is the same pitch with something new in it.
How do you approach a local business?
In person, with the app open on your phone. Show them the tile, tap it, let them watch their own website open.
That demo does more than any printed sponsorship pack, because the business owner can see the thing they are buying and see what a member would do with it.
Frequently asked questions
Does a sponsor need a website?
The tile takes members straight to the sponsor's website, so a business with somewhere to send people gets the most from it. If a business has no site, ask where they would want a member to land before you sell them the tile.
Does app sponsorship replace pitch side signage?
No. It sits alongside signage, jersey and gear branding, social media and club communications as another element in the club's sponsorship package.
How many sponsor tiles does a club app have?
Twenty five. That means a club can carry 25 separate local businesses in its app, each with its own tile linking through to that business's website.
