Smaller properties may be a sponsor's best friend

Anybody who has worked in an agency that recommends sponsorships to brand clients -- especially those that get paid commissions on them -- has seen it. Anybody who has worked for a brand has lived it. The “bigger is better, let’s get a big national property and leverage it locally” mentality reigns supreme in sponsorship marketing.

It’s easier for a brand, and much easier for an agency to tell the client to do an NFL or NASCAR sponsorship for $10 million per year (give or take a million), and say to the client “that will be $1 million (or so) for us, please,” than to really work hard to find perfect sponsorship fits and brilliant activations for the client. I mean seriously, how hard is it to put together some cool ads, maybe a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Super Bowl, or be...